Index
Index
Acrostics, 145
Acts of the Apostles, 79
Afterlife, conception of, 35
Alberti, Leon Battista, De pictura (On Painting), 108
Allegory: and Bible, 55, 138, 193–94; in Inferno, 53–56, 85, 101; and Neoplatonism, 31, 85; in Paradiso, 54, 193, 211, 266–67; philosophical allegory, 194; in Purgatorio, 155, 176; of theologians, 54, 55, 56
Amphion, 110
Anaphoras, 67, 71, 144, 162, 220, 264
Andreas Capellanus, The Art of Courtly Love, 12, 15, 43
Angels: brightness of, 125; circularity of, 39; hierarchy of, 251; and language, 104, 114; neutral angels, 33–34, 114, 223; and Purgatorio, 125
Anselm, 205
Aristotle: The Ethics, 17, 63, 99, 100, 160; on first philosophy, 249; on God as Prime Mover, 120, 184; on imagination, 149–50; on immortality of soul, 202; On the Soul, 61, 62; Physics, 63, 252; Poetics, 24; and will, 192
Art: as act of remembrance, 9; educational aspect of, 64–65; of God, 137, 138, 140, 143, 145; in Middle Ages, 64; and moral perception, 141; and perspective, 141–42; and pride, 145; as representation of virtue, 137; and virtue, 138; as work, 63–64
Auerbach, Eric, 57
Augustine, Saint: The City of God, 41, 49, 71, 123, 196–97, 198; The Confessions, 7–8, 11, 40, 41, 49, 56–58, 143, 176, 218–19; on conversion, 177; dualism of, 123; on love, 40–41, 49; and Paradiso, 201, 205; and Virgil, 49, 50, 197
Autobiography: Augustine’s The Confessions as, 7–8, 11, 56; Divine Comedy as, 2, 25, 175–77, 198, 206, 215; future dimension of, 11; Vita nuova as, 6, 7, 8, 25
Averroes, 61–62, 63, 167, 192, 201, 202
Benedict, 233
Berenger, Raymond, 198
Bernard of Clairvaux, 182, 186, 258, 262, 264–65
Bible: and allegory, 55, 138, 193–94; and dreams, 154; and God as geometer, 229; and hope, 242; and ladder of Jacob, 206; and prophets, 187; references to, 125; voice of biblical prophets, 78–79
Birth, 42, 88, 94, 131, 162, 263
Body: body politic, 99, 220, 221, 222; and city, 46–48, 99, 220, 221; division of, 98; as irreducible historicity of one’s self, 28; relationship with soul, 167; two bodies of a king, 98–99; and will, 28
Boethius: Consolation of Philosophy, 9, 133, 147, 176, 221; and metaphor of East, 120; and Paradiso, 182, 201
Bonaventure, Saint, 179, 182, 203, 204–6, 211–13, 250, 256
Boniface VIII (pope), 79, 81–82, 92, 94, 95, 248
Borges, Jorge Luis, 113
Boustrophedon (reversal), 40
Brunetto Latini: and Cacciaguida, 215; and Florence, 3–4, 104; and Inferno, 72, 73–76, 78, 167, 224; language of, 108
Cacciaguida (grandfather), 75, 215, 217–18, 219, 221, 222, 224, 226
Cassiodorus, 120
Catholic Church: and empire, 148–49; founding event in constitution of, 79; loyalty of Guelphs to, 4; mystical body of, 99. See also Christians; Papacy
Cato, 72, 121–24, 128, 129, 170
Catullus, 15
Cavalcanti, Guido: and Guinizelli, 138, 145, 153, 166; in Inferno, 14, 16, 60–62, 202; on love, 15, 17, 62–63, 165; and pastourelle, 172; and Purgatorio, 138, 145, 153, 165, 166, 172
Celestial spheres, 248
Celestine V (pope), 95
Charlemagne, 226
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 154
Chrétien de Troyes, 12, 15, 44–45
Christians: Dante’s apostrophe to, 140–41; humility of, 32; and Muslims, 212; tragedy of, 103. See also Catholic Church; Papacy
Chrysostom the Metropolitan, 205
Cicero, 72, 74, 92, 95, 154, 160
Circularity: ancient symbolism of circle, 39; Dante replacing with linearity, 34–35; of liberal education, 1; in Paradiso, 269; and reincarnation of souls, 34, 36–37; and spiraled Hell, 39, 77; in Vita nuova, 20
City: and body, 46–48, 99, 220, 221; constructed like a body, 46–48, 99, 220, 221; of Dis, 52–53, 58, 135; disorder of, 63; and Epicurean philosophers, 52, 59; fallen cities, 90; and gluttony, 46; and Heavenly Jerusalem, 259–60; metaphor of sheepfold, 243; and pleasure, 40; and politics, 46, 196, 260; and private passion, 45; and rhetoric, 96; shared walls of, 134; stability in, 42; true city, 177
Clement V (pope), 79
Comedy: Dante’s comical vision, 103, 214; as poetic style, 105
Communal destiny, 128–29
Community, 134, 222, 223, 239, 243
Concupiscent appetites, 39–41, 46
Consideration, 201
Constantine (Roman emperor), 82–83, 95, 195–96
Contemplation, 152, 155, 233–35, 258
Conversion, 7–8
Convivio (Banquet), 6, 17, 52, 54, 123, 159–60, 176, 182
