Guittone d'Arezzo

Akash Kumar (Columbia University)

Ed. by Jo Ann Cavallo, Columbia University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Dates

Born 1235
Died 1294
Activity c. 1250-1294

Places

Born in Italy
Active in Italy

Activities

Primary

Poet

Other

Letter-writer/ Diarist

Resources

d'Arezzo's Works

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Guittone d’Arezzo is perhaps best known for the polemical way in which his poetry was regarded by poets of the school that immediately followed him, including Guido Guinizzelli, Guido Cavalcanti, and Dante. In fact, Guittone represents a vital step in the evolution of the Italian lyric as it migrated north from its Sicilian origins and came to Tuscan communes in the later part of the thirteenth century. His expansion of the vernacular lyric to treat matters of ethical and political importance is quite notable, and his extensive poetic and epistolary output that was preserved in lyric anthologies speaks to a wide readership that belies the harsh criticism of later poets.

Guittone was born around 1235 in a village close to the town of Arezzo. While his father worked as a treasurer for the

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2091 words

Citation: Kumar, Akash. "Guittone d'Arezzo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 January 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13233, accessed 31 October 2024.]