What is the Renaissance? Is it the revival of the spirit of classical antiquity or the detachment from the Middle Ages?

From the 18th century until today, many theories have been formulated about the appearance and character of the Renaissance. Central remains the view of the Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, who highlighted the Renaissance as a distinct historical period, during which individuality and modernity emerged. His work was praised and challenged, but the concept of the Renaissance was established in the global collective memory.

Was Burckhardt right, or is the Renaissance not the only way to understand the historical continuum from the 11th to the 16th century?