Petrarch Francesco - short biography. Francesco Petrarch short biography

Petrarch

Petrarch

PETRARCA Francesco (Francesco Petrarca, 1304-1374) - famous Italian poet, head of the older generation of humanists (see). The son of the Florentine notary Petracco, friend and political associate of Dante (see). R. in Arezzo. Studied law in Montpellier and Bologna; in Avignon (the residence of the pope from 1309) he entered the clergy, which gave him access to the papal court, and entered the service of Cardinal Colonna (1330). P. supplemented his education with a trip to France, Flanders and Germany (1332-1333), which brought him a number of valuable acquaintances in the scientific world. In 1337, P. visited Rome for the first time, which made a huge impression on him with its ancient and Christian monuments. Dissatisfied with the empty and noisy life in Avignon, P. retired to the village of Vaucluse, where he lived in complete solitude for 4 years (1337-1341), and subsequently often returned here for rest and creative work. Most of P.'s works were written or conceived in Vaucluse, including the epic in Latin. “Africa” (9 books, 1338-1342), glorifying the conquest of Carthage by the Roman commander Scipio. Even before its completion, “Africa” brought P. the glory of a great poet and coronation with a laurel wreath in Rome on the Capitol, like the great men of antiquity (1341). From this moment on, Petrarch becomes the intellectual leader of the entire cultural world. He lives alternately in Italy and Avignon; Italian and foreign sovereigns invite P. to their place, shower him with honors and gifts, and ask for his advice.
P. used his unparalleled position for a writer and scientist to influence political affairs. He convinced Popes Benedict XII (1336) and Clement VI (1342) to move their throne to Rome, calling on Emperor Charles IV to unite Italy (1351-1363), etc. But almost all of P.’s political activities were fruitless due to the lack of clarity and firmness in his political views. Being, like Dante, a passionate patriot, an ideologist of the national unity of Italy, P. entrusted the care of this unification to the popes, then to the emperor, then to the Neapolitan king Robert. Dreaming of reviving the greatness of ancient Rome, he either preached the restoration of the Roman Republic, supporting the adventure of the “tribune” Cola di Rienzi (1347), or no less ardently propagated the idea of ​​the Roman Empire.
P.'s colossal authority was based primarily on his scientific activity. P. was the first humanist in Europe, an expert on ancient culture, and the founder of classical philology. He devoted his entire life to searching for, deciphering and interpreting ancient manuscripts. Most of all he loved and knew Cicero and Virgil, whom he called his “father” and “brother.”
P.'s admiration for antiquity had an almost superstitious character. He learned not only the language. and style, but also the way of thinking of ancient authors, wrote letters to them as friends, quoted them at every step. Ancient literature fed not only his imagination, but also political and philosophical thought. It helped shape the ideological trends generated by the development of the money economy and capitalist relations. In antiquity, P. sought support for his bourgeois individualism and nationalism, the cult of earthly life and the autonomous human personality. Antiquity helped him lay the foundation of a new secular bourgeois culture.
But this militant individualist, who brought his personality to the fore, admired its complexity and versatility, this convinced pagan, who looked everywhere for echoes of the antiquity he adored and sought to rebuild modern life in an ancient way, was deprived of ideological integrity and consistency, was unable to break the threads , connecting him with medieval culture. Under the shell of a humanist, a believing Catholic lived in P., carrying a heavy burden of monastic, ascetic views and prejudices. All of P.'s works are permeated with these contradictions and are marked by the desire to eclectically combine elements of feudal-church and bourgeois-humanistic culture.
Of great interest in this regard are P.’s moral and philosophical treatises, written in Latin. P. contradicts himself at every step. Thus, if in the treatise “On the Solitary Life” (De vita solitaria, 1346) he puts forward, under the guise of praise for solitude, a purely humanistic ideal of “secure leisure” devoted to science and literature, then in the next book “On Monastic Leisure” (De otio religiosorum , 1347) he unfolds an ascetic preaching of the vanity of the world and escape from its temptations; but, even glorifying monasticism, P. remains a humanist, because he sees its essence not in feats of piety, but in philosophical contemplation. The same contradictions permeate the treatise “On remedies against all fortune” (De remediis utriusque fortunae, 1358-1366), in which P. teaches, in the manner of medieval moralists, about the frailty of everything that exists and the fickleness of fate, restraining one from enjoying earthly goods , interfering with the achievement of heavenly ones, but at the same time shows great interest in earthly life and his own personality. Finally, in the treatise “On True Wisdom” (De vera sapientia), P. venomously criticizes medieval science and puts forward the goal of philosophy not to know God, but to self-knowledge, the study of man, which should provide a strong support for the new - bourgeois - morality.
But the most striking expression of the contradictions of P.’s psyche is his famous book “On Contempt for the World” (De contemptu mundi, 1343), otherwise called “The Secret” (Secretum). Built in the form of a dialogue between the author and the blessed one. Augustine, who was one of P.’s favorite writers, she with stunning power reveals the spiritual discord and oppressive melancholy (acidia) of P., his powerlessness to reconcile the old and new person in himself and at the same time his reluctance to renounce worldly thoughts, from the thirst for knowledge, love, wealth and fame. So. arr. In the duel with Augustine, who personifies the religious-ascetic worldview, P.’s humanistic worldview nevertheless wins, which undoubtedly plays a leading role in the contradictory complex of his aspirations.
