The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century beginning in Italy in the late middle ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. During the Renaissance money and art went hand in hand. Artists depended totally on patrons while the patrons needed money to sustain geniuses. In the revival of neo-Platonism Renaissance humanists did not reject Christianity; quite the contrary, many of the Renaissance's greatest works were devoted to it, and the Church patronized many works of Renaissance art. Renaissance occured specifically in Italy in the 14th century. The Black Death was a pandemic that affected all of Europe in the ways described, not only Italy.