The Divine Comedy — Dante Alighieri
INTRODUCTION. iwui Purgatory thas groan in prophecy over the deed of his impious descendant : — " All evil past and future to efface Into Aiiagni bursts the Fleur-de-lis, And in his vicar, Christ doth there disgrace . Again I see Him shamed with mockery : I see renewed the vinegar and gall, Him slain *twixt living thieves once more I see. " Purgatory," XX., lines 88—91.
After the death of Boniface, and the short reign of his successor Benedict XI., the Papal See fell into the hands of a Frenchman, Clement V., who made up the old quarrel with Philip, and after some stay in his own country finally transferred the seat of the Church to Avignon, and for nearly a century Italy was free from the presence of one of the rival Powers, whose disputes had ever filled her States with strife.
The Gascon, as Dante calls Clement V., was even more contemptible in his eyes than his worst predecessors, and his place in Hell is thus prescribed for him, probably at a time when he still ruled the Church from his seat in France ; — " Since after him, with laidlier renown. Will come a lawless shepherd from the West, Such as befitteth him and me to crown. A second Jason will he prove at least.
Like him in Maccabees, to whom was pliant His king, as France will be to his behest. " HeU," XIX,, lines 83—8. Such being the position of the greater Powers of Europe and Italy during the last half of the thirteenth century, we must now revert to Dante's native State, the politics of which are the source of constant allusion throughout his poem.
Of all the Tuscan Eepublics Florence was at this period the most important, though both before and after she had secured an independent Government the divisions amongst her citizens were a constant hindrance to the growth of her power. The rude but honourable simplicity of the State in the twelfth century is described in the 15th Canto of the " Paradise," where the shade of Dante's ancestor, Cacciaguida, describes to him the happy condition of its citizens in his time. The city was then nominally under the rule of the Emperors or their lieutenants, one of whom, the Marchese Ugo, is alluded to as the great Baron in Oacciaguida's sketch of his own period.
As the temporal power of the Popes increased their partisans gradually grew in Florence, though no open separation of parties took place till the commencement of the thirteenth century, when a private feud between the great families of the Buondelmonti and the Uberti led to the whole city espousing one or other of the rival factions : — " O Buondelmonte, to what ill ye fled ^ That plighted wedding, on another fain, Many would now be joyous, who are sad.
If God thy form in Ema's stream had thrown The first time to the city thou wast led. " Paiadifle," XVI., lines 140-44. The head of the Buondelmonti having been engaged to marry one of the Amadei, closely connected with the Uberti, broke off the match at the last moment, through a sudden passion for a maiden of the Donati family, and on the curt advice of Mosca Lamberti, " Who said, alas ! a deed is crowned when done.
Which to the Tuscan race caused evil fare. " HeU," XXVIII., lines 107, 8. The Amadei, to revenge the insult, attacked Buondelmonte as he was riding through the city, and slew him at the foot of the ruined statue of Mars, supposed to be the Palladium of Florence. The strife thus originated between the leading families was taken up by all grades in the city, and the factions of Guelph and Ghibeline, previously unknown in Florence, were introduced.
The Emperor supported the Uberti, and the Buondelmonti and their followers became Guelphs : by the aid of Frederic II. the Ghibeline fe,ction obtained the ascendency, and banished their opponents from the State. At his death, 1250, a peace was patched up between the parties, the Guelphs were recalled to the city, and an independent Government was for the first time intro-
INTRODUCTION. tov duced. The Guelpbs, as the supporters of liberty, became the most popular party, and the powers of the independent €K)vemment fell naturally into their hands. But the successes of Manfred against the Church, and the establishment of his power in Naples, revived the hopes of the Ghibelines throughout Italy, and those of Florence at once entered into communication with him for the restoration of their authority.
They were then driven out by force to Siena, where, being assisted by the forces of Manfred, they advanced under the guidance of their great leader, Farinata degli Uberti, and completely routed the Guelphs at the river Arbia with such slaughter that Florence was at once abandoned to their hands.
The Guelphs fled to Lucca, and in a council of war the victorious Ghibelines mooted the proposition utterly to destroy the town, which could never be otherwise than a harbour for their opponents, so utterly Guelph in spirit had Florence become.
Farinata alone refused his consent to that wild measure of revenge, and the weight of his influence was sufficient to prevent the whole Ghibeline party carrying out their savage purpose. — " Hell," Canto X., lines 85 — 90. The shade of Farinata, rising from his burning tomb, and asserting his love for the city which he had at once saved and injured, is one of the grandest pictures in Dante's poem.
The defeat and death of Manfred, Charles of Anjou being partly indebted for his victory to the swords of the Guelph s of Florence, again restored the latter to the ascendency, which from that period they never lost.
The iiTuption of Curradino into Italy gave the Ghibelines a gleam of hope, but on his defeat at Tagliatcozzo their cause was lost, and though efforts at mediation were made subsequently by the Popes on several occasions, they were never allowed permanently to return from their long exile.
Dante's family was Guelph, and when Farinata accuses them of having been always hostile to him, so that he twice banished them from the city, Dante replies to the Ghibeline leader : — " * If they were banished, each time,* I replied, * They came back to their homes from o'er the seas ; Unto your friends that art has been denied.* " « HeU," X., lines 49-61.
