From today’s Writer’s Almanac:
On this day in 1327, the poet Petrarch saw Laura for the first time. […] Petrarch was 22 years old, and she was a teenager, maybe 17. He fell instantly in love. He wrote:
It was the day when the sun’s heavy rays
Grew pale in pity of his suffering Lord
When I fell captive, lady, to the gaze
Of your fair eyes, fast bound in love’s strong cord.
Given the content of his poetry, it seems likely that the two never had an affair, but for the rest of his life he idealized her and dedicated three hundred and sixty-six sonnets to her.
Petrarch, I feel your pain. This explains why none of my exes are impressed by my blog posts.