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Petrarch (1304-1374)
Italian scholar, poet, and humanist, a major force in the development of the Renaissance, famous for his poems addressed to Laura, an idealized beloved whom he met in 1327 and who died in 1348. Attempts have been made to identify her, but all that is known is that Petrarch met Laura in Avignon, where he had entered the household of an influential cardinal. She is generally believed to have been the 19-year-old wife of Hugues de Sade. Petrarch saw her first time in the church of Saint Claire. According to several modern scholars, it is possible that Laura was a fictional character. However, she was a more realistically presented female character than in the conventional songs of the troubadours or in the literature of courtly love.
Francis Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) was born in Arezzo as the son of a notary, but he spend his early childhood in a village near Florence. His father, Ser Petracco, was expelled from Florence by the Black Guelfs, who had seized power. Also Dante, born in Florence, became at the same year a victim of political reprisals. Petrarch spent much of his early life at Avignon, where Pope Clement V had moved in 1309, and Carpentras. He studied at Montpellier (1319-23) and moved to Bologna, where he studied law in 1323-25. Petrarch was primarily interested in writing and Latin literature, sharing this passion with his friend Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the writer of Decameron. In Avignon Petrarch composed numerous sonnets which acquired popularity. In search for old Latin classics and manuscripts, he travelled through France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
When his father died in 1326, Petrach returned to Avignon, where he worked in different clerical offices. The turning point in his life was April 6 1327, when he saw Laura in the church of Sainte-Claire d'Avignon. She became the queen of his poetry. "To be able to say how much you love is to love but little," Petrarch wrote in 'To Laura in Death'. As a scholar and poet, Petrarch soon grew famous, and in 1341 he was crowned as a poet laureate in Rome. He was subsequently charged with various diplomatic missions. The latter part of his life he spent in wandering from city to city in northern Italy as an international celebrity. Petrarch settled about 1367 in Padua, where he passed his remaining years in religious exercises. He died in Arquà in the Euganean Hills on July 18, 1374. Petrarch bequeathed to Boccaccio a small sum of money for a new cloak.
Petrarch was regarded as the greatest scholar of his age. He wrote the majority of his works in Latin, although his sonnets and canzoni written in Italy were equally influential. Petrarch was known as a devoted student of antiquity. He combined interest in classical culture and Christianity and left deep influence on literature throughout Western Europe. A prolific correspondent, he wrote many important letters, and his critical spirit made him a founder of Renaissance humanism. Among Petrarch's Latin works are DE VIRIS ILLUSTRIBUS, the epic poem AFRICA, which has Scipio Africanus as its hero, the dialogue SECRETUM, a debate with St. Augustine, an RERUM MEMORANDARUM LIBRI, an incomplete treatise on the cardinal virtues, DE REMEDIIS UTRIUSQUE FORTUNAE, his most popular Latin prose work, ITINERARIUM, a guide book to the Holy Land, and DE SUI IPSIUS ET MULTORUM IGNORANTIA, against Aristotelians.
Petrarch wrote and revised his sonnets during the years between 1327 and 1374. CANZONIERE (Song Book) was inspired by the Lady whom Petrarch names Laura, chronicling his first encounter with her at the age of 23. However, his love was not returned, her presence causes him unspeakable joy, and on the other hand it creates unendurable desires. There is no definite information concerning Laura, except that she is lovely to look at, with golden hair, and her bearing is modest and dignified. Upon her death, the poet finds that his grief is as difficult to live with as was his former despair. Later in 'Letter to Posterity' Petrarch wrote: "In my younger days I struggled constantly with an overwhelming but pure love affair - my only one, and I would have struggled with it longer had not premature death, bitter but salutary for me, extinguished the cooling flames. I certainly wish I could say that I have always been entirely free from desires of the flesh, but I would be lying if I did."
Francis Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) was born in Arezzo as the son of a notary, but he spend his early childhood in a village near Florence. His father, Ser Petracco, was expelled from Florence by the Black Guelfs, who had seized power. Also Dante, born in Florence, became at the same year a victim of political reprisals. Petrarch spent much of his early life at Avignon, where Pope Clement V had moved in 1309, and Carpentras. He studied at Montpellier (1319-23) and moved to Bologna, where he studied law in 1323-25. Petrarch was primarily interested in writing and Latin literature, sharing this passion with his friend Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the writer of Decameron. In Avignon Petrarch composed numerous sonnets which acquired popularity. In search for old Latin classics and manuscripts, he travelled through France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
When his father died in 1326, Petrach returned to Avignon, where he worked in different clerical offices. The turning point in his life was April 6 1327, when he saw Laura in the church of Sainte-Claire d'Avignon. She became the queen of his poetry. "To be able to say how much you love is to love but little," Petrarch wrote in 'To Laura in Death'. As a scholar and poet, Petrarch soon grew famous, and in 1341 he was crowned as a poet laureate in Rome. He was subsequently charged with various diplomatic missions. The latter part of his life he spent in wandering from city to city in northern Italy as an international celebrity. Petrarch settled about 1367 in Padua, where he passed his remaining years in religious exercises. He died in Arquà in the Euganean Hills on July 18, 1374. Petrarch bequeathed to Boccaccio a small sum of money for a new cloak.
Petrarch was regarded as the greatest scholar of his age. He wrote the majority of his works in Latin, although his sonnets and canzoni written in Italy were equally influential. Petrarch was known as a devoted student of antiquity. He combined interest in classical culture and Christianity and left deep influence on literature throughout Western Europe. A prolific correspondent, he wrote many important letters, and his critical spirit made him a founder of Renaissance humanism. Among Petrarch's Latin works are DE VIRIS ILLUSTRIBUS, the epic poem AFRICA, which has Scipio Africanus as its hero, the dialogue SECRETUM, a debate with St. Augustine, an RERUM MEMORANDARUM LIBRI, an incomplete treatise on the cardinal virtues, DE REMEDIIS UTRIUSQUE FORTUNAE, his most popular Latin prose work, ITINERARIUM, a guide book to the Holy Land, and DE SUI IPSIUS ET MULTORUM IGNORANTIA, against Aristotelians.
Petrarch wrote and revised his sonnets during the years between 1327 and 1374. CANZONIERE (Song Book) was inspired by the Lady whom Petrarch names Laura, chronicling his first encounter with her at the age of 23. However, his love was not returned, her presence causes him unspeakable joy, and on the other hand it creates unendurable desires. There is no definite information concerning Laura, except that she is lovely to look at, with golden hair, and her bearing is modest and dignified. Upon her death, the poet finds that his grief is as difficult to live with as was his former despair. Later in 'Letter to Posterity' Petrarch wrote: "In my younger days I struggled constantly with an overwhelming but pure love affair - my only one, and I would have struggled with it longer had not premature death, bitter but salutary for me, extinguished the cooling flames. I certainly wish I could say that I have always been entirely free from desires of the flesh, but I would be lying if I did."
source: comp.dit.ie