During the Renaissance, the belief of humanism became extremely popular. After the black plague people began to wonder if God had abandoned them. As a result, they began to look for their own answers through observation and experiment; this method was called empiricism. Through this man began to place himself at the center of the universe instead of God. Men began to embrace their own talents and spent less time worrying about the next life and more living in the current one.
Humanism was also brought up by a desire to re-live the Classical time period, or the golden age; therefore the humanistic education consisted of studies of Greek, Latin, art, music and philosophy. Throughout Dante’s work he emphasizes the concept of humanism, and it is this work that inspired many other philosophers including Petrarch and Boccaccio. Dante Alighieri was born in 1265 in Florence, Italy. Dante was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. In the thirteenth century there were groups called the Guelfs and the Ghibellines.
The Guelfs supported the pope, and around 1290 they split into two groups, the White and Black Guelfs. Dante was closer to the White party which was composed of merchants and traders; the Black group consisted of banking families. In 1301 Dante left Florence on a mission to gain more followers in opposition of the Black Guelfs. While he was away, the Black Guelfs completely took over Florence, and so Dante was exiled from his native city for the rest of his life. While in exile, he writes the Divine Comedy, Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise, and completed the Inferno in 1314.
The poem follows Dante after he strays off the path of moral truth and gets lost in the dark woods. In the woods, Dante is greeted by three beasts; Virgil saves him from them and becomes his guide through hell. In hell, Dante has the opportunity to speak with multiple sinners within the nine circles. Overall the journey took three days, beginning on Good Friday, and ending on Easter Sunday. Although Dante is considered to be one of the best Christian poets, he leaves no evidence of Christian forgiveness in his poem and bases his work off of the idea of severe ancient laws and divine retribution.
The Inferno is considered a humanist work because of the references to ancient Greek characters, application of ordinary beings into a godly position and humanist concepts portrayed in scenes of motivation. In the Malebolge, the bridge from bolgia six to bolgia seven had been destroyed; because the bridge had fallen Dante and Virgil had to climb out. In the middle of the climb, Dante feels as if he cannot continue and so Virgil tells him the following to help him pursue; “for resting upon soft down, or underneath the blanket’s cloth, is not how fame is won.
Without which, one spends life to leave behind as vestige of himself on earth the sign smoke leaves on air, or foam on water. So stand and overcome your panting with the soul, which wins all battles if it does not despond under its heavy body’s weight” (XXIV. 46-55). This excerpt illustrates the concept of humanism because it provides a sense determination to make your name known; God is not the source of motivation in this scene, Dante continues his climb as a result of perseverance.
Dante was one of the greatest poets of the early Renaissance, reflecting Renaissance such as humanism in his work; it was this work that later inspired other humanists such as Petrarch. Francesco Petrarca was born in 1304 in the city of Arezzo, central Italy. Petrarch was a renowned poet and scholar and in 1341 he travelled to Rome to accept the crown as poet laureate. Petrarch traveled frequently for pleasure, became well known around Europe and was considered the “first tourist”.
Petrarch as also considered to be the founder of Renaissance humanism. His work revived interest in classical literature. Petrarch was an admirer of classical philosophy and a devout Christian. He combined both of these concepts in his work and believed that humans have great intellectual power and should have the opportunities to use their abilities to the fullest. Petrarch and Dante had similar humanist beliefs and displayed them clearly in their works; however, Petrarch disregarded the religious views of Dante and did not refer to them for inspiration.
Petrarch did not appreciate Dante’s older philosophy and sought out a new method of thinking; “This novelty, the great conquest and the profound divergence from aesthetics and the mental orientation of the Middle Ages, explains most clearly Petrarch’s attitude towards Dante. It was the natural reaction or, one would say, the revolt of those who start a new way of thinking or a new taste against the previous generation” (). Although the ideas of Dante and Petrarch differed, they were similar in certain ways; both Dante and Petrarch believed that each of their lovers were at the center of their universe.
Dante thought Beatrice was the love of his life, as did Petrarch to Laura, so they wrote love poems expressing their adoration. Dante and Beatrice fell in love as children and continued to love until long after their death; as a result, Dante wrote love sonnets to her and in them he said “no woman’s countenance has ever worn in such miraculous degree the hue of love and pity’s look, from yielding to the sight of gentle eyes or folk who mourn, as does your own when I approach forlorn and with my grieving face for mercy sue” (Llesson 12 packet_).
Boccaccio considers Beatrice to be a miracle and praises her as such in his poems. In Petrarch’s writing for Laura, he describes the appearence and emotions of his lover and writes “I’d see her lovely face transform quite often her eyes grow wet and more compassionate, like one who feels regret, when it’s too late, for causing someone’s suffering by mistake” (sonnet 131 Petrarch).
Although Dante and Petrarch had different ideas and pproaches in their work, they were similar with their great adoration for their lovers. In comparison, to the relationship between Dante and Petrarch, Petrarch shared many similar traits with Boccaccio. Giovanni Boccaccio was born around 1313, in Italy; the exact location in unknown, however, it is certain that he spent most of his childhood in Florence. Boccaccio is a significant figure in Italian history and literature, and was among the founders of the Renaissance.
Although Boccaccio studied law for years, he found that his main interest was in poetry and writing. One of his most famous works was the Decameron, which he completed in 1358. The Decameron narrates the stories of 10 people, both men and women who reside in a villa in Florence to escape the plague. This work influenced Europe and several other writers including Shakespeare and Chaucer. Because Boccaccio was one of Petrarch’s followers, he developed his passion for literary work.
