De viris illustribus (English: On Illustrious Men) is an unfinished collection of biographies, written in Latin, by the 14th century Italian author Francesco Petrarca. These biographies are a set of Lives similar in idea to Plutarch's Parallel Lives. The works were unfinished. However he was famous enough for these and other works to receive two invitations to be crowned poet laureate. He received these invitations on exactly the same day, April 8, 1341, one being from the Paris University and the other from the Roman Senate.[1] He accepted the Roman invitation.[2]
De viris illustribus, 1476
It is composed of two books:
Liber I includes 24 to 36 moral biographies (depending on version) of heroes of Greek and Roman antiquity (much like PolybiusThe Histories and Plutarch's figures in his Lives).[1]
Liber II includes 12 moral biographies of Biblical and mythical figures (much like that found in the Hebrew Bible, Greek mythology, and Islamic prophets).[1]
These are 36 biographies of Petrarch's subjects starting with Romulus, the mythological founder of Rome, and going through Trajan.[3] All of these are mentioned in Petrarch's epic poem Africa. He revised the list many times over the years in different "plans." Some "Illustrious Romans" ended with Titus.[4] Another plan of "Illustrious Romans" added Julius Caesar as the twenty-fourth biography.[5] The adjacent 1476 Table of Contents introduction is old Italian and says something to the effect: Repository of the book here present where will be shown the chapters on 36 "illustrious men" whose deeds are extensively described by the honorable poet, Sir Francesco Petrarca, and beginning as appears below. Listed among these are Titus, Pompey, Scipio Africanus and Julius Caesar.
1476 table of contents of Petrarch's Illustrious Romans, beginning with Romulus and ending with Trajan.
These are the subjects of Petrarch's 12 biographies starting with the first person of the Bible. Petrarch influenced Giovanni BoccaccioLivesOn Famous Women of 106 biographies which starts with the first woman of the Bible. Below is the first person of the Bible and above in Liber I is the first mythical figures that started Rome.[1]
Petrarch was working on De viris illustribus at the same time he was working on his epic poem Africa with Scipio Africanus being the center figure for both.[7] The Africa was conceived as a poetic parallel of De Viris Illustribus.[8] Petrarch conceived his first plan for De viris illustribus of biographies of illustrious men of Jewish, oriental, Greek and Roman famous figures in 1337-38. He wrote up his list of "Illustrious Men" from Adam to Hercules and Romulus to Titus in 1337-38 about the same time as he was writing up the Africa.[9] Petrarch's earliest reference to writing a series of biographies of Lives can be found in the third book of his work Secretum which was originally written up around 1337.[4] St. Augustine speaks to Petrarch
...thus, putting your hand to even greater works, you have tied yourself to a book of histories from the time of king Romulus to the emperor Titus, a task of immense duration and of very great labor.[5]
Petrarch went from these Lives of "Illustrious Men" into his work on the Africa using the research of De viris illustribus as the bases.[5][10] Petrarch was preoccupied with this idea of a series of biographies of Lives of ancient heroes of generals and statesmen for almost forty years.[4] There were several plans of De viris illustribus.[4] In 1348-49 Petrarch made a larger version of Lives.[5] Petrarch writes a letter to Luca Cristiani in 1349 concerning these Lives for De viris illustribus that he was doing in the valley at Vaucluse in France;
...no place had afforded me more leisure or more exciting stimulation: that solitude has permitted me to collect in one scheme outstanding men from all lands and from all ages.[5]
