italian scholar, poet, and humanist, a major force in the development of the renaissance, famous for his poems addressed to laura, an idealized beloved whom he met in 1327 and who died in 1348. attempts have been made to identify her, but all that is known is that petrarch met laura in avignon, where he had entered the household of an influential cardidal. she is generally believed to have been the 19-year-old wife of hugues de sade. petrarch saw her first time in the church of saint claire. according to several modern scholars, it is possible that laura was a fictional character. however, she was a more realistically presented female character than in the conventional songs of the troubadours or in the literature of courtly love.

petrarch was born in arezzo as the son of a notary who was expelled from florence by the black guelfs, who had seized power. also dante, born in florence, became at the same year a victim of political reprisals. petrarch spent much of his early life at avignon and carpentras. he studied at montpellier (1319-23) and moved to bologna, where he studied law in 1323-25. petrarch was primarly interested in writing and latin literature, sharing this passion with his friend giovanni boccaccio (1313-1375), the writer of decameron. in avignon petrarch composed numerous sonnets which acquired popularity. in search for old latin classics and manucripts, he travelled through france, germany, italy, and spain.

as a scholar and poet, petrarch soon grew famous, and in 1341 he was crowned as a poet laureate in rome. he was subsequently charged with various diplomatic missions. the latter part of his life he spent in wandering from city to city in northern italy as an international celebrity. petrarch settled about 1367 in padua, where he passed his remaining years in religious exercises. he died in arquà in the euganean hills on july 18, 1374. petrarch bequeathed to boccaccio a small sum of money for a new cloak.

petrarch was regarded as the greatest scholar of his age. he wrote the majority of his works in latin, although his sonnets and canzoni written in italy were equally influential. petrarch was known as a devoted student of antiquity. he combined interest in classical culture and christianity and left deep influence on literature throughout western europe. a prolific correspondent, he wrote many important letters, and his critical spirit made him a founder of renaissance humanism. among petrarch's latin works are de viris illustribus, the epic poem africa, which has scipio africanus as its hero, the dialogue secretum, a debate with st. augustine, an rerum memorandarum libri, an incomplete treatise on the cardinal virtues, de remediis utriusque fortunae, his most popular latin prose work, itinerarium, a guide book to the holy land, and de sui ipsius et multorum ignorantia, against aristotelians.