Scott Perkins

The renaissance I learned about in school was about famous names and glittering royalty; I called it the People Magazine approach to history. The artisans that actually BUILT the renaissance are lost in the glitz of Elizabeths, Shakespeares and Davincis. I am here to speak for the the working stiffs that showed up day in and day out, craftsmen who built the cathedrals but also made the swords, repaired the shoes, fixed the roof, and did all the work for the people whose names you actually know. It is time to celebrate the makers who built the renaissance, the skills and traditions that pulled the common craftsmen out of the drudgery of serfdom and broke the shackles of feudalism, building the independence and wealth to educate themselves and their children, giving rise to a middle class that would one day break the backs of the monarchies.