Sicilian School

In a literary context, the term Sicilian School identifies a small community of Sicilian, and to a lesser extent, mainland Italian poets gathered around Frederick II, most of them belonging to his court, the Magna Curia. Headed by Giacomo da Lentini, they produced more than three-hundred poems of courtly love between 1230 and 1266, the experiment being continued after Frederick's death by his son, Manfredi. This school included Enzo, king of Sardinia, Pier delle Vigne, Inghilfredi, Guido and Odo delle Colonne, Jacopo d'Aquino, Giacomino Pugliese, Giacomo da Lentini, Arrigo Testa and Frederick II himself.

Related Topics:
Sicilian - Frederick II - Giacomo da Lentini - Courtly love - 1230 - 1266 - Manfred - Enzo - Pier delle Vigne - Inghilfredi - Odo delle Colonne - Jacopo d'Aquino - Giacomino Pugliese - Arrigo Testa

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These poets drew their inspiration from the troubadour poetry of Southern France, which applied the feudal code of honor to the relation between a man (acting as the vassal) and a woman (acting as king or superior). This is a reversal of the traditional role of women, traditionally dependent on men, and marks a new awareness in medieval society: the decadence of feudalism with the increasing power of the middle class, causes a shift in the reading public. More women were reading books than ever before and poetry tried to adapt to the point of view and more active role in society of this new readership. These features are also shared with French poetry, then very influential in Italy. What distinguishes the Sicilian school from the troubadours, however, is the introduction of a kinder, gentler type of woman than that found in their French models; one who was nearer to Dante's madonnas and Petrarch's Laura, although much less personal and more conventional than these later types. The poems hardly characterise real, individual women, but the style and language is new, since the Sicilians (as Dante called them) invented an entirely new language, one that can be called national and that is further enriched by new words of Latin and French origin.

Related Topics:
Troubadour - France - Code of honor - Feudalism - Middle class - Italy - Dante - Petrarch

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