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87-703: According to Lucan , the amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from the Gorgon Medusa 's head as Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with her head in his hand: in "Pharsalia" (IX, 719), the Roman poet names it along with other serpents that Cato 's army encountered in Libya. Amphisbaena fed on the corpses left behind. Although it is a legendary creature, it has been referred to by various Greek and Latin authors, scientists as well as poets: Nicander , Lucan , Pliny

174-465: A Portuguese book describing the areas the Portuguese had visited, includes an illustration of the flora and fauna of India . One of the animals shown is a two-headed snake (conjoined twin snakes), with one head on each end, much like an amphisbaena. The image is captioned, " two headed snakes of India are harmless ". It is possible a sighting of an animal like this was the origin of the amphisbaena, or that

261-630: A fair degree of prosperity. Cangrande was admitted to Dante's Paradise ( Paradiso , XVII, 76). During the period of his exile, Dante corresponded with Dominican theologian Fr. Nicholas Brunacci (1240–1322), who had been a student of Thomas Aquinas at the Santa Sabina studium in Rome, later at Paris, and of Albert the Great at the Cologne studium . Brunacci became lector at the Santa Sabina studium , forerunner of

348-469: A happy or amusing ending but one influenced by a Providential will that orders all things to an ultimate good. By this meaning of the word, as Dante himself allegedly wrote in a letter to Cangrande , the progression of the pilgrimage from Hell to Paradise is the paradigmatic expression of comedy, since the work begins with the pilgrim's moral confusion and ends with the vision of God. A number of other works are credited to Dante. Convivio ("The Banquet")

435-415: A horned, dragon-like creature with a serpent-headed tail and small, round ears, while others have both "necks" of equal size so that it cannot be determined which is the rear head. Many descriptions of the amphisbaena say its eyes glow like candles or lightning, but the poet Nicander, the first to speak about it, described it as "always dull of eye". He also wrote: "From either end protrudes a blunt chin; each

522-432: A live amphisbaena around their necks would have safe pregnancies ( Naturalis historia XXX, 128); however, if one's goal was to cure ailments such as arthritis or the common cold , one should wear only its skin ( Naturalis historia XXX, 85): lumberjacks suffering from cold weather on the job could nail its carcass or skin to a tree to keep warm, while in the process allowing the tree to be felled more easily. By eating

609-789: A party of one. He went to Verona as a guest of Bartolomeo I della Scala , then moved to Sarzana in Liguria. Later he is supposed to have lived in Lucca with a woman named Gentucca. She apparently made his stay comfortable (and he later gratefully mentioned her in Purgatorio , XXIV, 37). Some speculative sources claim he visited Paris between 1308 and 1310, and other sources even less trustworthy say he went to Oxford ; these claims, first made in Giovanni Boccaccio 's book on Dante several decades after his death, seem inspired by readers who were impressed with

696-653: A phenomenon developed in French and Provençal poetry of prior centuries. Dante's experience of such love was typical, but his expression of it was unique. It was in the name of this love that Dante left his imprint on the dolce stil nuovo ("sweet new style", a term that Dante himself coined), and he would join other contemporary poets and writers in exploring never-before-emphasized aspects of love. Love for Beatrice (as Petrarch would express for Laura somewhat differently) would be his reason for writing poetry and for living, together with political passions. In many of his poems, she

783-663: A poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian language was suitable for the highest sort of expression. In French, Italian is sometimes nicknamed la langue de Dante . Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first in Roman Catholic Western Europe (among others such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio) to break free from standards of publishing in only Latin (the language of liturgy , history and scholarship in general, but often also of lyric poetry). This break set

870-584: A precedent and allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience, setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future. However, unlike Boccaccio, Milton or Ariosto , Dante did not really become an author read across Europe until the Romantic era. To the Romantics, Dante, like Homer and Shakespeare , was a prime example of the "original genius" who set his own rules, created persons of overpowering stature and depth, and went beyond any imitation of

957-554: A time when most poetry was written in Latin , which was accessible only to educated readers. His De vulgari eloquentia ( On Eloquence in the Vernacular ) was one of the first scholarly defenses of the vernacular. His use of the Florentine dialect for works such as The New Life (1295) and Divine Comedy helped establish the modern-day standardized Italian language. By writing his poem in

