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Dante Alighieri

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Writers and critics

   Dante in a fresco series of famous men by Andrea del Castagno, ca. 1450
   (Uffizi Gallery).
   Enlarge
   Dante in a fresco series of famous men by Andrea del Castagno, ca. 1450
   ( Uffizi Gallery).

   Durante degli Alighieri, better known as Dante Alighieri or simply
   Dante, (c. June 1, 1265 – September 13/14, 1321) was an Italian
   Florentine poet. His greatest work, la Divina Commedia (The Divine
   Comedy), is considered one of the greatest literary statements produced
   in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Life

   Dante was born in 1265, and was born under the sign of Gemini, placing
   his birthday between May 18th and June 17th. As an infant, Dante may
   have been originally christened 'Durante' in Florence's Baptistery, and
   the name Dante could be a shortened version of that name.
   The oldest documented portrait of Dante, a fresco in Palazzo dei
   Giudici, Florence. (An older protrait, very similar to these is in the
   chapel of the Bargello palace in Florence).
   Enlarge
   The oldest documented portrait of Dante, a fresco in Palazzo dei
   Giudici, Florence. (An older protrait, very similar to these is in the
   chapel of the Bargello palace in Florence).

   He was born into the prominent Alighieri family of Florence, with
   loyalties to the Guelfs, a political alliance that supported the
   Papacy, involved in complex opposition to the Ghibellines, who were
   backed by the Holy Roman Emperor.

   These factions fashioned their names after the ones of opposing
   factions of German Imperial politics, centered around the noble
   families the Welfs (Guelfs or Guelphs) and Waiblingen (Ghibellines),
   but adapting their meaning to the Italian political arena. After the
   defeat of the Ghibellines by the Guelfs in 1289, the Guelfs themselves
   were divided into White Guelfs, who were wary of Papal influence, and
   Black Guelfs who continued to support the Papacy. Dante (a White Guelf)
   pretended that his family descended from the ancient Romans (Inferno,
   XV, 76), but the earliest relative he can mention by name is
   Cacciaguida degli Elisei (Paradiso, XV, 135), of no earlier than about
   1100.

   Dante's father, Alighiero de Bellincione, was a White Guelf who
   suffered no reprisals after the Ghibellines won the Battle of
   Montaperti. This suggests that Alighiero or his family enjoyed some
   protective prestige and status.

   The poet's mother was Donna Gabriella degli Abati. She died when Dante
   was 5 or 6 years old, and Alighiero soon married again, to Lapa di
   Chiarissimo Cialuffi. (It is uncertain whether he really married her,
   as widowers had social limitations in these matters.) This woman
   definitely bore two children, Dante's brother Francesco and sister Tana
   (Gaetana).

   When Dante was 12, in 1277, he was promised in marriage to Gemma di
   Manetto Donati, daughter of Messer Manetto Donati. Contracting
   marriages at this early age was quite common, and involved a formal
   ceremony, including contracts signed before a notary.

   Dante had several sons with Gemma. As often happens with famous people,
   many people later claimed to be Dante's offspring; however, it is
   likely that Jacopo, Pietro, Giovanni, Gabrielle Alighieri, and Antonia
   were truly his children. Antonia became a nun with the name of Sister
   Beatrice.
   Dante Alighieri.
   Enlarge
   Dante Alighieri.

Education and poetry

   Not much is known about Dante's education, and it is presumed he
   studied at home. It is known that he studied Tuscan poetry, at a time
   when the Sicilian School (Scuola poetica siciliana), a cultural group
   from Sicily, was becoming known in Tuscany. His interests brought him
   to discover Provençal minstrels and poets, and Latin culture (with a
   particular devotion to Virgil).

   During the "Secoli Bui" (Dark Ages), Italy had become a mosaic of small
   states, so Sicily was as far (culturally and politically) from Tuscany
   as Provence was: the regions did not share a language, culture, or easy
   communications. Nevertheless, we can assume that Dante was a keen
   up-to-date intellectual with international interests.

   At 18, Dante met Guido Cavalcanti, Lapo Gianni, Cino da Pistoia, and
   soon after Brunetto Latini; together they became the leaders of Dolce
   Stil Novo ("The Sweet New Style"). Brunetto later received a special
   mention in the Divine Comedy (Inferno, XV, 82), for what he had taught
   Dante. Some fifty poetical componments by Dante are known (the
   so-called Rime, rhymes), others being included in the later Vita Nuova
   and Convivio. Other studies are reported, or deduced from Vita Nuova or
   the Comedy, regarding painting and music.