Counselors, in Inferno, 89–90, 91, 92, 94
D’Accorso, Francesco, 75
Dame Philosophy, 182
Dante Alighieri: and battle of Campaldino, 131; context of life, 2–4; exile of, 4, 21–22, 75, 103, 104, 108, 132, 211, 217–19, 220, 222–25, 227, 233, 243–44; as letter writer, 79; meaning of name, 206; perception of poetic powers, 186–87; writing of, 103–4, 225, 227, 242–43
Dante da Maiano, 14
Desire: animal projections of, 29, 30; Augustine on, 40, 49; conflicting desires, 2; as displacement, 39–40; drama of, 38; and flattery, 16; imitative structure of, 45; and Inferno, 29, 30, 46, 50; and medieval romance, 41; and mind, 46; and Paradiso, 192, 264–65, 269; and poetry, 167, 169; and Purgatorio, 135, 156–57, 167, 169, 171–72, 173; for shelter of home, 135
Despair, as most crucial sin, 21, 26
De vulgari eloquentia (On Eloquence in the Vernacular), 6, 96, 104–9, 113, 114, 165, 168, 244, 246
Dialectics, 181, 194–96, 198–99
Divination and diviners, 79, 155, 206
Divine Comedy: The Aneid replaced with, 77; autobiographical nature of, 2, 25, 175–77, 198, 206, 215; comedy as thematic trajectory of poem, 23; and Dante’s exile, 4; Dante’s title for, 1, 23–24; double narrative focus of, 26–27, 140–41; as encyclopedia, 1, 2, 21, 76, 199, 206; formal structure of, 24–25; generic ambiguity to, 36–37, 39, 86; humble style of, 83; and journey of life, 25; number three as symbolic number division in, 24, 173–74; parallelism in, 24; passion in, 21; as perspectivist story, 108; public mythology in, 21; as reflection of divine order of universe, 24; symmetry in, 115, 132; synoptic and omniscient narrator, 26–27, 86; terza rima of, 24; theology of redemption in, 255–56; vernacular language of, 23, 214. See also Inferno; Paradiso; Purgatorio
Donation of Constantine, 82–83, 95, 195
Donatus, 205
Dreams, 154–58
Elijah, 87
Eliseus, 87
Emanationism, 257
Empire: and Catholic Church, 148–49; ideology of, 196–97; loyalty of Ghibellines to, 4; and politics, 49, 50, 196; Roman Empire, 195–98; and Virgil, 158, 196–98
Encyclopedias: and Bonaventure, 206; as circle of knowledge, 1, 37; Divine Comedy as, 1, 2, 21, 76, 199, 206; and enumerations, 37
Enigmas, 54
Epicureans, 52, 58–61, 63, 153, 202
Eponym, 79
Erasmus, 239
Ethics: and aesthetics, 190; Epicurean ethics, 153; and friendship, 160; and geometry, 227–28; and Inferno, 100, 106; and Paradiso, 182, 190, 224, 227–28; Prime Mover associated with, 182; and Purgatorio, 137–38, 140, 141, 142, 145, 153, 170, 176
Exegesis, levels of, 55
Exodus story, 55, 125–26, 243–44
Florence: and Brunetto Latini, 3–4, 104; and Cavalcanti, 14; and civil strife, 4, 48–49, 59–61; Dante’s apostrophe to, 86, 90; Dante’s childhood in, 3; Dante’s chronicle of, 216–17, 219–21; Dante’s exile from, 4, 21–22, 75, 103, 104, 108, 132, 211, 217–19, 220, 222–25, 227, 233, 243–44; and Dante’s pastoral language, 243; Dante’s satire on, 134–35; and gluttony and politics, 46–49; and Guelphs and Ghibellines, 49, 59–61, 75; Hell as size of, 101; as home, 74; San Giovanni Baptistery in, 80; thieves of, 94; and Vita nuova, 8, 20, 21
Francis, Saint, 96, 133, 144–45, 204, 207–13, 214
Freccero, John, 54
Frederick II (Holy Roman emperor), 70–71, 89, 105, 166
Freedom: and creation of the soul, 148; and future, 122–23; and God’s foreknowledge, 133, 147; and hazard and chance, 132–33; and law, 148–49; and Paradiso, 207; and poverty, 211; and Purgatorio, 122, 126, 130; traditions based on, 125
Fulgentius, 31
Galileo, 101
Garden of Eden, in Purgatory, 30, 116, 117, 130, 159, 168, 169, 172–73
Geographical coordinates, 196, 208, 212, 230–31
Ghibellines, partisan faction of, 4, 49, 59–61, 75, 111–12, 197, 222
Gilson, Étienne, 167
Girard, René, 45
Glory, meaning of, 183–84
Gluttony, 39, 46–49, 71, 127, 164, 166
God: as agent, 183; as all-knowing, 133; angels circling throne of, 39; art of, 137, 138, 140, 143, 145; boundaries of divine, 245–46; as cause, 183, 184, 200; Crucifixion as suffering of divinity, 103; and Fortune, 50–51; as geometer, 228, 229, 268; and glory, 183–84; imminence of, 188, 212; and ineffability topos, 97; as infinite sphere, 144; justice of, 101, 228–30; knowledge of, 62–63, 238, 245; language as gift from, 104; language of, 237, 238; light of, 146, 206; marriage with the soul, 80; mind of, 250; and model of Trinity, 199–200; name of, 238, 246; seeing face to face, 1, 24, 190; self-enclosed nature of, 268; soul at risk in relationship to, 132–33; transcendence of, 188, 212, 269; universe resembling, 188
