Dante Alighieri’s Followers (6,191)

Dante Alighieri

Born

in Florence, Italy

March 26, 1265

Died

July 11, 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 imagi 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: 4.04 · 451,974 ratings · 22,759 reviews · 4,446 distinct works • Similar authors

	Inferno 4.03 avg rating — 204,990 ratings — published 1321 — 2919 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: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso 4.08 avg rating — 171,220 ratings — published 1320 — 6521 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 of Dante Alighieri, Volume 2: Purgatorio 4.05 avg rating — 29,806 ratings — published 1321 — 19 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
	Paradise (The Divine Comedy, #3) 3.96 avg rating — 21,724 ratings — published 1321 — 11 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 3.88 avg rating — 8,710 ratings — published 1294 — 1226 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 by Dante Alighieri, Robin Kirkpatrick (Translator) 3.37 avg rating — 2,194 ratings — published 1320 — 4 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 — 1,570 ratings — published 1472 — 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
	La Divina Comedia / La Vida Nueva 4.13 avg rating — 1,322 ratings — published 1320 — 18 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) 4.24 avg rating — 1,244 ratings — published 1947 — 19 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
	Love that Moves the Sun and Other Stars by Dante Alighieri, Robin Kirkpatrick (Translator) 3.32 avg rating — 1,068 ratings — published 1321 — 5 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),

Gustave Doré (Translator),

朱维 (Translator)

4.05 avg rating — 427,790 ratings

NECOD - Nuova Edizione Commentata delle Opere di Dante (11 books)
by

Dante Alighieri,

Simone Albonico (Editor),

Giacomo Stanga (Editor),

Enrico Malato (Director)

4.02 avg rating — 221 ratings

Here’s a tip for reading Katabasis, author R.F. Kuang’s dark and playful update to the ancient tale of the underworld journey: Keep your phone...

Polls

November 2016 Old School Classic Poll

1874, Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, 433 pages

69 votes, 28.6%

1603, Othello by William Shakespeare, 314 pages

62 votes, 25.7%

1320, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, 798 pages

34 votes, 14.1%

1796, The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis, 386 pages

17 votes, 7.1%

1861, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, 176 pages

16 votes, 6.6%

1867, Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola, 201 pages

14 votes, 5.8%

1887, Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly, 92 pages

13 votes, 5.4%

1589, The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe, 64 pages

8 votes, 3.3%

1505, Monkey: The Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, 306 pages

8 votes, 3.3%

241 total votes

12 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
European Royalty: Dec. 1 - Jan. 1 - Voting	10	102	Nov 21, 2008 07:09AM
100+ Books in 2025: Natalie's 2009 List	2	311	Aug 07, 2009 08:54AM
The Seasonal Read...: Time to study abroad	52	539	Sep 04, 2009 11:27PM
The Life of a Boo...: Voting for November Book!	96	340	Oct 17, 2009 07:41PM
The Book Challenge: Meghan's Other 2009 Challenges	11	263	Oct 31, 2009 09:58AM
100+ Books in 2025: Meghan's 2009 List	119	941	Dec 29, 2009 11:41AM
Challenge: 50 Books: Brian's Books for 2009	111	1068	Dec 29, 2009 06:22PM
Challenge: 50 Books: Andrew's 50 Book Challenge 2010	12	126	Jul 01, 2010 01:30PM
Project Gutenberg...: Non sai da dove cominciare?	1	25	Aug 30, 2010 06:40AM

More…