The first English translation of Petrarch’s Psalms and Prayers provides an intimate look at the personal devotions of the “Father of Humanism.”
Throughout Petrarch’s work, there is an undercurrent of tension between the secular and the sacred. In this captivating new translation of the Psalms and the Prayers, Demetrio Yocum turns to a previously overlooked area of Petrarchan studies to open a window on the scholar’s innermost religious thoughts.
Petrarch’s Psalms and Prayers are intricately crafted poetic and devotional works, presented in facing Latin/English format. In his extensive introduction and commentary, Yocum situates these bold, original compositions within their historical, literary, and religious contexts, deftly drawing connections to classical texts, the Bible and the writings of the church fathers, and Petrarch’s own life, work, and poetics.
This remarkable first-ever English translation of the Psalms and Prayers helps to reconcile Petrarch’s classical humanism with his devout, deeply personal Christianity.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and Other Conventions
1. Introduction
2. A Note on the Translation
3. Petrarch’s Seven Psalms
4. Petrarch’s Prayers
Bibliography
Index
Über den Autor
Francesco Petrarca, commonly anglicized as Petrarch, was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch’s rediscovery of Cicero’s letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Italian Renaissance and the founding of Renaissance humanism.