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

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In this fourth and final episode about the First Letter by Dante to Cardinal Niccolò da Prato, we'll look very briefly at the events between 1302-1304 with the new Pope Benedict XI, and the Letter or Epistle I in its fullness. 

We'll also see how Dante himself describes the events of the last four episodes, in Canto 6 of the Inferno.

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In this third episode on the background for Dante's Epistle I to Cardinal Niccolò da Prato in 1304, we'll look at the events and chaos that comes when the French Prince Charles of Valois enters Florence, and until the final banishment of the Bianchi in April 1302. 

In a little over two years, the Black Guelphs and Corso Donati have then taken full control of the city, but at a very high price, and the tensions between Pope Boniface and the French King have also increased. 

Dante is now in Exile, in which he will remain for the rest of his life. 

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In this second episode on the historical background for Dante's Epistle I to Cardinal Niccolò da Prato in 1304, we'll look at the events from Dante's summer as a Prior in June 1300, until the entering of the French Prince Charles of Valois into Florence in November, 1301.

We'll also look at the politics and strategies from Corso Donati, the head of the Neri, by going to Rome during these months, and laying plans with Pope Boniface VIII and the French King Philip the Fair.

And a big thanks to our very generous patreon-supporters who are funding this podcast! A special thanks goes to Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, and Aidan Chavasse.

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In this episode we'll look at the historical background of Dante's First Epistle to Cardinal Niccolò in 1304, by outlining the events in Florence from January to June of the year 1300. After a brief peace in the city, the two rivaling families of the Donati and the Cerchi import another family feud from Pistoia, thus becoming the Bianchi and Neri factions. Violence breaks out on May 1st 1300 at the Piazza di Santa Trinità, and on June 15th, Dante becomes a member of the governing council of six Priors, in Florence.

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In this episode we'll look at the main highlights from Dante's Epistle XIII to Lord Can Grande della Scala, his Patron in Verona, to whom Dante dedicates the Third Canticle of the Divine Comedy, the Paradiso.

We'll also look at Dante's expressed practial purpose and overall meaning of the Divine Comedy, and the four established levels of interpretation in the Medieval and Ancient Traditions:

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In the Epistle XI to the Italian Cardinals in 1314, Dante both makes a plea to elect an Italian Pope and return the Papacy to Rome, and also compares the Church to the Greek Myth of Phaethon, who loses control over Apollo's Sun Chariot - and burns down the world.

We'll also discuss the contexts provided by Italian scholars Claudio Rendino and Gian Luca Potestà.

https://dantescomedy.com/dantes-plea-to-return-the-papacy-to-rome

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In 1314 Dante wrote an Epistle to the Italian Cardinals defending himself from the charge that he was behaving like Uzzah in the old Biblical Stories, who was struck dead as he touched the Holy Ark. Dante then separates the Church, from the Scripture.

https://dantescomedy.com/dantes-relationship-to-scripture-and-to-the-church

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After ascending up the mountain we’re entering into the Garden of Eden, where the Pilgrim meets Beatrice and drinks from the two rivers of Lethe and Eunoë. The first river is to remove the memories of sins, and the second is to restore the memories of all the Good in the world and in Life. There are also two big allegorical scenes with the symbolic entering of Scripture, and the History of the Church up to Dante’s time in the thirteen hundreds. After the final moments by the river of Eunoë – the Pilgrim is now fully reborn, ready and eager, to rise into the Stars.

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Recommended version for joining this series is Mark Musa’s Penguin Classics Edition here: https://amzn.com/0140444424

On the Seventh and last Terrace we’ll meet the souls of the Lustful, and the Pilgrim is talking with the poets Guido Guinizelli and Arnault Daniel. And then they meet the Angel of Joy, and go through the wall of Fire – the spiritual purification. The final Terrace ends with a beautiful dream of flowers and the Active and Contemplative Life, and in the very last verses Virgil has a final and Crowning Speech for the Pilgrim.

Enjoy!

Recommended version for joining this series is Mark Musa’s Penguin Classics Edition here: https://amzn.com/0140444424