Dante Alighieri

Born

in Florence, Italy

May 14, 1265

Died

September 05, 1321

Genre

Poetry, Religion, Philosophy

Influences

Plato, Virgil, Ovid, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Boethius, Marcus Tulli ...more

edit data

Dante Alighieri, or simply Dante (May 14/June 13 1265 – September 13/14, 1321), is one of the greatest poets in the Italian language; with the comic story-teller Boccaccio and the poet Petrarch, he forms the classic trio of Italian authors. Dante Alighieri was born in the city-state Florence in 1265. He first saw the woman, or rather the child, who was to become the poetic love of his life when he was almost nine years old and she was some months younger. In fact, Beatrice married another man, Simone di' Bardi, and died when Dante was 25, so their relationship existed almost entirely in Dante's imagination, but she nonetheless plays an extremely important role in his poetry. Dante attributed all the heavenly virtues to her soul and imagined Dante Alighieri, or simply Dante (May 14/June 13 1265 – September 13/14, 1321), is one of the greatest poets in the Italian language; with the comic story-teller Boccaccio and the poet Petrarch, he forms the classic trio of Italian authors. Dante Alighieri was born in the city-state Florence in 1265. He first saw the woman, or rather the child, who was to become the poetic love of his life when he was almost nine years old and she was some months younger. In fact, Beatrice married another man, Simone di' Bardi, and died when Dante was 25, so their relationship existed almost entirely in Dante's imagination, but she nonetheless plays an extremely important role in his poetry. Dante attributed all the heavenly virtues to her soul and imagined, in his masterpiece The Divine Comedy, that she was his guardian angel who alternately berated and encouraged him on his search for salvation.

Politics as well as love deeply influenced Dante's literary and emotional life. Renaissance Florence was a thriving, but not a peaceful city: different opposing factions continually struggled for dominance there. The Guelfs and the Ghibellines were the two major factions, and in fact that division was important in all of Italy and other countries as well. The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor were political rivals for much of this time period, and in general the Guelfs were in favor of the Pope, while the Ghibellines supported Imperial power. By 1289 in the battle of Campaldino the Ghibellines largely disappeared from Florence. Peace, however, did not insue. Instead, the Guelf party divided between the Whites and the Blacks (Dante was a White Guelf). The Whites were more opposed to Papal power than the Blacks, and tended to favor the emperor, so in fact the preoccupations of the White Guelfs were much like those of the defeated Ghibellines. In this divisive atmosphere Dante rose to a position of leadership. in 1302, while he was in Rome on a diplomatic mission to the Pope, the Blacks in Florence seized power with the help of the French (and pro-Pope) Charles of Valois. The Blacks exiled Dante, confiscating his goods and condemning him to be burned if he should return to Florence.

Dante never returned to Florence. He wandered from city to city, depending on noble patrons there. Between 1302 and 1304 some attempts were made by the exiled Whites to retrieve their position in Florence, but none of these succeeded and Dante contented himself with hoping for the appearance of a new powerful Holy Roman Emperor who would unite the country and banish strife. Henry VII was elected Emperor in 1308, and indeed laid seige to Florence in 1312, but was defeated, and he died a year later, destroying Dante's hopes. Dante passed from court to court, writing passionate political and moral epistles and finishing his Divine Comedy, which contains the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. He finally died in Ravenna in 1321. ...more

Combine Editions
Dante Alighieri’s books

Average rating: 4.02 · 308,330 ratings · 10,933 reviews · 816 distinct works • Similar authors

	Inferno really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 139,090 ratings — published 1307 — 1389 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Allen Mandelbaum (Translator), Eugenio Montale (Introduction) 4.06 avg rating — 113,978 ratings — published 1320 — 2959 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Purgatorio (La Divina Commedia #2) by Dante Alighieri, Robert M. Durling (Translator) 4.02 avg rating — 21,364 ratings — published 1316 — 604 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Paradiso (The Divine Comedy, #3) by Dante Alighieri, Dorothy L. Sayers (Translator), Barbara Reynolds (Translator) 3.95 avg rating — 15,838 ratings — published 1320 — 657 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri, Mark Musa (Translator) 3.88 avg rating — 5,066 ratings — published 1292 — 513 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La Divina Comedia/La Vida Nueva 4.19 avg rating — 945 ratings — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La divina comedia I 4.08 avg rating — 994 ratings — published 1472 — 187 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Portable Dante by Dante Alighieri, Mark Musa (Translator, Editor, Notes) 4.22 avg rating — 1,006 ratings — published 1947 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Circles of Hell 3.37 avg rating — 841 ratings — published 1320 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	De Monarchia 3.63 avg rating — 328 ratings — published 1313 — 93 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Dante Alighieri…

Series by Dante Alighieri

La Divina Commedia (3 books)
by

Dante Alighieri,

Dorothy L. Sayers (Translator),

Barbara Reynolds (Translator)

4.02 avg rating — 290,256 ratings

Cambridge Medieval Classics (2 books)
by

Dante Alighieri

3.77 avg rating — 255 ratings

We all have our reading bucket lists. James Mustich's 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die is bound to seriously expand that list wit...

Quotes by Dante Alighieri

“Do not be afraid; our fate
Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno

tags: faith, fate, fear

2954 likes

“My course is set for an uncharted sea.”
― Dante Alighieri

2811 likes

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”
― Dante Alighieri

tags: afterlife, attributed-no-source, hell, morality, neutrality

1840 likes

See all Dante Alighieri's quotes »

Polls

I'm going to Italy! What books should I bring (Or read first)?
Invite all your friends to answer please!!

Inferno by Dante Alighieri (Reread)

4 votes, 57.1%

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

1 vote, 14.3%

Signora Da Vinci by Robin Maxwell (Reread)

1 vote, 14.3%

Romola by George Eliot

1 vote, 14.3%

Inferno by Dan Brown (Reread)

0 votes, 0.0%

7 total votes

1 comment

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