Laura de Noves (1310–1348) was the wife of Count Hugues de Sade (ancestor of the

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...

). She could be the Laura that the Humanist poet Francesco Petrarch wrote about extensively; however, she has never been positively identified as such. Laura had a great influence on Petrarch's life and lyrics. The historical information on Laura is meager at best. Born six years after Petrarch in 1310 in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, she was the daughter of a knight, Audibert de Noves, and his wife, Ermessenda. She married at the age of 15 on 16 January 1325. Not much is known about her other than she did have a large family, was a

virtuous Virtue ( la, virtus) is morality, moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is Value (ethics), valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that sh ...

wife, and died in 1348. Petrarch saw her for the first time on 6 April (Good Friday) in 1327 at Easter mass in the church of Sainte-Claire d'Avignon. Since this first encounter with Laura, Petrarch spent the next three years in

singing his romantic love and stalking Laura in church and on her walks, even purchasing a small estate in 1337 at

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

that is called ''Petrarchan sonnet''. Years after her death Petrarch wrote his '' Trionfi'', which is a religious

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

in which Laura is idealized.New Standard Encyclopedia, 1992 by Standard Educational Corporation, Chicago, Illinois; page P-241 By the time she died of the plague on April 6, 1348, she had given birth to 11 children.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noves, Laura de 1310 births 1348 deaths 14th-century French people Petrarch 14th-century French women Muses