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Dante, Alighieri (1265-1321)

From The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization
A native son of the powerful Florentine city-state, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) has long been celebrated as a politician, linguist, poet, and visionary. In canto 15 of Paradiso of the Divine Comedy Dante traces his heritage to the crusading knight Cacciaguida (c.1091-1147). He also asserts that he was educated by the notary Brunetto Latini (Inferno, 15) and by the friars (Convivio, 2.12.7). In medieval Florence these were probably either the Franciscans at Santa Croce or the Dominicans at Santa Maria Novella. In the context of the Florentine Renaissance, Dante's writings were strongly influenced by authors who had recently been rediscovered, including Horace, Ovid, and Virgil. The only lifelike portrait of Dante is a fresco in the Bargello in Florence, which was painted by his friend, the renowned artist Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337). While Dante is best remembered for his theological wisdom in the Divine Comedy , he was also responsible for the advancement of the Tuscan dialect; the…
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Full text Article Dante, Alighieri

From Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought
Florentine poet who, in his De Monarchia , c. 1309 presented a philosophical description of monarchy , and of the state, influenced by Aristotle and Cicero , but containing many distinctively modern features. He argued that peace is a necessity if human powers are to be realized, and that there can…
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Full text Article Dante Alighieri

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Italian poet. In his early years Dante wrote many canzoni to Beatrice Portinari, who remained the inspiration for much of his life's work. In 1300, he became one of the rulers of Florence, but was exiled in 1302 after a feud between the White and Black Guelphs . He never returned to Florence, but…
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Full text Article Dante (Alighieri)

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Dante Reading from the Divine Comedy, painting by...
(born c. May 21–June 20, 1265, Florence—died Sept. 13/14, 1321, Ravenna) Italian poet. Dante was of noble ancestry, and his life was shaped by the conflict between papal and imperial partisans (the Guelfs and Ghibellines ). When an opposing political faction within the Guelfs (Dante’s party) gained…
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Full text Article Dante Alighieri

From Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature
(b. 1265–d. 1321) Italian poet Dante Alighieri is universally admired as one of the greatest writers in Western culture. His Divine Comedy stands as perhaps the most significant text in medieval European literature. Dante was born in Florence at the end of May in 1265, during the internecine strife…
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Full text Article Dante, Alighieri

From The Classical Tradition
Florentine poet (1265-1321). His extensive debts to and complex engagement with the classical world are emblematically captured in Virgil's unexpected role in the Divine Comedy (Divina commedia , 1306/1307-1321) as guide through the first two realms, Hell and Purgatory, of the Christian afterlife. …
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Full text Article Dante Alighieri (1265–1321)

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Italian poet. His masterpiece La divina commedia/The Divine Comedy (1307–21) is an epic account in three parts of his journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, during which he is guided part of the way by the poet Virgil; on a metaphorical level, the journey is also one of Dante's own spiritual…
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Full text Article Dante Alighieri

From Chambers Biographical Dictionary
1265-1321 Italian poet, author of the Divina Commedia ("Divine Comedy") Dante was born in Florence, the son of a lawyer of the noble Guelf family. He was baptized Durante, afterwards abbreviated to Dante. According to his own account, he first set eyes on his lifelong love, Beatrice Portinari…
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Full text Article Dante Alighieri

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(dăn'tē, Ital. dän'tā älēgyĕ'rē), 1265–1321, Italian poet, b. Florence. Dante was the author of the Divine Comedy , one of the greatest of literary classics. Born into a Guelph family (see Guelphs and Ghibellines ) of decayed nobility, Dante moved in patrician society. He was a member of the…
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Whence it comes that kingdoms which depend entirely upon the virtue of one man endure but for a brief time, for his virtue passes away with his life, and it rarely happens that it is renewed in his successor, as Dante so wisely says: “ ’Tis seldom human wisdom descends from sire to son; / Such is…
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One of the foremost poets of the Renaissance,...
(b. 1265–d. 1321) Florentine politician and poet…
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