Francesco Petrarca - Wegbereiter Des Humanismus

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Francesco Petrarca - Wegbereiter Des Humanismus Michael Schmidt and Michael Wendland (dir.) Der wunderbare florentinische Geist Einblicke in die Kultur und Ideengeschichte des Rinascimento KIT Scientific Publishing Francesco Petrarca - Wegbereiter des Humanismus Erduana Shala Publisher: KIT Scientific Publishing Place of publication: KIT Scientific Publishing Year of publication: 2011 Published on OpenEdition Books: 12 janvier 2017 Serie: KIT Scientific Publishing Electronic ISBN: 9782821874336 http://books.openedition.org Electronic reference SHALA, Erduana. Francesco Petrarca - Wegbereiter des Humanismus In:: Der wunderbare florentinische Geist: Einblicke in die Kultur und Ideengeschichte des Rinascimento [Online]. Karlsruhe: KIT Scientific Publishing, 2011 (Erstellungsdatum: 12 janvier 2021). Online verfügbar: <http://books.openedition.org/ ksp/1813>. ISBN: 9782821874336. Francesco Petrarca - Wegbereiter des Humanismus Erduana Shala Francesco Petrarca ist einer der bedeutendsten italienischen Dichter und Gelehrten des 14. Jahrhunderts. Neben Dante und Boccaccio wird auch Petrarca mit der Stadt Florenz assoziiert1 - dabei hat er in dieser nie gelebt. Was ihn dennoch mit der Stadt verbindet, ist nicht nur seine aus Florenz stammende Familie, sondern insbesondere die positive Resonanz, auf die er dort mit seinem Gedankengut stieß, so etwa bei Boccaccio und anderen Gelehrten, aber auch bei der Signoria, der Ratsversammlung von Florenz. Geboren wurde Francesco Petracco, so sein bürgerlicher Name, als erster Sohn des Notars Ser Petracco und dessen Frau Eletta im toskanischen Arezzo am 20. Juli 1304.2 Bereits zwei Jahre zuvor mußte sein Vater die Heimatstadt Florenz aufgrund seiner Verstrickung in politische Macht¬ kämpfe für immer verlassen. Nach einigen Jahren in Arezzo und Pisa ließ sich die Familie schließlich in der Stadt Carpentras (unweit von Avignon) nieder. Hier nahm Petracco am Hofe des Papstes eine Stellung als Notar an. Den ersten Unterricht erhielt Francesco in Carpentras, bevor er im Alter von zwölf Jahren zunächst auf die Universität von Montpellier geschickt wurde und im Jahre 1320 schließlich zusammen mit seinem jüngeren Bruder auf die Universität von Bologna wechselte, an welcher sie beide Recht studierten. Große Freude bereitete ihm dieses Studium jedoch nicht, weitaus lieber widmete er sich der Lektüre der klassischen Literatur und der Werke Augustinus'. So war sein Leben bereits von Jugend an von einem breit gefächerten Interesse an der antiken Kultur und Literatur, 1 Vgl. Thomson N977, 34. Thomson bezeichnet Dante, Petrarca und Boccaccio als „florentinisches Trio". Dante Alighieri (N265-N32N) war italienischer Philosoph und Dichter, der insbesondere als Verfasser der Göttlichen Komödie eines der bedeutendsten Werke der italienischen Literatur, bekannt wurde. Dante und Petrarcas Vater, Ser Petracco, verband nicht nur eine Freundschaft, sondern auch ihre Heimatstadt Florenz, aus der sie beide verbannt wurden. Giovanni Boccaccio (N3N3- 1375), Verfasser des Decamerone, war italienischer Schriftsteller und Humanist. 