The Conclusion talks about fractures and continuities, and highlights at least two common processes. If many elements can support the idea of the 1500s as a turning point in the history of Europe, this volume is more open to continuities than to fractures. In the 1300s and 1400s, therefore, the polyphonic, vibrant, and sometimes contradictory fabric of politics, culture, and society takes centre stage. From such complexity, the legacy of this period to the following centuries is represented by two parallel processes. The institutional and constitutional framework of power and authority showed a thickening and defining of its many forms, but politics remained a field open to many contrasting solutions. And the emergence of a more defined written and spoken agency of individuals and groups that had previously been less visible created cultures and languages of power that rewrote tradition and enabled the many authors of such new languages to make themselves heard.
