Sicilian Poetry
Sicilian Poetry |
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The earliest written record of Italian poetry dates from the 1200s and is the so-called Sicilian school that flourished under Frederick II in Palermo, Sicily. During the early part of the thirteenth century he attracted poets to his court from many parts of Italy. With his death in 1250, the cultural center of Italy slowly began to shift to Florence. Francesco Bonomi has put online a collection of poetry of the Duecento (the 1200's) that includes Italian poetry from its beginnings up to and including the work of Dante. The effort had been three years in the making and is a veritable gold mine. The first subdivision is devoted to the poetry of the Sicilian School. The Duecento web site is being updated continually and is worth second visits. In the introduction the authors note, "La poesia di questi alti funzionari dell'amministrazione federiciana è poesia esclusivamente d'amore, modellata sui temi e sui motivi della lirica provenzale: il rapporto amoroso è anche qui inteso come rapporto di vassallaggio tra il signore (la donna) e il suo fedele (l'innamorato). Di più: secondo un motivo di derivazione mistica, ricalcato cioè sulla incommensurabile distanza della creatura dal Creatore, la donna assume in sè la totalità dei valori, mentre l'innamorato-vassallo proclama la propria indegnità e nullità." Loosely summarized, the points being made are that the poetry of Frederick's court followed the love theme made popular by the Provençal troubadours, the lady is the embodiment of all values and the lover is unworthy. The implication seems be that, as a group, they were one dimensional, somewhat less than creative, perhaps because they were the start of something, and they would need to develop as they gained sophistication in the arts. That ignores the fact that one of those administrators, Jacopo da Lentini, is credited with the invention of the sonnet, a poetic achievement not to be ignored or minimized. Furthermore, I dare to offer another point of view. Any reading of the history of this period clearly establishes that Fredeick II was a brilliant ruler, and a very strong ruler as evidenced by his willingness to disagree with the papacy. But he was also a very brutal ruler. I won't cite examples but leave it to you to read about them, if you're interested. Based on this brutality, and our knowledge of life under despots like Stalin, Hitler, Iddi Amin, the Taliban, Saadam Hussein, etc., it may in fact be that his retinue dared not write on any subject other than that of the love of maidens and the negative qualities of their lovers or admirers. Anyone who got on the wrong side of Frederick II didn't have much of a future. I'm suggesting that political correctness, a euphemism, has a long history and that these early poets may have been as brilliant and creative as any of us and perhaps should be given extra credit for coming through the experience with their skins intact, because we know about some of them who were less fortunate. Dante noted the impact of the Sicilian School on Italian culture in De Vulgari eloquentia (Book I, Chapter XII, verse 2-4) where he says that at the present time, Italian poetry consists of the Sicilian School. The complete text of De Vulgari eloquentia is available at: http://www.filosofico.net/devulgarieloqquentia.htm |
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