The breakdown of feudalism helped nurture the Renaissance ideals by creating stronger rulers who were more likely to challenge the Holy Roman Church, which had dictated European values throughout the Middle Ages, and by fostering an attitude among people that they deserved more out of life than the limitations dictated by their birth into a specific social class. Both conditions were necessary to break from the entrenched traditions of the Middle Ages. Intent on making a clear distinction between their "modern" way of looking at the world and the medieval worldview that had prevailed for so many centuries, Renaissance scholars and artists embraced two ancient ideals as the foundation for the Renaissance: the belief that people could control their own destinies, and the belief that the sensual pleasures of life should be celebrated rather than denied. Both concepts were contrary to...