Godfrey of Bouillon, 226
Goliardic poets, 166
the Good: evil utilized for ends of, 114–15, 135–36; and Scholasticism, 153
Gravity, 49
Greeks: and hope, 241–42; and knowledge, 28; levels of style, 23; love as intellectual pursuit, 14–15; poets, 35; on questions of love, 12; and Thebes, 88, 90, 110; and Virgil, 93
Gregory the Great (pope), 251
Guelphs, partisan faction of, 4, 49, 59–61, 75, 111–12, 197–98, 222, 243
Guinizelli, Guido, 15, 17, 138, 145, 166–67, 168
Hadrian (Roman emperor), 148
Happiness, 169
Heaven of fixed stars, 181, 182, 234, 237, 248
Hebrew language, 104–5, 108–9, 168, 238, 246
Hell: as apocalyptic ending to world, 113; gate of, 33; and ice, 110; imaginative redemption of, 253; and ineffability topos, 97; as inverted cosmos of Purgatory, 39; leftward spiral of, 39, 77, 120; lower Hell, 103, 106, 110; makers of discord in, 96; middle region of, 63, 66, 67, 72–73, 75–77; moral topography of, 38–39, 72; and rain of fire, 81; retributive justice in, 99; second circle, 38, 68–69; size of, 101; suffering of, 32; tripartite division to plan of, 63; washing off stains of, 124. See also Inferno
Heresy: boundaries of, 207, 214; and Dominicans, 204; and Inferno, 52, 61–62; and Joachim of Flora, 179, 205–6; and knowledge, 202, 203; meaning of, 62; and mind, 52, 62, 65; schisms distinguished from, 99
Herodotus, 231–33
Hierarchy: of angels, 251; of beatitude, 192–93; and differences, 184; of intellect over will, 192; of reality, 24; of teaching, 74
History: as allegory of humility, 138; and Boethius, 221; and civil war, 49; Dante’s historical consciousness, 166, 168, 179; deliverance for, 177; and dialectics, 198–99; economy of, 196; and impotence of poetic language, 135; and Joachim of Flora, 178–79, 205–6; literary history, 164, 166, 167; and locus amoenus, 171; Roman history, 195–96, 215, 227, 231; and self, 28, 215–19, 225, 235–36; and time, 233, 236
Homer: The Iliad, 37, 86; image of dead souls, 34; and Inferno, 35, 36, 84; internal vision of, 184; The Odyssey, 31, 85, 86
Honorius (pope), 211
Horace: and Inferno, 35, 36, 84; Poetic Art, 24
Hortus (enclosed garden), 171
Hugh of St. Victor, 205, 206 Humanism, 74 Humility, 135, 136, 137, 138–40, 141, 144, 145, 265
Illuminato, 205
Imagination: Dante’s apostrophe to, 149–50, 154; disengagement from reality, 150, 151, 268; and garden, 172; and harmony, 260; love tied to, 17, 153; memory as eye of, 9, 149; and Paradiso, 190, 268; and poetry, 157; and Purgatorio, 136, 149–51
Immortality, 75
Ineffability topos, 96–97, 109, 183
Inferno: and aerial journey, 77; allusions to Beatrice in, 75; avian metaphors, 40; and Bertran de Born, 96–99, 100, 105; and cannibalization, 110, 112–13; Canto 1, 25–32, 67, 172, 183, 263, 269; Canto 2, 32–33; Canto 3, 33–34; Canto 4, 35–37, 38, 84, 135; Canto 5, 36, 38–44, 45, 50, 84, 110, 131, 167, 176, 253; Canto 6, 46–50, 58, 59, 106, 132, 134, 196, 198; Canto 7, 50–51, 99, 161; Canto 8, 242; Canto 9, 52–56, 58, 77, 135, 242; Canto 10, 14, 16, 48, 58–63, 202; Canto 11, 63–65, 67; Canto 12, 66–67, 68; Canto 13, 66, 67–72, 124; Canto 15, 72–76, 167, 215, 224; Canto 16, 76, 77, 78; Canto 17, 78, 217; Canto 18, 190; Canto 19, 78, 79–83; Canto 20, 78; Canto 21, 83; Canto 24, 83; Canto 25, 83–84, 94; Canto 26, 84–91, 92, 93, 94, 116, 156, 168, 245, 249; Canto 27, 88, 92–96, 130, 248; Canto 28, 89, 96–100, 109, 227; Canto 29, 100–101; Canto 30, 106; Canto 31, 107; Canto 32, 109–10; Canto 33, 110–14; Canto 34, 114–15; Guido Cavalcanti in, 14, 16, 60–62, 202; and Charon, 34, 125; and construction of reality, 111; and countermovement of Scylla and Charybdis, 50; Dante’s prophetic voice in, 78–82, 87, 101; and Davidic voice, 29; and desire, 29, 30, 46, 50; and despair, 26, 29; ethical structure of, 100, 106; and ethics, 100, 106; experiences of evil in, 135; and fear of falling, 83; and flight of the mind, 27–28; and Fortune, 50–51; and Francesca, 38, 39–40, 41, 42–46, 84, 108, 110, 111, 131, 167, 176, 253, 254–55; and Furies, 52–53, 242; and Geri del Bello, 101; and Geryon, 