Of P.'s Latin works, in addition to those mentioned, it is also necessary to name: 4 books of his letters, addressed either to real or imaginary persons - a unique literary genre, inspired by the letters of Cicero and Seneca and enjoyed enormous success both due to their masterful Latin style and due to their diversity and topical content (letters “without an address” - sine titulo - are especially curious, filled with sharp satirical attacks against the depraved morals of the papal capital - this “new Babylon”); 3 books of poetic messages (epistolae) (especially famous is epistle 1.7, in which P. tells Jacopo Colonna about the torments of his love); 12 eclogues written in imitation of Virgil's Bucolics; a number of polemical works (“invective”) and speeches delivered by P. on various occasions (especially interesting is the speech delivered at P.’s crowning on the Capitol about the essence of poetry, in which he declares allegory to be the essence of poetry). Particular mention should be made of P.’s two major historical works: “On Famous Men” (De viris illustribus) - a series of biographies of famous people of antiquity, conceived by P. as a scientific glorification of ancient Rome, and “On Memorable Things” (De rebus memorandis, in 4 books) - a collection of anecdotal extracts from Latin authors, as well as anecdotes from modern life, grouped under moral headings. An entire treatise in the second book of this work is devoted to the issue of witticisms and jokes, and numerous illustrations to this treatise allow us to recognize P. as the creator of the genre of short novella-anecdote on Latin who received further development in Poggio's "Facetius" (1450) (q.v.). A very special place among P.’s works is occupied by his “Syrian Guide” (Itinerarium Syriacum) - a description of the sights on the way from Genoa to Palestine - in which religious interest gives way to the curiosity of an enlightened traveler and the medieval pilgrim is replaced by a bourgeois tourist.
If P.'s Latin works have more historical significance, then his world fame as a poet is based solely on his Italian poems. P. himself treated them with disdain, as “trifles”, “trinkets”, which he wrote not for the public, but for himself, striving “somehow, not for the sake of fame, to ease a sorrowful heart.” Spontaneity, deep sincerity Italian. P.'s poems determined their enormous influence on contemporaries and later generations.
Like all his predecessors, Provencal and Italian, P. sees the task of poetry in glorifying the beautiful and cruel “Madonna” (lady). He calls his beloved Laura and reports about her only that he first saw her in the church of Santa Chiara on April 6, 1327 and that exactly 21 years later she died, after which he sang her praises for another 10 years, compiling a collection of sonnets and canzones dedicated to her ( usually called "Canzoniere") into 2 parts: "for the life" and "for the death of Madonna Laura". Like the poets “dolce stil nuovo” (see), P. idealizes Laura, makes her the focus of all perfections, states the cleansing and ennobling effect of her beauty on his psyche. But Laura does not lose her real outlines, does not become an allegorical figure, an ethereal symbol of truth and virtue. She stays real beautiful woman , which the poet admires like an artist, finding new colors to describe her beauty, capturing what is peculiar and unique that is in her given pose, this situation. These experiences of Petrarch are the main and only content of the collection “Canzoniere”, which can be called a genuine “poetic confession” of Petrarch, revealing the contradictions of his psyche, the same painful split between old and new morality, between sensual love and the consciousness of its sinfulness. Petrarch masterfully depicts the struggle with his own feelings, his vain desire to suppress it. Thus, the ideological conflict that dominates P.’s consciousness imparts drama to his love lyrics, causes the dynamics of images that grow, collide, and turn into their own opposite. This struggle ends with the realization that the conflict is insoluble. In the second part of “Canzoniere,” dedicated to the dead Laura, complaints about the cruelty of her beloved are replaced by grief over her loss. The image of the beloved becomes more alive and touching. Laura sheds the guise of a “cruel” Madonna, which goes back to the courtly lyrics of the troubadours. Bourgeois spontaneity defeats the knightly pose. At the same time, the passionate struggle against feeling also ends, since this feeling is spiritualized, cleansed of everything earthly. This creates a new contradiction, which at times revives the old conflict. The poet realizes the sinfulness of his love for “Saint” Laura, who is enjoying the sight of God, and he asks the Virgin Mary to beg God’s forgiveness for him. A certain inconsistency is also characteristic of the artistic form of “Canzoniere”. Starting from the “dark” manner of “dolce stil nuovo”, P. creates canzones that amaze with their grace and clarity of form. He carefully finishes his poems, taking care of their melody and artistic transparency. At the same time, P.'s canzones are characterized by elements of precision. They often contain elaborate antitheses, lush metaphors, and play with words and rhymes, which with their precision massiveness suppress the poet’s lyrical impulse. The images of “Canzoniere” are characterized by great prominence and concreteness, and at the same time their clear outlines sometimes blur in the stream of rhetorical affectation. In the 16th century (“Petrarchists”) and in the Baroque era, on the basis of a degenerating aristocratic culture, this second side of P.’s work gained particular popularity. However, she is not the presenter in “Canzoniere”. A passionate search for synthesis, reconciliation of contradictions, prompts P. at the end of his life to return back to the old poetic tradition. He turns from the “low” genre of love lyrics to the “high” genre of moral and allegorical poem in the manner of Dante and his imitators. In 1356 he begins a poem in terzas “Triumphs” (I trionfi), in which he tries to connect the apotheosis of Laura, the embodiment of purity and holiness, with the image of the destinies of humanity. But for the bourgeoisie of the second half of the 14th century. so learned and allegorical. poetry was a passed stage, and P.’s plan was not crowned with success.
The historical significance of P.'s lyrics boils down to the liberation of Italian poetry from mysticism, abstraction and allegorism (dolce stil nuovo). For the first time, P.'s love lyrics became an objective justification and glorification of real, earthly passion. Because of this, it played a colossal role in the dissemination and establishment of the bourgeois-humanistic worldview with its hedonism, individualism and rehabilitation of earthly ties, causing imitations in all European countries.
But P. was not only a singer of love. He was a patriotic poet, citizen, ideologist of a united great Italy, heir to Roman glory, “mentor of nations.” His canzones “Italia mia” and “Spirito gentil” became for many centuries the symbol of faith of all Italian patriots, fighters for the unification of Italy. In our days, the fascists also included P. among their forerunners, demagogically speculating on P.’s nationalism, which in his era was a deeply progressive fact, but in our days is a weapon of struggle against the growing international movement of the working class, which brings the death of a decaying, reactionary bourgeoisie. Bibliography:

