Dante Alighieri

(1265-1321)

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Divine Comedy

(The Inferno, Purgatorio, Paridiso)

-Considered to have single handedly founded modern European literature;

perfected "terza rima" (rhyme in threes)

Giovanni Boccaccio

(1313-1375)

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The Decameron

-Introduced the use of the vernacular in classically focused literature

Francesco Petrarch

(1304-1374)

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The Canzoniere

-His works provided the basis for love poetry

and popularized the theme of humanism

Geoffrey Chaucer

(1340-1400)

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The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde

-Chiefly responsible for bringing literature to the middle class