2 Ser Pietro Petracco war, wie sein Vater Parenzo und sein Großvater Garzo, ebenfalls Notar und führte Kraft seines Amtes den Titel „Ser". Einen Nachnamen hatte die Familie jedoch nicht; Pietro war als Pietro di Parenzo bekannt, wurde aber Petracco oder Petraccolo genannt. Vgl. Wilkins N96N, N. 77 Erduana Shala insbesondere der Roms, bestimmt sowie später zusätzlich von dem Sammeln und übertragen antiker Schriften und der eigenen unermüdlichen Tätigkeit als Dichter und Gelehrter. Der Tod seines Vaters im Jahre 1326 führte ihn zunächst nach Avignon zurück. Hier lernte er ein Jahr später zwei Menschen kennen, die seine Karriere und sein Werk maßgeblich beeinflussen sollten: Kardinal Giovanni Colonna, seinen ersten Mäzen, der ihn zum Kaplan berief, und Laura,3 die Frau, an die er auch über ihren Tod hinaus zahlreiche Gedichte und Lieder richtete. Von nun an hatte er für seine Studien und seine Dichtkunst sowohl einen Förderer als auch eine Inspirationsquelle. Durch Colonnas Unterstützung war es ihm möglich, mehrere Reisen anzutreten, etwa in die Pyrenäen sowie nach Paris, Gent, Lüttich, Aachen und Köln, später auch nach Rom.4 Dabei war er stets auf der Suche nach antiken römischen Handschriften in lateinischer Sprache, fand viele Freunde und Befürworter seiner Arbeit, die ihn unterstützten und mit denen er einen regen Briefwechsel pflegte. Frei von materiellen Sorgen zog er sich von 1337 bis 1353 nach Vaucluse zurück, einem kleinen Ort in der Nähe von Avignon, dem damaligen Papstsitz, das seinerzeit auch als Dreh- und Angelpunkt für Kunst und Kultur galt. Inmitten dieses kulturellen Zentrums außerhalb Italiens setzte eine äußerst intensive Schaffensperiode ein, während der die meisten seiner Liebesgedichte entstanden. Daneben begann er nach antikem Vorbild De viris illustribus, eine Sammlung von Biographien römischer Persö nlichkeiten zu schreiben, welche er zehn Jahre später um Gestalten der Mythologie und des Alten Testaments erweiterte.5 In Vaucluse verfaßte er auch einen bedeutenden Teil des epischen Gedichtes Africa über den römischen Feldherrn Scipio Africanus - noch bevor der erste Entwurf hierzu fertiggestellt war, sollte dieses Epos ausschlaggebend für die Krönung Petrarcas zum poeta laureatus werden.6 3 Die historische Existenz Lauras ist nicht zweifelsfrei belegt. Obschon sie von Jacques- François-Paul-Aldonce de Sade als Ehefrau des Ugo de Sade bezeichnet wurde. Vgl. Hoffmeister N997, 2f. Interessant ist Karlheinz Stierles Hinweis (2003, N9) auf die Mehrdeutigkeit des Namens: „Der Name der Laura ist gleichfalls doppelt lesbar, als allegorische Verweisung auf den Ruhm des Dichters und als Eigenname." 4 Vgl. Hoffmeister N997, 3. 5 A.a.O., 68. 6 Die Dichterkrönung geht auf den antiken Brauch des poeta laureatus zurück, nach welchem man herausragende Dichter mit dem Lorbeer des Musengottes Apoll 78 Francesco Petrarca - Wegbereiter des Humanismus Mit dem von ihm angestrebten Empfang des Dichterlorbeers im Jahre 1341 auf dem Kapitol in Rom hatte er die seinerzeit höchstmögliche Aus­ zeichnung eines Dichters erlangt.7 Daß Petrarca bereits zu diesem Zeit¬ punkt über die Grenzen hinweg beachtlichen Ruhm genoß, zeigt nicht zuletzt die Tatsache, daß er den Dichterlorbeer von der Pariser Universität und vom Senat in Rom gleichzeitig angeboten bekam. Nachdem er viele produktive Jahre in der Nähe Avignons