1304–1374

Poet
Philosopher

Early Life.

Petrarch was born into an impoverished family at Arezzo in Tuscany. Although his father was from Florence, the family had been banished from the city as a result of one of its many factional disputes. In 1312, Petrarch's father secured employment with the papal court in Avignon, and the family moved there. Petrarch studied law at the University of Bologna, Europe's foremost center for teaching church law, but in 1326 his father's death forced him to return to Avignon. While in Avignon the following year, Petrarch was to have met Laura, the woman who would serve as his poetic muse for much of the rest of his life. Scholars have never been able to determine whether Laura was real or imaginary. Petrarch always stressed that his love for Laura was unrequited, and the poems he dedicated to her had profound psychological insights. In order...