BIOGRAPHY PÉTRARCH – Tuscan poet, Petrarch is one of the most important authors of medieval Italian literature. A precursor of humanism, he is known for his “Canzoniere”, a collection singing the praises of his muse Laure de Sade.
Short biography of Petrarch – Born in 1304 in Tuscany, the young Francesco Petrarca and his family left Italy to settle in the south of France around 1312. He did part of his schooling in Carpentras, near Avignon. He began studying law first in Montpellier, which he continued at the University of Bologna in his native country. He manages to integrate the religious orders of Avignon thanks to his links with the notables of the city, before gradually turning away to devote himself to writing. The meeting with Laure de Sade marks a major turning point in the life and poetic work of Petrarch. He sings the praises of this woman whom he considers perfect in many poems compiled under the name Canzoniere.
Influenced by the Latin authors of Antiquity (Cicero, Virgil, Quintilian …), his excursions in the Comtat Venaissin (Mont Ventoux, fountain of Vaucluse) and in Italy served him as inspiration. Petrarch is considered, like Dante and Boccaccio, as one of the major authors who contributed the most to the use of Tuscan (at the origin of modern Italian) as a writing language and more generally to the influence of the italian literature. After several years spent in Lombardy as a diplomat in the service of the Visconti, the lords of Milan, he decides to settle with his family in Veneto from 1362. He ends his days in a small village in the region and s’ extinct in 1374, at the age of 69.
Considered to be the main work of Petrarch, the Canzoniere is a collection of 366 lyric poems, all dedicated to her muse and main source of inspiration: Laure de Sade. The latter was seen by the author at the exit of a church in Avignon, a brief meeting but sufficient for Petrarch to fall under the spell of the young girl. Born in 1310, Laure de Noves was married at the age of fifteen to Hugues II de Sade. She is one of the ancestors of the famous and controversial Marquis de Sade. With the Canzoniere, we observe a recurrence of the use of sonnets in the structure of most poems. Many consider it to be thanks to Petrarch and his Canzoniere that this form of poetry has won its letters of nobility. Petrarchism, a 16th-century poetic movement where it is primarily about love, was greatly influenced by the Canzoniere from the Italian author. And although romantic relationships hold a prominent role in Petrarch’s poems, other, deeper themes are addressed as well. It is for example a question of politics, religion and spirituality. Laure’s death in 1348 did not prevent Petrarch from continuing to write his poems and to hold in high esteem this woman whom he admired so much.
In addition to his romantic praise of Laure de Sade in the Canzoniere, Pétrarch is at the origin of a particularly rich poetic and literary production. He wrote in two languages: the Tuscan and the Latin. His numerous correspondence with the intellectuals and political figures of the time allowed him to make a name for himself throughout Europe. He also describes his many trips, especially when he begins with his brother theascent of Mont Ventoux in 1336. Several hundred of his letters have been written and compiled in a collection entitled Epistolae familiares.
His first epic poem, Africa, recounts the significant events of the Second Punic War. He recounts the victory of the Roman troops of Scipio the African against the army of Carthage, led by Hannibal Barca and his war elephants, as well as his personal considerations on the conflict. The success is without appeal, and Petrarch himself perceives Africa as being his most important work, even more than the Canzoniere. This passion for ancient Rome is reflected in another collection, The Triumphs. Petrarch takes up this eponymous tradition specific to the victorious generals of Rome, but adapts it in the form of allegories: love, chastity, death, fame, time and eternity. These vivid cycles would, centuries later, serve as inspiration for artists responsible for the design of church stained glass, tapestries, and much more.
- July 20, 1304: Birth of Petrarch
- Francesco Petrarca, better known under the name of Petrarch, was born on July 20, 1304 in Arezzo in Tuscany. He is the son of Pietro di Parenzo di Garzo and Eletta Canigiani. He has a brother, Gherardo, born in 1307. His parents, originally from Florence, decided to leave the big cities of Tuscany, mainly because of internal tensions within the Guelph party. The poet Dante, for the same reasons as Petrarch’s family, was forced to leave the city of Lys. The young Francesco was brought up in a small Tuscan village, Incisa in Val d’Arno, before leaving for Avignon around 1311.
- July 19, 1374: Death of Petrarch
- Petrarch, at the end of his life, settled around 1367 in the small village of Arquà, located near the Euganean mountains to the south-west of Padua. The Tuscan poet had already visited this village in the province of Veneto a few years earlier, renowned for the healing properties of its spas. He finally died a few years later, on July 19, 1374, from a brain hemorrhage. Although he was never married, Petrarch still had descendants. His son Giovanni, born in 1337, died of the plague in 1361. His daughter Francesca was born in 1343. The remains of Petrarch’s body lie in a sort of mausoleum in front of the church of Arquà. This same village is renamed Arquà Petrarca, a way for the inhabitants to pay a last tribute to the Italian writer.
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