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1044-441: A tomb for him in 1483. On the grave, a verse of Bernardo Canaccio , a friend of Dante, is dedicated to Florence: parvi Florentia mater amoris Florence, mother of little love In 1329, Bertrand du Pouget , Cardinal and nephew of Pope John XXII , classified Dante's Monarchia as heretical and sought to have his bones burned at the stake. Ostasio I da Polenta and Pino della Tosa, allies of Pouget, interceded to prevent

1131-404: A vein, but not before incriminating his mother, among others, in the hopes of a pardon . According to Tacitus, as Lucan bled to death, "(he) recalled some poetry he had composed in which he had told the story of a wounded soldier dying a similar kind of death and he recited the very lines. These were his last words." An alternative interpretation of events is that his death was not by suicide, but

1218-518: Is a collection of his longest poems with an (unfinished) allegorical commentary. Monarchia ("Monarchy") is a summary treatise of political philosophy in Latin which was condemned and burned after Dante's death by the Papal Legate Bertrando del Poggetto ; it argues for the necessity of a universal or global monarchy to establish universal peace in this life, and this monarchy's relationship to

1305-401: Is a snake with two heads, one at the top and one in the direction of the tail. When it advances, as need for a forward movement impels it, it leaves one end behind to serve as tail, while the other it uses as a head. Then again if it wants to move backwards, it uses the two heads in exactly the opposite manner from what it did before. The amphisbaena grows twin heads, one in the proper place, and

1392-560: Is depicted as semi-divine, watching over him constantly and providing spiritual instruction, sometimes harshly. When Beatrice died in 1290, Dante sought refuge in Latin literature. The Convivio chronicles his having read Boethius 's De consolatione philosophiae and Cicero's De Amicitia . He next dedicated himself to philosophical studies at religious schools like the Dominican one in Santa Maria Novella . He took part in

1479-624: Is described as the "father" of the Italian language, and in Italy he is often referred to as il Sommo Poeta ("the Supreme Poet"). Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio are also called the tre corone ("three crowns") of Italian literature. Dante was born in Florence , Republic of Florence , in what is now Italy. The exact date of his birth is unknown, although it is believed to be around May 1265. This can be deduced from autobiographic allusions in

1566-521: Is far from each other." Nicander's account seems to be referring to a group of real lizards what is today called the Amphisbaenia , after the legendary creature, because their tail truncates in a manner that vaguely resembles the head. The amphisbaena is said to make its home in the desert . In ancient times, the supposedly dangerous amphisbaena had many uses in the art of folk medicine and other magical remedies. Pliny notes that expecting women wearing

1653-505: Is likely he would have undertaken such a work only after he realized his political ambitions, which had been central to him up to his banishment, had been halted for some time, possibly forever. It is also noticeable that Beatrice has returned to his imagination with renewed force and with a wider meaning than in the Vita Nuova ; in Convivio (written c.  1304 –07) he had declared that

1740-526: Is mentioned in The Last Wish , from The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski , while protagonist Geralt of Rivia recalls past events. The amphisbaena was endangering the region of Kovir until the beast was slain by Geralt's hand. Amphisbaena is referenced in RWBY , an animated web series created by Monty Oum , in the form of an evil creature called Grimm. Of the different Grimm, the amphisbaena appears to be

1827-582: Is not known; the only certain information is that, before his exile in 1301, he had fathered three children with Gemma (Pietro, Jacopo and Antonia). Dante fought with the Guelph cavalry at the Battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289). This victory brought about a reformation of the Florentine constitution. To take part in public life, one had to enroll in one of the city's many commercial or artisan guilds, so Dante entered

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1914-520: Is one of the known champions of the Battle Nexus. Big Mama had Michelangelo and Meat Sweats compete to feed each of its heads in order to satisfy the amphisbaena. They managed to work together to pull it off. Brandon Sanderson 's novel Skyward has a character whose name is Arturo Mendez. His call sign is amphisbaena. In Beyblade has a character named Enrique whose bit beast (ancient spirits contained within spinning tops) named Amphilyon. It takes

