Divina Commedia of Dante Alighieri
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Wilson, Robert Paul (2003) Prophetic elements in the Divina commedia of Dante Alighieri. PhD thesis http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4252/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Prophetic Elements in the Divina Commedia of Dante Alighieri Robert Paul Wilson A Dissertation submitted to the University of Glasgow in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts, Department of Italian, July 2003 ABSTRACT This thesis presents a list and analysis of the prophecies in the C0111111edia of Dante Alighieri. The prophecies are then broadly considered under two headings, ante eventu111 and post eventum, although these elements are frequently mixed together. They are used by Dante for various purposes, including the reinterpretation of the meaning of his own exile, and different programmes of moral and political critique. The foresight shown by the inhabitants of the three parts of the after-life is also examined, and philosophical and literary explanations found. The prophetic ability of the souls in the Infemo especially is found to have an antecedent in classical literature, and in particular in Lucan's Pharsalia. The role of the post eventum and ante eventu111 prophecies in the tmth claims of the C0111111edia is considered, and the meaning of Dante poeta's silence on them is examined. CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2 THE PROPHECIES I: INFERNO 13 CHAPTER 3 THE PROPHECIES II: PURGATORIO 65 CHAPTER 4 THE PROPHECIES III: PARADISO 109 CHAPTER 5 PROPHECY BY THE DEAD IN THE COMMEDIA 140 CHAPTER 6 POST EVENTUM PROPHECIES 177 CHAPTER 7 ANTE EVENTUM PROPHECIES 187 CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSION 193 BIBLIOGRAPHY 198 Acknowledgements I would like to thank, for their help and encouragement during my work on this thesis: my wife, Ruth Unsworth, and our children, David, Elizabeth, and John; my supervisor and friend Professor Eileen Ann Millar; my friends in the St. Andrews Italian Department, Carla Spadavecchia, Carlo Caruso, Ronnie Ferguson, and Patrizia Sambuco. And for past help and encouragement, I thank my teachers; of Latin, Fr. Reginald Foster, and of biblical criticism, the late Fr. Dermot Cox. And for final proof-reading, among other things, I thank my mother, Elizabeth Wilson. Declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the Regulations of the University of Glasgow. The work is original except where indicated by special reference in the text and no part of the dissertation has been submitted for any other degree. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University of Glasgow. The dissertation has not been presented to any other University for examination either in the United Kingdom or overseas . Signed: ............~ .......... Date: ....... 3. .t. .'.1. .l. P±............................. 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The theme of prophecy in relation to Dante and the Commedia is one which is important, and has been the subject of a great deal of critical interest and neglect at one and the same time. Critical interest in the question of prophecy can be divided immediately into three groups. The first group includes any study of Dante or his work, both general and specialised, which makes some mention of individual prophecies, prophecy, or some concept of Dante profeta, ranging in length from a few pages to a simple footnote. ~ These numerous references attest to a widespread recognition of the presence and importance of prophecy in Dante's work but we cannot regard them as studies of the subject itself. The second group comprises studies which attempt to explain the significance of particular prophecies, generally those of the veltro and the DXV.2 These studies tend to concentrate on the problem of the identity of those prophesied. The third group is made up of studies which seek to examine the concept of prophecy in Dante's work, and in the person of Dante himself, sometimes described as Dante profeta. These address the issues examined by the second group only insofar as they relate to the more general theme of prophecy. By far the greater critical interest and effort has been commanded by the obscure nature of the veltro and DXV predictions and attempts to propose a definitive reading of them have generated an enOlIDOUS amount of critical material. Studies in the third group are few in number, and this area has received very little direct attention. It may, therefore, be described as relatively neglected in Dante studies generally; a fact disguised by the numerous passing references to prophecy found in the first of the three groupings, and the large number of studies on the veltro and related questions. This study belongs in this third 1 The index of any study of Dante will provide examples of this. The following is an interesting summary statement: 'E luogo comune affermare la valenza profetica della Commedia; tanto comune, che nell'ambito della dantologia e di un'evidenza anche troppo elementare. E percio rischioso per chi osa riproporlo' (Giuliana Angiolillo, Un'isola 'autobiografica': Viaggio nella medievalita di Dante (Salerno: Edisud, 1994), p. 205). 