From Manuscript to Print to Digital: Petrarch and the Renaissance Filter

Petrarch’s Rerum vulgarium fragmenta (or canzoniere) has long been acknowledged as one of the most influential poetic masterpieces of early modern Western literature. The canzoniere’s reception has been extensive, with numerous manuscripts, editions, imitations, and partial translations of some of its 366 poems. Though it would be historically inappropriate to entirely dismiss centuries of textual editing of Petrarch’s canzoniere, it is essential to recognize the impact this history has had on the way we still read and interpret Petrarch today. In fact, even the most influential editions of the work were all spawned from its Renaissance reception. Yet, while Petrarch engaged with many themes and concepts that would become the pillars of humanist debates, he was a medieval poet and a medieval bookmaker. This talk will analyze the early transmission and cultural accretions of Petrarch’s canzoniere, and the Renaissance filter that still influences the way we read Petrarch’s poems and his role as the ‘editor’ of his songbook. It will also explore how digital technologies can help us trace this intricate history of transmission and re-interpretations.