2001-613: Is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial Latin period, known in particular for his epic Pharsalia . His youth and speed of composition set him apart from other poets. Three brief ancient accounts allow for the reconstruction of a modest biography – the earliest attributed to Suetonius , another to an otherwise unknown Vacca , and the third anonymous and undated – along with references in Martial , Cassius Dio , Tacitus 's Annals , and one of Statius 's Silvae . Lucan

2088-555: The Divine Comedy . Its first section, the Inferno , begins, " Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita " ("Midway upon the journey of our life"), implying that Dante was around 35 years old, since the average lifespan according to the Bible (Psalm 89:10, Vulgate) is 70 years; and since his imaginary travel to the netherworld took place in 1300, he was most probably born around 1265. Some verses of

2175-597: The Comedy soon became a cornerstone in the evolution of Italian as an established literary language. Dante was more aware than most early Italian writers of the variety of Italian dialects and of the need to create a literature and a unified literary language beyond the limits of Latin writing at the time; in that sense, he is a forerunner of the Renaissance , with its effort to create vernacular literature in competition with earlier classical writers. Dante's in-depth knowledge (within

2262-686: The Comedy , regarding painting and music. Dante, like most Florentines of his day, was embroiled in the Guelph–Ghibelline conflict . He fought in the Battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289), with the Florentine Guelphs against Arezzo Ghibellines; he fought as a feditore  [ it ] , responsible for the first attack. To further his political career, he obtained admission to the Guild of Physicians and Apothecaries around 1295. He likely joined

2349-570: The Gherardini family , was condemned to exile for two years and ordered to pay a large fine. Dante was accused of corruption and financial wrongdoing by the Black Guelphs for the time that Dante was serving as city prior (Florence's highest position) for two months in 1300. The poet was still in Rome in 1302, as the Pope, who had backed the Black Guelphs, had "suggested" that Dante stay there. Florence under

2436-474: The Inferno had been published by 1317; this is established by quoted lines interspersed in the margins of contemporary dated records from Bologna , but there is no certainty as to whether the three parts of the poem were each published in full or, rather, a few cantos at a time. Paradiso was likely finished before he died, but it may have been published posthumously. In 1312, Henry assaulted Florence and defeated

2523-454: The Inferno , or that this part had been published at the time, but it indicates composition was well underway and that the sketching of the poem might have begun some years before. (It has been suggested that a knowledge of Dante's work also underlies some of the illuminations in Francesco da Barberino's earlier Officiolum [c. 1305–08], a manuscript that came to light in 2003. ) It is known that

2610-568: The Paradiso section of the Divine Comedy also provide a possible clue that he was born under the sign of Gemini : "As I revolved with the eternal twins, I saw revealed, from hills to river outlets, the threshing-floor that makes us so ferocious" (XXII  151–154). In 1265, the sun was in Gemini between approximately May 11 and June 11 ( Julian calendar ). Dante claimed that his family descended from

2697-506: The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas , and later served in the papal curia . In 1315, Florence was forced by Uguccione della Faggiuola (the military officer controlling the town) to grant an amnesty to those in exile, including Dante. But for this, Florence required public penance in addition to payment of a high fine. Dante refused, preferring to remain in exile. When Uguccione defeated Florence, Dante's death sentence

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2784-568: The University of Pisa and forensic engineers at the University of Bologna at Forlì constructed the model, portraying Dante's features as somewhat different from what was once thought. In 2008, the Municipality of Florence officially apologized for expelling Dante 700 years earlier. In May 2021, a symbolic re-trial was held virtually in Florence to posthumously clear his name. A celebration

2871-636: The papacy , and the Ghibellines , who supported the Holy Roman Empire . Dante's family was loyal to the Guelphs. The Ghibellines took over Florence at the Battle of Montaperti in 1260, forcing out many of the Guelphs. Although Dante's family were Guelphs, they suffered no reprisals after the battle, probably because of Alighiero's low public standing. The Guelphs later fought the Ghibellines again in 1266 at