77, 78; and giants, 107, 109; and Guido da Montefeltro, 88, 92, 93–96, 130, 248; hybrid figures in, 66, 68; and image of tailor, 73; ineffability topos, 97, 109; and interruptions, 60; and land of dissimilitude, 30, 54; and language, 214; limping in, 222; and love, 42–44; and metamorphoses, 83–84; narratives in, 42; and neutral angels, 33–34, 114, 223; ordering of sins in, 117; and Paolo, 39–40, 42, 44, 45, 111; and passion, 27–28, 45–46; and petrification threat, 53, 56; poet addressing reader in, 53–54, 77; preamble of, 25–27; Purgatorio as reversal of economy of, 136; queens listed in, 40–41; and questions about the body, 28; as rehearsal of whole poem, 32; salvific role of his own voice, 32–33; and Satan, 114; scenes of recognition in, 73; and self-understanding, 33; and Sicilian bull, 93; and suicides, 67, 122; swimming metaphor in, 77; and tragedy, 96, 103, 105–7, 110–14; and Trojan Horse, 85, 93, 106–7; and Ugolino, 111–13, 131; and Ulysses, 84–91, 92, 93, 94, 116, 168, 245, 249; and Virgil, 30–32, 35–36, 40, 41, 42, 52, 53–54, 58, 59, 60, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69–70, 74, 77, 78, 81–82, 84, 85–86, 88, 93, 100–101, 156; and will, 28, 29, 33
Isidore of Bede, 201
Isidore of Seville, 178
Italy, and politics, 132, 134–35, 196
Jacopo da Lentini, 166
Jesus Christ: and apocalyptic end of time, 178–79; arrival in Jerusalem, 174; Church as mystical body of, 99; Dante’s experience as imitation of, 32; and Incarnation, 256; and model of Trinity, 199–200; and Veronica, 263
Joachim of Flora, 178–79, 203, 205–6, 207, 212
John of Salisbury, 31
John the Apostle, 238
Joyce, James, The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 11
Judgment, 49
Justice: and Bertran de Born, 100; Dante as poet of, 99; Dante’s concept of, 102, 228–30; and Dante’s exile, 222; distributive justice, 99–100; and geometry, 228–29; God’s justice, 101, 228–30; and humility, 139; and pity, 41; and punishment in Hell, 98; retributive justice, 99, 100; as revenge, 101
Justinian (Roman emperor), 195, 196
Kantorowicz, Ernst, 98–99
Kaske, R. E., 178
Keats, John, 154 Knowledge: Bonaventure on, 206–7; canon of, 202; canto of pure knowledge, 203; Dante’s apostrophe on, 207; encyclopedias as circle of, 1, 37; and Exodus story, 126; and faith, 240; and flight of the mind, 86; and freedom, 133; of God, 62–63, 238, 245; and Greeks, 28; and heresies, 202, 203; limitations of, 29, 245–46; and Platonic narrative, 27; style as mode of, 105; thirst for, 159; tied to displacement and travel, 89; and transgressions, 156; virtue as, 89; and will, 33, 154, 204
Laudatio (praise of the past), 220
Law: and Cato, 121, 128; of decorum, 93; and Francis, 210; and freedom, 148–49; of history, 114; of love, 166; love as moral law, 136; natural law, 70; Roman law, 195
Limbo: and Averroes, 61; and Cato, 122; different epochs bound together in, 168; as garden, 35, 135, 171; Lucretia in, 72; reenactment of aesthetic temptation in, 84; and Virgil, 160
Locus amoenus (idyllic place), 35, 171, 173
Love: Augustine on, 40–41, 49; Guido Cavalcanti on, 15, 17, 62–63, 165; and creation, 252–53; Dante’s theory of, 150–51, 152, 153, 154; debates between voluntarists and rationalists, 17–18; defining of, 244; and friendship, 16–17; as gravity, 49; and imagination, 17, 153; and Inferno, 42–44; intellectual essence of, 165; and knowledge of God, 63; love economy, 133; metaphysical aspect of, 15–16; and mind, 15–16, 17, 18; and perception, 15, 150, 153; and poetry, 105, 166; and politics, 63; Prime Mover as, 269; and Provençal poets, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 166; and Purgatorio, 150, 157, 174–75; and risk, 133; rules of, 43; and sin, 136; and treachery, 106; types of, 150; Vita nuova on, 11, 12–19, 42, 103, 165, 175
Lust, 39–41, 50, 117, 135, 167, 172, 254
Luther, Martin, 239
Machiavelli, Niccolò, The Prince, 92, 94
Macrobius, 154
Malice, 66
Marie de Champagne, 43
Mars, 120, 155, 181–82, 215, 221, 226
Mary (Virgin Mary), 137, 138, 192, 258, 263, 264
Measurement: of desires, 46; language of, 229; and paradox, 268; in Purgatorio, 137, 139, 141–42
Medieval disputation, 96
Medusa, myth of, 53–54, 135, 242
