We've come to the final evil pouch (or "malebolge") in the giant, hellish circle of fraud, Dante's largest piece of real estate in all of COMEDY.

This last pit is also one of the more disgusting spots in Inferno: a medieval medical ward, full of contagion, the nightmare for anyone in the 1300s.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we hear from the first of many of the damned in this foul pit--and as we watch Dante the pilgrim hold onto his humanity, even in the face of the sorts of diseases that could kill him and everyone he loves.

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

[01:31] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXIX, lines 73 - 108. If you'd like to read along or leave a comment about this episode, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:25] There are echoes and contrasts in this passage to previous bits in Canto XXIX and even before.

[08:55] These opening images are not pastoral. Rather, these images are distinctly up-market. Don't think "hovel." Think "manor house." (I don't mention it in the episode, but they even tie directly to Virgil's reference to "chain mail" in the passage.)

[13:03] A meta-literary point: There are two narratives (or stories) in COMEDY: the narrative of the journey and the narrative of the fiction.

[16:06] What diseases do these guys have? Leprosy? Scabies? Rabies? And why does it matter?

[22:00] Dante's genius is on full display in the character of Virgil: a fallible, changeable, but still great poet.

[24:39] How do you avoid losing your humanity in hell?

[28:53] How do you avoid losing your humanity when you write about the terrible truths of the human condition?

[33:12] Rereading INFERNO, Canto XXIX, lines 73 - 108.

The pilgrim, Dante, and his guide, Virgil, finally come to the last of the ten evil pouches of fraud (those famed "malebolge")--and wow, it's a doozy!

They walk above a medieval malarial ward, full of festering bodies, rank sickness, and disgusting smells. This pit may well be the foulest yet.

But if Dante and Virgil can walk it, so can we. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin to explore the farthest reaches of fraud in Dante's INFERNO.

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

[01:54] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXIX, lines 37 - 72. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment on this episode, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[05:14] The opening of this passage echoes the opening lines of INFERNO, Canto XXI.

[07:28] Potential callbacks to the ninth pit of fraud: cloisters, converts, and pity.

[11:12] The first simile of the passage: a malarial hospital.

[15:11] The walk continues with a familiar reference and a very unusual shout-out to the "Lord on high."

[20:53] Is this shout-out an eruption of the poet Dante into the pilgrim's journey?

[23:17] The second simile of the passage: out of a tale from Ovid's METAMORPHOSES.

[26:05] Comparing the two similes in INFERNO, Canto XXIX, lines 37 - 72.

[30:02] Our first real glimpse inside the pit.

[31:15] The journey continues--it’s on-going nature is our comfort in the nightmare.

You thought we were done with the ninth pit of fraud and the schismatics? No way! We're still there, no matter if Bertran de Born's appearance felt like an ending.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at this coda to the terrifying evil pouch (or malebolge) of fraud in Dante's INFERNO. In this passage, Dante sees a family member for the first time in the afterlife. And he may come to the first resolution of the vendetta theme that has run through INFERNO all along.

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

[02:00] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXIX, lines 1 - 36. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[05:06] Beware: Canto XXIX is a weirdly fractured poetic space.

[09:41] Firsts in this passage: new spatial and temporal markers.

[14:54] Echoes in this passage of other spots in INFERNO.

[20:53] Who was Geri del Bello?

[24:52] Echoes of Aeneas and (the dead) Dido in this passage.

[28:47] Vendetta is the materiality of justice: blood.

[31:34] The vendetta theme so far in INFERNO.

[35:39] The first resolution of the vendetta theme: compassion.

[36:23] Perhaps vendetta must be reserved for God.

[37:32] Canto XXIX is about preserving your humanity even in hell.

[39:02] A possible character development for the pilgrim in the ninth of the evil pouches (the "malebolge") of fraud.

[40:48] INFERNO is a linear journey without modern linear narrative techniques.

[43:29] Rereading the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXIX, lines 1 - 36.

We end the crowded ninth evil pouch of the schismatics with . . . a poet: Bertran de Born. A poet Dante had previously praised. A poet who wrote poetry that is a direct influence on Dante's earlier works. And a poet who has actually been with us throughout Inferno, Canto XXVIII, even if we didn't realize it.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the historical and meta-literary details in his complicated passage--and then turn to an exploration of Bertran's use of a word that has come to dominate Dante criticism: "contrapasso."

