Dante Alighieri, born Durante di Alighierio degli Alighieri in Florence, Italy in 1235, was an Italian poet most known for his epic The Divine Comedy with his depictions of hell, purgatory, and heaven. This epic was widely considered the most important poem of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. His use of vernacular in literature, versus the typical Latin or French, made his writings available to anyone despite their societal ranking. This was very taboo among many scholars, who thought of literature to be only for high-ranking individuals. Dante's Inferno is somewhat of an autobiographical novel, using varying allegorical symbolic references to depict Dante's societal viewpoints.
Although he was in an arranged marriage to, and had three children with, Gemma Donati (right) in 1285, Dante's true muse was Beatrice Potinary (left). Beatrice appears in Paradiso, the third installment of The Divine Comedy, where she is Dante's guide through heaven. Dante uses Beatrice as a salvation figure, who first calls on Virgil to help Dante in his time of distress.
Divisions reigned prominent during Dante's lifetime. Between 1290 and the 1320s, a corrupt church led to many revolts and uprisings among many societal sects. Merchants fought with the working class, city-states couldn't agree on anything, and choosing to side with either the Pope or the Emporer was a constant struggle.
Councils were increasingly split by both political and societal factions:
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Guelfs (black versus white) -- the dividing political parties
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Ghibelline -- people versus nobles
Dante studied many subjects in his youth, including poetry, painting, and music. In his later years, he turned his attention to philosophy and also became a pharmacist where he took an active part in public affairs.
During the Guelf-Ghibelline conflict, Dante fought alongside the Guelfs in hopes of enacting a new constitution. After defeating the Ghibellines, the Guelfs divided into two factions: The White Guelfs, who went against the Pope and his political influence, and the Black Guelfs, who remained loyal to Rome.
When the Guelfs first took over, Dante's party (the white Guelfs) ruled over Florence. Soon after hearing of the Pope's political uprising, Dante and his men traveled to Rome in hopes of dismantling his influences. While they were in Rome, the black Guelfs destroyed the city of Florence and established a new government. Dante, still not back from Rome, was considered a fugitive running from the law and was, thus, exiled forevermore from Florence. In 1315, fugitives from Florence were granted amnesty if they were to pay a fine. Dante refused, and six years later he died in Ravenna, Italy.
Further information, if interested, can be found at https://poets.org/poet/dante-alighieri