Petrarch
Italian scholar and poet, father of Renaissance humanism
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Francis Petrarch (born Francesco di Petracco; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374) was an Italian scholar and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanists. His rediscovery of a collection of Cicero’s letters is often credited with sparking the 14th-century Italian Renaissance and founding Renaissance humanism. Petrarch also originated the concept of the “Dark Ages,” a term he used to describe what he saw as the ignorance of his own era, though modern scholars consider this characterization inaccurate and misleading. His sonnets became a model for lyrical poetry across Europe during the Renaissance, widely admired and imitated. In the 16th century, Pietro Bembo shaped the modern Italian language using Petrarch’s works alongside those of Giovanni Boccaccio and, to a lesser extent, Dante Alighieri.
Born in Arezzo on 20 July 1304, Petrarch was the son of Ser Petracco and Eletta Canigiani. His father, a notary, insisted Petrarch study law at the University of Montpellier and later Bologna, but Petrarch considered these seven years wasted, preferring Latin literature and writing. After his parents died, he returned to Avignon in 1326, taking clerical posts that allowed time for writing. His epic Latin poem *Africa*, about the Roman general Scipio Africanus, brought him European fame, and on 8 April 1341 he was crowned poet laureate on Rome’s Capitoline Hill. He traveled widely, collecting crumbling Latin manuscripts and encouraging Leontius Pilatus’s translation of Homer, though Petrarch himself knew no Greek. In 1345, he personally discovered a cache of Cicero’s letters in Verona. He also famously climbed Mont Ventoux in 1336 for pleasure, an ascent later recounted in a letter to his friend Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro, displaying a modern appreciation of natural beauty while reflecting on Christian virtue.
- born
- 20 July 1304, Arezzo, Tuscany
- died
- 19 July 1374
- field
- Scholar, poet, humanist
- nationality
- Italian
- known_for
- Rediscovery of Cicero's letters; concept of the Dark Ages; sonnet model for European lyric poetry
Lore & Background
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Italian Renaissance and the founding of Renaissance humanism. In the 16th century, Pietro Bembo created the model for the modern Italian language based on Petrarch's works, as well as 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. Petrarch's sonnets were admired and imitated throughout Europe during the Renaissance and became a model for lyrical poetry. He is also known for being the first to develop the concept of the 'Dark Ages'.
Reader's Guide
Petrarch was born in the Tuscan city Arezzo on 20 July 1304. He was the son of Ser Petracco and his wife Eletta Canigiani. His birth name was Francesco di Petracco, which he Latinized to Franciscus Petrarcha. His younger brother Gherardo was born in Incisa in Val d'Arno in 1307. Dante Alighieri was a friend of his father. Petrarch spent his early childhood in the village of Incisa, near Florence. He spent much of his early life at Avignon and nearby Carpentras, where his family moved to follow Pope Clement V, who moved there in 1309 to begin the Avignon Papacy. Petrarch studied law at the University of Montpellier (1316–1320) and Bologna (1320–1326) with a lifelong friend and schoolmate, Guido Sette. Because his father was in the legal profession (a notary), he insisted that Petrarch and his brother also study law. Petrarch, however, was primarily interested in writing and studying Latin literature and considered these seven years wasted. Petrarch became so distracted by his non-legal interests that his father once threw his books into a fire, which he later lamented. Additionally, he proclaimed that through legal manipulation his guardians robbed him of his small property inheritance in Florence, which only reinforced his dislike for the legal system. He protested, 'I couldn't face making a merchandise of my mind', since he viewed the legal system as the art of selling justice. Petrarch was a prolific letter writer and counted Boccaccio among the notable friends with whom he regularly corresponded. After the death of their parents, Petrarch and his brother Gherardo went back to Avignon in 1326, where he worked in numerous clerical offices. This work gave him much time to devote to his writing. With his first large-scale work, Africa, an epic poem in Latin about the great Roman general Scipio Africanus, Petrarch emerged as a European celebrity. On 8 April 1341, he became the second poet laureate since classical antiquity and was crowned by Roman Senatori Giordano Orsini and Orso dell'Anguillara on the sacred soil of Rome's Capitoline Hill. He traveled widely in Europe, served as an ambassador, and has been called 'the first tourist' because he traveled for pleasure such as his ascent of Mont Ventoux. During his travels, he collected crumbling Latin manuscripts and was a prime mover in the recovery of knowledge from writers of Rome and Greece. He encouraged a
Did You Know?
- Petrarch's ascent of Mont Ventoux on 26 April 1336 is often cited as the first recorded climb for pleasure in modern times.
- Petrarch discovered a collection of Cicero's letters, the Epistulae ad Atticum, in the Chapter Library of Verona Cathedral in 1345.
- Petrarch is credited with creating the concept of the 'Dark Ages'.
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
More in Notable Figures
Elsewhere in the Historical Figures universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record