DANTE,

born , c. May 21June 20, 1265, Florence, Italy died Sept. 13/14, 1321, Ravenna in full Dante Alighieri Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. His Christian epic, The Divine Comedy, is a landmark of world literature. Born of a Florentine family of noble ancestry, Dante grew up in Florence. A member of the White Guelf party, he played a part in the political struggles that divided the city, and he served the city administration during the White Guelf ascendancy (12951301). After the triumph of the Black Guelfs, who were supported by the pope, Dante and his associates were exiled, and after 1302 he never entered Florence again. A wanderer sheltered by various Italian cities and princely rulers, he made his final home in Ravenna. Dante married about 1285, but his life was given its direction by his spiritual love for Beatrice Portinari (d. 1290), whom he first saw as a child when he himself was nine years old. She remained his ideal lady, the inspiration of his poetry and of his Christian devotion. Dante's chief works are La vita nuova (c. 1293; The New Life), a celebration in verse and prose of his love for Beatrice; the De vulgari eloquentia (130407; Concerning Vernacular Eloquence), the first theoretical discussion and definition of the Italian literary language; Il convivio (c. 130407; The Banquet); and a Latin treatise on man's temporal and spiritual goals, De monarchia (c. 1313; On Monarchy), which sets forth his view of the Christian polity. The epic poem La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy), probably begun in the first decade of the 14th century but not completed until late in the poet's life, sums up all his thoughts and feelings about himself and the temporal and eternal worlds. Inspired by the ideal of Beatrice, the poet describes his journey through hell, conducted by Virgil, through purgatory, and up to paradise under the guidance of Beatrice. See also Divine Comedy, The.