페트라르카와 르네상스 자서전적 기행문학의 출현 (Petrarch and the Emergence of Renaissance Autobiographical Travel Literature)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 부산경남사학회
· 수록지 정보 : 역사와경계 / 69호 / 391 ~ 420페이지
· 저자명 : 임병철

초록

A talented poet, Francesco Petrarch(1304-1374) was the most representative of his age, and also took the lead in inaugurating the Renaissance revival of antiquity, under whose influence what historians call the humanist movement could emerge. According to his own expression about himself, he, as a self-claimed poet and an egoistic intellectual as well, was a passionate lover of classical culture. In addition, one should note that, in numerable works of his, Petrarch represented himself as a tireless wanderer or traveler.
The present study is an attempt at understanding what travel or wandering meant for him and his life. Furthermore, by thoroughly analyzing his famous letter, generally called "the Ascent of Mont Ventoux," it tries to elucidate how he appropriated a physical travel for the way of self-examination or even of self-expression. In that sense it argues that for Petarch the travel was not a simple event moving from one place to another, but a meaningful occasion for seeing the world through his own eyes. If that is the case, "the Ascent of Mont Ventoux" as a travel literature also shows us the most characteristic aspect of the Petrarchan autobiography, because his description of physical climb to Mt. Ventoux bears witness to the rise of a new sense of subjectivity in which the authorial self occupied the center of discourse.
In conclusion, I contend that, although it seemingly appears to be an ahistorical phenomenon, travel is a historical experience which has different meanings according to the times. While in the Middle Ages it had been regarded as a spiritual pilgrimage following pre-established Christian teachings as best exemplified by Dante's Divine Comedy, for Petrarch it was an empirical experience for self-understanding. In the same regard, the distinct features of the travel literature changed into the new one through the age of Petrarch, because, unlike the medieval one which simply recorded the event, Petrarch used it as a literary device retrospecting his past and projecting his future. In a word, as a new literary genre Petrarch's travel literature was a new form of autobiography.

영어초록

A talented poet, Francesco Petrarch(1304-1374) was the most representative of his age, and also took the lead in inaugurating the Renaissance revival of antiquity, under whose influence what historians call the humanist movement could emerge. According to his own expression about himself, he, as a self-claimed poet and an egoistic intellectual as well, was a passionate lover of classical culture. In addition, one should note that, in numerable works of his, Petrarch represented himself as a tireless wanderer or traveler.
The present study is an attempt at understanding what travel or wandering meant for him and his life. Furthermore, by thoroughly analyzing his famous letter, generally called "the Ascent of Mont Ventoux," it tries to elucidate how he appropriated a physical travel for the way of self-examination or even of self-expression. In that sense it argues that for Petarch the travel was not a simple event moving from one place to another, but a meaningful occasion for seeing the world through his own eyes. If that is the case, "the Ascent of Mont Ventoux" as a travel literature also shows us the most characteristic aspect of the Petrarchan autobiography, because his description of physical climb to Mt. Ventoux bears witness to the rise of a new sense of subjectivity in which the authorial self occupied the center of discourse.
In conclusion, I contend that, although it seemingly appears to be an ahistorical phenomenon, travel is a historical experience which has different meanings according to the times. While in the Middle Ages it had been regarded as a spiritual pilgrimage following pre-established Christian teachings as best exemplified by Dante's Divine Comedy, for Petrarch it was an empirical experience for self-understanding. In the same regard, the distinct features of the travel literature changed into the new one through the age of Petrarch, because, unlike the medieval one which simply recorded the event, Petrarch used it as a literary device retrospecting his past and projecting his future. In a word, as a new literary genre Petrarch's travel literature was a new form of autobiography.

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