 1450 illuminated manuscript ofTrionfi illustrated by Ricciardo di Nanni | |
| Author | Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) |
|---|---|
| Original title | Trionfi |
| Language | Tuscan |
| Genre | Poetry |
Publication date | 1351–1374 |
Original text | Trionfi at ItalianWikisource |
Triumphs (Italian:I Trionfi) is a 14th-century Italian series of poems, written byPetrarch in theTuscan language. The poem evokes theRoman ceremony of triumph, where victorious generals and their armies were led in procession by the captives and spoils they had taken in war. This was a popular and influential poem series when it was published.[1]
Composed over more than twenty years, the poetry is written interza rima.[2] It consists of twelve chapters (a total of 1959 verses) ordered in six triumphs envisioned by the poet in a dream honoringallegorical figures such asLove,Chastity,Death, andFame, who vanquish each other in turn. Further triumphs are awarded toTime andEternity. Composition of the work started in 1351 and the final chapter was last edited on February 12, 1374, a few months before the author's death. The book was produced in many lavishilluminated manuscript versions, and spawnedpanel paintings forcassoni and the like.
The ancient Roman triumph survived the Middle Ages in various forms, and was used as a literary device with the entrance of Beatrice in theCommedia.[3]
The poem is structured in six allegorical triumphs. The triumphs areconcatenated, so that the Triumph of Love (over Mankind and even gods) is itself triumphed over by another allegorical force, the Triumph of Chastity. In its turn, Chastity is triumphed over by Death; Death is overcome by Fame; Fame is conquered by Time; and even Time is ultimately overcome by Eternity, the triumph of God over all such worldly concerns.
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One spring day inValchiusa, the poet falls asleep and dreams that Love,personified as a naked and winged young man armed with a bow, passes by on a fierytriumphal chariot drawn by four white horses. Love is attended by a multitude of his conquests, including illustrious historical, literary, mythological, and biblical figures, as well as ancient and medieval poets andtroubadours. Eventually the procession reachesCyprus, the island whereVenus was born.
Although only Love is described in the text as riding on a car or chariot, it became normal for illustrators to give them to all the main figures.[4]
Love is defeated byLaura and a host of personified virtues such asHonor,Prudence andModesty, as well as chaste heroines includingLucretia,Penelope, andDido. Love's captives are freed and Love is bound to a column and chastised. The triumphant celebration culminates inRome, in theTemple of Patrician Chastity.
Returning from the battle, the victorious host encounters a furious woman dressed in black, who reveals a countryside littered with the corpses of once proud people from all times and places, including emperors and popes. This personification of Death plucks a golden hair from Laura's head. Laura dies an idealised death, but returns from heaven to comfort the poet, who asks when they will be reunited in one of the most significant passages of the poem. She replies that he will survive her a long time.
Death departs and after Death comes Fame. Her appearance is compared to the dawn. She is attended byScipio andCaesar, and many other figures fromRome's military history, as well asHannibal,Alexander,Saladin,King Arthur, heroes fromHomer's epics, andpatriarchs from theHebrew scriptures. Accompanying these soldiers and generals are the thinkers and orators ofClassical Greece andRome. It has been remarked that for Petrarch,Plato is a greater philosopher thanAristotle, who was preferred byDante.
Time is represented by thesun, chasing the dawn and racing across the sky, jealous and scornful of the fame of mortals. In an elegy on the fickleness of Fame the poet concludes that it will always eventually be followed by oblivion, the "second death".
Petrarch finds consolation in the almighty God and the prospect of being reunited with Laura in heaven and timeless eternity. Eternity is not represented allegorically.
Triumphs examines the ideal course of a man fromsin toredemption: A theme with roots in medieval culture, being typical of works likeRoman de la Rose or theDivine Comedy. Petrarch's work invites comparison with Dante's, from the structural point of view (having adopted Dante'sterza rimameter) as well as for its treatment of an allegorical voyage.
Triumphs shares and builds on numerous themes of Petrarca'sCanzoniere, such as the confrontation of death, as in the sonnetMovesi il vecchierel canuto e bianco ("Grizzled and white the old man leaves"), and the spiritualization of his love for Laura.
Triumphs is appreciated for its lyrical achievements and the poet's vivid introspection into his feelings. On the other hand, it has been criticized for the mechanical rigidity of its narrative in contrast to the more natural style of theCanzoniere, and the long enumerations of notable persons which often sap its vitality.
This work is also noted by scholarGertrude Moakley (1905-1998) as being a probable origin for the 21 trump cards oftarot decks.[5]
For a woman he would never know /For a woman he could never have/He should change the world forever
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