<P> Modern historiography on the period has reached a consensus between the two extremes of innovation and crisis . It is now generally acknowledged that conditions were vastly different north and south of the Alps , and the term `` Late Middle Ages '' is often avoided entirely within Italian historiography . The term `` Renaissance '' is still considered useful for describing certain intellectual , cultural , or artistic developments , but not as the defining feature of an entire European historical epoch . The period from the early 14th century up until -- and sometimes including -- the 16th century , is rather seen as characterized by other trends : demographic and economic decline followed by recovery , the end of western religious unity and the subsequent emergence of the nation state , and the expansion of European influence onto the rest of the world . </P>
<P> Modern historiography on the period has reached a consensus between the two extremes of innovation and crisis . It is now generally acknowledged that conditions were vastly different north and south of the Alps , and the term `` Late Middle Ages '' is often avoided entirely within Italian historiography . The term `` Renaissance '' is still considered useful for describing certain intellectual , cultural , or artistic developments , but not as the defining feature of an entire European historical epoch . The period from the early 14th century up until -- and sometimes including -- the 16th century , is rather seen as characterized by other trends : demographic and economic decline followed by recovery , the end of western religious unity and the subsequent emergence of the nation state , and the expansion of European influence onto the rest of the world . </P>
who took the lead in extending european influence in the 1400s
who took the lead in extending european influence in the 1400s
Italian
Italian