Francesco Petrarca: biography, main dates and events, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The great Italian sonnets are known all over the world. Francesco Petrarca, their author, a fine Italian humanist poet of the 14th century, became famous throughout the centuries for his work. It is about him that will be discussed in this article. We will talk about the life, work and love story of Petrarch.

Francesco Petrarca: biography

The great poet was born in Arezzo (Italy) in 1304, July 20. His father, Pietro di Ser Parenzo, nicknamed Petracco, was a Florentine notary. However, he was expelled from Florence before the birth of his son for supporting the "white" party. Dante was subjected to the same persecution. However, the journey of the Petrarch family to Arezzo was not over. The poet's parents wandered around the cities of Tuscany until they decided to go to Avignon. By that time, Francesco was nine years old.

Training

In those years there were already schools in France, and Francesco Petrarch entered one of them. The biography of the poet confirms that during his studies he mastered the Latin language and acquired a love for Roman literature. Petrarch completed his studies in 1319 and, at the insistence of his father, beganfor the study of law. To do this, he went to Montpellier, and then to the University of Bologna, where he stayed until 1326 - at which time his father died. However, Francesco was not at all interested in jurisprudence. He was drawn to a completely different field - classical literature.

And after graduating from university, the future poet, instead of going to lawyers, went to the priests. This was due to a lack of funds - he inherited from his father a manuscript of Virgil's works.

Papal Court

Francesco Petrarch (whose biography is presented here) settles in Avignon at the court of the Pope and takes ordained. Here he becomes close to the powerful Colonna family through a university friendship with one of their members, Giacomo.

In 1327, Petrarch first saw his future beloved Laura, who will remain his muse for life. Feelings for the girl became one of a number of reasons for the removal of the poet to Vaucluse from Avignon.

Petrarch is considered the first person to climb Mont Ventoux. The ascent took place on April 26, 1336. The journey he made with his brother.

Literary fame and the patronage of the Colonna family helped Petrarch acquire a house in the valley of the Sorga River. Here the poet lived for a total of 16 years.

Laurel wreath

Meanwhile, thanks to his literary works (especially sonnets), Francesco Petrarca became famous. In this regard, he received an invitation to accept a laurel wreath (the highest award for a poet) from Naples, Paris and Rome. Poetchose Rome, and in 1341 was crowned on the Capitol.

After that, Francesco lived for about a year at the court of the tyrant of Parma, Azzo Correggio, and then returned to Vaucluse. All this time, the poet dreamed of the revival of the former Roman greatness, so he began to preach the uprising of the Roman Republic. Such political views destroyed his friendship with Colonna, which led to resettlement in Italy.

New Pope Innocent VI

The life of Francesco Petrarch from the moment of birth and almost until his death was full of travel and moving. So, in 1344 and in 1347. the poet made long journeys around Italy, which brought him many acquaintances, most of which ended in friendship. Among these Italian friends was Boccaccio.

In 1353 Francesco Petrarch was forced to leave Vaucluse. The poet's books and passion for Virgil aroused the disfavor of the new Pope Innocent VI.

Nevertheless, Petrarch was offered a chair in Florence, which the poet, however, refused. He preferred to go to Milan, where he took a place at the court of the Visconti, performing diplomatic missions. At this time, he even visited Charles IV in Prague.

Death of a poet

1361 was marked by Petrarch's attempt to return to Avignon, which was unsuccessful. Then the poet left Milan and in 1362 settled in Venice. His illegitimate daughter lived here with her family.

From Venice, Petrarch almost every year traveled to Italy to travel. The last years of his life, the poet lived atCourtyard of Francesco da Carrara. Petrarch died in the village of Arqua on the night of July 18-19, 1374. The poet did not live up to his 70th birthday for only one day. They found him only in the morning. He sat at the table, bent over a manuscript that described the life of Caesar.

Periodization of creativity

He lived an extraordinary and interesting life of Francesco Petrarch (the biography of the poet allowed us to verify this). Not everything is simple with the work of the writer. So, in literary criticism, it is customary to divide the works of Petrarch into two parts: various works in Latin and Italian poetry. Latin works are of great historical importance, while poetry in Italian made the writer world famous.

Although the poet himself perceived his poems as trifles and trifles, which he wrote not for the sake of publication, but only in order to ease the heart of the poet. This is probably why the depth, sincerity and immediacy of the sonnets of the Italian author had a huge impact not only on contemporaries, but also on subsequent generations.

Petrarch and Laura

All lovers of poetry know about the love of Petrarch's life and the museum that inspired him to great creations. However, there is not much information about her.

It is known for certain that he first saw the girl on April 6, 1327 in the church of Santa Chiara. Laura was then 20 years old, and the poet was 23 years old.

