Petrarch

Lore & Background

Petrarch was born in Arezzo on 20 July 1304, the son of Ser Petracco and Eletta Canigiani. His younger brother Gherardo was born in 1307. Although both Ser Petracco and Dante Alighieri were exiled from Florence in 1302, there is no historical evidence they were friends. Petrarch spent his early childhood in Incisa, near Florence, and later moved to Avignon and Carpentras following Pope Clement V. He studied law at the University of Montpellier (1316–1320) and Bologna (1320–1326) alongside his friend Guido Sette, but considered these years wasted due to his interest in writing and Latin literature. His father once threw his books into a fire. After his parents' deaths, Petrarch and his brother returned to Avignon in 1326, where he worked in clerical offices. His epic Latin poem 'Africa' made him a European celebrity, and on 8 April 1341 he became the second poet laureate since classical antiquity, crowned on Rome's Capitoline Hill.

Reader's Guide

Petrarch's significance lies in his role as a founder of Renaissance humanism and his influence on European literature. His rediscovery of Cicero's letters in 1345 at Verona Cathedral is often credited with sparking the 14th-century Italian Renaissance. He developed the concept of the 'Dark Ages' to describe the era he believed was ignorant. His sonnets were admired and imitated throughout Europe during the Renaissance, becoming a model for lyrical poetry. In the 16th century, Pietro Bembo based the modern Italian language on Petrarch's works, along with those of Giovanni Boccaccio and, to a lesser extent, Dante Alighieri. Petrarch was later endorsed as a model for Italian style by the Accademia della Crusca. He traveled widely, collected Latin manuscripts, and encouraged Leontius Pilatus's translation of Homer, though he knew no Greek himself. His ascent of Mont Ventoux in 1336, described in a letter to his friend Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro, is often cited as a display of a modern attitude toward nature and self-reflection.

Did You Know?

• Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Italian Renaissance.
• He was the first to develop the concept of the 'Dark Ages'.
• On 8 April 1341, he became the second poet laureate since classical antiquity, crowned on Rome's Capitoline Hill.
• He climbed Mont Ventoux on 26 April 1336 for pleasure, and is sometimes called the first tourist.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Francesco Petrarca (or Petrarch) (July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374) was an Italian Roman Catholic scholar, poet, and early humanist. Petrarch and Dante are considered the fathers of the Renaissance." — Petrarch "Letter to Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro (26 April 1336), "The Ascent of Mount Ventoux" in Familiar Letters as translated by James Harvey Robinson (1898); the name Mount Ventosum relates to it being a windy mountain." — Petrarch "What name to call thee by, O virgin fair, I know not, for thy looks are not of earth And more than mortal seems thy countenance." — Petrarch "Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together." — Petrarch