I wrote my college thesis on the works of Dante Alighieri (c. 1265-1321). If I were to create renaissance currency, I would place Dante on the $100 bill. Proto and later Renaissance figures looked up to him. Even Rodan’s sculpture, The Thinker was originally The Poet in the Gates of Hell.
Not only should Dante be considered the leading proto-Renaissance figure, but also a proto-Reformer. Thus, don’t be scared off by Dante if you are a Protestant like me. Dante may not generally be placed at the forefront of both the Renaissance & The Reformation because the Black Plague struck Italy a few decades after he died. This left a gulf between Dante and later well-known figures.
Here are some interesting things that are not well known about his works:
Dante did not label his Comedy, divine (the label was applied nearly two centuries after his death). Dante resided in the court of a noble named Cangrande when he wrote Inferno & Purgatorio. He resided in the court of Guido Novella when he wrote Paradiso. However, Dante sent Cangrande a copy of Paradiso and a letter, which provided his own title for the complete work:
“The title of the book is ‘Here beginneth the Comedy of Dante Alighieri, a Florentine by Birth, but not in character’” (1).
Dante certainly wasn’t ignorant of the Bible. In his works he quoted the Bible far more than any other source. One must understand his work is not doctrine, it is a poem. Dante mentions the “third heaven” from 2 Corinthians 12:2 in Chapter XIV of The Convivo. His heavens were set in three major divisions, the stars (planets), the Milky Way and God.
Also, understand Dante’s use of poetic allegory. Dante said in Chapter XIV of The Convivo: “I say that by heaven I mean science, and by the heavens the sciences…” From there he compared each of his poetic heavens later used in Comedy to the classical liberal arts:
| Circle of Paradiso | Convivo |
| The Moon | Grammar |
| Mercury | Dialectic |
| Venus | Rhetoric |
| The Sun | Arithmetic |
| Mars | Music |
| Jupiter | Geometry |
| Saturn | Astronomy |
| The Fixed Stars | Physics/Metaphysics |
| Primum Mobile | Moral Science |
| Empyrean | Divine Science |
What follows were some of the conclusions from my thesis:
Dante’s Comedy is his poetic autobiography. I performed a comparative analysis of his much earlier autobiographical work Vita Nuova to his Comedy. I concluded that Vita Nuova was an embryonic version of Inferno & Purgatorio.
Dante’s heavens or the classical liberal arts (the Trivium, Quadrivium & Theology) were the subjects that brought him happiness after his exile. In Paradiso, Dante is guided by Beatrice. Her appearance becomes more brilliant & glorious with each new circle of Paradise. That represents the light & joy Dante received from studying each subject–the greatest resulting from Divine Science or Theology. His Comedy ends with his future death or ultimate return to God.
Thus, the stages and characters of the Comedy are just as much based off the crime, punishment & reward of some as it is encounters & circumstances from Dante’s real life timeline. There is a mix of characters for those two reasons. Beatrice was Dante’s Inferno. The walls of the city of Dis separated his condition before & immediately after Beatrice’s death. You could say it separated his obsession & depression. For instance, Dante contemplated suicide after her death (the 7th Circle–violence).
I learned in Vita Nuova that Dante was intrigued with the number 9. He associated that number with Beatrice in several entries. Guess what–the inferno has 9 circles. So now you know why Dante (I say again–who knew the Bible well) placed 10 heavens & 9 hells in his poem.
Before I conclude, here is some bonus material from my comparative analysis of Vita Nuova & the Comedy: Dante’s poetic treachery. I believe Virgil represents Dante’s poetry in the Comedy. Who sent Virgil to guide Dante–Beatrice. Who inspired Dante’s first poetry–Beatrice. In Vita Nuova all Dante’s poetry was inspired by Beatrice (muse) until…
Something before I continue that is related; in Inferno all the rivers mentioned fall & converge in its lowest circle Cocytus (treachery). The bodies of water become frozen. This represents Dante’s frozen tears over Beatrice.
I believe Cocytus is reflected late in Vita Nuova when Dante returns to a familiar spot in Florence to sulk over Beatrice’s passing. He notices a fair, young woman staring at him from behind a window. Because of the pity in her eyes she temporarily becomes Dante’s new muse. Treachery! There can be only one muse! Vita Nouva concludes with Dante’s vision of the heavenly Beatrice. Dante rejects the anti-muse & finally escapes his real life hell.
Beatrice represented the things that brought Dante joy. At first it was Beatrice in the flesh; later it was Beatrice or Lady Philosophy. He called his anti-muse pity. It was joy vs pity and like Cocytus, Dante could have been frozen in a state of desiring pity forever.
A clue to Dante’s treachery is found in the Comedy when he finally reunites with Beatrice atop Mount Purgatorio. Beatrice chastises him–to include:
“As soon as ever of my second age [her death]
I was upon the threshold and changed life,
Himself from me he took and gave to others.” (Purgatorio 30.124-126)
I have much more to say about Dante & his works, but I hope you enjoyed this small offering.
(1) Pg 196, Toynbee, Paget , Dante Alighieri: His Life and Works, Dover Publications Inc.
THE EXILE OBSERVER 