Dante and Catholicism

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer studies the writings of Dante Alighieri and notes that he makes comment of the current political and religious world in which he lived. The writer points out that in so doing, Dante created a likely unintended controversy, with regard to the way in which things were done in the church and politics. Further, the writer notes that Dante disagreed with this in many ways, but attempted to pacify this controversy through his works, especially with his 'Inferno'. The writer concludes that through Dante's inclusion of many ideals and standards of his faith, some have seen his works as spiritual and worthy quests, yet his emphasis on self-determination and self-judgment was contrary to the validity of the central authority of the Catholic faith, regardless of his desire to embrace it.

From the Paper:

"Dante, traced his own personal economic and political trials through his experiences in a system, not unlike that described by his Catholic faith, and yet in so doing he must have known that he would challenge the Catholic ideal of centralized authority and power. Though some say his intention was to make sense of his problems and his seeking of salvation through this exercise with no intention of harming his faith or its standards but he hesitated in his debates, as if uncertain that he held any or all of the answers he was seeking in his pilgrimage of the mind."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Croce, Benedetto. The Poetry of Dante. Trans. Douglas Ainslie. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1922.
• Dinsmore, Charles Allen. Life of Dante Alighieri. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1919.
• Scott, John A. Dante's Political Purgatory. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.

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