Francesco Petrarca Biography

Francesco Petrarca, known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet, and an early Renaissance humanist. He is often called the 'father of humanism.' Petrarch's works served as a model for the modern Italian language, and his sonnets became a standard for lyrical poems across Europe during the Renaissance. He is also recognized for being among the first to label the Middle Ages the 'Dark Ages.'