#petrarca

A fool is one who admires other cities without visiting Rome.

-- Francesco Petrarca

On Katharine of Aragon owning works by Dante and Petrarch, including a Castilian translation of Dante’s Inferno which was dedicated to Katharine’s illegitimate half-sister, Juana María, Duchess of Frias.

Many believe that Sherlock Holmes is gay and harbors an unrequited love for Watson who is heterosexual. However, the Canon suggests a completely different dynamic: it is more likely that Watson, who may have bisexual-panromantic tendencies, feels an intense sense of infatuated hero worship toward Holmes, who appears to be asexual-aromantic with a tendency towards heterosexual.

When Holmes narrates in "The Lion's Mane," he says: "There was no gainsaying that she would have graced any assembly in the world. Who could have imagined that so rare a flower would grow from such a root and in such an atmosphere? Women have seldom been an attraction to me, for my brain has always governed my heart, but I could not look upon her perfect clear-cut face, with all the soft freshness of the Downlands in her delicate colouring, without realizing that no young man would cross her path unscathed. " Holmes claims that his brain governs his heart. This implies a heart (being attracked by women) that exists and requires governing. What follows immediately undermines that careful self-portrait, because he proceeds to describe Maud Bellamy in terms of undisguised affection. Then he says: "She possessed strong character as well as great beauty. Maud Bellamy will always remain in my memory as a most complete and remarkable woman." This demonstrates Holmes recognizes and appreciates feminine beauty. His description emphasizes moral qualities alongside physical appearance, which suggests appreciation operates through different channels than Watson's.

In "The Blanched Soldier," Holmes notes Godfrey Emsworth "had indeed been a handsome man" (past tense, before disease), showing he registers physical attractiveness clinically, as observable fact rather than source of fascination. When describing men's physical appearance, Holmes only has words without any emotional investment. Even when it comes to good-looking men, Holmes confines to a simole "handsome" and nothing more. The contrast between his and Watson's descriptions of Baron Gruner illustrates this clearly.

Holmes's descriptions remain analytical throughout. He categorizes, assesses, evaluates, but doesn't linger, doesn't return repeatedly to physical presence, doesn't invest emotionally in appearance.

Holmes shows protective, and even paternal concern for Watson in danger (Three Garridebs, The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax), demonstrating he values Watson and would be distressed by injury or death. In Three Garridebs when Watson is shot: "You're not hurt, Watson? For God's sake, say that you are not hurt!" Holmes rips open Watson's trousers examining the wound, threatens the shooter: "If you had killed Watson, you would not have got out of this room alive." Holmes's concern manifests appropriately to situations: anger when Watson is shot, gratitude when Watson saves him from poison, genial affection after attacks. These are proportionate emotional responses within friendship bounds.

Watson consistently over-interprets Holmes's ordinary friendship behaviors. Holmes's brief emotional transparency in The Devil's Foot prompts Watson to treasure the moment as glimpse of hidden depths: "You know, I answered, with some emotion, for I had never seen so much of Holmes's heart before, that it is my greatest joy and privilege to help you." Holmes's protective rage in Three Garridebs becomes worth "many wounds" to witness: "It was worth a wound, it was worth many wounds, to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask." and exaggerates this moment as mystical revelation: "All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation." Whether consciously or unconsciously, here Watson echoes the courtly love tradition that dominated European literary, especially poetical imagination from the 12th through 16th centuries, originating with the Provençal troubadours and reaching its apex in sonnets of Petrarca.

"Pace non trovo, et non ò da far guerra;e temo, et spero; et ardo, et son un ghiaccio;et volo sopra 'l cielo, et giaccio in terra;et nulla stringo, et tutto 'l mondo abbraccio."Through four perfectly balanced antitheses (peace/war, fear/hope, burning/freezing, flying/earthbound), each linked by "et" to create relentless rhythm mimicking the lover's psychological oscillation, Petrarca culminates in the ultimate paradox of grasping nothing yet embracing everything, which is also a state Watson inhabits. "Pascomi di dolor, piangendo rido" captures the masochistic mechanism of Petrarchan love: pain/wound becomes sustenance and tears accompany laughter. This is precisely Watson's logic in Three Garridebs. He finds meaning in suffering ("pascomi di dolor"), extracts validation from injury, treasures rare acknowledgments of Holmes ("fra le vane speranze"), and accepts subordinate position as proof of Holmes' superiority.

Courtly love tradition's flexibility regarding gender. The troubadour term midons applied to female beloved, positioning her with masculine authority. Some courtly love poetry involved male poets writing to male patrons or lords, the devotional language remaining identical. The structure, that is hierarchical devotion, suffering as proof of worth, intermittent mercy from distant superior, transcended gender of participants. And Watson, like troubadours or Petrarca, constructs entire identity around his worship of Holmes.

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