Vitsentzos or Vikentios Kornaros ( el, Βιτσέντζος or ) or Vincenzo Cornaro (March 29, 1553 – 1613/1614) was a

Cretan Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, an ...

poet, who wrote the romantic

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

Erotokritos ''Erotokritos'' ( el, Ἐρωτόκριτος) is a romance composed by Vikentios Kornaros in early 17th century Crete. It consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verses, the last twelve of which refer to the poet himself. It is written in t ...

''. He wrote in vernacular Cretan dialect (

Cretan Greek Cretan Greek, or the Cretan dialect ( el, Κρητική Διάλεκτος, ), is a variety of Modern Greek spoken in Crete and by the Cretan diaspora. Geographic distribution The Cretan dialect is spoken by the majority of the Cretan Greeks ...

), and was a leading figure of the

Cretan Renaissance Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becomi ...

. Vitsentzos Kornaros is considered to be the greatest of all the Cretan poets and one of the most significant and influential figures in the entire course of Greek poetry. The son of a Venetian-Cretan aristocrat and a scion of the noble Venetian family of Cornaro, he was born near

Sitia Sitia ( el, Σητεία) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 9,912 inhabitants (2011) and the municipality has 18,318 (2011). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos and northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia port is on the ...

, Crete in 1553. Later, when he married, he came to live in Candia (now

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

) where he joined the Accademia dei Stravaganti. Kornaros died in 1613 (or 1614), just before his contemporaries,

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

Biography

Not many biographic sources exist about Kornaros apart from the last verses of ''Erotokritos''. It is believed that he was born to a wealthy family in Trapezonda (), a village near

, Crete, in 1553, and lived there roughly up to 1590. He then moved to Candia (modern

Iraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

), where his marriage to Marietta Zeno took place. Together they had two daughters named Helen and Katerina. In 1591 Kornaros became an administrator, and during the outbreak of plague from 1591 to 1593 he worked as a sanitary supervisor. He showed interest in

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and was a member of a literary group called ''Accademia degli Stravaganti'' (''Academy of the Strange Ones''), which was founded by his brother and fellow writer Andrea Cornaro, who wrote in Italian language. He died in Candia, in 1613 (or 1614), and was buried at the church of San Francesco. The cause of his death remains unknown. Alternate spellings of his first name include Vincenzo, Vitzentzos or Vikentios. Kornaros' "Erotokritos" was a source of inspiration for

Dionysios Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; el, Διονύσιος Σολωμός ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' ( el, Ὕμ� ...

and influenced Greek poets such as Kostis Palamas, Krystallis and Seferis.

His legacy

After him named: * The Kornaros square in

*The Vitsentzos Kornaros Technopolis * A

ferryboat A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

, connecting the Greek islands

Kythera Kythira (, ; el, Κύθηρα, , also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands, ...

and Antikythera with Crete, the Peloponnese and

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

. *The Vitsentzos Kornaros cinema in Heraklion *The Sitia Public Airport in his hometown of Sitia was officially named after him in January 15, 2015.

References

* D. Holton, ''Λογοτεχνία και κοινωνία στην Κρήτη της Αναγέννησης'' "Literature and society in Renaissance Crete" (1991), p. 369 * L. Politis, ''Ιστορία της Νεοελληνικής λογοτεχνίας'' "History of modern Greek literature", ed. Μ.Ι.Ε.Τ. (National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation), Athens 1978, p. 78 * K. Th. Dimaras, ''Ιστορία της νεοελληνικής λογοτεχνίας'' "History of modern Greek literature", ed. Ίκαρος, Athens 1975 (6η έκδοση), p. 81 * St. Alexiou, «Εισαγωγή» "Introduction" of ''Βιτσέντζος Κορνάρος, Ερωτόκριτος'', ed. Ερμής, Athens 1995, p. ιστ΄– ιζ΄

External links

*
The Cretan school of literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kornaros, Vitsentzos 1553 births 1610s deaths Greek dramatists and playwrights People from Sitia Greek people of Venetian descent Greek Roman Catholics Cretan poets 16th-century writers Modern Greek-language writers Cretan Renaissance literature Republic of Venice poets