Page 22 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(2) (2024)

the realization of the power and influence of love Conclusion
on the human being, but in this lyric can some- The experience or the effect of the wind or the
times be felt the indulgence of the intellectual at sun in San Franceso’s poetry creates a new, atyp-
the expense of the immediate feeling itself. The ical medieval poetry with an accent on the per-
frequent mention of the sun, fire, heat, and na- sonal, sincere fate and connection to nature. Ja-
ture, in general, creates the effect of melting the copone da Todi expresses the pain through
subject into the environment through the pow- visual precision and makes a hyperplastic ekph-
er of loving feeling. Just as San Francesco of As- rasis (painting through poetic words). The other
sisi used the four elements to explain phenom- poets express the visual elements of the appari-
ena, Guinizelli distinguishes between good and tions of an image by the medieval concept of pla-
evil through water and fire and expresses the ef- tonic love.
fect of goodness and love through the sun’s rays This poetry corresponds more precisely to
22 and warmth. what Maurice Merleau-Ponty introduced in
phenomenology as the ‘embodied self,’ claim-
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 12 (2024), številka 2 / volume 12 (2024), number 2
Donna, Deo mi dirà: « Che presomisti? », ing that man’s initial awareness of the world oc-
siando l’alma mia a Lui davanti. curs through the senses (Andén 2019). The body
« Lo ciel passasti e ’nfin a Me venisti is not only a physical entity but a subject that is
e desti in vano amor Me per semblanti: actively, sensibly, and even spiritually perceived
ch’a Me conven le laude and is an integral part of the overall thinking
e a la reina del regname degno, of man. That authentic connection of man with
per cui cessa onne fraude ». the world represents a turning to something that
Dir Li porò: « Tenne d’angel sembianza precedes strict thought, and that is the relation
che fosse del Tuo regno; between sensation and sensibility, which is mu-
non me fu fallo, s’eo li posi amanza ». 6 tual for all people. Poetry becomes the most au-
[Borsa 2007, 189] thentical domain where this connection can be
The essence of love becomes the true path restored, and the medieval poets succеeded in
to higher values. Love for a noble being elevates reconciling the sacred and sublime with human-
the human mind so much that it can get closer ity and everyday life.
to God and understand heavenly things. In turn, Summary
through spirituality and mysticism, God can in-
troduce him to the understanding of things un- This paper traces the development stages of poetry in It-
knowable exclusively by the rational mind (Kris- aly starting from the 13th century through the prism of
teva 1983). Dante Alighieri, whose early poetry its gradual distancing from the classical religious form
of lyrical expression. The selection focuses on those po-
was also included in the Sweet New Style school, ets who were directly influenced by the medieval Ital-
called Sapienza Amorosa, the relation of love to ian philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas (1920) because, in
knowledge, an idea also present in St. Thomas his philosophy, reason and emotion become comple-
Aquinas (1920).
mentary things. The Middle Ages, which includes the
6 My lady, God shall ask, ‘What dared’st thou?’ epoch of feudalism, is usually recognized as a dark or
(When my soul stands with all her acts review’d;)
‘Thou passed’st Heaven, into My sight, as now, gloomy period in which all creations and actions are in-
To make Me of vain love similitude. fluenced by religion. The Middle Ages conflicted with
To Me doth praise belong, ancient, classical values. The figure of the religious man
And to the Queen of all the realm of grace
Who endeth fraud and wrong.’ replaces the place of the ideal of heroism from Antiq-
Then may I plead: ‘As though from Thee he came, uity. Philosophy, as well as the overall understanding of
Love wore an angel’s face:
Lord, if I loved her, count it not my shame.’ life, will be under the patronage of the Church. Liter-