2958-476: The "unspeakable flames of the criminal tyrant roamed the heights of Remus." Additionally, the later books of Pharsalia are anti-Imperial and pro-Republic. This criticism of Nero and office of the Emperor may have been the true cause of the ban. Lucan later joined the conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso against Nero. The conspiracy was discovered and he was obliged, at the age of 25, to commit suicide by opening

3045-411: The Battle of Benevento, retaking Florence from the Ghibellines. Dante said he first met Beatrice Portinari , daughter of Folco Portinari , when he was nine (she was eight), and he claimed to have fallen in love with her " at first sight ", apparently without even talking with her. When he was 12, however, he was promised in marriage to Gemma di Manetto Donati , daughter of Manetto Donati, member of

3132-580: The Black Guelphs ( Guelfi Neri ), led by Corso Donati . Although the split was along family lines at first, ideological differences arose based on opposing views of the papal role in Florentine affairs. The Blacks supported the Pope and the Whites wanted more freedom from Rome. The Whites took power first and expelled the Blacks. In response, Pope Boniface VIII planned a military occupation of Florence. In 1301, Charles of Valois , brother of King Philip IV of France ,

3219-544: The Black Guelphs, but there is no evidence that Dante was involved. Some say he refused to participate in the attack on his city by a foreigner; others suggest that he had become unpopular with the White Guelphs, too, and that any trace of his passage had carefully been removed. Henry VII died (from a fever) in 1313 and with him any hope for Dante to see Florence again. He returned to Verona, where Cangrande I della Scala allowed him to live in certain security and, presumably, in

3306-410: The Black Guelphs, therefore, considered Dante an absconder. Dante did not pay the fine, in part because he believed he was not guilty and in part because all his assets in Florence had been seized by the Black Guelphs. He was condemned to perpetual exile; if he had returned to Florence without paying the fine, he could have been burned at the stake. (In June 2008, nearly seven centuries after his death,

3393-522: The Elder , Isidore of Seville , and later Thomas Browne , the last of whom debunked its existence ( "Pseudodoxia Epidemica" . book three chapter XV). Modern poets are John Milton , Alexander Pope , Percy Bysshe Shelley , Alfred Tennyson , Aimé Césaire , A. E. Housman and Allen Mandelbaum . The amphisbaena has a twin head, that is one at the tail end as well, as though it were not enough for poison to be poured out of one mouth. The Amphisbaena however

3480-519: The Greek mythological creature is used, as well as others, to literaryly embellish the description of an exotic country. In Dante 's Inferno , the amphisbaena is listed as one of the types of reptiles that torment thieves in the seventh bolgia . In John Milton 's Paradise Lost , after the Fall and the return of Satan to Hell, some of the fallen angelic host are transformed into the amphisbaena, to represent

3567-418: The Italian vernacular rather than in Latin, Dante influenced the course of literary development, making Italian the literary language in western Europe for several centuries. His work set a precedent that important Italian writers such as Petrarch and Boccaccio would later follow. Dante was instrumental in establishing the literature of Italy, and is considered to be among the country's national poets and

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3654-663: The King Taijitu, a two-headed snake or serpent. The king's name references the taijitu , a symbol or diagram in Chinese philosophy representing Taiji in both its monist and dualist aspects. The Grimm's coloration visually symbolizes the taijitu, with one head and body section black and the opposite side white. The amphisbaena appears in the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode "Battle Nexus: New York." This version

3741-529: The Latin motu proprio titled Altissimi cantus , which was dedicated to Dante's figure and poetry. In that year, the pope also donated a golden iron Greek Cross to Dante's burial site in Ravenna, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his birth. The same cross was blessed by Pope Francis in October 2020. In 2007, a reconstruction of Dante's face was undertaken in a collaborative project. Artists from

3828-506: The Physicians' and Apothecaries' Guild. His name is occasionally recorded as speaking or voting in the councils of the republic. Many minutes from such meetings between 1298 and 1300 were lost, so the extent of his participation is uncertain. Not much is known about Dante's education; he presumably studied at home or in a chapter school attached to a church or monastery in Florence. It is known that he studied Tuscan poetry and that he admired