I. Russian translations: Selected sonnets and canzones in translations of Russian writers, St. Petersburg, 1898 (“Russian classroom library” by A. N. Chudinov); Autobiography - Confession - Sonnets, trans. M. Gershenzon and Vyach. Ivanova, ed. M. and S. Sabashnikov, M., 1915; P.'s works in Italian. and Latin language count very a large number of publications Complete collection works: 1554, 1581 (and earlier); national edition: 1926 et seq. Letters of P.: Petrarchae epistolae de rebus familiaribus et variae, ed. G. Fracassetti, 3 vv., Firenze, 1859-1863; in Italian language, with notes G. Fracassetti, 5 vv., Firenze, 1863-1867; Le rime di F. Petrarca restituite nell'ordine e nella lezione del testounico originario, ediz. curata da G. Mestica, Firenze, 1596; Il Canzoniere di F. Petrarca riprodotto letteralmente, ediz. curata da E. Modigliani, Roma, 1904; Le rime di F. Petrarca secondo la revisione ultima del poeta, a cura di G. Salvo Cozzo, Firenze, 1904 (the most convenient edition); Die Triumphe Fr. Petrarca's in kritischem Texte, hrsg. v. C. Appel, Halle, 1901; Rime disperse di F. Petrarca o a lui attribuite raccolte a cura bi A. Solerti, Firenze, 1909.

II. Korelin M., Petrarch as a politician, “Russian Thought”, 1888, book. V and VIII; His, World Outlook by F. Petrarch, Moscow, 1899; His, Early Italian Humanism, Vol. II, F. Petrarch, His Critics and Biographers, ed. 2nd, St. Petersburg, 1914; Gaspari A., History of Italian literature, vol. I, M., 1895, ch. XIII and XIV; Gershenzon M., Petrarch, “A book for reading on the history of the Middle Ages,” Edited by prof. Vinogradov, issue IV, Moscow, 1899; Shepelevich L., On the occasion of the six hundredth anniversary of Petrarch, “Bulletin of Europe”, 1904, XI; His same, Patriotism of Petrarch, in the book. “Historical and literary studies”, St. Petersburg, 1905; Veselovsky Al-dr., Petrarch in the poetic confession “Canzoniere”, M., 1905, and “Collected. composition." A. N. Veselovsky, volume IV, issue I, St. Petersburg, 1909 (the best Russian work on Petrarch); Nekrasov A.I., Love lyrics of F. Petrarch, Warsaw, 1912; Charsky E., Petrarch (Humanist Poet), edition "Grani", Berlin, 1923; Zumbini V., Studi sul Petrarca, Napoli, 1878; The same, Firenze, 1895; Nolhac P., de, Petrarque et l'humanisme, Paris, 1892; Mezieres A., Petrarque, nouv. ed., P., 1895; Cesareo G. A., Sulle poesie volgari del Petrarca, note e ricerche, Rocca S. Casciano, 1898; Festa N., Saggio sull’Africa del Petrarca, Palermo, 1926; Sanctis F., de, Saggio critico sul Petrarca, 6-a ed., Napoli, 1927; Croce V., Sulla poesia del Petrarca, in collection. “Atti della r. Accademia di scienze morali e politiche", v. LII, Napoli, 1928; Gustarelli A., F. Petrarca. “Il canzoniere” e “I trionfi”, Milano, 1929; Rossi V., Studi sul Petrarca e sul Rinascimento, Firenze, 1930; Tonelli L., Pertarca, 2-a ed., Milano, 1930; Penco E., Il Pertarca viaggiatore, ed. rived., Geneva, 1932.

III. Hortis A., Catalogo delle opere di Fr. Petrarca, Trieste, 1874; Ferrazzi G. J., Bibliografia petrarchesca - “Manuale Dantesco”, v. V, Bassano, 1877; Calvi E., Bibliografia analitica petrarchesca (1877-1904), Roma, 1904; Fowler M., Catalog of the Petrarch Collection bequeathed to the Cornell Univers. Library by W. Fiske, Oxford, 1917. See also bibliography to Art. "Renaissance".

Literary encyclopedia. - At 11 t.; M.: Publishing House of the Communist Academy, Soviet Encyclopedia, Fiction. Edited by V. M. Fritsche, A. V. Lunacharsky. 1929-1939 .

Petrarch

(Petrarca) Francesco (real name Petracco; 1304, Arezzo - 1374, Arqua, near Padua), Italian poet. Born into the family of Dante's political ally, who was simultaneously expelled from Florence. As a child, he studied Latin and ancient Roman literature. After graduating from the University of Bologna, he became a priest and served in Avignon, where the papal throne was located at that time.

According to the legend that the poet himself composed, he began to write poetry after on April 6, 1327, in the Avignon church of Saint-Clair, he met a young lady with whom he fell in love and whom he sang for many years under the name of Laura. The legend is partly reminiscent of Dante's love story for Beatrice, so some researchers doubt that Laura really existed and consider her, like Beatrice, to be philosophical symbol. The book of poems, which the author wrote for about half a century (1327-70) and which he divided into two parts - “On the Life of Madonna Laura” and “On the Death of Madonna Laura” - is usually called “Canzoniere” (“Book of Songs”). Exactly this famous work poet, and it consists of 317 sonnets, 29 canzon, 9 sextin, 7 ballads and 4 madrigals.

