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==Political and Social Changes==
Northern Europe was undergoing a period of great cultural change. The old feudal nobility was under pressure and their influence on the culture of the time was in decline. The era’s rising prosperity saw a new class of urban merchants, who had little regard for the old feudal nobility and its values. The old culture that was based on feudalism, promoted ideas of chivalry and deference was in decline and people were more open to new ideas.<ref> Burke, p. 115</ref> The humanists’ ideas were received enthusiastically by the new urban elite of merchants and lawyers. They were drawn to the values of the Italian humanists, which stressed reason and denied the primacy of received wisdom in the society. They also formed the audience for the books produced by the Northern Humanists such as Erasmus. Another factor in the changing culture of the time was the rise of national monarchies in France and England.<ref> Burke, 134</ref>.
In many northern kingdoms, the monarchies were centralising power and the feudal nobility was being weakened and they were being reduced from the status of semi-independent rulers to dependents of the monarch. The rise of the national monarchies meant that increasingly that cultural life was focused on the court. The monarchs of England and France, in particular, were very receptive to the ideas of the Renaissance. They arguably used the ideas of the Renaissance to justify and legitimize their increasing role in society and their growing powers.<ref>Janson, H.W.; Anthony F. Janson. <i>History of Art</i> (5th, rev. ed.). New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1997), p. 113</ref> They exploited the cultural productions of the Renaissance in order to publicize their special position in society. For example, Francis II was a lavish patron of the arts in order to symbolically demonstrate his privileged status in French society, especially with regard to the nobility. Typically, the nobles imitated the king and this led to a growing interest in the new styles of art that were being produced during the Northern Renaissance. This did much to spread the values of the Renaissance throughout France, England and beyond.
