Next to Dante, Francesco Petrarca (1404-74) is the most famous Italian poet, sometimes referred to as the first modern man, the first great humanist, and a much-imitated poet of love. On the cusp of the Renaissance he was not only a major force in the development of the European Republic of Letters based on his Latin treatises on moral philosophy, but an equally paradigmatic figure in writing vernacular poetry collected in his Trionfi (1352-74) and Canzoniere (1336-74). Petrarch’s influence started already during his lifetime and, reinforced by his disciples and imitators, the so-called Petrarchists, continued to exert a powerful legacy in European letters and music well into the nineteenth century. This is particularly true of Petrarch’s reception in Germany.
The Latin Petrarch in Germany: The First Hundred Years
Due to his travels along the Rhine...
3172 words
Citation: Hoffmeister, Gerhart. "Petrarch in German Literature". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 April 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=7221, accessed 09 June 2026.]