Memory: as eye of imagination, 9, 149; and forgetfulness, 127, 158, 179, 184, 258–59, 265–66, 267; limitations of, 10, 11; Muses as mother of, 9; and Paradiso, 184–85, 186, 258, 263, 265–66, 267; and prophets as commentators, 79; and Purgatorio, 123–24, 149, 179; Vita nuova as book of, 8–9, 10, 11, 119, 216
Mercy, 146
Metaphysics, 2, 15–16, 146, 182, 189, 250, 253–54
Metonymy, 24
Middle Ages: art in, 64; and cosmetics, 220; literature of love in, 12; and otherness, 230; social values of, 210; third heaven in, 186; and translation, 196
Milton, John, Paradise Lost, 114
Mind: flight of the mind, 27–28, 86–87; and heresy, 52, 62, 65; and ladder metaphor, 206; and love, 15–16, 17, 18; and measure of desires, 46; and will, 38, 58, 63
Minotaur, 66
Monarchia, 49, 83, 177, 196, 227
Moon, 155, 181, 186, 187, 189, 192, 194, 235
Morality: and acedia, 152; and Christian redemption, 123; and free will, 170; love as moral law, 136; moral language, 145–46; moral topography of Hell, 38–39, 72; moral trait of Purgatory, 117, 128; and papacy, 195; and poetry, 161–62, 167; and political boundaries, 231–32; role of art in, 141
Muhammad, Prophet, 99
Nature, 68, 72–73, 117, 123, 124, 137, 182, 188
Neoplatonism: and allegory, 31, 85; and doubleness of human beings, 66; and God as principle of light, 184; and horses of the soul, 87; and Inferno, 27, 28; and Lord’s Prayer, 144; and Ulysses, 93
Netherlands, 73
Nicholas of Cusa, 82
Originality, and freedom, 122–23
Ovid: and Inferno, 35, 36, 84, 106; Metamorphoses, 17, 44, 84; and Paradiso, 186, 234
Papacy: blasphemy of popes, 80; counselors of, 94; election of popes, 79; in Inferno, 81–82; and law, 149; and successors of Peter, 248; temporal power of, 95, 195
Paradise: and experience of sublime, 187, 189; and fear of battle, 185; and image of tailor, 73; and ineffability topos, 97; and intellectual concerns, 171; Jerusalem as garden in, 35; Plato on, 191, 192, 193; Purgatory as place of transition to, 116; representation of, 193
Paradiso: and Adam, 244–45; and aerial journey, 190; and aesthetics, 170, 187, 190; and Apollo, 185; and appearances, 262–63; as autobiographical, 198, 206; and basic words, 237; and Beatrice, 170, 173, 182, 186, 187–89, 192–94, 217, 219, 234–35, 239–40, 243–44, 248–53, 254, 256, 258, 259, 260, 261–62; and beauty, 183, 188; and Bernard of Clairvaux, 182, 258, 262, 264–65; Canto 1, 74, 183–89, 269; Canto 2, 189–90; Canto 3, 191; Canto 4, 191–94; Canto 6, 194–99, 215; Canto 10, 199–203, 204, 205; Canto 11, 203, 204–12; Canto 12, 204, 207, 212, 213–14; Canto 13, 201; Canto 15, 75, 215, 216, 219, 227; Canto 16, 75, 215, 216–17, 220–22, 227; Canto 17, 215, 217–19, 222–25, 227; Canto 18, 226, 227, 228; Canto 19, 227, 228–33; Canto 20, 227; Canto 21, 233–34; Canto 22, 233, 234–35; Canto 24, 238–42, 247; Canto 25, 242–44, 247; Canto 26, 105, 168, 238, 244–47; Canto 27, 248–51, 254; Canto 28, 84, 248, 251; Canto 29, 248, 251–52, 255, 262; Canto 30, 173, 182, 258, 259–61; Canto 31, 261–63; Canto 33, 73, 190, 258–59, 263–64; and Constance, 191, 194; and cosmos, 181, 189, 248, 249, 250, 253, 255–57, 258, 264, 266–67; and creation, 248, 249, 251–53, 255, 256–57; and desert, 212–13, 238–39; and desire, 192, 264–65, 269; and divisions, 227; and ethics, 182, 190, 224, 227–28; and fall of man, 245–46; and Francesca, 253, 254–55; and future, 221, 222, 242, 266; and garden, 260; and God, 183; and happiness, 169; and Heavenly Jerusalem, 259–60; and heroic life, 226, 230; and Hippolytus, 218; and imagination, 190, 268; and Incarnation, 256, 264, 268, 269; and Jason of the Argonauts, 190; and Joachim of Flora, 178, 203, 205–6, 207, 212; and joy, 267; and justice, 228–30; and language, 238, 246; letter to Cangrande as introduction to, 54; and limits, 186; list of warriors, 226; and memory, 184–85, 186, 258, 263, 265–66, 267; mode of representation in, 192–94; and moon, 181, 186, 187, 189, 192; and musical metaphors, 216, 217; numerical symbolism in, 201; and paradox, 185, 199, 263, 268; pedagogical structure of, 182; and Piccarda, 191, 192, 194; and place, 227, 230–33, 254; and planets linked with liberal arts, 181, 194; and play, 132; poet addressing reader in, 189; and poverty, 210–11; and Pseudo-Dionysius, 146; and rationality, 182–83; and self, 183, 188, 215–18; and Semele, 233–34; and silence, 183, 186, 191–92, 252, 253; and speech, 267–68; and subjectivity, 183, 184, 239; and teaching, 183, 240–41; and Thomas Aquinas, 182, 200–201, 204, 205; and time, 233; tonality in, 120; and Ulysses, 91, 190, 249, 253, 254–55; and utopia, 220, 225; and vision, 184–87, 188, 234–35, 244, 249, 258, 260–61, 262, 263, 264–69; water images in, 189–90; and will, 191, 194
