(ca. 1235-ca. 1280) poet
Chiaro Davanzati was born in Florence, in the Italian province of Tuscany. Though the dates of his birth and death are not known for certain, he is recorded as having fought in the Battle of Monta-peri in 1260 and maintaining a residence in the Santa Maria quarter of Florence with his wife and five sons. His surviving work includes 64 canzoni, or lyric poems, and about 100 sonnets on everything from philosophy and religion to politics and love.
His early poetry shows Davanzati borrowing largely from the lyric traditions of the Provencal troubadours and the vernacular tradition of Sicily. The next phase of his poetry shows him participating, along with his contemporaries Guittone d’Arezzo and Guido Guinizelli, in the development of a poetic style that came to be known as the dolce stil nuovo (the “new sweet style”), used by later poets Guido Cavalcanti, Cino da Pistoia, and, most famously, dante alighieri. Davanzati’s later and more mature poetry shows, in the words of one biographer, “conservative imagery, graceful phrasing, and new themes and sentiments inspired by personal experiences and ardent patriotism.” As a whole, the body of his poetry shows the broad range of Davanzati’s interests, his personal commitment to his Florentine homeland, his ability to skillfully use the standard poetic imagery and devices, and his willingness to explore themes personally important to him, particularly political and ideological issues.
Translator Kenneth McKenzie says the Davan-zati “is at his best in poems of a semi-popular style, when he casts loose from the conventionality and the metrical intricacy of the Sicilians, and appears as a poet of the Florentine people.” Davanzati’s poetry received little attention after his death, and for centuries he was discussed only as a forerunner to Dante. However, current scholarly opinion now recognizes him as an important and accomplished poet in his own right.
An English Version of a Work by Davanzati
Goldin, Frederick, ed. German and Italian Lyrics of the Middles Ages. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1973.
A Work about Davanzati
“Davanzati, Chiaro.” In Cassell Dictionary of Italian Literature. Edited by Peter Bondanella and Julia Conaway, 127-128. London: Cassell, 1996.