3915-694: The Roman Catholic Church as guide to eternal peace. De vulgari eloquentia ("On the Eloquence in the Vernacular") is a treatise on vernacular literature, partly inspired by the Razos de trobar of Raimon Vidal de Bezaudun . Quaestio de aqua et terra ("A Question of the Water and of the Land") is a theological work discussing the arrangement of Earth's dry land and ocean. The Eclogues are two poems addressed to

4002-460: The Western world's greatest literary icons. His depictions of Hell , Purgatory , and Heaven provided inspiration for the larger body of Western art and literature . He influenced English writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer , John Milton , and Alfred Tennyson , among many others. In addition, the first use of the interlocking three-line rhyme scheme, or the terza rima , is attributed to him. He

4089-449: The ancient Romans ( Inferno , XV, 76), but the earliest relative he could mention by name was his great-great-grandfather Cacciaguida degli Elisei ( Paradiso , XV, 135), born no earlier than about 1100. Dante's father was Alighiero di Bellincione , a businessman and moneylender, and Dante's mother was Bella, probably a member of the Abati family, a noble Florentine family. She died when Dante

4176-507: The animal by which the Fall was caused, i.e. a snake. Amphisbaena appears in some editions of the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons . Amphisbaena has appeared in several video games as an enemy or boss monster, including La-Mulana and Bravely Second: End Layer . A creature called Amphisbaena appears in the games Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Portrait of Ruin but bears little resemblance to other renditions of

4263-469: The basis of modern research, an earlier account of Dante's life and works had been included in the Nuova Cronica of the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani . Some 16th-century English Protestants, such as John Bale and John Foxe , argued that Dante was a proto-Protestant because of his opposition to the pope. The 19th century saw a "Dante revival", a product of the medieval revival , which

4350-411: The books, Purgatorio is arguably the most lyrical of the three, referring to more contemporary poets and artists than Inferno ; Paradiso is the most heavily theological, and the one in which, many scholars have argued, the Divine Comedy 's most beautiful and mystic passages appear. With its seriousness of purpose, its literary stature and the range—both stylistic and thematic—of its content,

4437-446: The city council of Florence passed a motion rescinding Dante's sentence.) In 1306–07, Dante was a guest of Moroello Malaspina  [ it ] in the region of Lunigiana . Dante took part in several attempts by the White Guelphs to regain power, but these failed due to treachery. Bitter at the treatment he received from his enemies, he grew disgusted with the infighting and ineffectiveness of his former allies and vowed to become

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4524-589: The city in 1318 by its prince, Guido II da Polenta . Dante died in Ravenna on September 14, 1321, aged about 56, of quartan malaria contracted while returning from a diplomatic mission to the Republic of Venice . He was attended by his three children, and possibly by Gemma Donati , and by friends and admirers he had in the city. He was buried in Ravenna at the Church of San Pier Maggiore (later called Basilica di San Francesco ). Bernardo Bembo , praetor of Venice , erected

4611-786: The compositions of the Bolognese poet Guido Guinizelli —in Purgatorio XXVI he characterized him as his "father"—at a time when the Sicilian School ( Scuola poetica Siciliana ), a cultural group from Sicily , was becoming known in Tuscany. He also discovered the Provençal poetry of the troubadours , such as Arnaut Daniel , and the Latin writers of classical antiquity , including Cicero , Ovid and especially Virgil . Dante's interactions with Beatrice set an example of so-called courtly love ,

4698-505: The creation of the amphisbaena. Though created out of the violent murder of Medusa by Perseus, it shows that the creation will always see the creator in a positive light. Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan ( / ˈ l uː k ən / ), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain ). He

4785-442: The creature, appearing as an eyeless 4-legged reptile with the upper body of a human woman sprouting from its long tail instead of a double-headed serpent. In the 1984 animated film Gallavants , an amphisbaena (called a 'Vanterviper' in the film) appears as a minor antagonist. The two heads, a red one named Edil and a blue one called Fice, frequently disagree and argue, and sing a song about their miserable plight. The amphisbaena

