In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the city of Florence experienced the most creative period in her entire history. This book is an in—depth analysis of that dynamic community, focusing primarily on the years 1380—1450 in an examination of the city's physical character, its economic and social structure and developments, its political and religious life, and its cultural achievement. For this edition, Mr. Brucker has added Notes on Florentine Scholarship and a Bibliographical Supplement.