Petrarch mentions in letters from Vaucluse around 1350 that he was working on a De viris illustribus that was wholly committed to those who were illustrious "from every country" and that he was "bringing together illustrious men from all lands and centuries." This is known to scholars as an "all-ages" plan.[11] Petrarch added the "bio" of Julius Caesar, De gestis Cesaris ("On the Deeds of Caesar"), later as the twenty-fourth and last character of the Roman version finished about 1364 (fourteenth reigning year of John the Good) as an afterthought to his original "Famous Men."[5][12] He wanted to depict events that were controlled by the Roman leaders, not events that happened by luck or fortune.[13] He wanted to be a critical historian and convey these illustrious men in dignity.[13] For these reasons he is considered the first historian of the Renaissance.[14]
Plans
Petrarch worked on various "plans" and versions of De viris illustribus. He was not only influenced by ancient historians like Livy and Valerius Maximus, but by other historians of his time period that were working on similar ideas.[15] In the early part of the fourteenth century in northern Italy it was fairly commonplace among historians to write a series of biographies on famous men.[16] A friend of Petrarch's, Giovanni Colonna, authorized his version of a De viris illustribus before he left Avignon for Rome in 1338.[17] Another of Petrarch's friends, Guglielmo Pastrengo, had two works on lives of famous men, De viris illustribus and De originibus.[18] Petrarch's friend, Pastrengo, also wrote a work on De viris illustribus and De originibus.[19] The previous historian's works of De originibus are about the origins and definitions of geographical sites, peoples, and certain stone structures.[18]
Historian Kohl says that there was at least three different "plans" that Petrarch devised for his De viris illustribus. The first plan, prior to his famous epic poem Africa, was written around 1337. It is known as the "republican Rome" plan. The second plan started in 1350 entered in Christian figures, similar in style to Jerome's De viris illustribus and his "Church Fathers." It was finished around 1351-53 and called the "all-ages" plan. Petrarch enjoyed both the writings of ancient writers before the Christian era for their history of famous men and that of Jerome's Latin "Church Fathers" for their Christian viewpoints. He viewed both as a world being in decline. The third plan was a series of biographies of Romulus to Trajan and is referred to as "ancient secular heroes." In this plan most biographies are considered lengthy, while others are considered massive. For example, the biography of Cornelius Scipio is 20,000 words and that of the newly entered Julius Caesar is 70,000 words long. Petrarch's characters were of military heroes and civic leaders, while other authors wrote on most any notable men. Petrarch's overall goal attitude was to convey antiquity and history balanced with the Christian tradition. He presented a moral aim of doing the right thing compared to actions of the past. He saw Jerome's "Church Fathers" as presenting moral virtues through Christian traditional viewpoints. He felt that by close examination of the ancient Roman leaders the reader could gain their virtues.[20][21]
AIM
PURPOSE
SOURCE
morals
virtues
Livy, Jerome
aesthetic
dignity
Valerius Maximus, Cicero
critical
truth
Cicero
Petrarch intended his work to be instructional for teaching moral righteousness. He found comfort in the misfortunes of Old Testament figures such as Jacob and Joseph. He showed to his fourteenth century readers the lessons of common sense morality that could be learned from the ancient Roman leaders and Old Testament figures. He stressed these points over that of victories on the battlegrounds, which he considered as mere luck and incompetence of the enemies. He saw his duty of his work to be "describing illustrious men, not lucky ones."[20]
Witt, Ronald G., In the footsteps of the ancients: the origins of humanism from Lovato to Bruni, Brill Publishers, 2003, ISBN0-391-04202-5
Kohl, Benjamin (1974). "Petrarch's Prefaces to de Viris Illustribus". History and Theory. 13 (2): 132–144. JSTOR 2504856.
Petrarch in Print display at the University of Pennsylvania Library of De Viris illustribus translated into Italian by Library.upenn.edu, Donato degli Albanazi.
Francis Petrarch Six Centuries Later: A Symposium. Studies in Romance Languages at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. , Petrarch: The German Connection.
