Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), was one of the greatest poets of the Western literary tradition and is considered the national poet of Italy. He had a decisive impact on the development of Italian Literature with significant contributions to the early Renaissance. Later writers, artists, and thinkers developed many of his ideas and themes.
He helped to shape the poetry of the
period and decisively changed the direction of Western literature. Dante (short
for Durante) helped elevate the Tuscan dialect into Italy's national literary
language. He established vernacular (vulgar) languages as literary languages
and demonstrated that great writers did not need to use Latin. This was perhaps
his greatest contribution to the Humanism and Renaissance.
A great admirer of the Sicilian
school, he helped to popularize the sonnet, his most important style of verse.
He also helped popularize the themes of Provencal poetry in Italy. This type of
poetry originated in Provence, southwestern France. Provencal troubadours celebrated chivalry and especially courtly love, a style of poetry that
extolled an unattainable love, very influential in Renaissance Italy. His work
greatly helped to spread the ideas of courtly love across Europe from the 14th
to the 16th century.
Dante's impact on the separation of religion and politics during the Renaissance
Although the subject of The Divine
Comedy (1308-1320) is religion and salvation, its publication is often seen as
the beginning of the Renaissance and the end of the late medieval period in
Italy. It seems contradictory that the spirit of the Renaissance, which
extolled the pleasures of this world and of the individual, began with a work
devoted to religion. However, for Dante, this world had its value, merits, and
was not an antechamber to the other world.
He did not think it was wrong to be
happy and enjoy this life. He believed that eternal salvation and earthly
happiness were not incompatible. Contributing to civic and political life was
indeed a virtuous posture. This idea proved to be very influential on later
humanists, who played a crucial role in the development of the Renaissance. Dante
influenced great thinkers like Machiavelli. In his main political work, he
argued that there should be a separation of Church and State. This contributed
greatly to Renaissance political thought.
This separation of Church and State
ensured that the humanists who succeeded him felt free to focus on the secular
world, that is, on the condition of those who live in the century, between the
things of the world and of life; the opposite of the religious state proper to
those who have taken vows. He also made it clear that involvement in the
secular world was not contrary to his hopes of future salvation.
According to him, politics was a skill
and should not be constrained by theological precepts. His ideas also
influenced some of the leaders of the Reformation. The exiled Florentine helped
change the discourse on the role of religion in Europe. A great poet and
religious theologian, his conception of the dual nature of man, one earthly and
the other eternal, was decisive in the development of his political doctrine.
Dante's political thoughts and actions
Dante was also very involved in the
political life of Florence, Tuscany region. In 1300, he was elected prior, one
of nine members of the local government, for a period of two months. This
office was the cause of his misfortune. He, like his family, belonged to one of
the city's main factions whose politics were often bloody.
At that time, Italian cities were
constantly on the brink of civil war between the Guelphs, close to the Pope,
and the Ghibellines, favorable to the Holy Roman Empire.
The poet fought in the Battle of
Campaldino (1289) when the city's Guelf faction defeated the Arezzo
Ghibellines. After the victory, the Guelphs changed the constitution, and in
order to remain a citizen, Dante had to enroll in a Guild, an association of
merchants.
However, as was typical of rebellious
politics in late medieval Italy, the Guelphs soon split along ideological lines
and became two mutually hostile factions, the White Guelphs (Dante's party) and
the Black Guelphs. Initially whites were in power and expelled blacks from
Florence, but Pope Boniface VIII planned a military occupation of the city.
A delegation of Florentines, with
Dante among them, was sent to Rome to verify the Pope's intentions. While he
was in Rome, the Black Guelphs destroyed much of the city and established a new
government.
In 1302, based on largely false and
fabricated accusations, a judge ordered Dante and his allies to be burned alive
if they attempted to return to Florence. The charges included fraud, extortion,
corruption and even sodomy with a young man. Dante received word that his
possessions had been confiscated and that he was considered a fugitive and
sentenced to perpetual exile.
When the Pope made it possible for Dante to return to Florence, the city was under the control of Carlos Valois, an ally of the Pope. In the same year, he was sentenced to a heavy fine, on charges of corruption in the public office he held.
In 1315, the military officer who
controlled Florence granted amnesty to Florentines in exile, but the city
government insisted that returning expatriates must pay a large fine and do
public penance. Dante refused, preferring to remain in exile.
The Divine Comedy – his masterpiece
In The Divine Comedy, his most
important work, Dante completely changed the rules of the game. He was the
first poet to write a book with such an impact on the Florentine vernacular
(vulgar language), in the 14th century. This allowed the book to reach a much
wider audience, contributing substantially to world literacy.
The poem represents the soul's journey
towards God. In the epic, Dante is guided by the 'shadow' or spirit of the
great Roman poet Virgil. It is an attempt to demonstrate how humans can align
themselves with the love of God, seen as the fundamental force of the Universe.
Contrary to what many think, the poem
takes the name of “Comedy” not because it makes use of humor resources. In
fact, this term is the opposite of “tragedy”. The very name of the poem
indicates that the story will have a happy conclusion for the protagonist.
