NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Laura (person)

Laura is a literary figure included in Italian poet Petrarch's works. He perfected the sonnet for her and wrote the Canzoniere. From the c. ... Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch, one of the best-known of the early Italian sonnet writers The term sonnet is derived from the ProvenÃ§al word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning little song. ...

Who Laura was and even if she really existed is a bit of a mystery. It has often been believed that the name "Laura" was a play on the name "laurel" the leaves which Petrarch was honoured with for being the poet laureate. Binomial name Laurus nobilis L. The Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae), also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, or just Laurel, is an evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10â€“18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region. ... A Poet Laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events. ...

However, there is considerable evidence to show that Laura really did exist and that Petrarch's Laura has to be identified with Laure de Noves. Born 6 years after Petrarch in 1310 in Avignon she was the daughter of Audibert de Noves (a Knight) and wife to Hugues II de Sade (and possibly the ancestor of the infamous Marquis de Sade). She married at the age of 15 (January 16, 1325) and Petrarch saw her for the first time two years later on April 6 (Good Friday), 1327, at Easter mass in the church of Sainte-Claire d'Avignon. Events May 11 - In France, 64 members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake for heresy Abulfeda becomes governor of Hama. ... View over the RhÃ´ne River to North-East with Mt Ventoux at the rear Palais des papes Square below the Palace of the Popes Paul Vs coat-of-arms on the Palais des papes The Notre Dame des Doms cathedral is located in the heart of Avignon, near... Portrait of the Marquis de Sade by Charles-AmÃ©dÃ©e-Philippe van Loo (c. ... January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Muhammed Tughlaq succeeds his father Ghiyas al-Din Tughlaq as Sultan of Delhi. ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... Good Friday is a holy day celebrated by Christians on the Friday before Easter or Pascha. ... Events January 25 - Edward III becomes King of England. ... Easter is the most important religious holiday of the Christian liturgical year, observed in March, April, or May to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe occurred after his death by crucifixion in AD 27-33 (see Good Friday). ... Mass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter it contains. ...

Falling in love at first sight, Petrarch would be haunted by her beauty for the rest of his life. She would turn down all advances he made toward her, having already been married.

She died at the age of 38 in the year 1348, on April 6, Good Friday, exactly 21 years to the very hour that Petrarch first saw her (as Petrarch noted in his copy of a work by Virgil). There is no record to the cause of her death, but it was either due to the Black Death or possibly a pulmonary tuberculosis resulting from eleven childbirths. Events April 7 - Charles University is founded in Prague. ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... A sculpture of Virgil, probably from the 1st century AD. For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411). ... Tuberculous lungs show up on an X-ray image Tuberculosis is an infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (miliary TB), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ...

Several years after her death, Maurice Sceve, a humanist, visiting Avignon had her tomb opened and discovered inside a lead box. Inside was a medal representing a woman ripping at her heart, and under that, a sonnet by Petrarch. Maurice Scève (c. ...

The question if Laure de Noves was Petrarch's Laura, or even if there was a Laura is a question which may never be answered. Although he wrote the Canzoniere, a series of poems mostly about Laura and his love for her, she is absent from even being mentioned in his letters except for a few very rare cases where he talks about a past love he once had ("Letter to Posterity") and once where he responds to an accusation that she is not real.

If she was real, it is unknown if they ever spoke, or if she ever knew of his feelings for her.

See also GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

See also