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

[02:40] My English translation of this passage: Inferno, Canto XXVIII, lines 112 - 142. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment on this episode, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[06:09] Who was Bertran de Born?

[10:26] Who was "the young king" Bertran de Born speaks about?

[14:02] What was Bertran de Born's place in the English/French civil wars?

[15:55] The first Biblical citation in the passage: Ahitophel, Absalom, and David.

[17:36] The second Biblical citation in the passage: See if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.

[21:53] Dante has twice mentioned Bertran de Born in other works.

[23:11] Why does this passage begin with a veracity problem?

[25:43] Bertran de Born's poetry has been in Canto XXVIII all along.

[28:04] Why is Bertran de Born here?

[30:59] What is "contrapasso"? And what are the limits of its meaning?

[36:11] There may be two types of "contrapasso": actual and metaphorical.

[42:48] Muhammad may bookend Canto XXVIII.

[46:19] Rereading Inferno, Canto XXVIII, lines 112 - 142.

We've seen so many figures down in the ninth of the evil pouches of fraud, the ninth of the "malebolge" in Dante's INFERNO. And we're about to see more, including the guy who (maybe?) started the entire Florentine civil war that has torn Dante and his family apart.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look through a short passage to discover a figure who is at the root of Dante's own troubles.

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

[01:41] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXVIII, lines 103 - 111. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this episode, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[02:52] Mosca has come up before in INFERNO.

[05:42] Who is Mosca dei Lamberti?

[09:25] The damned seemed to have become much more "physical."

[11:50] Is there a parodic reference to Christ's spilled blood here?

[14:59] Mosca offers an elliptical, murky bit of advice that leads to the Florentine civil war.

[18:46] Dante the pilgrim continues the political strife in this passage.

[20:19] Why is the ninth of the evil pouches (of the "malebolge") so crowded? A few speculative answers.

We're down in the crowded pit of the schismatics, the ninth of the evil pouches (or "malebolge") that make up the giant eighth circle of fraud in Dante's INFERNO.

We've already seen two figures, heard about at least four others, and are about to meet yet another guy. Except he can't speak. His tongue's been cut out. Because he fomented the Roman civil war--and helps us see Dante the poet's ambivalence as an idealist.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this short passage from INFERNO about Curio, the one who (maybe?) goaded Julius to cross the Rubicon and destroy the Republic to found the Roman Empire.

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

[02:00] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXVIII, lines 91 - 102. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this passage, go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:24] Who is this Curio?

[09:20] Dante fulfills his promises--in the most meta-literary way!

[11:53] Dante the pilgrim's lines are fractured, the way the other schismatics' lines are fractured. Is that intentional?

[15:57] My long-standing interpretive error from this passage.

[19:04] A important warning about the horizons of interpretation.

[22:03] Dante has used the line about delay from Lucan's PHARSALIA before.

[24:16] From fearless to forlorn: the narrative journey of most of the damned.

[25:57] Three implications from this passage. 1) Is the distinction between schismatics and scandalmongers easy or complex?

[28:21] 2) These figures seem to still delight in tribalism, even in hell.

[32:04] 3) Dante is an idealist---which inevitably leads to ambivalence--which inevitably leads to rage.

Muhammad has walked on, but we're not finished with the schismatics and those who make scandal for the faithful. The ninth of the evil pouches (the "malebolge") of fraud is a crowded pit!

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we descend to some historical obscurity, part of the on-going difficulty of what may well be the most occluded and murky pit among all those in the giant, eighth circle of fraud in INFERNO.

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

[01:24] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXVIII, lines 64 - 90. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment, look for this passage on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:44] More about wonder. And questions about the symbolism of the hacking in the ninth of the evil pouches of fraud.

[07:40] Questions about tone in Pier da Medicina's speech.

[08:41] Unpacking (possibly?) the history in Pier da Medicina's speech.

[14:51] The curious reference to Neptune in the passage.

[16:48] A warning about the historical distance between us and Dante.

[21:13] Reading the passage once again: Inferno, Canto XXVIII, lines 64 - 90.

We're down among the scandal makers and the schismatics in the ninth of the evil pouches (the "malebolge") that make up the great circle of fraud in Dante's INFERNO.