2 The term 'DXV is used here for brevity, not to preclude any discussion which disputes the use of this term. 2 group. Before continuing, I will give a short chronological survey of the main studies of prophecy in Dante. We can begin with Vittorio Cian.3 Although primarily concerned with the problem of the veltro, Cian's study addresses other questions on prophecy in Dante, and remains the only study which attempts to provide a full list of the prophecies in the Commedia, although it is incomplete.4 Since his primary interest is in the veltro prophecy, which he interprets in political terms, his study is coloured by this assumption. This predominantly political approach to the issue casts Dante as the prophet of an imperial veltro (pp. 9-10, 55-62). Much of Cian's study is then concerned with examining Dante's political position (e.g. pp. 36-48). Despite some attention to the differences between the Commedia and the M onarchia in terms of genre (pp. 40-41), Cian does not really take sufficient account of the fact that the Coml11edia is much more than a piece of political propaganda (pp. 48-55). He does not consider the fact that Dante cannot, and does not, commit his text in the same way as the propaganda writers in order that the COl11l11edia can survive beyond the achievement of shorter term political aims. On another issue, Cian is rightly attentive to the importance of the distinction between the fictional time of the Coml11edia and the time of composition. This is how he describes Dante's attention to that distinction in his use of prophecies in the Commedia: II poeta medesimo ha cura di osservare, per quanto era umanamente possibile, questa distinzione, comportandosi pero in guisa che i riflessi inevitabili della mutata condizione dei tempi e delle cose e dell'animo suo allorquando scriveva, in confronto di quell a del periodo immediatamente anteriore all'esilio, non rompessero l'incanto, non violassero Ie convenienze e Ie esigenze della sua finzione. Percio appunto egli ricorse ad un espediente assai ingegnoso ed efficace, quello delle profezie, giustificato il pili delle volte col dono della prescienza concesso agli spiriti d'oltretomba; dcorse a commenti e digressioni sue personali, che si riferiscono evidentemente a un tempo posteriore. Ma nell 'us are di questo espediente, sovrattutto nel ricorrere alle profezie, egli rivela un senso finissimo della misura, sl da non tradire se stesso, da non isvelare troppo chiaramente il suo bell'artificio, da alimentare l'illusione nell'animo dei suoi lettori. (pp. 37-38) 3 Vittorio Cian, Oltre l'enigma dantesco del veltro, 2nd edn (Turin: Paravia, 1945). Cian notes in his dedication that the first version of this study, entitled Sulle onne del veltro, was published in 1897. 4 Cian's list, pp. 119-32, is as follows: Inf,I. 101-02; X. 79-81; XV. 61 ff.; XIX. 76 ff.; XXIV. 140 ff.; XXVI. 7-9; XXVIII. 55 ff.; XXVIII. 73 ff; Pur., VI. 121 f.; VIII. 133 ff.; XI. 139 ff.; XIII. 151 ff.; XIV. 55 ff.; XX. 70 ff.; XXIII. 97 ff.; XXIV. 82 ff.; XXXII. 100 ff.; XXXII. 142 ff.; XXXIII. 8ff.; XXXIII. 34 ff.; Par., VI. 103 ff.; VIII. 76-78; IX. 1-6; IX. 37-60; IX. 121 ff.; XII. 140-1.; XVII. 46 ff.; XVII. 124 ff.; XVIII. 124-36; XIX. 112-48; XXII. 14-18.; XXII. 73-96; XXVII. 61-3. Some of the problems with his list will be addressed in the course of the next three chapters of this thesis, which examine the individual prophecies in the Commedia. 3 Cian's readiness to consider the possibility that Dante might somehow deceive his readers through the use of post eventum prophecies is interesting. For Cian, this seems unproblematic in his presentation of Dante as a prophet. However, since it arises from a crossing of the boundaries between fact and fiction, it raises the question of which 'Dante' Cian is describing; the historical Dante Alighieri, or Dante as character, or Dante as narrator of the Commedia.