   When he was nine years old he met Beatrice Portinari, daughter of Folco
   Portinari, with whom he fell in love "at first sight", and apparently
   without even having spoken to her. He saw her frequently after age 18,
   often exchanging greetings in the street, but he never knew her well—he
   effectively set the example for the so-called " courtly love". It is
   hard now to understand what this love actually comprised, but something
   extremely important for Italian culture was happening. It was in the
   name of this love that Dante gave his imprint to the Stil Novo and
   would lead poets and writers to discover the themes of Love (Amore),
   which had never been so emphasized before. Love for Beatrice (as in a
   different manner Petrarch would show for his Laura) would apparently be
   the reason for poetry and for living, together with political passions.

   When Beatrice died in 1290, Dante tried to find a refuge in Latin
   literature. The Convivio reveals that he had read Boethius's De
   consolatione philosophiae and Cicero's De amicitia.

   He then dedicated himself to philosophical studies at religious schools
   like the Dominican one in Santa Maria Novella. He took part in the
   disputes that the two principal mendicant orders ( Franciscan and
   Dominican) publicly or indirectly held in Florence, the former
   explaining the doctrine of the mystics and of San Bonaventura, the
   latter presenting Saint Thomas Aquinas' theories.

   This "excessive" passion for philosophy would later be criticized by
   the character Beatrice, in Purgatorio, the second book of the Comedy.
   Statue of Dante at the Uffizi, Florence.
   Enlarge
   Statue of Dante at the Uffizi, Florence.

Florence and politics

   Dante, like many Florentines of his day, became embroiled in the
   Guelph-Ghibelline conflict. He fought in the battle of Campaldino (
   June 11, 1289), with Florentine Guelf knights against Arezzo
   Ghibellines, then in 1294 he was among those knights who escorted Carlo
   Martello d'Anjou (son of Charles of Anjou) while he was in Florence.

   To further his political career, he became a doctor and a pharmacist;
   he did not intend to take up those professions, but a law issued in
   1295 required that nobles who wanted to assume public office had to be
   enrolled in one of the Corporazioni delle Arti e dei Mestieri, so Dante
   obtained quick admission to the apothecaries' guild. The profession he
   chose was not entirely inapt, since at the time books were sold from
   apothecaries' shops. As a politician, he accomplished little of
   relevance, but he held various offices over a number of years in a city
   undergoing some political agitation.

   After defeating the Ghibellines, the Guelfs divided into two factions:
   the White Guelfs (Guelfi Bianchi), Dante's party, led by Vieri dei
   Cerchi, and the Black Guelfs (Guelfi Neri), led by Corso Donati.
   "Colours" were chosen when Vieri dei Cerchi gave his protection to the
   Grandi's family in Pistoia, which was locally called La parte bianca
   (the white party); Corso Donati had consequently protected the rival
   (parte nera), and these colours became the distinctive colours of the
   parties in Florence.

   Being engaged in politics was not easy when Pope Boniface VIII was
   planning a military occupation of Florence, because this involved
   issues which transcended the city, and were beyond the scope of a local
   official. In 1301, Charles de Valois, brother of Philippe le Bel king
   of France, was expected to visit Florence because the Pope had
   appointed him peacemaker for Tuscany. But the city's government had
   already treated the Pope's ambassadors badly a few weeks before,
   seeking independence from papal influences. It was thought wise to
   consider the hypothesis that Charles de Valois could eventually have
   received other unofficial orders. So the council sent a delegation to
   Rome, in order to ascertain the Pope's intentions. Dante was the chief
   of this delegation.

Exile and death

   Statue of Dante in Florence.
   Enlarge
   Statue of Dante in Florence.

   Boniface quickly sent away the other representatives and asked Dante
   alone to remain in Rome. At the same time ( November 1, 1301) Charles
   de Valois was entering Florence with Black Guelfs, who in the next six
   days destroyed everything and killed most of their enemies. A new
   government was installed of Black Guelfs, and Messer Cante dei
   Gabrielli di Gubbio was appointed Podestà of Florence. Dante was
   condemned to exile for two years, and to pay a large sum of money. The
   poet was still in Rome, where the Pope had "suggested" he stay, and was
   therefore considered an absconder. He could not pay his fine and was
   finally condemned to perpetual exile. If he were ever caught by
   Florentine soldiers, he would have been summarily executed.

