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 Montaperi
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 Provençal
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 Davanzati
“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.