Francesco Petrarca, one of the greatest of Italian poets, was also the leading spirit in the Renaissance movement to revive ancient Roman language and literature. Petrarch's four Invectives, written in Latin, were inspired by the eloquence of the great Roman orator Cicero. The
Invectives are directed against the cultural idols of the Middle Ages-against scholastic philosophy and medicine as well as the dominance of French culture. They defend the value of literature and provide a clear statement of the values of Renaissance humanism. The new translations in this volume, commissioned for the I Tatti Renaissance Library, include the first English translation of three of the four invectives.
About the AuthorDavid Marsh is Professor of Italian at Rutgers University and an expert on the Italian Renaissance. He has published broadly on Renaissance humanism and the classical tradition and has translated seminal texts by important early-modern authors including Petrarch, Alberti, Leonardo da Vinci, and Vico.
Book InformationISBN 9780674030886
Author Francesco PetrarcaFormat Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Harvard University PressPublisher Harvard University Press
Weight(grams) 340g
Dimensions(mm) 203mm * 133mm * 13mm