FRANCESCO PETRARCA, 1304-1374 Canzoniere
On paper
Northern Italy (probably Verona), late 15th century
MS 706, ff. 8v - 9r
Petrarch manuscripts frequently contain multiple texts,
as is the case with MS 706, which brings together the
entire collection of 366 poems of the Canzoniere
as well as the Triumphi, excerpts from Petrarch’s
Latin epic poem Africa, and the note Petrarch
wrote about the death of Laura. On the first page, the
poet is identified as the author of the beautiful rhymes
dedicated to his great love Laura:
FRANCISCI
PETRARCAE POETAE CLARISSIMI
CARMEN RITHIMONOS ELEGIACUM
IN LAURAM FELICITER INCIPIT
(“Here begin happily the rhythmic love poems
in memory of Laura by the eminent poet Francesco
Petrarca”)
Petrarch spent a lifetime composing the Canzoniere,
making and remaking it (putting it in order, as he would
say), and MS 706 contains a version, heretofore unrecorded,
that he made only a few years before his death. It is
slightly different from the final version we read today.