verbracht und viele Kontakte zu Intellektuellen geknüpft hatte, folgte er 1353 einer Einladung der Visconti und zog an ihren fürstlichen Hof nach Mailand. Dort erwartete man von ihm lediglich das Erscheinen bei Hofe zu entsprechenden Anlässen und eine gewisse Redetätigkeit.8 Für einflußreiche Posten und die Rückkehr nach Florenz war er hin¬ gegen nicht zu gewinnen. Den Posten eines päpstlichen Sekretärs beispiels¬ weise, welcher ihm fünfmal angeboten wurde, nahm er nicht an; ebenso lehnte er das Angebot der Signoria von Florenz ab, in seine Heimatstadt zurückzukehren sowie die Besitztümer seines Vaters und eine bedeutende Stelle an der Universität anzunehmen. Das Angebot hatte ihm Boccaccio höchstpersönlich überbracht. Stattdessen zog er von Mailand für einige Jahre nach Venedig;9 vier Jahre vor seinem Tod ließ er sich schließlich unweit von Padua in dem kleinen Ort Arquà nieder. Dort starb er am 19. Juli 1374, wie von mehreren Autoren behauptet wird, „[...] gebeugt über seine Bücher [...]."10 Die letzten Jahre seines Lebens hat er insbesondere damit verbracht, die eigenen Werke zu redigieren und persönliche Briefe zu überarbeiten. Die Existenz verschiedener Versionen einzelner Werke gestaltete die Heraus­ gabe kritischer Editionen seines Gesamtwerks lange Zeit schwierig. Mitunter ist die vielfältige Quellenlage für die verschiedenen Bilder verant¬ wortlich, die in der Petrarca-Forschung von seinem Leben gezeichnet bekränzte. Im frühen N4. Jh. wird diese Ehrung schließlich zum Literaturpreis institutionalisiert, dem Dichter wird neben dem Titel poeta laureatus und der Befugnis zur Lehre der Rhetorik und Poetik an Hochschulen teilweise auch eine materielle Entlohnung zuteil. Vgl. Gurst 1989, 203f. 7 Vgl. Hoffmeister 1997, 4f., vgl. ebenso Burke 1998, 41. 8 Thomson N977, 24. 9 Der Stadt Venedig hinterließ er seine kostbare Bibliothek als Zeichen seiner Dankbarkeit für das Haus, das ihm von der Stadt frei zur Verfügung gestellt wurde. 10 Stierle 2003, 262; vgl. ebenso Thomson 1977, 26. 79 Erduana Shala werden. Eppelsheimer faßte Petrarcas Charakter auf der Grundlage seiner Korrespondenzen wie folgt zusammen: „Petrarca [ist] ein undankbarer Sohn und pflichtvergeßener Vater, ein selbstischer Liebhaber und unver¬ läßlicher Freund, ein Fürstendiener und Pfründenjäger gewesen."11 Die intensive Forschung der unzähligen Briefe Petrarcas, insbesondere in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts, geht hingegen über derartige Vorurteile hinaus. Die Kenntnis über das Werk ist maßgeblich erweitert worden, so etwa um Petrarcas bereits früh einsetzende Bestrebung, antike Kultur und christliche Lehre zu vereinen.12 Dabei entwickelte er eine persönliche Herangehensweise an die Wissenschaft: Er verwarf die seiner¬ zeit paradigmatische Funktion der aristotelischen Lehren und wandte sich dem Werk Platons zu, in welchem er eine Traditionslinie über Cicero bis hin zu Augustinus suchte. Bei diesen fand Petrarca Parallelitäten in ihrer ethisch-politischen Philosophie, die ihm als Vorbild dienten. In zahlreichen fiktiven Briefwechseln setzte sich Petrarca dann mit den antiken Lehren sowie Augustinus auseinander, welche ihm im Gegensatz zum spätmittel¬ alterlichen Schularistotelismus
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