Dealing With a Problematic and Contradictory Authority: Petrarch in the Love Treatises of the 16th and Early 17th Centuries

This essay draws attention to the reception of the Canzoniere in the love treatises of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Petrarch’s verses are often quoted therein in order to solve some of the most controversial issues about love theory. Nonetheless, Petrarch appears as a problematic and ambiguous authority. The ideas expressed in his poems are frequently in contrast with common sense and/or the opinions of other well-reputed authors. In several cases, he even seems to contradict himself. This essay aims to analyse how the authors of love treatises deal with such difficulties in order to identify some recurring patterns in their argumentations.