Initially, the work was just called
Comedy. Then it received the adjective Divine, through the poet Boccaccio. Considered
the first work of Italian and world Literature, its greatness is not limited to
its content but to its form, the quality of its poetry and its extraordinary
rhymes.
Between 1200 and 1300, Italy was a
nation divided into several small city-states. In each of them different
dialects were spoken, called vulgar languages, that is, the language commonly
spoken by the population. Everything was written in Latin and the vernacular
was used only for writing things of little importance.
Why was The Divine Comedy so important to the Renaissance?
One of the distinguishing features of
the culture of the Middle Ages was that Latin was considered the only language
suitable for literary and philosophical works. Dante believed that vernaculars
were valid vehicles for literary expression and suitable for certain genres
such as comedy, poetry, and prose.
As we have already said, Dante wrote
The Divine Comedy in Florentine, but he borrowed other regional Italian
dialects and even Latin. Dante's great work helped make Florentine the literary
language of Italy. Dante's influence during the Renaissance spread to the rest
of Europe.
This persuaded many writers and poets,
such as Francesco Petrarca and Giovanni Boccaccio, to abandon Latin and
write in their native language. This shift had consequences that went far
beyond the literary world. This is how the Florentine vernacular became not
only the most popular dialect in Italy but also the most famous and
prestigious. So much so, that in the rest of Italy speaking Florentine was
considered a sign of great refinement. This helped to develop a national
consciousness during the High Renaissance in particular, which is evident in
Machiavelli's works.
Until today, the epic poem is seen as
a reference for writers, editors and screenwriters, being considered one of the
masterpieces of all history. Unlike the epic poems of Homer and Virgil, which
recounted the great historical deeds of their people, Dante's The Divine Comedy
is a somewhat autobiographical work, set in the time in which he lived and
populated by contemporary figures.
Guided first by the character of Virgil and then by his beloved Beatrice, Dante wrote about his own
path to salvation through Hell – the
place of sinners – Purgatory – the place of sinners awaiting judgment and Heaven – the place of purification –
which means holiness offering philosophical and moral judgments along the way.
Dante took advantage of The Divine Comedy to settle accounts
with many of his enemies, among them Pope Boniface VIII, for whom he reserved a
place in hell. Due to the monumental influence that the work had on countless
artists, Dante is considered one of the greatest writers who ever lived. As the
poet TS Eliot wrote, "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them,
there is no third."
Dante's long exile
For strictly political reasons, Dante
was accused of administrative improbity, sentenced to pay a fine of five
thousand florins, to remain confined for two years, and forbidden to hold public
office for the rest of his life (1303). As he refused to pay the fine or
justify himself, he was sentenced to death, beginning his long life in exile.
From Siena he left for Verona and then for Bologna (1304-1306).
The exile may have been difficult, but
it made him extremely productive. He strongly believed that his relevance on
the literary scene would be enough for the exile to be revoked and he could
return to Florence. However, no matter how successful he was, his exile was
never ended.
Dante accepted an invitation from the ruler of Ravenna to stay in that city. It was in Ravenna that the poet finished the last of his great works and died in 1321 of malaria contracted in the swamps of Venice. In Ravenna, he was buried with great honors. His remains were never returned to Florence.
Platonic
love and marriage
Beatrice
Portinari, who appears in The Divine Comedy, was his great
platonic love. She was only 9 years old and she was almost the same age when
they first met. Beatrice was adopted as an inspirational muse throughout his
work. When he turned 16, he found her again, presenting her with the first of
his love sonnets.
However, at age 12, Dante married
Gemma Donati, a wife who bore him three children. Common practice at the time,
Dante and Gemma's marriage was already agreed between the families when both
were still children.
In 1290, Beatrice died. With the premature
death of his beloved, he took refuge in the study, dedicating himself to the
reading of Christian and classic authors such as Boethius, Saint Augustine,
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Ovid and Lucan, going through a period of
maturation that led him to several changes in his artistic production. Two
years later, Dante wrote Vita Nuova (New
Life) as a song of praise for his true love.
Literary and philosophical works
De Monarchia (The Monarchy) – important well-known political
treatise written in Latin. It was unique for the time because Dante advocated a
Universal Monarchy and the separation of Church and State. The work is composed
of three books, but the most significant is the third, in which Dante more
explicitly confronts the theme of the relations between the Pope and the
emperor.
Il Banquete (The Banquet) – Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio are called
"the three fountains" or "the three crowns". May they come
and may we all sit together at a table for the Feast! Written in his final
days, it presents many of his most compelling thoughts on how a life of
maturity and civility should be led.
De vulgari eloquentia (On vernacular eloquence) – essay written in Latin,
initially thinking with four books, but abandoned in the middle of the second.
The first book deals with the relationship between Latin and the vernacular,
and the search for an illustrious vernacular in Italian territory. The second
is an analysis of "canto", or song, a literary genre.
Used and suggested links
