What are three things (or anything) that made Petrarch a memorable historic figure?

Question

Anything, actually, to fill in the holes in my paper. What made him so great? And if you do answer- give details so I can look more up and such. :) Thank you.

Answer 1

Petrarch was considered a "father of the renaissance" and is known as the father or humanism. He is best known for his Italian poetry. His body has been exhumed a couple of times for scientific study - to estimate his height which is supposed to have been very tall for his time, and to use his skull to make a computerized image of his features for his 700th birthday. He wrote his own letter to posterity which is an interesting read.

These links will give you more information about his life, philosophy, and works. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Petrarch (1304-1374), Italian poet and humanist, who is considered the first modern poet. His perfection of the sonnet form later influenced such English poets as Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and Edmund Spenser. His wide knowledge of the classical authors and his restoration of the classical Latin language earned him his reputation as the first great humanist; but he also played an important role in the development of Italian as a literary language.

Petrarch was born Francesco Petrarca on July 20, 1304, in Arezzo. Until he was eight years old, his family lived in Tuscany (Toscana); then in 1312 they moved to Avignon, France. In 1326, after the death of his father, Petrarch, who had been studying law at Bologna, returned to Avignon, where he took minor orders in the church about 1330. On Good Friday in 1327 he first saw Laura (probably Laure de Noves, 1308?-1348), a Frenchwoman whose name he was to immortalize in his lyrics and who inspired him with a passion that has become proverbial for its constancy and purity.

During a lifetime spent principally in the service of the church and the Visconti family, Petrarch traveled widely throughout Italy as well as France, the Low Countries, and Germany. In Florence, Italy, in 1350, he met the poet Giovanni Boccaccio, with whom he had previously corresponded. From 1353 to 1374 Petrarch remained in Italy, in Milan, and from 1361 to 1374 in Padua (Padova), Venice, and Arquà. Possibly as a result of his travels, he developed a strong belief in the role of a unified Italy as the cultural heir of the Roman Empire. Highly respected in his lifetime, he was made poet laureate by the Senate of Rome in 1341. He died in Arquà on July 18 or 19, 1374.

Petrarch wrote in Latin and in Italian. His Latin works include “Africa” (1338-1342), an epic poem about the Roman conqueror Scipio Africanus, and De Viris Illustribus (Concerning Famous Men, 1338?), a series of biographies. Also in Latin are his eclogues and epistles in verse, the dialogue Secretum (1343), and the treatise De Vita Solitaria (1346-1356). His vast collection of letters is important for its historical and biographical details.

Petrarch's most famous work is the collection of Italian verses, Rime in vita e morta di Madonna Laura (after 1327). Better known as Canzoniere (Songbook), it has been translated into English as Petrarch's Sonnets (1931). These sonnets and odes, almost all inspired by Petrarch's unrequited passion for Laura, express the character of the man and the reality of a strong sentiment. Also inspired by his love for Laura is his series of Italian poems, I Trionfi (1352-1374).

Answer 3

He and Dante are considered fathers of the Rennaissance.
That and more at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch


Check out the link, it's quite helpful with links to other sites as well.


Good luck...