4872-598: The destruction of Dante's remains. Florence eventually came to regret having exiled Dante. The city made repeated requests for the return of his remains. The custodians of the body in Ravenna refused, at one point going so far as to conceal the bones in a false wall of the monastery. Florence built a tomb for Dante in 1829, in the Basilica of Santa Croce . That tomb has been empty ever since, with Dante's body remaining in Ravenna. The front of his tomb in Florence reads Onorate l'altissimo poeta — which roughly translates as "Honor

4959-414: The disputes that the two principal mendicant orders ( Franciscan and Dominican ) publicly or indirectly held in Florence, the former explaining the doctrines of the mystics and of St. Bonaventure , the latter expounding on the theories of St. Thomas Aquinas . At around the age of 18, Dante met Guido Cavalcanti , Lapo Gianni , Cino da Pistoia and, soon after, Brunetto Latini ; together they became

5046-413: The emperor's close friends and was rewarded with a quaestorship in advance of the legal age. In AD 60, he won a prize for extemporizing Orpheus and Laudes Neronis at the quinquennial Neronia , and was again rewarded when the emperor appointed him to the augurate. During this time he circulated the first three books of his epic poem Pharsalia (labelled De Bello civili in the manuscripts), which told

5133-503: The era. Italy's first dreadnought battleship was completed in 1913 and named Dante Alighieri in honor of him. On April 30, 1921, in honor of the 600th anniversary of Dante's death, Pope Benedict XV promulgated an encyclical named In praeclara summorum , naming Dante as one "of the many celebrated geniuses of whom the Catholic faith can boast" and the "pride and glory of humanity". On December 7, 1965, Pope Paul VI promulgated

5220-510: The form of a Medieval amphisbaena with bat wings. The primary antagonist of Elden Ring : Shadow of the Erdtree, Messmer the Impaler, is conjoined with a winged amphisbaena. The amphisbaena appears also in the saying "to the amphisbaena, Perseus is good" which can have various meanings depending in the connotation in which it is used. However, one main meaning lies in the connection between Perseus and

5307-451: The guild due to association between philosophy and medicine, but also may have joined as apothecaries were also booksellers. His guild membership allowed him to hold public office in Florence. As a politician, he held various offices over some years in a city rife with political unrest. After defeating the Ghibellines, the Guelphs divided into two factions: the White Guelphs ( Guelfi Bianchi )—Dante's party, led by Vieri dei Cerchi—and

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5394-496: The leaders of the dolce stil nuovo . Brunetto later received special mention in the Divine Comedy ( Inferno , XV, 28) for what he had taught Dante: "Nor speaking less on that account I go With Ser Brunetto, and I ask who are his most known and most eminent companions". Some fifty poetical commentaries by Dante are known (the so-called Rime , rhymes), others being included in the later Vita Nuova and Convivio . Other studies are reported, or deduced from Vita Nuova or

5481-484: The limits of his time) of Roman antiquity, and his evident admiration for some aspects of pagan Rome, also point forward to the 15th century. He wrote the Comedy in a language he called "Italian", in some sense an amalgamated literary language predominantly based on the regional dialect of Tuscany, but with some elements of Latin and other regional dialects. He deliberately aimed to reach a readership throughout Italy including laymen, clergymen and other poets. By creating

5568-492: The meat of the amphisbaena, one could supposedly attract many lovers of the opposite sex, and slaying one during the full moon could give power to one who is pure of heart and mind. In The Book of Beasts , T.H. White suggests that the creature derives from sightings of the worm lizards of the same name. But it is the other way around. These creatures are found in the Mediterranean countries where many of these legends originated. The Códice Casanatense ( c.  1540 ),

5655-494: The memory of this youthful romance belonged to the past. An early indication that the poem was underway is a notice by Francesco da Barberino , tucked into his Documenti d'Amore ( Lessons of Love ), probably written in 1314 or early 1315. Francesco notes that Dante followed the Aeneid in a poem called "Comedy" and that the setting of this poem (or part of it) was the underworld; i.e., hell. The brief note gives no incontestable indication that Barberino had seen or read even

