On This Day In History: Dante Alighieri Famous For His ‘Divine Comedy’ Born – On May 9, 1265
MessageToEagle.com – On May 9 (or about this day), 1265, Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy.
He was the Florentine writer, Italy’s national poet, best known for his epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy).
Many details of his life are uncertain, and the dating of his works is difficult.
Left: Dante Alighieri, detail from Luca Signorelli’s fresco, Chapel of San Brizio, Orvieto Cathedral; Right: A recreated death mask of Dante Alighieri in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. via wikipedia
His distant ancestors were descendants of the Roman soldiers who settled along the Arno River. He married Gemma Donati in about 1283.
The Divine Comedy, is considered one of the greatest works of the medieval period. It is a Christian’s view of man’s eternal destiny, and draws on Dante’s experience when he was exiled from Florence.
The work takes the form of a journey through hell, purgatory and paradise, with insightful views of societal problems and personal problems. The poem itself is divided into three sections, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, and traces Dante’s journey from darkness to light.
The Divine Comedy was a groundbreaking poem, as it was written in Italian instead of Latin. Afterwards, Italian became the literary language of western Europe for centuries.
MessageToEagle.com
Related Posts
-
On This Day In History: Gutenberg Prints The First Bible – On Feb 23, 1455
-
On This Day In History: Battle of Marton, Part Of Viking Invasions Of England Took Place – On Mar 22, 871
-
On This Day In History: Treaty of Bergerac Ratified – On Sep 17, 1577
-
On This Day In History: Comet Donati First Observed By Italian Astronomer – On June 2, 1858
-
On This Day In History: ‘Earl of Northumberland’ Thomas Percy Executed Because He Was Catholic – On August 22, 1572
-
On This Day In History: Last Inca Emperor Atahualpa Captured By Francisco Pizarro – On Nov 16, 1532
-
On This Day In History: Most Unusual Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty Was Born – On May 30, 1010
-
On This Day In History: 15th Recorded Perihelion Passage Of Halley’s Comet – On Feb 27, 837
-
On This Day In History: Foundation Stone Of The Royal Greenwich Observatory In London Was Laid – On August 10, 1675
-
On This Day In History: Captain James Cook Spotted The East Coast Of Australia – On Apr 19, 1770
