Middle School
Worksheets
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was a Renaissance poet. His poetry wasn't the most well-known, but he had a great influence on Renaissance literature. That was because he was also a patron of the arts, someone who supported artists financially and helped them to earn a living by creating art. He supported artists in the fields of visual arts, music, and literature.
Lorenzo was born in 1449 to a family of influential leaders in Florence. His parents and grandparents had been leaders of the city-state before him. Lorenzo was given a good education. He studied Latin, Greek, and philosophy. He learned to appreciate art, music, and good writing. He began to write his own poetry in the everyday language of Tuscany, the area around Florence, rather than in formal Latin. He wrote poems about love and the good things in life.
When he became ruler, Lorenzo held festivals, balls, and tournaments to entertain the citizens and also to attract more people to Florence. Famous artists, musicians, and writers came to stay at his court. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Botticelli were some of the most famous artists that he sponsored.
He also sponsored writers. His group of creative friends became known as his Platonic Academy. Some of the writers included Poliziano, Luigi Pulci, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.
Poliziano, like Lorenzo de' Medici, wrote poetry in the everyday language of Tuscany. He also wrote some of the earliest plays in Italian. He translated classics for Lorenzo and he taught the classics at Lorenzo's school. One of his poems tells the story of Lorenzo's brother and how he triumphed at a jousting tournament.
