Dante Alighieri and Beatrice Portinari

Probably, many know or at least have heard of Dante Alighieri and his immortal work "The Divine Comedy." Nowadays, Dante gained popularity with many people thanks to Dan Brown's Inferno and the film based on this novel. "Divine Comedy", in fact, is the pinnacle of Dante's creativity and the greatest creation from all European medieval literature. But very few people know how this magnificent work appeared, for whom it was written and how it relates to Dante's life. In this article you will find the answers to all these questions and even more. And we will start with the biography of Dante, because it is the answer to one of the questions voiced above.

Biography

The ancestors of Dante were not ordinary people. According to legend, they were one of those who founded Florence. Dante himself was born in the same city in May 1265. The exact date of his birth is not established due to the lack of data. The place of training of a talented writer and poet is unknown, but it is known that he received extensive knowledge in literature, natural science and religion. His first mentor, according to historians, was Brunetto Latini - a well-known Italian scholar and poet at the time. The researchers assume that in 1286-1287 Dante studied in a very famous and status institution of that time - the Bologna University.

Deciding to prove himself as a public figure, Alighieri actively participated in the life of Florence in the late 13th century and in 1301 received the title of Prior - at that time a fairly high title. However, already in 1302, together with the White Guelph party created by him, he was expelled from Florence. By the way, he also died in exile, never seeing his native city. In these difficult years, Dante was carried away by the lyrics. And what were the first works of this great poet, and what was their fate, we will now tell.

Early works

By that time, Dante already had a work of La Vita Nuova ("New Life"). But the next two treatises were never finished. Among them, "Feast" - a kind of commentary and interpretation to the canzons. Dante loved his native language and all his nature constantly fought for his development. That is why the treatise "On the National Language" was written, written by the poet in Latin. He was waiting for the fate of the "Feast": he was also not finished. After Alighieri abandoned work on these works, his mind and time occupied a new work - "Divine Comedy." About it now we'll talk in more detail.

"The Divine Comedy"

The work on this poem, dedicated to Beatrice Portinari, Dante began, being in exile. It consists of three parts, called kantikami: "Hell", "Purgatory", and "Paradise". By the way, the last of them, Dante finished writing shortly before his death and yet managed to finish the work. Each kantika includes several songs consisting of tertzin. Interesting fact: in the "Divine Comedy" exactly 100 songs, and in each part of them for thirty-three, and one more is made as an introduction.

We talked about the life of Dante, his works, but missed the most important thing: the one for whom he wrote "The Divine Comedy." Biography of this Italian poet - a love story to the grave, undivided and tragic.

Dante and Beatrice Portinari

Dante's personal life was associated with only one woman. He met her, while still a boy - he was nine years old. On a holiday in the city, he saw an eight-year-old daughter of a neighbor, who was called Beatrice. Dante really fell in love with her when, nine years later, she met her as a married girl. Undivided love tormented the poet, and even seven years after the death of Beatrice Portinari, he did not forget about her. Already after several centuries the name of Dante and his beloved became a symbol of undivided real platonic love.

Beatrice Portinare, whose biography is known only thanks to Dante's love for her, tragically breaks down: she dies at the age of twenty-four. However, this does not mean that the great Italian poet has ceased to love her. Although he married on the calculation, but all his life until his death, he loved only her. Dante was somewhat shy and, being in love with Beatrice, spoke to her only twice in his entire life. You can not call these contacts even conversations: meeting on the street, Beatrice Portinari and Dante just said hello. After that, the poet, inspired by the thought that he was attracted by the love of his life, ran home, where he had a dream that would become one of the fragments of the "New Life". The first conversation between Dante Alighieri and Beatrice Portinari took place when they were still children and first met at a festival in Florence.

Many more times Dante saw his lover, but he could not talk to her. To Beatrice did not find out about his feelings, the poet often paid attention to other ladies, which at some point aroused resentment of his beloved. It was because of this that later she stopped talking to him.

The fate of Beatrice

She was born into a wealthy family: her father, Folco de Portinari, was a well-known Florentine banker, and his mother also came from a family of Bardi bankers who lent money to Roman popes and kings. In addition to her, the family had 5 more daughters, which is not surprising for medieval Europe. As can be judged from the surviving information, Beech's life, as her friends and Dante affectionately called her, was very violent. At twenty-one, she married an influential banker from the clan of her mother - Simone dei Bardi. Three years later, Beatrice died. There are several versions of her death. One of them says that Dante's beloved died in childbirth, and the other - that her death is associated with illness. A couple of years after the death of Beatrice, Dante married on the calculation of a woman from the aristocratic Italian family Donati.