If on Italian“Canzoniere” and the allegorical poem “Triumphs” (published in 1470) were written, then the rest of the poet’s works are written in Latin: treatises “On Glorious Men” (started in 1337), “On Memorable Things” (started in 1342-43), “On the Solitary Life” (1345-47), “On Monastic Leisure” (1346–47), the epic poem “Africa” (1338-42), the philosophical dialogue “On Contempt for the World” (1342-43), the eclogues “Bucolics” "(1345-47), "Poetic epistles" (started in 1345).
Petrarch's work is varied, but it was the sonnets that brought the author all-Italian fame during his lifetime: in 1341 he was recognized as poet laureate and crowned in Rome with a laurel wreath (one of the meanings of the name Laura is “laurel,” an emblem of glory). It was the sonnets that brought him posthumous European fame: the Italian sonnet form, popularized and improved by Petrarch, is today called “Petrarchan” in his honor.

Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Edited by prof. Gorkina A.P. 2006 .

Francesco Petrarca's brief biography and interesting facts from the life of the Italian poet are presented in this article.

Francesco Petrarch short biography

Francesco Petrarca was born in 1304 in the town of Arezzo into the family of a notary. It is known that his family moved to Avignon in 1312. He received his primary education first in Montpellier. Afterwards he studied law at the University of Bologna. But in his heart he hated his future profession. After the death of his loved ones, Petrarch quits his studies and returns to Avignoy.

In 1326, Francesco accepted ecclesiastical rank and gained access to the court of the Pope. While in the courtyard, he became greatly fascinated by the splendor and beauty of local life. A year later, near the Church of St. Clare, he met a young woman, beautiful woman. Subsequently, the poet sang about it throughout his life and even after death. Therefore, Petrarch’s most famous work “Sonnets” and the collection “Book of Songs” were dedicated to Laura, the one who won his heart. But they were not destined to be together, because she was happily married to her husband and 11 children, so she refused to become a mistress.

Fame came to him suddenly, and Petrarch received the patronage of many influential people. In 1330, the poet entered the service of J. Colonna, who gave him the opportunity to study the books of ancient writers. Francesco began to collect a library, copying manuscripts of ancient authors. He even, in imitation of Terence, composed the comedy “Philology,” which has not survived to this day.

In 1333, Petrarch decided to travel - he visited France, Germany, and Flanders. In countries he was engaged in searching for ancient manuscripts and inspecting monuments. Returning home, the poet spent all his days in solitude at home in Vaucluse.

- famous Italian poet, philosopher, creator of the humanistic culture of the Renaissance. Born on July 20, 1304 in Italy, the city of Arezzo. The father of the future poet was a Florentine notary, however, like Dante, he was expelled from Florence as a member of the “white” party. When the boy was nine years old, his parents moved to Avignon. While studying at school, Francesco showed a special interest in Latin and Roman literature. In 1319, at the request of his father, Petrarch began to study law, and in 1320 he entered the University of Bologna. While studying at the university, Petrarch became increasingly convinced that jurisprudence did not interest him at all. He is increasingly interested in literature, the works of great classics. By the time he graduated from university, his father died (1326), Petrarch abandoned his career as a lawyer.

To have a livelihood, Petrarch took holy orders at the age of 22. Petrarch received only the manuscript of Virgil's works as an inheritance from his father. In Avignon, Petrarch settled at the papal court. Here he became close to the very rich and influential Colonna family thanks to his university friend Giacomo, who was a member of this family. On April 6, 1327, the most important, most striking and sublime event in Petrarch’s life took place. In the church of St. Clare, he first saw and fell in love with a delightful and beautiful, like an angel, young lady whose name was Laura. He will carry his love for the beautiful lady throughout his life and will remain faithful to her even after her death. Unrequited love for Laura will force him to leave Avignon and retire to Vaucluse.

Love lyrics occupy a special place in Petrarch's works. He conveys his deep feeling for Laura in the poems “Canzoniere”, consisting of two parts. The first is “On the life of Madonna Laura”, the second is “On the death of Madonna Laura”. The Canzoniere contains 317 sonnets, 9 sextinas, 29 canzones, 4 madrigals and 7 ballads. Petrarch's lyrics became a new stage in the development of not only Italian, but also European poetry in general. Petrarch's poetic form is perfect, the images are elegant, the verse is musical. The stylistic techniques he uses, which reflect the turmoil in his soul and add drama to the sonnets, do not at all interfere with the smoothness and harmony of his verse.

In 1354, Petrarch wrote an allegorical poem “Triumphs” in terzas, which he also dedicated to Laura. Petrarch's literary works played a huge role in the development European poetry. He, along with Dante and Boccaccio, is considered the creators of the stunning Italian literary language. Among the lyrical poems, the poet also has political ones. In the canzone “My Italy”, with pain and bitterness, Petrarch reveals the fragmentation of the country, the anarchy and civil strife that reigns in it. He calls on Cola di Rienzo to save the Italian people, to whom he dedicated the canzone “The Noble Spirit.” In 1339-1342, Petrarch created the Latin poem "Africa" ​​in the style of the Aeneid, telling about the second Punic War. In 1342-1343, Petrarch wrote a philosophical treatise in Latin, “On Contempt for the World.”