Paul, Saint, 29, 32, 99, 186, 240, 241, 254
Perception: and death, 34; and imagination, 149–50, 153; and love, 15, 150, 153; and morality, 117, 141; philosophical theory of, 152–53; of poetic powers, 186–87; theological perception, 132
Perspective: and confusion, 109; and geometry, 227; lack of, 111, 112; overall perspective, 260; as presence of viewpoints, 107–8; and representation of art, 141–42; reversal of perspective, 144; shifts in, 115; and style, 165–66
Peter, Saint, 70, 79–82, 237, 239–41, 243, 248, 249
Peter the Spaniard, 205
Petrarch, 211
Philosophy: Aristotle on first philosophy, 249; friendship as interchangeable with, 160; as journey, 202; limitations of, 28–29, 32, 33; poverty of, 211; schools of, 52; and theology, 233; Virgil as philosopher, 31
Pier delle Vigne, 67, 70–72, 89, 108
Pilgrim: and city of Dis, 52, 53–54; diachronic viewpoint of, 26–27, 86, 133; in Divine Comedy, 23, 26–27, 29; free will of, 122, 169, 170; and future and past, 126; and Guido da Montefeltro, 93; and hubris, 36, 38, 84, 185; journey of, 1, 118–19, 132, 170, 189, 194, 213, 236, 244, 265, 269; looking inward, 125; perplexities and doubts of, 187; purgation of, 169; Satan as instrument of ascent of, 114; and self-confrontation, 171; self-mastery of, 169, 170; spiral movement of, 39; time as biological clock of, 117; in Vita nuova, 20–21
Pity, 41
Planets, 85, 120, 147, 155, 181, 194, 251
Plato: on inverted universe, 257; ladder of, 206; on paradise, 191, 192, 193; and philosophical allegory, 194; The Republic, 27, 154; wheel of becoming, 34. See also Neoplatonism
Platonic narrative, 27
Plotinus, 183
Poetry: allegory of poets, 54–55, 56; ambiguity of, 162–63; Dante’s approach to, 119–20, 164–67; and Dante’s dream, 156–57; generosity of, 164; journey of the poet, 119; and morality, 161–62, 167; as mother and nurse, 159; and nonchoice, 128; philosophy compared to, 31–32, 36; and power of light, 159; themes of, 105
Politics: body politic, 99, 220, 221, 222; and city, 46, 196, 260; and civil war, 48, 49, 50, 62, 63, 198; and empire, 49, 50, 196; and epics, 90; and eros, 40; and freedom, 148; and gluttony, 46–47; and Italy, 132, 134–35, 196; and love, 63; and moral boundaries, 231–32; and rhetoric, 3–4; and theology, 74–75, 98
Polycletus, 137
Practical intellect, 64
Pride, 71, 107, 117, 135–39, 140, 145
Prime Mover, 167, 181, 182, 184, 248–51, 269
Priscian, 75
Prodigality, 39, 158, 161, 211
Provençal poets: and autobiography, 7; breaching unity of body politic, 89; and dawn song, 118; and literature of love, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 166; lute as instrument of, 105; pastourelle, 172; and war poems, 96–98, 105
Psalms of King David, 8, 29, 108–9, 125
Pseudo-Dionysius: and angelic hierarchies, 251; The Celestial Hierarchy, 146; The Divine Names, 200; Neoplatonic imagery of, 208
Psychomachia, 136
Ptolemy, 181
Punishments: crimes related to, 100, 101, 227; for gluttony, 164; in Hell, 98; for pride, 140, 145 Purgatorio: and aesthetics, 127–28, 137–38, 140, 141, 142, 143–44, 156, 157–58, 170, 172; allegory in, 155, 176; autobiographical shift in, 175–77; and Beatrice, 153, 157, 169, 170, 173–78, 258; and Bonagiunta da Lucca, 164–66; and Buonconte da Montefeltro, 130–31; and Calliope, 119; Canto 1, 72, 118–24, 125, 179, 183; Canto 2, 124–28, 134, 157–58; Canto 5, 130–32; Canto 6, 132–34, 196; Canto 9, 135; Canto 10, 135, 136–42, 143; Canto 11, 135, 144–45, 147, 166; Canto 12, 144, 145–46; Canto 15, 146, 150; Canto 16, 146–49; Canto 17, 149–51, 152, 153; Canto 18, 152–53, 154; Canto 19, 84, 91, 154–58, 176; Canto 21, 159–60, 166, 167; Canto 22, 160–63, 166, 167; Canto 23, 164, 167; Canto 24, 164, 167; Canto 25, 167–68; Canto 26, 166–68, 169, 245; Canto 27, 169; Canto 28, 171–72; Canto 29, 171; Canto 30, 157, 171, 173–76, 258; Canto 31, 157, 171, 176–77; Canto 32, 171, 177; Canto 33, 171, 