Page 15 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(2) (2024)

of God, Jesus, and other saints while thematiz- tistic goal was subordinated to the religious one,
ing their sufferings and exploits. The laudas were but this did not exclude the literary value of
preserved in collections called laudari, in which those works. Even more so that this poetry does
the remains of a musical text were also found, not aim to confirm church dogmas but to reflect
suggesting that they were accompanied by mu- on some general human values, such as human-
sic. Laudas were initially recited as a collective ism, solidarity, and moral correctness; this is an
prayer to acquire a folk tone later and come clos- integral part of Christian teaching.
er to ballads. Like the ballad, the dramatic Lau- However, there is a significant difference
da contains elements of epic, lyric, and drama between the sensibility and understanding of
(Živković 2001, 415). religion reflected in the works of the two poets
At the same time, the sonnet, the canzone, that will be considered here. Suppose Frances-
and the canzonette were created in Italy. The co d’Assisi wrote his poems in Volgare to reach
sonnet, with its strict structure of four stanzas more people. In that case, Jacopone’s poems are 15
(two tercets and two quatrains), was mainly used expressed in a more elevated style and intend-
for love poetry as an extension of the religious ed for a more educated audience. Jacopone sings
feeling towards the amourosity. On the other about sin, death, and vice, not to present them
hand, the canzonette occurs in a narrative and as a necessary stage before bowing to God but to
dialogic form, with short verses in hexameter or emphasize salvation as distancing from life. The
octave. If the canzone existed to express loftier only sign of religiosity for him is not joy but suf-
themes and was primarily addressed to aristocra- fering. He denies theological theories; for him,
cy, the canzonette was used for less noble, mun- even learned theology should be replaced by cru-
dane themes (Živković 2001, 331). el renunciation in the name of faith. He agrees to
In this article, we will present the religious misery, suffering, humiliation, and even ridicule
and love poetry from this period, emphasizing as a sign of renunciation of human vanity. From Religious Lauda to Medieval Canzone and Sonnet
the expression of all the senses in religious poet- Jacopone does not praise human bliss but
ry and the predominance of visuality in love po- only suffering, remorse, pain, and death. He as-
etry, mainly as a result of the platonic love of the pires to negate the body, at the expense of which
poet. Canticle of the Creatures by San Frances- the soul should be elevated. However, the nega-
co d’Assisi is considered the oldest Lauda from tion of the body does not mean the rejection of
religious poetry. Still, a unique artistic and dra- sensory experiences. In the poem ‘O Signor, per
matic work is the Lament of the Madonna or the cortesia’, which is a kind of negative prayer he
Lady from Paradise by Jacopone da Todi. These says: ‘Tanto sia ’l fetor fetente che non sia null`om
2
two laudas will be the subject of analysis in the vivente che non fuga da me dolente’ (Underhill
following article. 1919, 73). Although negative, the sense of smell is
From the love poetry will be analysed one interpolated in the poem. A dark, mournful at-
sonnet and one canzone: Love Is a Desire... by mosphere and pessimism prevail in it. None of
Giacomo da Lentini and Truly I Wish to Praise the pleasures of the soul should be sought on
My Lady… by Guido Guinizelli. earth. Long but broken sentences are found in
the songs, and shouts and exclamations are fre-
Religious poetry in 13 -century Italy quent. The last songs of his creation will contain
th
The presence of religion in all domains of life in exclusively a mystical dimension that will imply
the Middle Ages conditions the existence of re- a direct fusion with God. Contrary to the har-
ligious art. It expresses people’s moral and reli- mony that Francesco seeks, Jacopone’s songs are
gious dilemmas and preoccupations in that pe- dominated by ignorance of measure, and excess
riod. In the first religious poetry in the Italian 2 ‘Let the stench be so stinking that there is no living man
language, during the early Middle Ages, the ar- who does not flee from me in pain’.