   The poet took part in several attempts by the White Guelphs to regain
   the power they had lost, but these failed due to treachery. Dante,
   bitter at the treatment he had received at the hands of his enemies,
   also grew disgusted with the infighting and ineffectiveness of his
   erstwhile allies, and vowed to become a party of one. At this point he
   began sketching the foundations for the Divine Comedy, a work in 100
   cantos, divided into three books of thirty-three cantos each, with a
   single introductory canto.

   He went to Verona as a guest of Bartolomeo Della Scala, then moved to
   Sarzana ( Liguria), and after this he is supposed to have lived for
   some time in Lucca with Madame Gentucca, who made his stay comfortable
   (and was later gratefully mentioned in Purgatorio, XXIV, 37). Some
   speculative sources say that he was in Paris, too, between 1308 and
   1310. Other sources, even less trustworthy, take him to Oxford.

   In 1310 Henry VII of Luxembourg, King of the Romans (Germany), was
   invading Italy; Dante saw in him the chance of revenge, so he wrote to
   him (and to other Italian princes) several public letters violently
   inciting them to destroy the Black Guelfs. Mixing religion and private
   concerns, he invoked the worst anger of God against his town,
   suggesting several particular targets that coincided with his personal
   enemies.

   In Florence Baldo d'Aguglione pardoned most of the White Guelfs in
   exile and allowed them to come back; however, Dante had gone beyond the
   pale in his violent letters to Arrigo (Henry VII), and he was not
   recalled.

   In 1312, Arrigo assaulted Florence and defeated the Black Guelfs, but
   there is no evidence that Dante was involved. Some say he refused to
   participate in the assault on his city by a foreigner; others suggest
   that his name had become unpleasant for White Guelfs too and that any
   trace of his passage had carefully been removed. In 1313 Arrigo died,
   and with him any residual hope for Dante to see Florence again. He
   returned to Verona, where Cangrande I della Scala allowed him to live
   in a certain security and, presumably, in a fair amount of prosperity.
   Cangrande was admitted to Dante's Paradise (Paradiso, XVII, 76).
   The death mask of Dante Alighieri (in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence).
   Enlarge
   The death mask of Dante Alighieri (in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence).
   The memorial tomb for Dante Alighieri at Basilica di Santa Croce in
   Florence.
   Enlarge
   The memorial tomb for Dante Alighieri at Basilica di Santa Croce in
   Florence.

   In 1315, Florence was forced by Uguccione della Faggiuola (the military
   officer controlling the town) to grant an amnesty to people in exile.
   Dante too was in the list of citizens to be pardoned. But Florence
   required that, apart from paying a sum of money, these citizens agreed
   to be treated as public offenders in a religious ceremony. Dante
   refused this outrageous formula, and preferred to remain in exile.

   When Uguccione finally defeated Florence, Dante's death sentence was
   converted into confinement, at the sole condition that he go to
   Florence to swear that he would never enter the town again. Dante
   didn't go. His condemnation to death was confirmed and extended to his
   sons.

   Dante still hoped late in life that he might be invited back to
   Florence on honourable terms. For Dante, exile was nearly a form of
   death, stripping him of much of his identity. He addresses the pain of
   exile in Paradiso, XVII (55-60), where Cacciaguida, his
   great-great-grandfather, warns him what to expect:

    . . . Tu lascerai ogne cosa diletta ". . . You shall leave everything
                               you love most:
   più caramente; e questo è quello strale this is the arrow that the bow
                                  of exile
   che l'arco de lo essilio pria saetta. shoots first. You are to know the
                                bitter taste
   Tu proverai sì come sa di sale of others' bread, how salty it is, and
                                    know
   lo pane altrui, e come è duro calle how hard a path it is for one who
                                    goes
        lo scendere e 'l salir per l'altrui scale . . . ascending and
                      descending others' stairs . . ."

