Laura de Noves at The Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

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Laura de Noves (1310-1348), the wife of Count Hugues de Sade and ancestor of Marquis de Sade, may have been the Laura that poet Francesco Petrarch wrote about extensively, but she has never been positively identified as such. Laura's influence on Petrarch's life and lyrics was profound. Unfortunately, historical information on Laura is scarce. Born in 1310 in Avignon to a knight named Audibert de Noves and his wife Ermessenda, Laura married at the age of 15 on January 16, 1325. Two years later, on April 6, 1327, Petrarch saw her for the first time at Easter mass in the church of Sainte-Claire d'Avignon. Laura's life is shrouded in mystery, but it is known that she had a large family and was a virtuous wife. She died in 1348. Since their initial encounter, Petrarch spent three years in Avignon singing his platonic love and haunting Laura in church and on her walks. He later left Avignon and moved to Lombez, where he held a canonry gifted by Pope Benedict XII. In 1337, Petrarch returned to Avignon and purchased a small estate at Vaucluse to be near his beloved Laura. For the next three years, he wrote numerous sonnets in her praise. His Canzoniere (Songbook) is a collection of lyrics that pay tribute to her in the troubadour tradition of courtly love. These works advanced the growth of Italian as a literary language and popularized the Petrarchan sonnet form. Years after Laura's death, Petrarch wrote his Trionfi, a religious allegory in which she is idealized.