5742-401: The most exalted poet" and is a quote from the fourth canto of the Inferno . In 1945, the fascist government discussed bringing Dante's remains to the Valtellina Redoubt , the Alpine valley in which the regime intended to make its last stand against the Allies . The case was made that "the greatest symbol of Italianness" should be present at fascism's "heroic" end, but ultimately, no action

5829-431: The other delegates and asked Dante alone to remain in Rome. At the same time (November 1, 1301), Charles of Valois entered Florence with the Black Guelphs, who in the next six days destroyed much of the city and killed many of their enemies. A new Black Guelph government was installed, and Cante dei Gabrielli da Gubbio was appointed podestà of the city. In March 1302, Dante, a White Guelph by affiliation, along with

5916-403: The other where the tail should be. For this reason the snake glides in a circular shape, as the heads, contrary to what is right, strain from both ends. These early descriptions of the amphisbaena depict a venomous, dual-headed snakelike creature. However, medieval and later drawings often show it with two or more scaled feet, particularly chicken feet, and feathered wings. Some even depict it as

6003-502: The patterns of earlier masters; and who, in turn, could not truly be imitated. Throughout the 19th century, Dante's reputation grew and solidified; and by 1865, the 600th anniversary of his birth, he had become established as one of the greatest literary icons of the Western world. New readers often wonder how such a serious work may be called a "comedy". In the classical sense the word comedy refers to works that reflect belief in an ordered universe, in which events tend toward not only

6090-437: The poet Giovanni del Virgilio. Dante is also sometimes credited with writing Il Fiore ("The Flower"), a series of sonnets summarizing Le Roman de la Rose , and Detto d'Amore ("Tale of Love"), a short narrative poem also based on Le Roman de la Rose . These would be the earliest, and most novice, of his known works. Le Rime is a posthumous collection of miscellaneous poems. The major works of Dante's are

6177-433: The poet's wide learning and erudition. Evidently, Dante's command of philosophy and his literary interests deepened in exile and when he was no longer busy with the day-to-day business of Florentine domestic politics, and this is evidenced in his prose writings in this period. There is no real evidence that he ever left Italy. Dante's Immensa Dei dilectione testante to Henry VII of Luxembourg confirms his residence "beneath

6264-623: The powerful Donati family. Contracting marriages for children at such an early age was quite common and involved a formal ceremony, including contracts signed before a notary . Dante claimed to have seen Beatrice again frequently after he turned 18, exchanging greetings with her in the streets of Florence, though he never knew her well. Years after his marriage to Gemma, he claims to have met Beatrice again; he wrote several sonnets to Beatrice but never mentioned Gemma in any of his poems. He refers to other Donati relations, notably Forese and Piccarda, in his Divine Comedy . The exact date of his marriage

6351-514: The senate, and Lucan responded by writing insulting poems about Nero. Other works, though, point to a more serious basis to the feud. Works by the grammarian Vacca and the poet Statius may support the claim that Lucan wrote insulting poems about Nero. Vacca mentions that one of Lucan's works was entitled De Incendio Urbis (On the Burning of the City). Statius's ode to Lucan mentions that Lucan described how

6438-586: The springs of Arno, near Tuscany" in April 1311. In 1310, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII of Luxembourg marched into Italy at the head of 5,000 troops. Dante saw in him a new Charlemagne who would restore the office of the Holy Roman Emperor to its former glory and also retake Florence from the Black Guelphs. He wrote to Henry and several Italian princes, demanding that they destroy the Black Guelphs. Mixing religion and private concerns in his writings, he invoked

6525-399: The story of the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey . At some point, a feud began between Nero and Lucan. Two very different accounts of the events have survived that both trivialize the feud. According to Tacitus, Nero became jealous of Lucan and forbade him to publish his poems. According to Suetonius, Nero disrupted a public reading by Lucan, by leaving and calling a meeting of

6612-404: The thirteenth century. However, Dante's commentary on his own work is also in the vernacular—both in the Vita Nuova and in the Convivio —instead of the Latin that was almost universally used. The Divine Comedy describes Dante's journey through Hell ( Inferno ), Purgatory ( Purgatorio ), and Paradise ( Paradiso ); he is first guided by the Roman poet Virgil and then by Beatrice. Of

