The influences of the Renaissance, moving westward from Italy, were tending toward their culmination in the next period. The study of Greek literature, the discovery of the new world, the decline of feudalism, the overthrow of the armed knight, the extension of the use of gunpowder, the invention of printing, the increased love of learning, the demand for scientific investigation, the decline of monastic influence, shown in the new interest in this finite world and life,--all figured as causes or effects of the new influence. The most important prose works are Sir Thomas Malory's _Morte d'Arthur_, a masterly retelling of the Arthurian legends; Sir Thomas More's _Utopia_, a magnificent Renaissance dream of a new social world; and Tyndale's translation of the _Bible_. The best poetry was written in Scotland, and this verse anticipates in some measure that love of nature which is a dominant characteristic of the last part of the eighteenth century. The age is noted for its ballads, which aided in developing among high and low a liking for poetry. At the close of the period, we find Italian influences at work, as may be seen in the verse of Wyatt and Surrey. REFERENCES FOR FURTHER STUDY HISTORICAL An account of the history of this period may be found in either Gardiner,[10] Green, Lingard, Walker, or Cheney. Vols. IV. and V. of _The Political History of England_, edited by Hunt (Longmans), gives the history in greater detail. For the social side, consult Traill's _Social England_, Vols. II. and III., also Cheney's _Industrial and Social History of England_, Field's _Introduction to the Study of the Renaissance_, Einstein's _The Italian Renaissance in England_, Symonds's _A Short History of the Renaissance_. LITERARY _The Cambridge History of English Literature_, Vol. II. Snell's _The Age of Transition_, 1400-1580. Morley's _English Literature_, Vols. VI. and VII. Minto's _Characteristics of English Poets_, pp. 69-130. Saintsbury's _Short History of English Literature_, pp. 157-218. _Dictionary of National Biography_, articles on _Malory, Caxton, Henryson, Gawain Douglas, Dunbar, Tyndale, Wyatt_, and _Surrey_. Veitch's _The Feeling for Nature in Scottish Poetry_. Percy's _Reliques of Ancient English Poetry_. Gummere's _Old English Ballads_. Child's _The English and Scotch Popular Ballads_. Collins's _Greek Influence on English Poetry_. Tucker's _The Foreign Debt of English Literature_. SUGGESTED READINGS WITH QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS Malory.--Craik,[11] _Century_, 19-33; Swiggett's _Selections from Malory_; Wragg's _Selections from Malory_,--all contain good selections. The Globe Edition is an inexpensive single volume containing the complete text. The best edition is a reproduction of the original in three volumes with introductions by Oscar Sommer and Andrew Lang (London: David Nutt). Howard Pyle has retold Malory's best stories in simple form (Scribner).