Literary works of Petrarch and his the letters brought him success and fame. Almost at the same time, Petrarch received an invitation from Naples, Paris and Rome to be crowned with a laurel wreath. Having chosen Rome in 1341, Petrarch was solemnly crowned with a laurel wreath. His talent is rich and multifaceted. A writer and poet who received love, fame and recognition during his lifetime, Petrarch was a tireless traveler, an excellent connoisseur of ancient literature, a connoisseur of nature and everything beautiful, a scientist, a thinker. He became the first person to officially record his ascent (together with his brother) to the top of Mont Ventoux in 1336. In the last years of his life, Petrarch was in Padua at the court of Francesco da Carrara or in the country village of Arqua, where he died on July 19, 1374, one day short of his 70th birthday.

PETRARCA, FRANCESCO(Petrarca, Francesco) (1304–1374) Italian poet, a recognized literary arbiter of his time and the forerunner of the European humanist movement.

Born on July 20, 1304 in Arezzo, where his father, a Florentine notary, fled due to political unrest. Seven months later, Francesco's mother took him to Ancisa, where they remained until 1311. At the beginning of 1312, the whole family moved to Avignon (France). After four years of studying with a private teacher, Francesco was sent to law school in Montpellier. In 1320, together with his brother, he went to Bologna to continue his study of jurisprudence. In April 1326, after the death of their father, both brothers returned to Avignon. By that time, Petrarch had already shown an undoubted inclination towards literary pursuits.

In 1327, in Good Friday, in an Avignon church he met and fell in love with a girl named Laura - nothing more is known about her. It was she who inspired Petrarch to write his best poems.

To earn a living, Petrarch decided to take orders. He was ordained, but hardly ever officiated. In 1330 he became a chaplain to Cardinal Giovanni Colonna, and in 1335 he received his first benefice.

In 1337 Petrarch acquired a small estate in the Vaucluse, a valley near Avignon. There he began two works in Latin - an epic poem Africa (Africa) about the winner of Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, and the book O glorious ones husbands (De viris illustribus) - a collection of biographies of outstanding people of antiquity. At the same time he began to write lyric poetry in Italian, poetry and letters in Latin, and began to write comedy Philology (Filologia), now lost. By 1340 literary activity Petrarch, his connections with the papal court and long journeys gained him European fame. On April 8, 1341, by decision of the Roman Senate, he was crowned poet laureate.

Petrarch spent 1342–1343 in Vaucluse, where he continued to work on an epic poem and biographies, and also, based on the model Confessions St. Augustine, wrote a book of confession My secret (Secretum Meum) in the form of three dialogues between St. Augustine and Petrarch before the court of Truth. Then they were written or started Penitential Psalms (Psalmi poenitentialis); About memorable events (Rerum memorandum libri) – a treatise on the fundamental virtues in the form of a collection of anecdotes and biographies; didactic poems Triumph of Love (Triumphus Cupidinis) And Triumph of Chastity (Triumphus Pudicitie), written in terzas; and the first edition of a book of lyric poems in Italian - Canzoniere (Canzoniere).

Towards the end of 1343 Petrarch went to Parma, where he stayed until the beginning of 1345. In Parma he continued work on Africa and treatise About memorable events. He did not finish both works and, it seems, never returned to them. At the end of 1345 Petrarch again came to Vaucluse. In the summer of 1347, he enthusiastically greeted the uprising raised in Rome by Cola di Rienzo (later suppressed). During this period he wrote eight of the twelve allegorical eclogues Bucolic songs (Bucolicum carmen, 1346–1357), two prose treatises: About a solitary life (De vita solitaria, 1346) and ABOUT monastic leisure (De otio religioso, 1347) – about beneficial influence solitary life and idleness on the creative mind, and also began the second edition Canzoniere.

Perhaps it was sympathy for the uprising of Cola di Rienzo that prompted Petrarch to undertake a trip to Italy in 1347. However, his desire to join the revolt in Rome faded as soon as he learned of the atrocities committed by Cola. He stopped again in Parma. In 1348, the plague claimed the lives of Cardinal Colonna and Laura. In 1350 Petrarch met and became friends with Giovanni Boccaccio and Francesco Nelli. During his stay in Italy, he wrote four more eclogues and a poem Triumph of Death (Triumphus Mortis), began the poem Triumph of Glory (Triumphus Fame), and also started Poetic messages (Epistolae metricae) and letters in prose.

Petrarch spent the years 1351–1353 mainly in Vaucluse, paying special attention to public life, especially the state of affairs at the papal court. Then he wrote Invective against doctors (Invectiva control medicum), criticizing the methods of the pope’s treating doctors. Most of the letters written during this period and criticizing the situation in Avignon were later collected in a book No address (Liber sine nomine).

In 1353, Petrarch, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Milan, Giovanni Visconti, settled in Milan, where he served as secretary, orator and emissary. Then he finished Bucolic songs and collection No address; started a lengthy essay About remedies against all fortune (De remediis Ultriusque fortunae), which ultimately included more than 250 dialogues on how to cope with success and failure; wrote The road to Syria (Itinerarium syriacum) - a guide for pilgrims to the Holy Land. In 1361, Petrarch left Milan to escape the plague that was raging there. He spent a year in Padua, at the invitation of the Carrara family, where he completed work on the collection Poetic messages, as well as a collection Letters about private matters (Familiarum rerum libri XXIV), which included 350 letters in Latin. At the same time, Petrarch began another collection - Old men's letters (Seniles), which ultimately included 125 letters written between 1361 and 1374 and divided into 17 books.

In 1362, Petrarch, still fleeing the plague, fled to Venice. In 1366, a group of young followers of Aristotle attacked Petrarch. He responded with a caustic invective About the ignorance of one's own and others of people (De sui ipsius et multorum ignorantia).

