Petrarch, for example, used the eclogue form to inveigh against the bad government of specific popes and rulers.
From Petrarch and Boccaccio onwards pastoral became a recognized form for expressing political and ecclesiastical controversy and eulogy.
From 2004: Hugo Estenssoro explores the enduring relevance of Petrarch, the first modern man.
#OnThisDay in 1304 Petrarch was born at Arezzo, the son of a notary who was expelled from Florence. The family migrated to Avignon in 1312. Here, in 1327, Petrarch first saw the woman who inspired his love poetry. He calls her Laura; her true identity is unknown. Until 1353 Petrarch's life was centered on Provence, but he made extended visits to Italy, on the first of which, in 1341, he was crowned poet laureate in Rome, for him the most memorable episode of his life. From 1353 onward he resided in Italy, though he traveled widely, both on his own account and at the instance of his patrons. He died in Arquà in the Euganean Hills near Padua.
"I find no peace, and I am not at war,
I fear and hope, and burn and I am ice." -Canzoniere no. 134
I fear and hope, and burn and I am ice." -Canzoniere no. 134
Francesco Petrarca, commonly anglicized as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar and poet in Renaissance Italy, who was one of the earliest humanists. His rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Renaissance.Wikipedia
Born: July 20, 1304, Arezzo, Italy
Died: July 1374, Arquà Petrarca, Italy
Five great enemies of peace inhabit with us — avarice, ambition, envy, anger and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.
Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together.
To be able to say how much you love is to love but little.