LOOK AT A PROJECT 19

Divine Comedy, while taking into ac- understood his poem as an addition being merely symbolic. According to count his entire collection of work. to the Book of Revelation, which for Kablitz, in Dante’s self-understand- The poem, which dates from the him fulfils the highest claim to truth. ing, a unique encounter with the beginning of the 14th century, de- He wanted to create a text in which existence of the afterlife had taken scribes a journey though the afterlife the Christian work of salvation could place. The academic now wants to from the first-person perspective. In be recognized; one could even call reconstruct this self-understanding The thinker the story, the narrator travels from it a Third Testament.” At first, this as a means of unveiling the thinker Hell, through Purgatory and even- sounds like a daring theory; however, within. in the poet tually into Paradise where he finally Kablitz’s argument offers an exciting and the Third meets God himself. It seems exciting glimpse into history and philosophy. A further avenue pursued by Kablitz to reveal Dante’s closed system of The academic believes that Dante also puts him at odds with a popular Testament thought and the various facets of his deliberately chose a narrative text as trend in research on Dante: he con- thinking in this work in particular – a medium for his cause. According tests the “modernisation of Dante”, as it is primarily a poetic text and not to Kablitz, Dante knowingly opted questioning all theories that por- Andreas Kablitz “I didn’t touch the text for the next 15 tute in Cologne speaks with extreme a theoretical one. The Divine Com- to use the literary structure of the tray Dante as the ‘forward thinker’ External Senior Fellow years,” says Andreas Kablitz, remem- precision when describing the proj- edy also demonstrates that which Bible, which also has a narrative text and thereby insinuate that he was School of Language bering his first encounter with Dante ect he has pursued since April in Kablitz believes makes Dante partic- form. “Dante wanted to add to the ahead of his time in terms of mod- & Literature Alighieri's Divine Comedy and the his role as External Senior Fellow ularly stand out: the poet’s claim to Book of Revelation, even to outdo ern thought. Kablitz explains his deterrent effect it had on him. As a at FRIAS. He wants to understand establish a radical concept of poetry that text, as he was driven by the fear view: “To my mind there is no direct student, it would have been unthink- Dante the thinker, to separate him as an insight into reality. “The Divine that knowledge of salvation was dis- link between Dante’s thought and able for today’s Kablitz – a Gottfried from his literary work and see what Comedy reveals the radicalism of the appearing during his era. He sought modern thought. He may have been Wilhelm Leibniz Prize winner – that is underneath. “Both his own self- truth claim that Dante demands of to defend a monarchia universalis revolutionary in his era and highly he, of all people, would one day give understanding and that of his con- poetic texts,” explains Kablitz. “He which he saw represented in the Ro- innovative, but this innovation does a lecture on this, one of the most im- temporaries indicate that his great thus tries to elevate poetic knowl- man Empire, since this Empire sym- not reflect modern-day innovation.” portant works of premodern Europe. work, the Divine Comedy, can also edge – regarded as the lowest form of bolised for him the system of order The literary scholar has prepared Back when he was a student, the lec- be understood as that of a thinker, knowledge in scholastic philosophy on earth made possible by Christ,” himself well for the pursuit of his ture intended to introduce him and a philosopher, a theologian or a lin- – to the level of the highest author- states Kablitz. research. The literary medium and his fellow students to Dante’s poetry guist, and it is this Dante that I want ity, namely the truth. Dante himself poetic structure that Dante uses to was a complete disappointment for to reconstruct,” explains Kablitz. In the Divine Comedy, Dante expert- communicate his philosophy via his Kablitz. “It conveyed nothing of ly shows how to express this theoreti- works will show Kablitz the way to the spirit of the text,” he explains. He has been studying Dante for cal interest through the medium of the thinker in the poem. The time Years later, a second encounter with several years, with his first piece of poetry, and Kablitz uses this as the has therefore come to uncover and Dante’s Divine Comedy seemed un- work on the Italian poet published basis of his search for the thinker. decode this medium and this struc- avoidable after all. “You cannot deny in 1994. It is therefore only logical This search is also intended to reveal ture. Finally, Kablitz will attempt your students the preeminent work that now, during his FRIAS fellow- a substantial component of Dante’s to create that which he felt was so of Italian literature forever,” the then ship, he should venture to synthesise historical thinking. “I think that he lacking when he attended his first professor of Italian Language and his many years of research. Only was an early advocate of historical lecture on Dante as a student: a way Literature at Ludwigs-Maximilians- then, states Kablitz, will it be pos- theology,” Kablitz states. for people to experience the spirit of Universität in Munich had to admit, sible to see which aspects have not the text. (ab) “and I haven’t managed to escape the yet been tackled. His book, Dante The academic firmly believes that Commedia since.” Alighieri, will appear in the series Dante was convinced he had actually entitled “Denker” published by Ot- experienced a real journey to the af- Anyone talking to Kablitz about fried Höffe at the C.H. Beck-Verlag. terlife by way of a dream, a vision or Dante finds themself in a conver- in his imagination. Kablitz therefore sation about fundamental philo- In order to uncover the “Denker” sets himself apart from the section sophical issues. The Professor of [thinker] in Dante the poet, the Codex Altonensis: Dantes Comedya. of research on Dante which under- Romance Languages and Literature academic will primarily focus his Um 1360 (Norditalien), stands the text as purely allegorical, and Director of the Petrarca Insti- research on Dante’s great work, the ex Bibliotheca Gymnasii Altonani. with the journey into the afterlife