This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Locke, Rebekah E Title: The Role of Dante’s Purgatorio in the Development and Representation of Purgatory from the Early Fourteenth Century to the Council of Trent in the Sixteenth Century General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. The Role of Dante’s Purgatorio in the Development and Representation of Purgatory from the Early Fourteenth Century to the Council of Trent in the Sixteenth Century Rebekah Ellen Locke A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts. School of Modern Languages, August 2020. Word Count: 77 606 1 Abstract This thesis studies the development of the doctrine of Purgatory in the Italian peninsula during the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. Specifically, it considers the responses to Dante’s Purgatorio in literary and visual texts, as this work is considered to be the first example of an independent and hopeful realm of Purgatory. My comparative and interdisciplinary analysis seeks to address the lack of critical attention given to literary and artistic representations of Purgatory in the period following Dante’s landmark poem. The thesis is divided into four chapters which focus on Dante’s reception in different literary and visual texts. The first chapter examines vernacular commentaries and manuscript illuminations of Dante’s Purgatorio. The second and third chapters analyse visual depictions of Purgatory in the medieval and early modern periods, focusing on frescoes and altarpieces respectively. The final chapter examines the treatment of Purgatory in Federico Frezzi’s Il Quadriregio (1394-1403). Each chapter considers the reception of both the geography and theology of Dante’s Purgatorio, analysing the themes of landscape, transformation, punishment and prayer. My findings suggest that, despite its innovation and extensive transmission, Purgatorio has a limited influence upon subsequent literary and visual depictions of the realm. Indeed, in addition to Dantean influence, there is evidence that the medieval visionary tradition, the writings of theologians and hagiography play a significant role in the developing representation of Purgatory. This research therefore challenges the critical conception of Dante’s middle realm as an exceptional culmination of previous traditions that transformed the later portrayal of Purgatory. By analysing a range of different media, this thesis not only sheds new light on the reception of Dante’s Purgatorio but also provides a more detailed account of how the doctrine of Purgatory was perceived, transmitted and developed in the Italian peninsula at this time. 2 Acknowledgements I would firstly like to thank my supervisors, Dr Tristan Kay and Dr Rhiannon Daniels, for supporting me throughout this project with detailed insight and advice – thank you both. My thanks also go to the South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership for making this research possible. I am grateful to the Centre for Medieval Studies at Bristol for showing me the value of interdisciplinary research, whilst also providing a welcoming research community and allowing me to gain experience in a variety of areas. Thank you to fellow medievalists Steve, Eddy, Alex and Dan for all the fun conferences, as well as Ed, Teresa and Hatsuko for all your advice. Thanks also to Marta for helping with my research trip and conference planning, it was great to work alongside you. My thanks also go to Professor Matthew Brown for helpful training and advice at the start of my PhD and to the linguists I met during these sessions: special thanks to Sina and Jade for your support and the book group. Thanks also to Megan, for all our chats with tea and cake. I would also like to thank the Library Support Team, the University Disability Services and my mentor Claire for helping me through a difficult time and enabling me to finish my PhD. To my music friends, especially Gareth, Anna, Alasdair, Diego and Tim, thank you for providing much needed distraction and laughs. Thank you, Eleanor, Lucie and Maddy, for always being there for me, for reminding me that there is life beyond the PhD, and for all the laughter and happy visits. I would especially like to thank my family, who have been a source of constant support and encouragement throughout this process. And finally, thank you George for everything, I would not have made it without you. 3 Author’s declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate's own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. SIGNED:............................. DATE:.................. 4 Table of Contents List of Figures .......................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ............................................................................................................15 Aims ...................................................................................................................18 Timeframe and Sources ......................................................................................20 Purgatory before Dante: Doctrinal and Popular Origins ......................................22 Early Theologians and the Beginnings of Purgatory .....................................22 The Medieval Period: Locating Purgatory ....................................................24 The Greeks and the Latins.............................................................................26 The Second Council of Lyons .......................................................................29 Dante’s Purgatorio ..............................................................................................30 Purgatory in Early Modern Doctrine ....................................................................33 The Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438-39) ...................................................33 The Reformation ...........................................................................................36 The Council of Trent (1545-63) ....................................................................38 Critical Approaches to the Study of Purgatory .....................................................40 Critical Approaches to the Reception of Dante’s Commedia ................................44 Methodology .......................................................................................................46 Transmission of the Commedia ....................................................................46 Source Studies vs. Intertextuality ..................................................................50 Positive influence .........................................................................................53 A text-to-text approach to reception .............................................................54 Explicit and Implicit Acts of Intertextuality ..................................................57 Chapter Outline ...................................................................................................61 Chapter One: Textual and Visual Commentary on Dante’s Purgatorio .............63 The Response of the Early Vernacular Commentaries (1322-1568) to Dante’s Purgatorio ...........................................................................................................63 Dantean Innovation (Introductions to Inferno and Purgatorio; Purg., I. 1-31, 5 109-36) .........................................................................................................65 Reactions to Cato (Purg., I. 31-108) ..............................................................69 Reactions to Manfred (Purg., III. 103-45) .....................................................72 Manuscript Miniatures of Purgatorio ...................................................................75 Patrons and Illuminators ...............................................................................78