External links
Literary Encyclopedia - Francesco Petrarch
Catholic Encyclopedia - Francesco Petrarch
January 06, 2023
viris, illustribus, petrarch, viris, illustribus, english, illustrious, unfinished, collection, biographies, written, latin, 14th, century, italian, author, francesco, petrarca, these, biographies, lives, similar, idea, plutarch, parallel, lives, works, were, . De viris illustribus English On Illustrious Men is an unfinished collection of biographies written in Latin by the 14th century Italian author Francesco Petrarca These biographies are a set of Lives similar in idea to Plutarch s Parallel Lives The works were unfinished However he was famous enough for these and other works to receive two invitations to be crowned poet laureate He received these invitations on exactly the same day April 8 1341 one being from the Paris University and the other from the Roman Senate 1 He accepted the Roman invitation 2 De viris illustribus 1476 It is composed of two books Liber I includes 24 to 36 moral biographies depending on version of heroes of Greek and Roman antiquity much like Polybius The Histories and Plutarch s figures in his Lives 1 Liber II includes 12 moral biographies of Biblical and mythical figures much like that found in the Hebrew Bible Greek mythology and Islamic prophets 1 There is as yet no English translation citation needed Harvard University has it under contract to appear in the I Tatti Renaissance Library sometime in the future Contents 1 Liber I 2 Liber II 3 Composition 4 Plans 5 Footnotes 6 References 7 External linksLiber I EditThese are 36 biographies of Petrarch s subjects starting with Romulus the mythological founder of Rome and going through Trajan 3 All of these are mentioned in Petrarch s epic poem Africa He revised the list many times over the years in different plans Some Illustrious Romans ended with Titus 4 Another plan of Illustrious Romans added Julius Caesar as the twenty fourth biography 5 The adjacent 1476 Table of Contents introduction is old Italian and says something to the effect Repository of the book here present where will be shown the chapters on 36 illustrious men whose deeds are extensively described by the honorable poet Sir Francesco Petrarca and beginning as appears below Listed among these are Titus Pompey Scipio Africanus and Julius Caesar 1476 table of contents of Petrarch s Illustrious Romans beginning with Romulus and ending with Trajan Subjects of De Viris Illustribus in Latin 3 Subjects of De Viris Illustribus appearing in Africa 1 Page references in Africa translation 6 Romulo primo Romanorum rege Romulus 19 20 80 116 144 232 253 270Numa Pompilio secundo Romanorum rege Numa Pompilius 244Tullo Hostilio tertio Romanorum rege Tullus Hostilius 245Anco Marzio quarter Romanorum rege Ancus Marcius 245Iunio Bruto primo Romanorum consule Lucius Junius Brutus 66 67 68 254 269Horatio Cocle Horatius Cocles 214 269Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Cincinnatus 253Marco Furio Camillo Marcus Furius Camillus 213 246 247 259Tito Manlio Torquato Titus Manlius Torquatus 248Marco Valerio Corvo Marcus Valerius Corvus 253Publius Decius Publius Decius Mus 253Lucio Papirius Cursor Lucius Papirius Cursor 253Marco Curio Dentato Curius Dentatus 253Fabritio Lucino Gaius Fabricius Luscinus 253 270Alexandro Macedonian Alexander III of Macedon 27 185 187 252 266 267 271rege Pyrro Epyrotarum Pyrrhus of Epirus 152 185 190 253 264Hanibal Carthaginensium Duce Hannibal of Carthage 123 129 131 134 142 145 149 154Quinto Fabio Maximo Cuntator Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator the Delayer 14 15 144 217 244 255 263Marco Claudio Marcello Marcus Claudius Marcellus 14 130 147 244 253 261Claudius Nero Gaius Claudius Nero 200 204 246 260 268Livius Salinatore Marcus Livius Salinator 135Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Maiore Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus 134 138 163 164 182 189 204Marco Porta Cato Censors Cato the Elder 28 59 246 253Cesare Vlio dementflimor Julius Caesar 242 246 247Tito Quinto Flimmio Titus Quinctius Flamininus 248Anthiocore de Asiae Antiochus XIII Asiaticus 27 193 245 246 259 267Scipionenasiae Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica 246Pavlo Emilio Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus 14 244 265Quinto Caecilo Metello Quintus Caecilius Metellus 135 246 254 262Scipioneafricano emilianae Scipio Aemilianus 204 246 249 269Mario Arpinater Gaius Marius 213 246 247 259Pompeo Magno Pompey 246 247Octaviano Augustos Augustus 136 195 