Influence on Dante

Beatrice Portinari, whose portrait you can see below, was somewhat different from the one described by Dante. In his works he was inclined to idealize her image, turning him into a goddess whom he worshiped. After the death of Beatrice Portinari Dante, whose portraits you can see below, he was very depressed for a long time. His family feared that the poet could commit suicide, he suffered so much. In the end, Dante's psychological crisis was over, and he began writing New Life, inspired by various works written by authors who survived the loss of their beloved woman.

Role in art

The name of Beatrice Portinari is preserved in history and became known to this day only thanks to Dante. In his works, it appears very often and in different forms. And this concerns not only the "Divine Comedy", but other works: for example, in "The New Life" and the sonnets written to his friends. Beatrice also found her embodiment in the works of other authors, including Russians: Nikolai Gumilyov, Konstantin Balmont, Valery Bryusov.

Beatrice Portinari's Marriage

Contrary to the love of the great poet, his beloved was not in a hurry to provide reciprocal signs of attention. Since she came from a noble family, she was destined to marry for the rich member of her mother's family, Simone de Bardi. It is not known whether she was happy or not. This can only be guessed. By the way, when Dante saw Beatrice Portinari for the second time in his life, seven years after their meeting, when they were children, she was not yet married.

We can not say for sure if Dante could have been closer to Beatrice, or she had to remain for the rest of his life the only and most precious platonic love. In any case, both life and death of Beatrice had a great influence on the culture of Italy in general, and on the Italian poet separately. Including the death of a great poet associated with suffering after the death of a beloved woman. And not without reason. We will understand why.

Death of Dante

A couple of years after Beatrice died, her secret admirer married on the calculation of a woman from the aristocratic Donati family. All the time after this event, and until his death, Dante wrote. All the works that came out from under his pen were necessarily dedicated to one Beatrice Portinari. Biography Dante breaks off so quickly and swiftly that it is hard to believe. да Поленты. In 1316-1317, the great poet settled in the Italian city of Ravenna, arriving there at the invitation of Signor Guido da Polenta. Appointed by the Ambassador of Ravenna to conclude an armistice with the Republic of St. Mark, Dante travels to Venice. Negotiations have ended successfully, but on the way back the poet has caught a malaria and has died, and having not reached Ravenna. Undoubtedly, the death of the great poet is inextricably linked with the death of Beatrice Portinari. You can see a photo of Dante's death mask just below.

а Полента обещал построить роскошный мавзолей в честь Данте, однако по неизвестным нам причинам не сделал это. Signor Guido da Polenta promised to build a luxurious mausoleum in honor of Dante, but for reasons unknown to us he did not do it. The tomb of the great Italian poet was erected only in 1780. An interesting fact: the portrait depicted on the tomb of Boccaccio is somewhat unreliable. On it Dante is depicted with a thick beard, whereas in real life he always shaved smoothly.

Interesting Facts

Based on the works of Dante, many pictures were painted. Among the most famous are the "Map of Hell" (La mappa dell inferno) by Sandro Botticelli. Modern writer Dan Brown in his novel "Inferno" described encrypted in this picture messages trasngmanist Bertrand Zobrist. By the way, in the above-described work, almost the entire plot is tied to the "Divine Comedy" and its modern interpretation.

Eugene Delacroix, a French painter, bewitched by the fate of Dante and Beatrice Portinari, whose portrait, unfortunately, did not survive, painted the painting "The Rook of Dante", which also gained worldwide fame.

Did not pass by the influence of Dante and Russian writers and poets. For example, Anna Akhmatova has several poems, somehow related to Beatrice Portinari and Dante. There is an influence of the Italian writer on the Russian poet Nikolai Gumilev, who also used the image of Dante-exile in his work. Below you can see the painting "The Rook of Dante", which depicts the poet's journey to Hell. This is the very beginning of the "Divine Comedy".

Conclusion

Surely everyone who is imbued with the life and feelings of Dante, now feels light (and maybe heavy) sadness. Indeed, the story that happened between Beatrice Portinari and Dante Alighieri can not be imagined. This drama, so simple and insignificant in its details, creates at first a false impression of the unnaturalness of love and the meaninglessness of suffering. But thinking better, we understand that the main thing in this is all the feelings that the great Italian poet sang to his beloved Beatrice Portinari. Dante, whose portraits at various stages of his life you could see in our article, became part of world history and a symbol of true love, which is so lacking in the modern world.