We've heard Muhammad talk about his mutilation--and now we have the answer to his question as to who the pilgrim is. But Dante doesn't answer. Virgil does. And his answer provokes the most shocking line in all of INFERNO.

You might miss it. But join me, Mark Scarbrough, to catch this miraculous utterance in all its truth.

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

[01:31] My English translation of INFERNO, Canto XXVIII, lines 46 - 63. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this passage, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:03] Virgil's reply to Muhammad, much like his replies to other great, up-market figures in hell.

[04:49] Virgil's (new?) explanation for COMEDY: the encyclopedic vision.

[06:49] Fra Dolcino and his heresy among The Apostolic Brethren.

[10:31] The important backdating of COMEDY.

[11:44] The fracturing of the lines of poetry among the schismatics.

[13:42] Muhammad as a stumbling block, rather than a schismatic.

[15:54] The most shocking lines in all of INFERNO.

[19:53] A rereading of all of the Muhammad passages in INFERNO: Canto XXVIII, lines 22 - 63.

We've come to the ninth pouch of fraud--and perhaps the most shocking malebolge of them all. Here stands Muhammad mangled in a pit full of those who create scandals and those who make schisms.

But which is Muhammad for Dante? Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore one of the most vulgar and shocking passages in all of INFERNO. Dante may be overcompensating for his Crusading ethic, or trying to overcome it, or simply stumbling over it in this passage far down toward the center of hell.

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

[01:47] My English translation of the passage: Inferno, Canto XXVIII, lines 22 - 45. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment, please find this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:35] The simile of the gapped-open barrel pairs with the free space in discourse and memory needed to write this canto.

[05:57] Dante the poet emphasizes commonality ("we" and "us") in this canto.

[07:17] We are moving down the body as we descend to the bottom of hell.

[08:20] Muhammad tears himself open, despite the demon in the pit who also tears him apart. And Muhammad is not alone in this pit. He's another twinned character in INFERNO.

[09:48] There's an important difference between "scandal" and "schism."

[11:24] Is Muhammad condemned by Dante for scandal or schism?

[12:17] These members of the ninth pouch are on a healing journey that is not a healing journey.

[15:47] Muhammad does not recognize that Dante the pilgrim is alive, thereby linking Muhammad with Pope Nicholas III and Guido da Montefeltro.

[19:12] Before we get to Muhammad, let's look at a quick history of the West's perception of Islam.

[24:25] Here are three possible reasons why Muhammad is in the ninth pit of fraud. 1) Muhammad was seen as a renegade Christian.

[26:06] 2) Muhammad may be here linked with the heretic Arius.

[27:35] 3) Muhammad may offer an alternate path to God, a stumbling block for Christians.

[31:07] Muhammad and Alì are together, showing us Dante's understanding of Islamic politics (and its basic schism).

[32:21] Dante the poet surprisingly uses an Arabic word in this passage, thereby increasing its Islamic valence.

We have come to the ninth pit of the sins of fraud, way down in the eighth circle of Dante's INFERNO. We're about to meet a set of souls--well, bodies, more like--who endure unbelievable agony, exactly as bodies have always endured agony under the sword of empire.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at this complicated opening passage for canto XXVIII. It's chock full of historical references. But more importantly, our poet seems to be changing his mind. And changing the rules of the crusading ethic. Because the body in pain makes and unmakes the world itself.

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

[01:41] My English translation of INFERNO, Canto XXVIII, lines 1 - 21. If you'd like to read along or even drop a comment about this episode, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:59] The opening buried reference to THE AENEID, Book VI, lines 625 - 627.

[07:06] References to Pulgia and Livy explored.

[10:59] References to Robert Guiscard, Manfred, and Érard de Valéry explored.

[14:20] The four historical dates (or battles) in this complicated passage.

[19:58] Two implications from this passage. 1) We cannot determine who will end up where in the afterlife based on wins and losses in this world.

[23:27] 2) The cost of empire is the body in pain.

[24:54] Some of those bodies in pain are Muslims.

[25:51] The body in pain makes and unmakes language.

[29:39] Back to the opening of the canto: The body in pain confounds yet needs unbound words in a hollow space.

[34:15] A second reading through the passage: Inferno, Canto XXVIII, lines 1 - 21.