Yale Bulletin and Calendar

September 17, 2004|Volume 33, Number 3

Conference to celebrate birth
of the 'founder of humanism'

The 700th anniversary of the birth of Italian scholar, poet and early humanist Petrarch (1304-1374) will be celebrated with a conference drawing an international group of scholars to campus Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 23-25.

Titled "Petrarch: The Power of the Word," the conference will explore and reassess Petrarch's legacy to the modern world and commemorate the man known as the founder of Humanism.

Growing up at a time when many of those around him could not read or write, Petrarch had a passion for writing and literature. In 1341 he was crowned the poet laureate of Rome. He was also dedicated to preserving the works of writers who came before him, particularly old Latin classics and manuscripts.

Petrarch traveled widely in Europe, collecting manuscripts on his journeys, and undertaking diplomatic missions, often in the service of church bishops and cardinals.

A prolific letter writer, Petrarch published two collections of his letters, the 24-volume "Familiares" and the 18-volume "Seniles." His "Il Canzoniere" ("The Song Book") is a collection of poems, many of them sonnets, for or about a woman he loved named Laura, whom some speculate was the wife of Hugues de Sade, an ancestor of the Marquis de Sade, and whom, it is believed, Petrarch never met personally. His other works include "Secretum," a dialog with St. Augustine; "De Viris Illustribus"; "De Remediis Utriusque Fortunae"; "Itenerariaum," a guide book to the Holy Land; and "De Sui Ipsius Et Multorum Ignrantia."

The conference will look at his literary legacy: the sonnet cycle, epic poetry, confessional writing, moral and theological meditations, political tracts, letters, and more. It will begin on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. with welcoming remarks at the Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St., and the keynote address by Rosanna Warren of Boston University, who will speak on "Contemporary Petrarch."

The conference will continue on Friday, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St. During the day, panelists will discuss the topics "The Cult of Antiquities: Manuscripts and History" and "Texts and Their Contexts." At 5:15 p.m., there will be a concert titled "Petrarch: The Power of Sound" by Yale Collegium Musicum at the library.

The final day of the conference will feature panel discussions on the topics "Petrarch's Poetry and Thought" and "The Encyclopedic Range."

Sponsors of the conference are the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library; the Edward J. Dorothy Clarke Kempf Fund; the Whitney Humanities Center; the Departments of Italian, Comparative Literature, French, and Spanish and Portuguese; the Institute of Sacred Music and the Programs of Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

All events are free and open to the public, but registration is required. For more information or to register, visit the website www.library.yale.edu/beinecke; send e-mail to beinecke.conferences@yale.edu or call (203) 432-7325.

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