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Dante Alighieri (1265–1321)
 Born
into a Guelph family of decayed nobility, Dante moved in
patrician society. He was a member of the Florentine cavalry
that routed the Ghibellines at Campaldino in 1289. The next
year, after the death (1290) of Beatrice, the woman he loved, he
plunged into intense study of classical philosophy and Provençal
poetry.
Dante married Gemma Donati, had three children, and was active
(1295–1300) as councilman, elector, and prior of Florence. In
the complex politics of Florence, he found himself increasingly
opposed to the temporal power of Pope Boniface VIII, and he
eventually allied himself with the White Guelphs. After the
victory of the Black Guelphs he was dispossessed and banished
(1302). Exile made Dante a citizen of all Italy; he served
various princes, but supported Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII as
the potential savior of a united Italy. He died at the court of
Guido da Polenta in Ravenna, where he is buried.
Dante's Divine Comedy, recounts the tale of the poet's journey
through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, and is divided accordingly
into three parts. In Hell and Purgatory Dante is guided by
Vergil, through Heaven, by Beatrice, for whom the poem is a
memorial.
A magnificent synthesis of the medieval outlook, the Divine
Comedy pictures a changeless universe ordered by God; its
allegorical theme is the gradual revelation of God to the
pilgrim. It is also a religious dialogue on the gradations of
earthly sin and piety as well as on such topics as
predestination and classical philosophy.
Dante's works also include La vita nuova [the new life] (written
c.1292), a collection of prose and lyrics celebrating Beatrice
and illustrating his idealistic concept of love; the Convivio
(c.1304), an encyclopedic allegory praising both love and
science; De monarchia, a treatise on the need for kingly
dominance in secular affairs; and De vulgare eloquentia, on
rules for the Italian vernacular. In addition, he wrote numerous
lyrics, eclogues, and epistles |
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