Manfred continues his shocking speech, giving us the details of his body after his death--thereby continuing the theme of the body in PURGATORIO, Canto III; and thereby giving Dante the poet plenty of room for his imagination to run wild.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we learn what happened to Manfred's body after his death at the hands of the French forces at Benevento--and what can happen to Manfred's soul if the living get busy and focus on his trials at the bottom of Purgatory.

Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:46] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 121 - 145. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or continue the conversation, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:04] Manfred is humbled and admits (vaguely) that the rumors about him may be true.

[06:35] What is the "aspect" of God that the church leaders have misread?

[08:31] What is the historical record of Manfred's death?

[10:37] Why would Dante the poet make up so much of Manfred's story, particularly the story of his body after his death at the hands of the French forces at Benevento?

[14:50] Why "thirtyfold"?

[17:03] What is the role of the living in terms of the dead? Two answers to this question.

[22:08] A structural look at PURGATORIO, Canto III.

[25:10] Rereading the entire Manfred sequence: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 103 - 145.