Dante's Divine Comedy

A Conversation about the main topics and purpose of the Third Sphere in Dante's Paradiso - the Sphere of Venus. We'll meet the souls of Carlo Martello, Cunizza, and Bishop Folchetto, and explore the themes of mercy, forgiveness, love, spiritual growth, and the transition out of the earthly shadow into the higher Divine realms from the Sun and beyond.

We'll also discuss different forms of love, and how self-management of your soul can shape reality, your relationships, and transform your perception of the world.

Hosts are Richard Emerson, and English Professor Robert-Louis Abrahamson.

Professor Abrahamson also has podcast with three seasons on Dante here: https://eveningunderlamplight.substack.com

Music: "Gregorian Chants" by Kevin MacLeod, and "Miserere Mei" by Gregorio Allegri.

A Conversation about the Sphere of Mercury in Paradiso, and how the Transcendent and Divine Truth is shining through the bigger scales of Empires, Civilizations and Humanity itself.

One of the main arguments in the Second Sphere is that on a cosmic scale, Humanity is a young species with a very recently emerged self-awareness, moral capacity, and Free Will. And over the longer time spans, we need to align both spiritually and with our Institutions and Civilizations with the Transcendent Good and Truth, argues Beatrice.

Hosts are Richard Emerson and English Professor Robert-Louis Abrahamson.

Professor Abrahamson also has podcast with three seasons on Dante here: https://eveningunderlamplight.substack.com/

Music: "Gregorian Chants", by Kevin MacLeod.

A Conversation about the Sphere of the Moon in Paradiso, with some of the main themes and the idea of transformation of perspective and experience of Being. With English Professor and Podcaster about Dante, Robert-Louis Abrahamson.

Robert-Louis Abrahamson is Emeritus Professor in English for the European Division of the University of Maryland, and he studied at Amherst College, University of Edinburgh and Rutgers University. Born in Philadelphia, he later moved to England in the 1980s and currently lives in the market town of Oundle, not too far from Cambridge, where he is the chairman of the Cambridge Dickens Fellowship.

Abrahamson also has a wonderful series on Dante's Inferno, Purgatory and Paradiso on his "Evening under Lamplight” Podcast, which is highly recommended, and a regular radio show currently on Cambridge 105 Radio.

His podcast with three seasons on Dante is here: https://eveningunderlamplight.substack.com

For more episodes on Dante's Paradiso in detail, we have a new podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/0FvBNwnuobj8rXIoH9yLxz

Music: "Gregorian Chants", by Kevin MacLeod.

In this episode we're having our good friend Tom LA Books back for a conversation about the Big Picture of the Divine Comedy! 

We'll talk about how we can see some of the major themes of this overall picture in the contrast between Ulysses' "Mad Flight" in Inferno, and the beginning of the Journey in Paradiso. We'll also touch on philosophy, theology, psychology, practical life-advice from Dante, how life can change around 30, and countless small points and ideas of wisdom and beauty everywhere in the Comedy.

Catch Tom's next video, and follow his Journey through Paradise!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1Se0davqIVb5KsQ1ruCZ_Q

Thanks for listening!

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A special thanks goes out to our generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!

Join us for a wide-ranging conversation with Ivy League Professor Dr. Phil Cary, about the structure of Dante's Cosmology and the 24 wise people in the sphere of the Sun.

We'll also talk about the movement of the souls, and his favorite moments of wisdom and beauty from the Divine Comedy.

Thanks for listening!

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Dr. Phillip Cary is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, where he is also Scholar-in-Residence at the Templeton Honors College. After receiving his B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis, Professor Cary earned his M.A. in Philosophy and Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale University. Professor Cary is a recent winner of the Lindback Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching at Eastern University. He has also taught at Yale University, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Hartford. As the Arthur J. Ennis Post-Doctoral Fellow at Villanova University, he taught the nationally recognized undergraduate Core Humanities seminars on ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and modern thought. As a scholar, Professor Cary's specialty is the thought of Augustine, but he has also published scholarly articles on Luther, the doctrine of the Trinity, and personal knowledge. His most recent books include two on Augustine, Inner Grace and Outward Signs, both published by Oxford University Press in 2008, as well as a commentary on the book of Jonah, also in 2008, published by Brazos Press.

A special thanks goes out to our very generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!

In the episode we'll look at the arts and architecture of the 13 hundreds, and the events with the Rise of Banking Families, an economic crash, the Black Death, and the temporary move backwards with the Oligarchy of the Albizzi Family.

Overall movements are still the Rise of the Merchant Classes and Growth of Cities, and we'll see how the Albizzi Oligarchy creates the conditions for the next century with the Age of Medici and the artistic explosion of the Florentine Renaissance.

Thanks for listening!

A special thanks goes out to our very generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!!

In this episode we'll look at the deeper theological themes in the Lord of the Rings, and see how they are expressed by J.R.R. Tolkien, and in Dante's Divine Comedy. We'll also see how the beauty and wisdom of deep theology can greatly enrich and embed great epic stories and poetry.

Timestamps:

Thanks for listening!

In this episode we're having our first guest here on the podcast! We're very happy to present to you Tommaso in LA, who's currently making an excellent 100 video series on the Divine Comedy on his youtube channel, and we'll discuss the role that Dante is playing in his life, and his favorite scenes and discoveries from each of the three books.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

00:53 - Dante

11:24 - Inferno

28:30 - Purgatory

36:20 - Garden of Eden

44:54 - Paradiso

Tom's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1Se0davqIVb5KsQ1ruCZ_Q

The Canto 27 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBPMreDDS24

Thanks for listening!

In this episode we'll look at the historical events of the 12 hundreds in Florence, with the rise of the Merhcant class, the rivalries between dynasties, and the wars between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. This is a very helpful background to understand more of how Dante's outlook on the World was shaped in the first 35 years of his life, and the conditions and tensions he was caught up in when he became a Prior of the City, in the Summer of 1300.

The Plaque for Buondelmonte on Ponte Vecchio is here:

Thanks for listening!

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A special thanks goes out to our very generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse and Santheep on https://patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!!

In this episode we'll look at Epistle VII that Dante wrote to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII of Luxembourg, after Henry's descent into Italy in 1310. 

We'll go through the historical context of the letter, as well as Dante's life in exile after 1304, and the immediate aftermath of Henry's conquest. We'll also look at some passages in "The Paradiso" with Dante's description of becoming a "Party of One" after breaking with the White Guelphs, and how Beatrice presents Henry VII's place in the Heavens.

A great map of Europe in the time of Emperor Henry VII is here! https://ibb.co/PNHnJnb

Thanks for listening!