In 1370 Petrarch bought a modest villa in Arqua, on the Euganean hills. In 1372, hostilities between Padua and Venice forced him to take refuge in Padua for a time. After the defeat of Padua, he and its ruler went to Venice to negotiate peace. In the last seven years of his life, Petraraca continued to improve Canzoniere(V latest edition 1373 collection entitled in Latin Rerum vulgarium fragmenta – Passages in the vernacular) and worked on Triumphs, which in the final version included six successive “triumphs”: Love, Chastity, Death, Glory, Time and Eternity. Petrarch died in Arqua on July 19, 1374.

Petrarch revised the cultural heritage of antiquity, carefully analyzing the texts of ancient writers and restoring their original form. He himself felt himself standing at the junction of two eras. He considered his age to be decadent and vicious, but he could not help but adopt some of its predilections. Such are, for example, the preference for the teachings of Plato and St. Augustine to Aristotle and Thomism, Petrarch's refusal to recognize secular poetry and active life as an obstacle to Christian salvation, a view of poetry as the highest form of art and knowledge, an understanding of virtues as the common denominator of ancient and Christian culture and, finally, a passionate desire to return Rome to the position of the center of the civilized world.

Petrarch was tormented by a deep internal conflict caused by the clash of his beliefs and aspirations with the demands placed on a Christian. It is to him that Petrarch's poetry owes its highest soars. The immediate sources of inspiration were unrequited love for Laura and admiration for the valor and virtues of the ancients, embodied mainly in the figure of Scipio Africanus the Elder. Petrarch believed Africa his main achievement, but his “miracle monument” was Canzoniere– 366 varied Italian poems, mostly dedicated to Laura.

The sublime lyricism of these poems cannot be explained solely by the influence on Petrarch of the poetry of the Provençal troubadours, the “sweet new style,” Ovid and Virgil. Drawing a parallel between his love for Laura and the myth of Daphne, which Petrarch understands symbolically - as a story not only about fleeting love, but also about the eternal beauty of poetry - he brings into his “book of songs” a new, deeply personal and lyrical experience of love, putting it into a new artistic form.

While he bows to the achievements of ancient heroes and thinkers, Petrarch at the same time views their achievements as a sign of a deep need for moral regeneration and redemption, a longing for eternal bliss. The life of a Christian is fuller and richer because he is given to understand that Divine light can turn the knowledge of the past into true wisdom. This same refraction of pagan mythology in the prism of the Christian worldview is also present in Petrarch’s love lyrics, where as a result the theme of redemption is heard. Laura as Beauty, Poetry and Earthly Love is worthy of admiration, but not at the cost of saving the soul. The way out of this seemingly intractable conflict, the redemption, consists more in Petrarch's effort to achieve the perfect expression of his passion than in the renunciation with which the collection begins and ends. Even sinful love can be justified before the Lord as pure poetry.

Petrarch's first meeting with Laura took place, according to him, on Good Friday. Petrarch further identifies his beloved with religious, moral and philosophical ideals, while at the same time emphasizing her incomparable physical beauty. Thus, his love is on the same level with Plato’s eternal ideas that lead a person to the highest good. But, although Petrarch is within the framework of the poetic tradition, which began with Andrei Capellan and ended with a “sweet new style,” nevertheless, neither love nor the beloved are something unearthly, transcendental for him.

Admiring ancient authors, Petrarch developed a Latin style, which was much more perfect than the Latin of that time. He did not attach any importance to writings in Italian. Perhaps that is why some verses in Canzoniere have purely formal merits: in them he is carried away by wordplay, striking contrasts and strained metaphors. Unfortunately, it was precisely these traits that Petrarch’s imitators most readily adopted (the so-called Petrarchism).

Petrarch's sonnet, one of the two typical sonnet forms (along with Shakespeare's), is distinguished by a two-part division into an initial eight-line (octave) with the rhyme abba abba and a final six-line (sextet) with the rhyme cde cde.

In one form or another, Petrarchism appeared in most European countries. Having reached its peak in the 16th century, it was periodically revived until recently. At an early stage they imitated mainly the works of Petrarch in Latin, later - To the triumphs of G. Leopardi in Italy; A. Lamartine, A. Musset and V. Hugo in France; G. W. Longfellow, J. R. Lowell and W. Irving in America.

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  Petrarch is also known for the first officially recorded ascent (with his brother) to the summit of Mont Ventoux, on April 26, 1336, although it is known that Jean Buridan and the ancient inhabitants of the area visited the peak before him.

  Colonna's patronage and literary fame brought him several church sinecures; he bought a house in the valley of the Sorgi River, where he lived intermittently for 16 years (1337-1353). Meanwhile, the letters of Petrarch and his literary works made him a celebrity, and he almost simultaneously received an invitation from Paris, Naples and Rome to accept the coronation with a laurel wreath. Petrarch chose Rome and was solemnly crowned with a laurel wreath on the Capitol on Easter 1341 - this day is considered by some researchers to be the beginning of the Renaissance

  After living for about a year at the court of the Parma tyrant Azzo di Correggio, he returned to Vaucluse again. Dreaming of reviving the greatness of ancient Rome, he began to preach the restoration of the Roman Republic, supporting the adventure of the “tribune” Cola di Rienzi (1347), which spoiled his relationship with Colonna and prompted him to move to Italy. After two long trips to Italy (1344-1345 and 1347-1351), where he established numerous friendships (including with Boccaccio), Petrarch left Vaucluse forever in 1353, when Innocent VI, who considered Petrarch a magician, ascended the papal throne, in view of his studies of Virgil.

