Page 14 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(2) (2024)

in poetry, a space can be given for sensory poet- bring to poetry keeps the link with religious cre-
ics. The Middle Ages, which includes the epoch ation and, at the same time, brings it closer to the
of feudalism, is usually recognized as a dark or common man. On the other hand, it contributes
gloomy period in which all creations and actions to the development of formally developed poet-
are influenced by religion. The Middle Ages con- ry. The transition from Latin to the vernacular
flicted with ancient, classical values. The figure opens a new worldview through which faith gets
of the religious man replaces the place of the ide- closer to everyday life and the experiences shared
al of heroism from Antiquity. Mystical preoccu- among ordinary people.
pations replace the antique glorification of the
light of reason. Philosophy, as well as the over- The Literary Forms of Lauda, Sonnet,
all understanding of life, is under the patronage Canzone and Canzonette
of the Church. Literature is the only domain of Starting from the 11th century, the Church grad-
14 expression and creation in which the reconcilia- ually began to lose its dominance, and at the
tion of these opposites in the 13th century could same time, the feudal regime weakened. Name-
occur. ly, until then, the Church preaches in accord-
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 12 (2024), številka 2 / volume 12 (2024), number 2
But when we talk about medieval Italian ance with the state dogmas, and through art, the
literature, we mean the literature that developed Christian religion leaves the institutions to con-
in the Italian vernacular rather than the whole nect with the common man and express a more
Italian creation in the Middle Ages, historical- sincere faith. The vernacular (volgare) is also be-
ly including the period from the 6th to the 14th coming more prevalent in liturgies at the expense
1
century. In medieval Italy’s linguistic and so- of Latin. On the social level, the commune was
cial disunity, vernacular literature had a decisive created as an independent social government in
function in forming a unique, standardized, and medieval cities. Religiosity existed even before
aestheticized expression that affirmed state and the establishment of communes as self-govern-
cultural continuity. Through poetry, it is possi- ing cities, but with the rise of civic life, it takes
ble to follow how the vernacular gradually ma- on a completely different dimension.
tures into written creation, thus opening the Religious consciousness is most potent in
question of a unifying linguistic phenomenon Italy’s central region, the Umbria, which was
that will condition the consciousness of national therefore called mystical Umbria. There, the
unity, given the fact that Italian society until the most famous literature with religious content
19th century existed through independent cit- was developed, whose representative, San Franc-
ies, dominions, communes, and lordships. From esco d’Assisi, expressed the harmonization of op-
the religious poetry of San Francesco d’Assisi to posing things in poetry following medieval phi-
the early love poetry of Dante Alighieri, poetry losophy. In his poetry, the most visible trace is
is refined stylistically. With it, the vernacular be- the attempt of St. Thomas Aquinas to reconcile
comes amenable to literary expression. The sen- the rationalist teaching of Aristotle with the reli-
sory and emotional message that these authors gious teaching of the Church (Fortini 1981, 154).
Between the 13th and 15th centuries, also
1 Namely, until the 13th century, there was literature creat-
ed on Italian soil, but which was written exclusively in Lat- a new poetic form called Lauda (lat. Laus -
in. In the Middle Ages, the vernacular and Latin languag- praise) appeared in Italy, primarily as a religious
es were used in parallel, but they had a clearly demarcated
domain of use. Latin is the language used by the educat- folk song derived from liturgical songs, to later
ed, who know how to read documents and literature writ- be interpolated in religious dramas from where
ten in this language, while the vernacular is used in every- it would develop its form in dialogue, trans-
day communication and is understandable by all strata of
the people. For its part, the Latin language in the Middle forming itself into a dramatic Lauda. The Lau-
Ages is divided into literary and spoken. Today’s Italian da was dedicated to the themes from the Gos-
language developed from the spoken Latin language, Vol-
gare. pel, intended to express praises to the Mother