   As for the hope of returning to Florence, he describes it wistfully, as
   if he had already accepted its impossibility, (Paradiso, XXV, 1–9):

     Se mai continga che 'l poema sacro If it ever come to pass that the
                                 sacred poem
   al quale ha posto mano e cielo e terra, to which both heaven and earth
                             have set their hand
   sì che m'ha fatto per molti anni macro, so as to have made me lean for
                                 many years
    vinca la crudeltà che fuor mi serra should overcome the cruelty that
                                   bars me
    del bello ovile ov'io dormi' agnello, from the fair sheepfold where I
                              slept as a lamb,
    nimico ai lupi che li danno guerra; an enemy to the wolves that make
                                 war on it,
    con altra voce omai, con altro vello with another voice now and other
                                   fleece
   ritornerò poeta, e in sul fonte I shall return a poet and at the font
     del mio battesmo prenderò 'l cappello . . . of my baptism take the
                               laurel crown...

   Of course it never happened. Prince Guido Novello da Polenta invited
   him to Ravenna in 1318, and he accepted. He finished Paradiso, and
   finally died in 1321 (at the age of 56) while on the way back to
   Ravenna from a diplomatic mission in Venice, perhaps of malaria. Dante
   was buried in the Church of San Pier Maggiore (later called San
   Francesco). Bernardo Bembo, praetor of Venice, in 1483 took care of his
   remains by organizing a better tomb.

   On the grave, some verses of Bernardo Canaccio, a friend of Dante,
   dedicated to Florence:

          parvi Florentia mater amoris
          "Florence, mother of little love"

   Eventually, Florence came to regret Dante's exile. In 1829, a tomb was
   built for him in Florence in the basilica of Santa Croce. That tomb has
   been empty ever since, with Dante's body still remaining in its tomb in
   Ravenna, far from the land he loved so dearly. The front of his tomb in
   Florence reads Onorate l'altissimo poeta - which roughly translates as
   Honour the most exalted poet.

Works

   Dante, poised between the mountain of purgatory and the city of
   Florence, displays the famous incipit Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra
   vita in a detail of Domenico di Michelino's painting, Florence 1465.
   Enlarge
   Dante, poised between the mountain of purgatory and the city of
   Florence, displays the famous incipit Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra
   vita in a detail of Domenico di Michelino's painting, Florence 1465.

   The Divine Comedy describes Dante's journey through Hell (Inferno),
   Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso), guided first by the
   Roman epic poet Virgil and then by his beloved Beatrice. While the
   vision of Hell, the Inferno, is vivid for modern readers, the
   theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain
   amount of patience and scholarship to understand. Purgatorio, the most
   lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it;
   Paradiso, the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and
   ecstatic mystic passages, in which Dante tries to describe what he
   confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face
   of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" - "at this high moment,
   ability failed my capacity to describe", Paradiso, XXXIII, 142).

   Dante wrote the Comedy in his regional dialect. By creating a poem of
   epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian
   language was suitable for the highest sort of expression, and
   simultaneously established the Tuscan dialect as the standard for
   Italian. In French, Italian is nicknamed la langue de Dante. It often
   confuses readers that such a serious work would be called a "comedy".
   In Dante's time, all serious scholarly works were written in Latin (a
   tradition that would persist for several hundred years more, until the
   waning years of the Enlightenment) and works written in any other
   language were assumed to be comedic in nature. It is also the case that
   the word " comedy," in the classical sense, referenced works which
   subscribed to an ordered universe, in which events not only tended
   towards a happy or "amusing" ending, but an ending influenced by a
   Providential will that ordered all things to an ultimate good.

   Other works include Convivio ("The Banquet"), a collection of poems and
   interpretive commentary; Monarchia, which sets out Dante's ideas on
   global political organization; De vulgari eloquentia ("On the Eloquence
   of Vernacular"), on vernacular literature; and, La Vita Nuova ("The New
   Life"), the story of his love for Beatrice Portinari, who also served
   as the ultimate symbol of salvation in the Comedy. The book contains
   love poems in Tuscan, not a new thing; the vernacular had been used for
   lyric works before. But it also contains Dante's learned comments on
   his own work, and these too are in the local language, instead of the
   Latin that was almost universally used.

   Note: References to Divina Commedia are in the format (book, canto,
   verse), i.e., (Inferno, XV, 76).
   Dante by Erminio Blotta, at Bd. Oroño, Rosario, Argentina.
   Enlarge
   Dante by Erminio Blotta, at Bd. Oroño, Rosario, Argentina.
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