Francesco Petrarch: The Father Of Humanism

Why is Petrarch considered the father of Humanism? Petrarch was a well known poet who lived from 1304 to 1307. Petrarch was very smart and had a very high, influential position. He was a cleric and went on to invent the concept of “humanism”. Francesco Petrarch is the father of Humanism because he was very smart and took influential action that laid down the foundation for humanism all together. Petrarch laid the foundation for humanism. Firstly, Petrarch was one of the wisest people of his time. Petrarch “was regarded as the greatest scholar of his age” (Britannica.com). He cascaded a lot of his wisdom into his work, most notably his poetry. Francesco wrote poetry after the death of his mother, writing sometimes about a woman named Laura, who he was in love with (Petrarch). Petrarch also gained a lot of understanding from the environment he grew up in, such as having a spiritual family that impressed their theological morals onto

Francesco’s works “had a very considerable impact on the visual arts in Italy” (Morris). Petrarch had gained a title for himself by publishing many famous poems, sonnets, stories, and more. “By this time Petrarch had attracted attention to himself as a first-class Latinist. But what distinguished him from his contemporaries was his attitude to the classics and his reasons for immersing himself in them” (Morris). Petrarch’s writing also shaped the italian language (Petrarch). Petrarch viewed fame as the ultimate aspiration of life was to become as famous as possible. Fame, to Petrarch, was viewed as the highest honor. We can see this idea displayed in his poetry, when he writes “Those who attended her (fame) bore on their brows the signs of worthiness (Petrarch).” This quote makes Petrarch a phenomenal advocate for humanism, as humanism is defined by the love of fame and the wellbeing of humans. Petrarch is the father of humanism because he had an authoritative stance in his