INTRODUCTION. iwui Purgatory thas groan in prophecy over the deed of his impious descendant : — " All evil past and future to efface Into Aiiagni bursts the Fleur-de-lis, And in his vicar, Christ does there disgrace . Again I see Him shamed with mockery : I see renewed the vinegar and gall, Him slain *twixt living thieves once more I see." " Purgatory," XX., lines 88—91. After the death of Boniface, and the short reign of his successor Benedict XI., the Papal See fell into the hands of a Frenchman, Clement V., who made up the old quarrel with Philip, and after some stay in his own country finally transferred the seat of the Church to Avignon, and for nearly a century Italy was free from the presence of one of the rival Powers, whose disputes had ever filled her States with strife. The Gascon, as Dante calls Clement V., was even more contemptible in his eyes than his worst predecessors, and his place in Hell is thus prescribed for him, probably at a time when he still ruled the Church from his seat in France ; — " Since after him, with laidlier renown. Will come a lawless shepherd from the West, Such as befits him and me to crown. A second Jason will he prove at least. Like him in Maccabees, to whom was pliant His king, as France will be to his behest." " HeU," XIX,, lines 83—8. Such being the position of the greater Powers of Europe and Italy during the last half of the thirteenth century, we must now revert to Dante's native State, the politics of which are the source of constant allusion throughout his poem. Of all the Tuscan Eepublics Florence was at this period the most important, though both before and after she had secured an independent Government the divisions amongst her citizens were a constant hindrance to the growth of her power. The rude but honourable simplicity of the State in the twelfth century is described in the 15th Canto of the " Paradise," where the shade of Dante's ancestor, Cacciaguida, describes to him the happy condition of its citizens in his time. The city was then nominally under the rule of the Emperors or their lieutenants, one of whom, the Marchese Ugo, is alluded to as the great Baron in Oacciaguida's sketch of his own period. As the temporal power of the Popes increased their partisans gradually grew in Florence, though no open separation of parties took place till the commencement of the thirteenth century, when a private feud between the great families of the Buondelmonti and the Uberti led to the whole city espousing one or other of the rival factions : — " O Buondelmonte, to what ill you fled ^ That plighted wedding, on another fain, Many would now be joyous, who are sad. If God your form in Ema's stream had thrown The first time to the city you were led." " Paiadifle," XVI., lines 140-44. The head of the Buondelmonti having been engaged to marry one of the Amadei, closely connected with the Uberti, broke off the match at the last moment, through a sudden passion for a maiden of the Donati family, and on the curt advice of Mosca Lamberti, " Who said, alas ! a deed is crowned when done. Which to the Tuscan race caused evil fare." " HeU," XXVIII., lines 107, 8. The Amadei, to revenge the insult, attacked Buondelmonte as he was riding through the city, and slew him at the foot of the ruined statue of Mars, supposed to be the Palladium of Florence. The strife thus originated between the leading families was taken up by all grades in the city, and the factions of Guelph and Ghibeline, previously unknown in Florence, were introduced. The Emperor supported the Uberti, and the Buondelmonti and their followers became Guelphs : by the aid of Frederic II. the Ghibeline fe,ction obtained the ascendency, and banished their opponents from the State. At his death, 1250, a peace was patched up between the parties, the Guelphs were recalled to the city, and an independent Government was for the first time intro-
INTRODUCTION. tov duced. The Guelpbs, as the supporters of liberty, became the most popular party, and the powers of the independent €K)vemment fell naturally into their hands. But the successes of Manfred against the Church, and the establishment of his power in Naples, revived the hopes of the Ghibelines throughout Italy, and those of Florence at once entered into communication with him for the restoration of their authority. They were then driven out by force to Siena, where, being assisted by the forces of Manfred, they advanced under the guidance of their great leader, Farinata degli Uberti, and completely routed the Guelphs at the river Arbia with such slaughter that Florence was at once abandoned to their hands. The Guelphs fled to Lucca, and in a council of war the victorious Ghibelines mooted the proposition utterly to destroy the town, which could never be otherwise than a harbour for their opponents, so utterly Guelph in spirit had Florence become. Farinata alone refused his consent to that wild measure of revenge, and the weight of his influence was sufficient to prevent the whole Ghibeline party carrying out their savage purpose. — " Hell," Canto X., lines 85 — 90. The shade of Farinata, rising from his burning tomb, and asserting his love for the city which he had at once saved and injured, is one of the grandest pictures in Dante's poem. The defeat and death of Manfred, Charles of Anjou being partly indebted for his victory to the swords of the Guelph s of Florence, again restored the latter to the ascendency, which from that period they never lost. The iiTuption of Curradino into Italy gave the Ghibelines a gleam of hope, but on his defeat at Tagliatcozzo their cause was lost, and though efforts at mediation were made subsequently by the Popes on several occasions, they were never allowed permanently to return from their long exile. Dante's family was Guelph, and when Farinata accuses them of having been always hostile to him, so that he twice banished them from the city, Dante replies to the Ghibeline leader : — " * If they were banished, each time,* I replied, * They came back to their homes from o'er the seas ; Unto your friends that are has been denied.* " « HeU," X., lines 49-61.
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