  Having rejected the see offered to him in Florence, Petrarch settled in Milan at the court of the Visconti; carried out various diplomatic missions and, by the way, was in Prague with Charles IV, whom he visited at his invitation during his stay in Mantua. In 1361, Petrarch left Milan and after unsuccessful attempts return to Avignon and move to Prague and settled in Venice (1362-1367), where his illegitimate daughter lived with her husband.

  From here he undertook long trips to Italy almost every year. Last years Petrarch spent his life at the court of Francesco da Kappapa, partly in Padua, partly in the country village of Arqua, where he died on the night of July 18-19, one day short of his 70th birthday. He was found in the morning at the table with a pen in his hand over the life of Caesar. At the local cemetery there is a red marble monument erected to the poet by his son-in-law Brossano, and the bust was erected in 1667.

  Creation

  Petrarch's works fall into two unequal parts: Italian poetry and various works written in Latin.

  Italian-language creativity

  If Petrarch's Latin works have more historical significance, then his world fame as a poet is based solely on his Italian poems. Petrarch himself treated them with disdain, as “trifles”, “trinkets”, which he wrote not for the public, but for himself, striving “somehow, not for the sake of glory, to ease a sorrowful heart.” The spontaneity and deep sincerity of Petrarch's Italian poems determined their enormous influence on his contemporaries and later generations.

  He calls his beloved Laura and reports about her only that he first saw her in the church of Santa Chiara on April 6, 1327 and that exactly 21 years later she died, after which he sang her praises for another 10 years. A two-part collection of sonnets and canzonas dedicated to her (“for the life” and “for the death of Madonna Laura”), traditionally called Il Canzoniere (Italian lit. “Songbook”), or Rime Sparse, or (in Latin) Rerum vulgarium fragmenta- Petrarch's central work in Italian. In addition to depicting love for Laura, “Canzoniere” contains several poems of different content, mainly political and religious. “Canzoniere,” which had already gone through about 200 editions before the beginning of the 17th century and was commented on by a whole host of scientists and poets from L. Marsiglia in the 14th century to Leopardi in the 19th century, determines the significance of Petrarch in the history of Italian and world literature.

  In another work in Italian, the poem “Triumphs” (“Trionfi”), the poet allegorizes the victory of love over man, chastity over love, death over chastity, glory over death, time over glory and eternity over time.

  Petrarch created a truly artistic form for Italian lyric poetry: poetry for the first time is for him the internal history of individual feeling. This interest in the inner life of man runs like a red thread through the Latin works of Petrarch, which determine his significance as a humanist.

  Latin creativity

  This includes, firstly, two of his autobiographies: one, unfinished, in the form of a letter to posterity (“Epistola ad posteros”) sets out external history author, another, in the form of a dialogue between Petrarch and Blessed Augustine - “” (“De contemptu mundi” or "De secreto conflictu curarum suarum", 1343), depicts his moral struggle and inner life in general. The source of this struggle is the contradiction between Petrarch's personal aspirations and traditional ascetic morality; hence Petrarch’s special interest in ethical issues, to which he devoted 4 treatises ( "De remediis utriusque fortunae", “De vita solitaria” (“On the solitary life”), “De otio religioso” (“On monastic leisure”) And "De vera sapientia" ("On true wisdom"). In the duel with Augustine, who personifies the religious-ascetic worldview, Petrarch’s humanistic worldview still wins.

  Remaining a strictly believing Catholic, Petrarch in these treatises, as well as in correspondence and other works, tries to reconcile his love for classical literature(Latin, since Petrarch did not learn Greek) with church doctrine, and sharply attacks the scholastics and the clergy of his day.

  Especially in “Letters without an address” (“Epistolae sine titulo”), filled with sharp satirical attacks against the depraved morals of the papal capital - this “new Babylon”.

  These letters form a quartet of books, all of them addressed either to real or to imaginary persons - a unique literary genre inspired by the letters of Cicero and Seneca and enjoyed great success both because of their masterful Latin style and because of their varied and topical content.

  Petrarch's critical attitude to church modernity on the one hand and to ancient literature on the other hand, it serves as a manifestation of his heightened self-awareness and critical mood in general: the expression of the first is his polemical writings - an invective against a physician who dared to put his science above poetry and eloquence ( "Contra medicum quendam invectivarum libri IV"), an invective against the French prelate who condemned the return of Urban V to Rome ( "Contra cujusdam Galli anonymi calumnias apologia"), the same invective against a French prelate who attacked the writings and behavior of Petrarch ( "Contra quendam Gallum innominatum, sed in dignitate positum") and a polemical treatise against the Averroists ( "De sui ipsius et multorum ignorantia").

  Petrarch's criticism and interest in ethical issues is also found in his historical writings - "De rebus memorandis libri IV"(a collection of anecdotes and sayings borrowed from Latin and modern authors, arranged according to ethical headings, for example about solitude, about wisdom, etc.; an entire treatise in the second book of this work is devoted to the issue of witticisms and jokes, with numerous illustrations for this treatise allow us to recognize Petrarch as the creator of the genre of short novella-anecdote in Latin, which was further developed in Poggio’s “Facetius”) and “Vitae virorum illustrium” or “De viris illustribus” (“ About famous men") - biographies of famous Romans. Of particular importance is the extensive correspondence of Petrarch ( "Epistolae de rebus familiaribus et variae libri XXV" And "Epistolae seniles libri XVII"), component main source for his biography and addition to his works; many of his letters are moral and political treatises, others are journalistic articles (for example, letters regarding the relocation of the popes to Rome and the coup of Cola di Rienzo).

