Renaissance Spreads North While Italy was the cradle of the Renaissance, the rest of Europe was also touched by the new humanism.

During the 15th century, a two-way traffic of people and ideas introduced humanistic ideas to northern and western Europe. Italian humanists and artists traveled north as diplomats, ecclesiastical legates, and business representatives The Brethren of the Common Life helped in the diffusion of humanist ideas founded in 1384 to promote education as a major instrument for practical Christian living, the Brethren established schools, hospices, and printing presses across the Netherlands, into the Holy Roman Empire, and along the North and Baltic Seas Germany was the first region affected by humanist thinking, due to the political and economic ties to between the Holy Roman Empire and Italy By 1520 humanist had penetrated the courts of Germany. Two examples of German humanists - Conrad Celtis and Ulrich von Hutten

French humanist developed later, delayed by the Hundred years war, and was more centrally located within the royal court. Francis I (1515-1547) brought Italian artist to France as a regular policy ( Leonardo da Vinci and Benvenuto Cellini) Francis I built several castles in the Renaissance style Humanism in England and the Netherlands flourished among ecclesiastical civil servants instead of the courts. England - John Colet and Thomas More The Netherlands – Desiderius Erasmus: Kings, popes, archbishops, and intellects sought him out