197Vespasiano Vespasian 247Tito Vespasiano Titus 248Traiano Trajan 248Liber II EditThese are the subjects of Petrarch s 12 biographies starting with the first person of the Bible Petrarch influenced Giovanni Boccaccio Lives On Famous Women of 106 biographies which starts with the first woman of the Bible Below is the first person of the Bible and above in Liber I is the first mythical figures that started Rome 1 Adam Noah Nimrod Ninus Semiramis Abraham Isaac Jacob Joseph Moses Jason HerculesComposition EditPetrarch was working on De viris illustribus at the same time he was working on his epic poem Africa with Scipio Africanus being the center figure for both 7 The Africa was conceived as a poetic parallel of De Viris Illustribus 8 Petrarch conceived his first plan for De viris illustribus of biographies of illustrious men of Jewish oriental Greek and Roman famous figures in 1337 38 He wrote up his list of Illustrious Men from Adam to Hercules and Romulus to Titus in 1337 38 about the same time as he was writing up the Africa 9 Petrarch s earliest reference to writing a series of biographies of Lives can be found in the third book of his work Secretum which was originally written up around 1337 4 St Augustine speaks to Petrarch thus putting your hand to even greater works you have tied yourself to a book of histories from the time of king Romulus to the emperor Titus a task of immense duration and of very great labor 5 Petrarch went from these Lives of Illustrious Men into his work on the Africa using the research of De viris illustribus as the bases 5 10 Petrarch was preoccupied with this idea of a series of biographies of Lives of ancient heroes of generals and statesmen for almost forty years 4 There were several plans of De viris illustribus 4 In 1348 49 Petrarch made a larger version of Lives 5 Petrarch writes a letter to Luca Cristiani in 1349 concerning these Lives for De viris illustribus that he was doing in the valley at Vaucluse in France no place had afforded me more leisure or more exciting stimulation that solitude has permitted me to collect in one scheme outstanding men from all lands and from all ages 5 Petrarch mentions in letters from Vaucluse around 1350 that he was working on a De viris illustribus that was wholly committed to those who were illustrious from every country and that he was bringing together illustrious men from all lands and centuries This is known to scholars as an all ages plan 11 Petrarch added the bio of Julius Caesar De gestis Cesaris On the Deeds of Caesar later as the twenty fourth and last character of the Roman version finished about 1364 fourteenth reigning year of John the Good as an afterthought to his original Famous Men 5 12 He wanted to depict events that were controlled by the Roman leaders not events that happened by luck or fortune 13 He wanted to be a critical historian and convey these illustrious men in dignity 13 For these reasons he is considered the first historian of the Renaissance 14 Plans EditPetrarch worked on various plans and versions of De viris illustribus He was not only influenced by ancient historians like Livy and Valerius Maximus but by other historians of his time period that were working on similar ideas 15 In the early part of the fourteenth century in northern Italy it was fairly commonplace among historians to write a series of biographies on famous men 16 A friend of Petrarch s Giovanni Colonna authorized his version of a De viris illustribus before he left Avignon for Rome in 1338 17 Another of Petrarch s friends Guglielmo Pastrengo had two works on lives of famous men De viris illustribus and De originibus 18 Petrarch s friend Pastrengo also wrote a work on De viris illustribus and De originibus 19 The previous historian s works of De originibus are about the origins and definitions of geographical sites peoples and certain stone structures 18 Historian Kohl says that there was at least three different plans that Petrarch devised for his De viris illustribus The first plan prior to his famous epic poem Africa was written around 1337 It is known as the republican Rome plan The second plan started in 1350 entered in Christian figures similar in style to Jerome s De viris illustribus and his Church Fathers It was finished around 1351 53 and called the all ages plan Petrarch enjoyed both the writings of ancient writers before the Christian era for their history of famous men and that of Jerome s Latin Church Fathers for their Christian viewpoints He viewed both as a world being in decline The third plan