177–80, 205, 206, 258; and Casella, 127–29, 134, 157–58; and Cato, 121–24, 128, 129, 170; and Guido Cavalcanti, 138, 145, 153, 165, 166, 172; as Christian canticle, 122; and David dancing in front of the ark, 138–39; and death, 131, 157, 174, 175; and desert, 126, 127, 144, 170; and desire, 135, 156–57, 167, 169, 171–72, 173; displaced figures of, 117, 126; and Forese Donati, 164; and dreams, 154–58, 176; and epic topos, 118, 158, 175; and ethics, 137–38, 140, 141, 142, 145, 153, 170, 176; and Exodus story, 125–26; and failed embraces, 127; and fall of man, 145–46; and forgiveness, 132; and freedom, 122, 126, 130; and free will, 170; and future, 119, 122, 123, 126, 130, 177–78; and game of hazard, 132–33; and grief, 143; and Guido Guinizelli, 138, 145, 166–67, 168; and hope, 130; and idolatry, 128; and imagination, 136, 149–51; and Jerusalem, 124–25; and Marco Lombardo, 146–47; and Lord’s Prayer, 144; and love, 150, 157, 174–75; and Matelda, 172–73; measurement as metaphor in, 137, 139, 141–42; and medieval disputation, 96; and memory, 123–24, 128, 149, 179; and metamorphoses, 141; and mirror, 146; and morality, 164; numerical symbolism in, 178–79, 205; and past, 126; and pastoral oasis, 171–72; and Pia de’ Tolomei, 131–32; as place of cleansing or purification, 116, 118, 128, 135; poetic tension in, 121, 123; and poetry, 157–63, 164, 165–68; and retrospection, 130, 131; as reversal of economy of Inferno, 136; structure of, 135–36; and time, 117–18, 130, 131, 178–79, 205; tonality in, 120–21; and Trajan, 138, 139, 140; and Ulysses, 91, 116, 118, 124, 155, 156–57; Valley of the Princes, 135; and Virgil, 124, 126–27, 128, 132, 134, 135, 138, 140, 146, 150, 152–53, 158–63, 164, 166, 167–68, 169, 170, 173, 174–75; water images in, 118, 179–80, 258
Purgatory: ante-Purgatory, 116; as domain of freedom, 122; earthly paradise and gardens in, 35; Garden of Eden in, 30, 116, 117, 130, 159, 168, 169, 172–73; and Jerusalem, 124; moral trait of, 117, 128; origin of, 114, 116; and Ovid, 36; as part of human geography, 116; parts of, 116–17; rightward spiral of, 39; and sense of time, 117–18; subdivisions of, 136–37; topography of, 150; and violence against nature, 72
Pythagorean understanding of existence, 34
Rabanus, 205
Rational appetites, 39
Rationality: and Paradiso, 182–83; and rationalist debates with voluntarists, 17–18; reason as faculty of soul, 38, 39; of Roman history, 195
Reading: in Inferno, 44, 45, 69, 71; in Purgatorio, 161
Rhetoric: apostrophes, 80, 86, 90, 113, 140–41, 149–50, 189–90, 207, 238–39; Dante on, 105; and Dante’s self-definition, 166; dramatic monologue, 111; and hyperbole, 89; laws of decorum, 93; and politics, 3–4; of praise, 165, 209; treatise on, 95–96; and Ulysses, 93, 94, 168; Venus linked to, 181; and Virgil, 70
Richard of St. Victor, 186, 201
Roland, 226
Romance languages, 108
The Romance of the Rose, 154, 259
Romans: civil war between patricians and plebeians, 47–48, 49, 84; levels of style, 23; on love, 15; poets, 35
Rudel, Jaufré, 7
the Sacred: commerce in, 79; confusion with secular, 82, 83; Dante’s intervention in, 81; defining of, 80; and Statius, 158, 161, 163
Sarolli, G. R., 178
Saturn, 120, 155, 182, 233, 234
Schismatics, 99
Self: containment of, 124; and history, 28, 215–19, 225, 235–36; loss of, 67; and Paradiso, 183, 188, 215–18; self-reflection, 128; and suicide, 71; understanding of, 33; and Vita nuova, 10, 11, 16, 215, 216
Sensitive appetite, 39
Shakespeare, William, Coriolanus, 47
Sicilian poets, 166
Siger of Brabant, 201–3, 204, 205
Silence, and Paradiso, 183, 186, 191–92, 252, 253
Sin: defining of, 145–46; despair as, 21, 26; disengagement as, 33; habit as defining trait of, 43, 52; and love, 136; ordering of, 117; seven deadly sins, 135; tripartite division of, 63; will as locus of, 38, 52; witness to, 87
Sordello, 134
Soul: Aristotelian view of, 38; and Averroes, 61; butterfly as emblem for, 141; creation of, 148, 167–68; cultivation of, 65; faculties of, 38–39; home as place of, 74; horses of, 87; image of dead souls, 34; marriage with God, 80; origin of, 167–68; reincarnation of, 34, 36–37; relationship with body, 167; and risk in relationship with God, 132–33; salvation of, 75; tripartite structure of, 39; and Ulysses, 85, 87; writing as ascetic labor of, 243
