Тайната история на Данте

by Jonathan Black, Джонатан Блек

Италианският Предренесанс има своите безспорни имена, но най-яркото сред тях е Данте Алигиери. С последния си трилър, наречен „Ад”, Дан Браун изстреля автора на „Божествена комедия” в топкласациите, превръщайки го в модна тема.

Казват, че Данте е преминал такава степен на инициация в подземията на Флоренция и Париж, която му позволява свободно да се движи между видимия и невидимия свят. Защо гробът му, изровен с папска благословия две години след смъртта му, се оказва празен? Той ли е съхранил за историята предсмъртното заклинание на Жак дьо Моле, последния Велик магистър на Ордена на тамплиерите? Какви са връзките му с древните мистерии и суфизма? Защо описва Ада като реално съществуващо място? Защо избира за свой водач Вергилий, а пренебрегва духовния си учител Брунето Латини? Какъв е шифърът на Данте? Какво се крие зад мистериозното число 515? Кой е Слънчевият демон, наречен „Сорат”?

Кой е Данте? Това е въпросът, на който се опитва да отговори Джонатан Блек, познат у нас с уникалното си енциклопедично изследване „Апокрифната история на света”.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Jonathan Black—real name Mark Booth—was born in Cambridge, UK, and educated at Oriel College, Oxford, where he read Philosophy and Theology. He works in publishing and publishes many bestselling authors and cultural icons. He also publishes many prominent authors in the MBS and ‘alternative history’ fields, including Graham Hancock, Lorna Byrne, Mooji and Rupert Sheldrake.

As an author he has sold over half a million books in the English language and his work has been translated into twenty-one languages. The Secret History of the World was a New York Times bestseller.

Booth has given lectures and interviews at the Royal Academy, Maastricht University and the Marion Institute in Massachusetts. He has been widely interviewed on radio and TV, including BBC Radio 4’s Today and Coast to Coast in the US. He has written articles for the Independent on Sunday, English National Opera, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Mind Body Spirit.

Reviews

[Nell Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable and informative read with some surprising revelations and insights about Dante and the Mystery Traditions. Unfortunately the Kindle edition has quite a few typos, otherwise I'd have rated it four stars.

[Pascal Zielke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little book about Dante‘s life and his work, focusing on his connection to the Templars and the occult symbolism of his writings. Another focus is on initiations by mystery schools, ranging from the ancient Egyptians and Greek, to the Romans and freemasonry.

„Reality has emanated from a great Cosmic Mind in successive stages. These stages are ruled by comic intelligences –angels or gods. Some of these gods and angels are the spirits of the stars and planets –and therefore their movements, as tracked by astrology, influence our lives. By prayer and ceremony we may work with these gods and angels to influence the world and in this way mind may move matter. Human spirits fell down through the successive stages and into matter, forgetting their spiritual origin, and before the end of time will rise again. Each individual human spirit makes this descent before birth, then re-ascends after death –and may make the journey again in subsequent reincarnations. There are certain techniques of initiation by which individuals may be enabled to make this journey while still alive and awake and so access the higher intelligences and even the great Cosmic Mind. There are certain techniques of physiological manipulation and complementary meditation through which individuals may make the journey. These initiations and techniques mark a stage in the transformation of the whole human being, including the physical body, in accordance with a divine plan which is working out through history and which will be completed when the whole cosmos is transfigured.“

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Booth’s The Secret History of Dante is a competent introduction to the supposed, and controversial, esoteric/cryptic tradition in the works of Dante Alighieri.

There are chapters on the Knights Templar [and Dante’s connection to them]; a reading of the 6th book of the Aeneid [for those that have not or are too lazy to read Virgil – though Mr. Booth insists on the alternative spelling, Vergil, and never explains why]; a search for the entrance to the inferno [Hell], and many other amusing diversions.

Ultimately, the book does not convince, but for those looking for an introduction to the hidden, or supposedly hidden, aspects of the poet’s works this is an excellent place to begin.

One negative is the book was far shorter than it could have been – in some ways it almost felt rushed and most sections need far deeper readings than what they received. Perhaps Mr. Booth was in a hurry.

Recommended for those with a conspiratorial bent of mind and for those who enjoy light entertainments with an Alt/Speculative History perspective.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less a "secret" history and more of a "life and times" of Dante, the book did not live up to expectations. I had hoped for a more complete biography and instead, this is an exploration into the influences in Dante's life, hitting hard on Islam and ancient writings to the exclusion of facts about Dante.

[Alan Philp · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's maybe a two and a halfer.... A decent introduction I think to the subject but does waver way off track at times.... The author does however whet the appetite to explore further, so not a bad thing.. This was a good holiday read, instead of the usual mundane thriller.....

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve never read a book on Dante, so I can’t comment on the veracity of the information, but I can say that it has been a wonderful, uncomplicated, unpretentious, straightforward read.
A good book for a rainy day – offering both entertainment and culture.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started ok then veered off down a lot of alleys .

[Jennifer Sims]

Very poorly written book. Could not finish it the writing was so bad. I'm glad it was free.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

too new-agey

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just an ok book. I still want to read the Divine Comedy again to see if I can pick out some of the stuff mentioned in this book