was a series of biographies of Romulus to Trajan and is referred to as ancient secular heroes In this plan most biographies are considered lengthy while others are considered massive For example the biography of Cornelius Scipio is 20 000 words and that of the newly entered Julius Caesar is 70 000 words long Petrarch s characters were of military heroes and civic leaders while other authors wrote on most any notable men Petrarch s overall goal attitude was to convey antiquity and history balanced with the Christian tradition He presented a moral aim of doing the right thing compared to actions of the past He saw Jerome s Church Fathers as presenting moral virtues through Christian traditional viewpoints He felt that by close examination of the ancient Roman leaders the reader could gain their virtues 20 21 AIM PURPOSE SOURCEmorals virtues Livy Jeromeaesthetic dignity Valerius Maximus Cicerocritical truth CiceroPetrarch intended his work to be instructional for teaching moral righteousness He found comfort in the misfortunes of Old Testament figures such as Jacob and Joseph He showed to his fourteenth century readers the lessons of common sense morality that could be learned from the ancient Roman leaders and Old Testament figures He stressed these points over that of victories on the battlegrounds which he considered as mere luck and incompetence of the enemies He saw his duty of his work to be describing illustrious men not lucky ones 20 Footnotes Edit a b c d e Francesco Petrarch 1304 1374 Retrieved 2009 01 03 Petrarch Archived from the original on 2009 01 29 Retrieved 2009 01 03 a b De viris illustribus Francesco Petrarca edited by Silvano Ferrone a b c d Kohl p 133 a b c d e f Kohl p 134 Bergin and Wilson Kirkham pp 113 385 Kirkham pp 114 385 Warner p 221 Kirkham p 106 Kirkham p 107 Kirkham p 110 a b Kohl p 136 Kohl p 137 Witt p 282 Witt p 283 Witt p 284 a b Kirkham p 104 Witt p 285 a b Kohl pp 133 36 Witt pp 282 289References EditThe Histories Polybius The Histories of Herodotus Petrarch freeservers com The Petrarchan Grotto Petrarch petersadlon com Francesco Petrarch and Laura deNoves Plutarch s Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans The Histories or The Rise of the Roman Empire by Polybius At Perseus Project Perseus tufts edu English amp Greek version At LacusCurtius Penelope uchicago edu Translation by W R Paton Preface to Petrarch s de Viris Illustribus by JSTOR Works by Livy at Project Gutenberg that have subjects of Liber I at Gutenberg org Original displays of Petrarch s works at Cornell University Library Exhibition The Catholic Encyclopedia Published 1910 in New York by Robert Appleton Company Made possible by support from the National Italian American Foundation Library upenn edu Petrarch at 700 Polybius Perseus tufts edu Histories of Lives Evelyn S Shuckburgh translator London New York 1889 Both Liber I and Liber II of Petrarch s De Viris Illustribus in Latin only is located at Bibliotecaitaliana it Smith William Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology Ancientlibrary com Logbasis Boston 1867 Kirkham Victoria Petrarch a critical guide to the complete works University of Chicago 2009 ISBN 0 226 43741 8 Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Petrarch Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 21 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 315 The New Testament has 27 books and the Old Testament has 39 books for a total of 66 books known as the Christian Bible Warner James Christopher The Augustinian epic Petrarch to Milton University of Michigan Press 2005 ISBN 0 472 11518 9 Witt Ronald G In the footsteps of the ancients the origins of humanism from Lovato to Bruni Brill Publishers 2003 ISBN 0 391 04202 5 Kohl Benjamin 1974 Petrarch s Prefaces to de Viris Illustribus History and Theory 13 2 132 144 JSTOR 2504856 Petrarch in Print display at the University of Pennsylvania Library of De Viris illustribus translated into Italian by Library upenn edu Donato degli Albanazi Bergin Thomas G and Wilson Alice S Petrarch sAfricaEnglish translation New Haven Yale University Press 1977 ISBN 0 300 02062 7 Francis Petrarch Six Centuries Later A Symposium Studies in Romance Languages at Chapel Hill North Carolina Duke edu Petrarch The German Connection External links EditLiterary Encyclopedia Francesco Petrarch Catholic Encyclopedia Francesco Petrarch Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title De viris illustribus Petrarch amp oldid 1131293005, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
