Dante Alighieri
Italian poet who wrote the Divine Comedy in the vernacular.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Dante Alighieri (c. May 1265 – September 14, 1321) was an Italian poet, writer, and philosopher. He is best known for his epic poem the *Divine Comedy*, originally called *Comedìa* and later christened *Divina* by Giovanni Boccaccio, which is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. By writing in his native Tuscan dialect rather than Latin, Dante helped establish the modern standardized Italian language and set a precedent for later Italian writers such as Petrarch and Boccaccio.
Born in Florence around May 1265, Dante claimed descent from ancient Romans, though the earliest named ancestor was his great-great-grandfather Cacciaguida. His father, Alighiero di Bellincione, was a businessman and moneylender; his mother, Bella, likely from the noble Abati family, died before Dante turned ten. His father later had two more children with Lapa di Chiarissimo Cialuffi. Dante’s family were Guelphs, loyal to the papacy, but suffered no reprisals when the Ghibellines took Florence in 1260 due to Alighiero’s low public standing. The Guelphs later retook the city after the Battle of Benevento in 1266. At age nine, Dante claimed to have first seen Beatrice Portinari and fallen in love at first sight, though he was promised in marriage at twelve to Gemma di Manetto Donati. He later fought with the Guelph cavalry at the Battle of Campaldino in 1289. To participate in public life, he joined the Physicians' and Apothecaries' Guild, and records show he occasionally spoke or voted in the republic’s councils between 1298 and 1300. His education included studying Tuscan poetry, particularly admiring the Bolognese poet Guido Guinizelli.
- born
- c. May 1265
- died
- September 14, 1321
- field
- Poet, writer, philosopher
- nationality
- Italian
- known_for
- Divine Comedy, terza rima, father of the Italian language
Lore & Background
Dante was born in Florence, likely around May 1265, deduced from autobiographical allusions in the Divine Comedy. His family was loyal to the Guelph political faction, which supported the papacy. He claimed descent from ancient Romans, but the earliest relative he could name was his great-great-grandfather Cacciaguida degli Elisei. His father was Alighiero di Bellincione, a businessman and moneylender, and his mother was Bella, probably of the Abati family. She died before Dante was ten, and his father remarried Lapa di Chiarissimo Cialuffi, who bore Dante's half-siblings Francesco and Tana.
Dante first met Beatrice Portinari when he was nine and she eight, claiming to have fallen in love at first sight. At age 12, he was promised in marriage to Gemma di Manetto Donati, with whom he later had three children: Pietro, Jacopo, and Antonia. He fought with the Guelph cavalry at the Battle of Campaldino in 1289 and later joined the Physicians' and Apothecaries' Guild to participate in public life. His education included study of Tuscan poetry, the Sicilian School, Provençal troubadour poetry, and Latin writers such as Cicero, Ovid, and Virgil.
Reader's Guide
Dante Alighieri's significance lies in his revolutionary use of the vernacular for serious literary and scholarly work. At a time when Latin dominated, his De vulgari eloquentia was one of the first scholarly defenses of writing in the vernacular, and his Divine Comedy, written in the Florentine dialect, helped establish that dialect as the basis for modern Italian. His work set a precedent for later Italian writers and influenced English authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, and Alfred Tennyson. Dante is credited with the first use of the interlocking three-line rhyme scheme known as terza rima. His depictions of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven inspired Western art and literature broadly. In Italy, he is called il Sommo Poeta ('the Supreme Poet') and, along with Petrarch and Boccaccio, forms the tre corone ('three crowns') of Italian literature. His legacy as the 'father' of the Italian language endures.
Did You Know?
- Dante's Divine Comedy was originally titled Comedìa and later called Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio.
- He is credited with the first use of the interlocking three-line rhyme scheme called terza rima.
- Dante claimed to have fallen in love with Beatrice Portinari at first sight when he was nine and she eight.
- He fought with the Guelph cavalry at the Battle of Campaldino in 1289.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"In that book which is My memory...
On the first page That is the chapter when I first met you Appear the words...
Here begins a new life." — Dante Alighieri "Ecce deus fortior me, qui veniens dominabitur mihi." — Dante Alighieri "Behold a God more powerful than I who comes to rule over me." — Dante Alighieri "Chapter I (tr. Barbara Reynolds); of love." — Dante Alighieri
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