Pietru Caxaro or Caxaru, also known in English as Peter Caxaro, was a Maltese notary, orator, politician, philosopher, and poet. He wrote the poem Cantilena, the earliest known text in the Maltese language and the only one in Medieval Maltese. Caxaro is, to date, Malta's first philosopher, according to Mark Montebello.
Photos 6
Pietru Caxaro's Cantilena, the earliest known Maltese language writing
Map of the Mediterranean highlighting prominent Medieval cities
Caxaro's tomb memorial at St. Dominic's Church, Rabat, Malta
The original Cantilena transcript
An aerial view of Mdina and its fortifications, captured in 2014; Mark Montebello suggests that the fallen house in the Cantilena may be a symbol of the partial collapse of Mdina's walls in 1454
Petrarch, an Italian poet and leading proponent of humanism; Montebello discerns a humanistic outlook in the CantilenaWriters born in the 1400s 6
About this person
Category
Writers
Type
Writer / Author
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1400 to 1485 · aged 85
Written about in
11 languages
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