What shaped Western culture in the period 1300–1550 more: the Black Death’s emphasis on the afterlife (the hereafter) or the Renaissance’s emphasis on human achievement (the here and now)? Choose one of these and explain your perspective. Start with a statement identifying your choice; this is your thesis. Then, support your choice with specific examples from at least three of the following categories: significant individuals (e. g., political or religious leaders, innovators, explorers); characteristics of worldview (e. g., philosophy, religion); social institutions (e. g., social mores, practices, hierarchies); patronage (discuss the patrons, their motives, influence, and resulting products or artifacts); the economies (e. g., changes, different economic systems, impact); and politics (e. g., forms of governance, power distributions, contests).