Many scholars see the Medieval Era as the "Dark Ages" -- full of superstition and other-worldly fantasies, terrible brutality and primitive (or no) culture. To them, the Italian Renaissance of the 14th and 15th centuries brought about THE decisive break with the barbarism of the Middle Ages and re-instituted the rationality, balance and appreciation for beauty which ushered in the birth of the Modern World. 

Other scholars see the Middle Ages quite differently: They refer to a "Twelfth-Century Renaissance" --  a creative period beginning about 1070 which ushered in the Modern World. To them, the Italian Renaissance is the conclusion of this creative movement, and  Gothic Architecture was just one facet of this Twelfth-Century rejuvenation.

     To sort this out, we will investigate the advances (and limitations) of both renaissances, establish and prioritize influences on the Modern World, then argue the case to its conclusion(s).  Architecture supplies some hard evidence. The examples here are all medieval.  Make up your own mind (with good reasons) whether the examples in this Survey of Medieval Architecture better support the first or second interpretation of the Birth of the Modern World....

     Examine the evidence before you make up your mind because this question does not have a simple 'yes-or-no' answer. There is something to be said for both sides, as the Ceramics Survey and the European Medieval Monasticism site suggest. It will come down to the weight or preponderance of evidence, along with the arguments you construct concerning influences on modernity.