Carolyn and I have appreciated the work of Italian poet, writer, and philosopher Dante Alighieri, who is best known for his epic work The Divine Comedy, which is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages, and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. Dante was instrumental in establishing the literature of Italy, and he is considered to be one of the Western world’s greatest literary icons.
Dante Alighieri was born in the Republic of Florence, in what is now Italy, around 1265, although the exact year of his birth isn’t known. Dante’s family descended from the ancient Romans. His mother died when he was nine years old, and his father remarried a woman who brought him a half-brother and half-sister.
It is believed that Dante was educated at home, or in a chapter school attached to a church or monastery in Florence. He studied Tuscan poetry, and he admired the compositions of the Bolognese poet Guido Guinizelli. Dante also studied the poetry of the French troubadours and Latin writers of antiquity.
At the age of nine, Dante met a girl one year younger than himself named Beatrice Portinari, whom he claimed to have fallen in love with “at first sight.” At the age of twelve, Dante was promised marriage to someone else, Gemma Donati, as was common during this era. Years after his marriage, he met Beatrice again and wrote several sonnets for her, but he never mentioned his wife in any of his poems. Dante fathered three children with Gemma.
Dante’s interactions with Beatrice were an example of what was referred to as “courtly love,” or the romantic relationship between two unmarried people during medieval times. In many of Dante’s poems, Beatrice is depicted as semi-divine, always watching over him, and providing spiritual instruction.
As a teenager, Dante dedicated himself to philosophical studies at religious schools, such as the Dominican School in Santa Maria Novella. At around the age of eighteen, Dante met four other Italian poets— Guido Cavalcanti, Lapo Gianni, Cino da Pistoia, and Brunetto Latini— and they influenced one another’s poetic styles.
In 1289, Dante fought in the Battle of Campaldino, a war between factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in the Italian city-states of what is today Central and Northern Italy.
In 1295, Dante became a pharmacist and a politician. Although he never intended to practice as a pharmacist, he did this to develop a political career, as a law required nobles aspiring to public office to be enrolled in an occupation that allowed him admission into this elite guild. As a politician, he held various offices over some years in a city filled with much political unrest.
In 1302, Dante was accused of corruption and financial wrongdoing and was condemned to exile for two years and ordered to pay a large fine. Dante refused to pay the fine, as he did not believe that he was guilty and his assets in Florence were seized, so he was condemned to permanent exile. If he returned to Florence, he could have been burned at the stake. In 2008, almost seven centuries after his death, the city council of Florence passed a motion rescinding Dante’s sentence.
In 1306, Dante became the guest of the captain-general Moroello Malaspina in a historical region of Italy that was known as Lunigiana. After a year, he moved to another historical region of Italy known as Sarzana. Some scholars think that he later moved to another region known as Luca, and there are speculative claims that he visited Paris between 1308 and 1310.
During Dante’s exile, his interest in philosophy and literature deepened, as he was no longer busy with the day-to-day business of Florentine politics, and at some point, he conceived of The Divine Comedy. Although the date that he began his epic poem is uncertain, he worked on it throughout his life, and completed it around 1321, shortly before his death.
The Divine Comedy is a narrative poem, that depicts an imaginative vision of the afterlife. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, which vividly describe Dante’s personally guided tour of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven by three wise guides— Virgil, Beatrice, and Saint Bernard— who represent human reason, divine revelation, and contemplative mysticism respectively. The poem represents the state of the soul after death, its journey toward God, and presents an image of divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward.
The poem is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature, and one of the greatest works in Western literature, although it was not always as well-regarded as it is today. Although recognized as a masterpiece in the centuries immediately following its publication, the work was largely ignored during the 1700s and early 1800s.
The Divine Comedy was rediscovered in the English-speaking world by artist and poet William Blake— who illustrated several passages of the epic poem in 1826— and the Romantic writers of the 19th century. Later authors such as T. S. Eliot, Samuel Beckett, Ezra Pound, C. S. Lewis, and James Joyce drew on it for inspiration. There have since been numerous references to Dante’s work in literature, music, and sculpture, and many visual artists have illustrated scenes from The Divine Comedy.
Dante’s final days were spent in Ravenna, in what is today Northern Italy, where he was invited to stay in the city by its prince in 1318. Dante died in 1321 at around the age of 56, after contracting malaria while returning from a diplomatic mission to the Republic of Venice. He was buried in Ravenna, at the Church of San Pier Maggiore, which is known today as the Basilica di San Francesco. In 1483, the Praetor of Venice erected a tomb for him.
Today Dante is described as the “father” of the Italian language, and in Italy, he is often referred to as il Sommo Poeta (the Supreme Poet). In recent years, there have been many references to The Divine Comedy in pop culture, such as in film, television, comics, and video games. Dante also had a huge influence on my own work; my first book, Brainchild, which Carolyn did the cover art for, was inspired by The Divine Comedy.
Some of the quotes that Dante Alighieri is known for include:
Nature is the art of God.
The path to paradise begins in hell.
Love, that moves the sun and the other stars.
Beauty awakens the soul to act.
Remember tonight… for it is the beginning of always
The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.
There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery.
From a little spark may burst a mighty flame.
Heaven wheels above you, displaying to you her eternal glories, and still your eyes are on the ground.
The secret of getting things done is to act!
Follow your own star!