21. The Poet Who Kicked Off the Renaissance
I’d sing of Love in such a novel fashion
that from her cruel side I would draw by force
a thousand sighs a day, kindling again
in her cold mind a thousand desires;
I’d see her lovely face transform quite often
her eyes grow wet and more compassionate,
like one who feels regret, when it is too late,
for causing someone’s suffering by mistake;
Petrarch – excerpt from Sonnet 131
Petrarch (1304 – 1374) was another great poet who embodied romance. He composed sonnets that became models for lyrical poetry imitated throughout Europe, and his verse and prose became a foundation of the modern Italian language. Disdaining the ignorance of preceding centuries, he coined the term “Dark Ages” to describe them, and founded Humanism, or the study of classical antiquity. His rediscovery and publication of Cicero’s letters is believed to have initiated the fourteenth-century Renaissance, which makes Petrarch one of history’s most influential scholars.