6699-415: The worst anger of God against his city and suggested several particular targets, who were also his personal enemies. It was during this time that he wrote De Monarchia , proposing a universal monarchy under Henry VII. At some point during his exile, he conceived of the Comedy , but the date is uncertain. The work is much more assured and on a larger scale than anything he had written in Florence; it

6786-455: Was an Italian poet , writer, and philosopher. His Divine Comedy , originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia ) and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio , is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. Dante is known for establishing the use of the vernacular in literature at

6873-754: Was an execution carried out at Nero's command. His father was involved in the proscription , but his mother escaped. Statius's poem about Lucan was addressed to his widow, Polla Argentaria, upon the occasion of his birthday during the reign of Domitian ( Silvae , ii.7, the Genethliacon Lucani ). According to Vacca and Statius, Lucan's works included: Surviving work: Often attributed to him (but to others as well): Lost works: Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri ( Italian: [ˈdante aliˈɡjɛːri] ; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri ; c.  May 1265 – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante ,

6960-528: Was born in the Roman colony of Corduba into a wealthy family of central Italic origins; he was the son of Marcus Annaeus Mela and grandson of Seneca the Elder . He grew up under the tutelage of his uncle Seneca the Younger . He studied rhetoric at Athens and was probably provided with a philosophical and Stoic education by his uncle. His wife was Polla Argentaria, who is said to have assisted him with his Pharsalia . He found success under Nero , became one of

7047-468: Was commuted to house arrest, on condition that he go to Florence to swear he would never enter the town again. He refused to go, and his death sentence was confirmed and extended to his sons. Despite this, he still hoped late in life that he might be invited back to Florence on honorable terms, particularly in praise of his poetry. Dante's final days were spent in Ravenna , where he had been invited to stay in

7134-459: Was customary for such poems. It also contains, or constructs, the story of his love for Beatrice Portinari, who later served as the ultimate symbol of salvation in the Comedy , a function already indicated in the final pages of the Vita Nuova . The work contains many of Dante's love poems in Tuscan, which was not unprecedented; the vernacular had been regularly used for lyric works before, during all

7221-441: Was expected to visit Florence because the Pope had appointed him as peacemaker for Tuscany. But the city's government had treated the Pope's ambassadors badly a few weeks before, seeking independence from papal influence. It was believed Charles had received other unofficial instructions, so the council sent a delegation that included Dante to Rome to persuade the Pope not to send Charles to Florence. Pope Boniface quickly dismissed

7308-579: Was held in 2015 at Italy's Senate of the Republic for the 750th anniversary of Dante's birth. It included a commemoration from Pope Francis, who also issued the apostolic letter Cando lucis aeternae in honor of the anniversary. Most of Dante's literary work was composed after his exile in 1301. La Vita Nuova ("The New Life") is the only major work that predates it; it is a collection of lyric poems (sonnets and songs) with commentary in prose, ostensibly intended to be circulated in manuscript form, as

7395-727: Was itself an important aspect of Romanticism . Thomas Carlyle profiled him in "The Hero as Poet", the third lecture in On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History (1841): "He is world-great not because he is worldwide, but because he is world-deep… Dante is the spokesman of the Middle Ages; the Thought they lived by stands here, in everlasting music." Leigh Hunt , Henry Francis Cary and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow were among Dante's translators of

7482-471: Was not yet ten years old. Alighiero soon married again, to Lapa di Chiarissimo Cialuffi. It is uncertain whether he really married her, since widowers were socially limited in such matters, but she definitely bore him two children, Dante's half-brother Francesco and half-sister Tana (Gaetana). During Dante's time, most Northern Italian city states were split into two political factions: the Guelphs , who supported

7569-575: Was taken. A copy of Dante's so-called death mask has been displayed since 1911 in the Palazzo Vecchio ; scholars today believe it is not a true death mask and was probably carved in 1483, perhaps by Pietro and Tullio Lombardo . The first formal biography of Dante was the Vita di Dante (also known as Trattatello in laude di Dante ), written after 1348 by Giovanni Boccaccio. Although several statements and episodes of it have been deemed unreliable on

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