Unfortunately, there is no historical evidence of whether they knew each other, whether the girl reciprocated the writer, who kept a bright soul and thoughts all his lifethe image of a golden-haired beloved. Nevertheless, Petrarch and Laura, even if their feelings were mutual, could not be together, because the poet was bound by church rank. And church ministers were not allowed to marry and have children.

From the moment they first met, Francesco spent three years in Avignon, singing his love for Laura. At the same time, he tried to see her in church and in those places where she usually went. Do not forget that Laura had her own family, husband and children. However, these circumstances did not bother the poet at all, because his beloved seemed to him an angel in the flesh.

Laura's last meeting and death

According to literary critics, Petrarch saw his beloved for the last time on September 27, 1347. And six months later, in April 1348, the woman tragically died. The cause of her death remains unknown. Petrarch did not want to come to terms with the death of his beloved, and in many poems written after the death of Laura, he often referred to her as if she were alive.

The collection of sonnets dedicated to her "Canzoniere" Petrarch divided into two parts: "for the life" and "for the death of Laura".

Before his death, the poet wrote that in his life he wanted only two things - laurel and Laura, that is, glory and love. And if fame came to him during his lifetime, then he hoped to find love after death, where he could unite with Laura forever.

Features of creativity and spiritual struggle

It was the collection "Canzonere" that determined the place and role of the poet in Italian and world literature. Petrarch, poetrywho were a real discovery of their time, for the first time created an art form for Italian lyrical works - the writer's poetry for the first time became the history of an inner individual feeling. Interest in the inner life became the basis of all Petrarch's work and determined his enormous humanistic role.

These works include two autobiographies of Petrarch. The first, unfinished, has the form of a letter to posterity and tells the outer side of the author's life. The second, in the form of a dialogue between Petrarch and Blessed Augustine, describes the inner life and moral struggle in the poet's soul.

The basis of this confrontation is the struggle between the ascetic morality of the church and the personal desires of Petrarch. Against this background, the poet’s interest in ethical issues is understandable, on which he devoted 4 works to reflection: “On monastic leisure”, “On a solitary life”, etc. Nevertheless, in a dispute with Augustine, who defends ascetic-religious philosophy, the humanistic a look at the world of Petrarch.

Attitude towards the church

Trying to reconcile church doctrine with Petrarch's classical literature. Poems, of course, have nothing to do with religion or asceticism, nevertheless, the poet managed to remain a believing Catholic. This is confirmed by a number of treatises, as well as correspondence with friends. In addition, Petrarch spoke out sharply against the scholastics and the clergy of his day.

For example, "Letters without an address" are filled with satirical and extremely harsh attacks on depraved moralspapal capital. This work consists of 4 parts, addressed to various people - both real and fictional.

Criticism

Francesco Petrarch, whose work was very diverse, was critical of both the contemporary church and ancient literature. This state of affairs suggests that the poet had a highly developed self-contemplation. Examples of those works where such an attitude to the world was manifested are the following: a speech against the physician, who put science above eloquence and poetry; a speech against a prelate who predicted the return of Urban V to Rome; a speech against another prelate who attacked the writings of Petrarch himself.

The poet's criticism related to ethical issues is also found in his historical writings. For example, in De rebus memorandis libri IV - a collection of anecdotes (stories) and sayings that were borrowed from Latin and modern authors. These sayings are arranged according to ethical headings, which, for example, bore such names: “On wisdom”, “On solitude”, “On faith”, etc.

The great correspondence of the poet has the main meaning for biographers of Petrarch. Many of these letters are, in fact, treatises on politics and morality, others look like op-eds. Much less important are the writer's speeches, which he delivered at various celebrations.

Canzoniere (Book of Songs)

How the poet Francesco Petrarch became famous thanks to his collection "Canzoniere", about which we have alreadymentioned above. The book was dedicated to the poet's love for Laura. The collection included a total of 350 sonnets, of which 317 belonged to the part "On the life and death of the Madonna Laura." For forty years, Petrarch dedicated sonnets to his beloved.

In his lyrical works, Francesco admires the heavenly purity and the angelic appearance of Laura. She is a majestic and inaccessible ideal for the poet. Her soul is compared to a bright star. With all this, Petrarch manages to describe Laura as a real woman, and not just as an ideal image.

For his era, Francesco Petrarca was the first who began to sing of the greatness and beauty of man, paying attention not only to appearance, but also to personal qualities. In addition, the poet is one of the founders of humanism as the content of creativity and way of thinking. Before Petrarch, the art of the Middle Ages sang only the features of the spiritual, divine and unearthly, and man was presented as an imperfect and unworthy servant of God.