Speculative intellect, 64
Stars, 115, 121, 180, 181, 191, 192, 234–35, 253, 269
Statius, 88, 158–63, 164, 166, 167–68, 173
Stoics, 52
Style: Dante as theorist on, 105, 165–66; degrees of, 93–94; figuration of, 67–68; of writing poetry, 23, 105, 109
Suicides, 67, 70–72, 87, 121–22, 128
Sylvester, Bernard, 31
Sylvester I (pope), 82, 95, 195
Synderesis, 38
Teaching: hierarchy of, 74; and Paradiso, 183, 240–41; tyranny of, 67; Virgil’s teaching of Dante, 64, 67, 68, 74
Tertullian, 240
Terza rima, 24
Theology: allegory of theologians, 54, 55, 56; Dante as poet-theologian, 101; Dante’s theological vision, 168; Empyrean associated with, 182; language of, 246; ludic theology, 138, 214; and philosophy, 233; and play, 132, 138, 148, 213; and politics, 74–75, 98; of redemption, 255–56; theological truth, 202
Thomas Aquinas: analogical position of, 238; on Averroes, 61; and canonical certainties, 203; conception of beauty, 188; on envy, 71; on Francis, 208; on God as causality, 200; on imagination, 150; on justice, 99, 100; and Paradiso, 182, 200–201, 204, 205; on priority of intellect, 204; on tabula rasa, 148; on universe as eternal, 202, 256
Time: apocalyptic end of time, 178–79, 206, 260–61; God as outside of, 133; and history, 233, 236; and hope, 242; in Inferno, 45–46, 117; memory as metaphor of, 185; and music, 217; origin of, 249, 250–51, 252, 254; in Paradiso, 233; in Purgatorio, 117–18, 130, 131, 178–79, 205; and space, 255
Titus (Roman emperor), 159
Trajan (Roman emperor), 138, 139, 140
Trinity, model of, 199–200, 203, 205–6
Tyrants, 66–67
University of Bologna, 149
Vernacular style, 23
Villeneuve, Romeo, 198
Violence: Dante’s experience of war as violence, 131; and fear of battle for description of Paradise, 185; history of, 231; as middle region of Hell, 63, 66, 67, 72–73, 75–77; and Roman Empire, 197, 198; sacrifice as act of, 113
Virgil: The Aeneid, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 40, 68, 69, 77, 85, 86, 158, 159, 161, 174, 175, 196, 219, 265–66; and Augustine, 49, 50, 197; book of, 266–67; concept of epic, 36; disappearance of, 261–62; in Divine Comedy, 26; The Eclogues, 161, 162, 243; empire, 158, 196–98; and Inferno, 30–32, 35–36, 40, 41, 42, 52, 53–54, 58, 59, 60, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69–70, 74, 77, 78, 81–82, 84, 85–86, 88, 93, 100–101, 156; and Lucan, 121; on nature, 68; as philosopher, 31; and Purgatorio, 124, 126–27, 128, 132, 134, 135, 138, 140, 146, 150, 152–53, 158–63, 164, 166, 167–68, 169, 170, 173, 174–75; and Sordello, 134; and Statius, 158–63, 164, 166, 167–68
Virtues: and art, 138; cardinal virtues, 237; knowledge as virtue, 89; representations of, 135–37, 146; theological virtues, 237–47; before vices, 136
Vision: Dante’s comical vision, 103, 214; and Paradiso, 184–87, 188, 234–35, 244, 249, 258, 260–61, 262, 263, 264–69
Vita nuova: and apparition of Beatrice, 19; as autobiographical, 6, 7, 8, 25; Beatrice linked to three in, 174; Beatrice’s death in, 6, 19–20, 29, 119, 176; and bodies, 14; as book of memory, 8–9, 10, 11, 119, 216; dedicated to Guido Cavalcanti, 14, 59; despair as sin in, 21; doubles in, 9, 11; and dreams, 154; as encyclopedic, 21; final vision in, 6; hope tied to future, 10–11, 21, 119; and Jerusalem, 20; and knowledge of God, 62–63; lack of future tense in, 119; on love, 11, 12–19, 42, 103, 165, 175; as love story, 11; as lyrical poem, 103; meaning of, 46; meaning of nuova, 6–7; passion for Beatrice, 9, 11, 12–13, 18; and pilgrims, 20–21; private mythology in, 20–21; prolepsis ending, 11; and rhetoric of praise, 209; and self, 10, 11, 16, 215, 216; as unfinished, 6, 10; vision of Beatrice, 10; and will, 13–14, 29
Vitruvius, 1
Wheel of Fortune, 50–51, 99, 214, 221
Will: body standing for, 28; and choice, 147, 153; conditional will, 194; division in, 29, 33, 202; free will, 38, 122, 147–48, 153, 154, 169, 170, 191, 192, 239; interdependence with intellect, 207; and knowledge, 33, 154, 204; limitations of willing, 33, 58, 193; as locus of sin, 38, 52; and love, 43, 46; nature of, 191–93; and Socrates, 29; as theme of poetry, 105; and Vita nuova, 13–14, 29; weakness of, 65; world as projection of, 29
Wonder, 187