Medieval Optics and Theories of Light in the Works of Dante

by Simon A. Gilson

Examines Dante's theories concerning the nature of light and vision, and the imagery and narrative situations in his poetry, where, for example, "verdere" and "luce" are among the most frequent and distinctive terms. Topics in part one include the science of light, vision, and optics in the 13th century; optics and vision before the Comedy ; and aspects of vision, light reflection, mirrors, and meteorological optics in the Comedy . Part two addresses Dante's metaphysics of light, light in the cosmos and in God's creation, and the relationship between Dante's work and theological writings on the nature of light as applied, say, to angels and the Empyrean. An interesting bibliographic feature lists the principal optical works available in Dante's time. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

301 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2000