![]() He saw her frequently after age 18, often exchanging greetings in the street, but he never knew her well he effectively set the example for the so-called "courtly love". When he was nine years old he met Beatrice Portinari, daughter of Folco Portinari, with whom he fell in love "at first sight", and apparently without even having spoken to her. Nevertheless, we can assume that Dante was a keen up-to-date intellectual with international interests. His interests brought him to discover the Occitan poetry of the troubadours and the Latin poetry of classical antiquity (with a particular devotion to Virgil).ĭuring the Secoli Bui, the Dark Ages, Italy had become a mosaic of small states, Sicily being the largest one, at the time under Angevin rule, and as far (culturally and politically) from Tuscany as Occitania was: the regions did not share a language, culture or easy communications. It is known that he studied Tuscan poetry, at a time when the Sicilian School (Scuola poetica Siciliana), a cultural group from Sicily, was becoming known in Tuscany. Not much is known about Dante's education, and it is presumed he studied at home. In following years, his name is frequently found recorded as speaking or voting in the various councils of the republic. So Dante entered the guild of physicians and apothecaries. To take any part in public life, one had to be enrolled in one of "the arts". This victory brought forth a reformation of the Florentine constitution. She died when Dante was not yet ten years old.ĭante fought in the front rank of the Guelph cavalry at the battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289). Between 1285, when he married and began a family, and 1302, when he was exiled from Florence, he was active in the cultural and civic life of Florence, served as a soldier and held several political offices.ĭante's family was prominent in Florence, with loyalties to the Guelphs, a political alliance that supported the Papacy and which was involved in complex opposition to the Ghibellines, who were backed by the Holy Roman Emperor. At the age of 9 he met for the first time the eight-year-old Beatrice Portinari, who became in effect his Muse, and remained, after her death in 1290, the central inspiration for his major poems. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2023
Categories |