Dante alighieri1

Dante Alighieri

  • Dante Alighieri in Florence, Republic of Florence, present-day Italy.
    1265

    Dante Alighieri in Florence, Republic of Florence, present-day Italy.

    Born to Alighiero di Bellincione and mother Gabriella "Bella" degli Abati, Dante's official date of birth is unknown. This approximation has been deduced by analysis of the first canto in the Inferno, in which Dante states: "Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita" ("Midway upon the journey of our life"). According to the bible the average human lifespan is 70 years, so Dante would be in his mid-thirties when he wrote his magnum opus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri
  • Dante meets Beatrice Portinari, his muse
    1274

    Dante meets Beatrice Portinari, his muse

    Florentine nobleman Folco Portinari throws a party for his neighbors. Nine-year-old Dante and his father attend. Dante spots Folco's daughter, eight-year-old Beatrice Portinari, and instantly falls in love http://preraphaelitesisterhood.com/the-unrequited-love-of-dante-and-beatrice/
  • Dante marries Gemma Donati
    1283

    Dante marries Gemma Donati

    Dante marries Gemma Donati. His beloved Beatrice also marries someone else, Simone dei Bardi. Dante and Gemma Donati have five children: sons Jacopo, Pietro, Giovanni and Gabrielle and daughter Antonia. https://antoniopriante.com/tag/gemma-donati/
  • Battle Between Guelphs and Ghibellinis
    1289

    Battle Between Guelphs and Ghibellinis

    Dante fights on the side of the pro-Pope Guelph forces against the pro-Emperor Ghibellinis. The Guelphs win, and Dante boasts of his military prowess in a letter to a friend. https://www.florenceinferno.com/guelphs-and-ghibellines/
  • Beatrice dies
    1290

    Beatrice dies

    Dante's love Beatrice dies at the age of 24. He is devastated and reincarnates her later in his work as a divine guide in the Commedia. https://www.florenceinferno.com/beatrice-portinari/
  • Vita Nuova
    1292

    Vita Nuova

    Dante writes La Vita Nuova di Dante Alighieri, a long poem tracing his relationship with Beatrice from their first meeting to her death. Scholars now interpret the title to signify Dante's "new life" as a poet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Vita_Nuova
  • Dante Begins Political Career
    1295

    Dante Begins Political Career

    Dante enrolls in the apothecary's guild, which accepts poets and philosophers. As a member of a guild, he is able to participate in Florentine politics. He is soon elected to the council of the Heads of the Arts, the organization that helps choose the Priors, the six supreme magistrates of Florence. https://dappledthings.org/7653/dante-gets-political/
  • Dante Opposes Pope Boniface VIII
    1301

    Dante Opposes Pope Boniface VIII

    In a public meeting, Dante opposes a request from Pope Boniface VIII to send 200 troops to acquire lands south of Siena. Word of Dante's opposition gets back to Boniface, who is not pleased.
  • Dante is Charged and Exiled
    1302

    Dante is Charged and Exiled

    Dante learns that new priors have charged him with barratry, the sale of political positions. As punishment, he is banished from Florence for two years and barred from public office for life. He is also ordered to pay a fine. When he refuses to pay the fine, Dante is sentenced to death in absentia. He never returns to Florence, the city of his birth, and spends the rest of his life exiled in Italy. https://spark.parkland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1045&context=ah
  • Dante Begins the Commedia
    1308

    Dante Begins the Commedia

    It is a semi-autobiographical three-part poem detailing the journey of Dante the pilgrim through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. He also writes De Monarchia, a treatise on the relationship between the monarchy and the state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri
  • Inferno is Published
    1314

    Inferno is Published

    Inferno, the first segment of Dante's three-part Divine Comedy , is published. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy
  • Dante Completes the Commedia
    1320

    Dante Completes the Commedia

    One year before his death in 1321. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy