renaissance

The Argument: Christianity could not have invented Science. Science, as we know it was (arguably) started in Ancient Greece. Their philosophers and engineers had invented or discovered by observation such things as the fact that the Earth is round, hydraulic cement that was not rediscovered...

Can anyone recommend a good historical novel set in the European Renaissance (around 15th and 16th centuries)? Here is my criterion for "good": 1. Historically accurate - uses historical events and people as a backdrop for the plot. Does not idealize the period, but gives every effort to...