  Of less importance are the speeches of Petrarch, delivered by him on various solemn occasions, his description of the sights on the way from Genoa to Palestine (“Itinerarium Syriacum”) and Latin poetry - eclogues, in which he allegorically depicts events from his personal life and contemporary political history ("Bucolicum carmen in XII aeglogas distinctum"), the epic poem "Africa", which glorifies the exploits of Scipio, penitential psalms and several prayers.

  The significance of Petrarch in the history of humanism lies in the fact that he laid the foundation for all directions of early humanistic literature with its deep interest in all aspects of the inner life of man, with its critical attitude towards modernity and the past, with its attempt to find in ancient literature the basis and support for developing a new worldview and justifying new needs.

  Until the beginning of the 20th century, the most complete collection of Petrarch's works was “Opera omnia”, published in Basel in 1554. In the 19th century, the best edition of his correspondence was considered to be the edition of Fracassetti, “Epist. famil. et variae" (Florence, 1854-1863; in Italian translation with numerous notes: Florence, 1863-1867). A complete edition of biographies of famous people was given by Razzolini (Bologna, 1874); Petrarch's speeches were published by Hortis (“Scritti inediti F. R.”, Trieste, 1874); the best edition of Petrarch's non-love poems is Carducci (“Rime di F. P. sopra argomenti morali e diversi”, Livorno, 1876). In addition to Petrarch's lost comedy "Philologia", the following manuscripts are attributed to him: "Vita Senecae", "Sententia de Terentii vita", "De casu Medeae" and "Comoedia super destructionem Caesenae". On the occasion of Petrarch’s six hundredth anniversary, Law No. 365 of the Kingdom of Italy of July 11, 1904 established a commission for the publication of his works (La Commissione per l’Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Francesco Petrarca), with the goal of a critical edition of all Petrarch’s works. Leading philologists of Italy took part in its work, including V. Rossi (first president) and G. Gentile. The poem “Africa” was published first, in 1926, followed by letters. The Commission continues its work in the 21st century, its current president is Michele Feo.

  The best of the new biographies of Petrarch:

  • De-Sade. Mémoires pour la vie de F. P. - Amsterdam, 1744-1747.
  • Mezières. Petrarque. - Paris, 1868.
  • Geiger L. Petrarka. - Leipzig, 1874.
  • Zumbini. Studj sul P. - Napoli, 1878.
  • Körting. P. Leben und Werke. - Leipzig, 1878.

  Literature indexes about Petrarch:

  • Ferrazzi. Bibliografia Petrarchesca. - Bassano, 1877.
  • De-Gubernatis. Fr. Petrarch and his anniversary // Bulletin of Europe. - 1874. - book. 9.
  • Korelin. Petrarch as a politician // Russian thought. - 1888. - book. 7, 8.

  Reception

  For the history of music, various Italian Petrarch's poems - madrigals, sextins, canzones, sonnets. For the first time, composers of the 14th century used them as the basis for their secular works (mainly madrigals). Petrarch's poems were especially intensively voiced by madrigalists of the 16th and early 17th centuries, including Adrian Willart, Cyprian de Rore, Luca Marenzio, and Claudio Monteverdi. With the end of the Renaissance, the interest of musicians in Petrarch faded away, but with renewed vigor it flared up among the romantics of the 19th century (songs of F. Schubert, piano “Sonnets of Petrarch” by F. Liszt). Composers occasionally turned to them in the 20th century (A. Schoenberg. Serenade, op. 24: iv-sonett von petrarca).

  List of works

  • "Canzoniere" ("Book of Songs"), 366 sonnets to Laura
  • "Trionfi" ("Triumphs")
  • Dialogue “De contemptu mundi” (“De secreto conflictu curarum suarum” “On contempt for the world”, “My secret, or the Book of conversations about contempt for the world”), 1343
  • treatises:
    • "De remediis utriusque fortunae", 1360-1366
    • "De vita solitaria", ca. 1346-1356
    • "De otio religioso", 1346-1356
    • "De vera sapientia"
  • invective:
    • "Contra medicum quendam invectivarum", 1355
    • "Contra cujusdam Galli anonymi calumnias apologia"
    • “Contra quendam Gallum innominatum, sed in dignitate positum” (“Contra eum qui maledixit Italiam”)
    • "De sui ipsius et multorum ignorantia", 1368
  • "De rebus memorandis" (Rerum memorandarum libri), 1350
  • "De Viris Illustribus" (Book of Famous Men), 1337
  • "Itinerarium ad sepulcrum Domini"
  • Letters (Messages):
    • "Epistolae de rebus familiaribus et variae" (Familiares, Familiarium rerum libri), 24 books with 350 letters, 1325-1361.
    • "Epistolae seniles", 125 letters, 1361-1374
      • "Epistola ad posteros" ("Letter to posterity")
    • “Sine nomine” (“Epistolae sine titulo”, “Letters without an address”), 19 letters, 1342-1358
    • "Variae" (Extravagantes), 65 letters
    • "Epistole metricae", 1333-1361, 66 letters
  • "Itinerarium Syriacum"
  • Eclogues "Bucolicum carmen" (Bucolic songs), 1346-1357, 12 poems
  • epic poem "Africa", 1339-1342
  • De gestis Caesaris
  • Contra quendam magni status hominem
  • Collatio laureationis
  • "Psalmi penitentiales" (Penitential Psalms)
  • Collatio coram Johanne rege
  • Collatio inter Scipionem, Alexandrum, Hannibalem
  • Arringhe
  • Orationes
  • Testamentum