Author: Gianna Arias

The Portrayal of Religion in Italian Literature 

Throughout this semester, we have learned and read the works of several Italian writers and poets, including Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Giovanni Boccaccio, and Niccolò Machiavelli. While one topic in these texts was women, it was apparent that religion was a runner-up in terms of significance and popularity. In fact, the majority of these writers followed the Christian, Catholic religions and discussed their points of view on the religion as a whole. 

Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell

Firstly, this can be viewed in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Dante states unequivocally that Christianity is the only genuine religion. Belief in Jesus’ divinity is required for admission to Paradiso (heaven), Purgatorio (purgatory), and, in most cases, Inferno (hell). Dante believes that non-belief is not excused by ignorance of Jesus’ presence. He considers Christianity to be not only the path to happiness but also a necessary component of his concept of what it is to be a virtuous, genuine person, which in turn is a strong opinion for one to have in today’s society since there are so many religions and ways of life. Dante’s devotion to orthodox Christianity and criticism of priests reflect his fears and concerns about the Church’s foundation. He was also very adamant about his beliefs of the separation of church and state. He describes his constant anger for church officials who abandon their religious duties in order to obtain wealth and power. For instance, in Canto 33, Archbishop Ruggieri is found in the second band of the ninth circle. Here Ugolino, an innocent man found guilty alongside his four sons by Ruggieri, is found chewing on Ruggieri’s head. Since the archbishop left them locked in a tower and starved them to death after Ugolino clearly put his trust in the archbishop, he was now condemned to Antenora, the traitor’s band of the ninth circle, with his head being chewed off by the man he betrayed forever. This is one of many stories portrayed in the Divine Comedy by Dante that clergymen are punished due to their wrongdoings in life. 

Illustrations of Laura and Petrarca

 Additionally, religion, though not the main factor in Il Canzoniere by Francesco Petrarca, is a vital factor in the development of the text. His poems, mainly inspired by his lover, Laura, show him on his path to reach happiness and glory. However, he realizes that only faith in Christianity is how he can achieve this glow and happiness. This leaves him in a constant war with himself regarding love and religion. In Canzoniere 264, Petrarca states “I go thinking, and so strong a pity for myself assails me in thought, that I’m forced sometimes to weep with other tears than once I did: for seeing my end nearer every day, I’ve asked God a thousand times for those wings with which our intellect can rise from this mortal prison to heaven.” (“Petrarch (1304–1374) – The Complete Canzoniere: 245-305”) This depicts Petrarca contemplating the cost of his devotion to Laura. He is in excruciating pain as a result of it. He considers his love for Laura to be a threat and distraction to his faith. 

Although Catholicism was prominent during this time, Boccaccio on the other hand made it clear that he did not approve of the Church’s activities and behavior, remarkably similar to Dante. Religion was seen to be practiced by foolish people in The Decameron. He saw that the church was a breeding ground for evil, and “marriage” was a meaningless transaction. The Decameron Web also describes that these texts were seen to be “a favorite topic of mockery” when it came to religion. His Day One, Story One in The Decameron regarded a man that made many sins, by the name of Messire Chappelet du Prat, but because he confessed all of his sins before he died, The Friar left thinking that this enormous sinner was a truly holy man. This man was declared a saint and was admired by Catholics. The main narrative was criticism of saint adoration and the Catholic Church’s organization and infrastructure, but not on Catholicism as a religion. 

Also similar to Dante, Machiavelli attempted to subjugate religion to the state and give the state a non-religious character by totally separating religion from politics. He considered politics to be a separate activity with its own set of rules and regulations. In The Prince, Machiavelli frequently argued that religion was fabricated and that it was utilized to impose oppressive laws, additionally believing that Christianity made people unproductive and weak. The Prince cannot be bound by moral or religious reasons and he exists beyond morality. He may achieve his goals by depending on faith. Religion has no power over politics, and the church has no authority over the state. As a result, he proposed separating religion, morality, and politics. In political concerns, the king has the last say, and all other centers must be subject to political authority. In Chapter 18, he instructs Lorenzo with astounding, if not reckless, honesty, “There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.” Here he is stating that even if a Prince may act the opposite, he should always be perceived as religious amongst other things. Machiavelli understands that many individuals are prepared to accept all types of dishonesty as long as their country is wealthy, prosperous, and peaceful. The most problematic component of Machiavelli’s life was his views on religion, particularly Christianity because the worst aspect of the age in which he lived was the prevalent corruption and greed among the Italian authorities and church officials. 

Overall, religion is a common theme amongst these writers. Though many of them are known to be religious, they do not agree with Church. In other words, they disagreed with the Christian and Catholic infrastructure because of the constant corruption found and had no issue sharing their opinions on this. Many were in fact known as humanists of the Renaissance era. 

Analysis of Angela Da Foligno Memorial: Devotion

CELEBRAZIONE EUCARISTICA 4 gennaio Sant'Angela da Foligno
Portrait of St. Angela Da Foligno

While reading Angela Da Foligno’s Memorial, it was easy to feel and vividly experience the devotion that she felt towards God. Particularly in Step Six, she uses terms such as “illuminating grace” to describe what she faced during this step. Here, she was presented with all of her sins, begging the “creatures” to not “accuse” her. Throughout Steps Eight and Nine, you can also envision this. Not only did she feel guilt and remorse for the way that Jesus died on the cross, but she also took it upon herself to offer herself to him, including the removal of her clothing. She wanted to “give my [her] heart to christ” because of all the good that he accomplished for her, something that only one with true devotion to God and Jesus would bear to do.

Generosity in The Prince

Portrait of Niccolo Machiavelli

The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, specifically in Chapter 16, begins by examining generosity in a ruler. While Machiavelli believes that a prince’s reputation for generosity is “splendid,” he also believes that a ruler who is truly kind “will come to grief.” To gain a reputation for generosity, a prince must be “ostentatiously lavish” to draw the public’s attention. Any ruler who spends extravagantly “will soon squander all his resources” and be compelled to “not mind being called a miser” on his subjects. If a ruler imposes enormous financial demands on his subjects, his subjects will despise him and detest his bad judgment. As a result, a wise ruler “doesn’t mind being dubbed a miser.” His “parsimony” will be perceived as generosity eventually since it relieves the people of the burden of heavy taxation. 

Nonetheless, Machiavelli advises princes to keep up the image of giving while avoiding genuine generosity. People will eventually perceive a prince’s stinginess as a type of charity since it protects their own property while also ensuring the state’s wealth and effectiveness. 

Blog Post 3: Disguises and Their Effect on Women

Illustration from the Decameron, Day 2 (Sicurano pleading to the Sultan)
Miniature from The Decameron by Master Jean Mansel (1430-1450) and copyist Guillebert de Mets, Parigi, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, 5070.

Throughout The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, I noticed several recurring themes, but in particular, the topic of disguises caught my attention. Characters in the story often took part in changing their identity in order to experiment or get things that they longed for.

One example of this in the male perspective is Day 3, Story 2. In this story, recounted by Pampinea, King Agilulf finds out that the groom impersonates him in order to fall in love with his wife, and she knew nothing of this. Because of this, the King goes on a mission to uncover who the man is, but the groom cleverly gets away with it for some time. However, the King learns of the groom’s scheme. On line 24 of Day 3, Story 2, Pampinea states, “So, angered and incensed beyond measure by the trick which, he saw, had been played upon him, he resumed his mantle and quitted the room with the intention of privily detecting the offender, deeming that he must belong to the palace, and that, whoever he might be, he could not have quitted it. [ 024 ].” The King then warns the townspeople of the groom’s trick in order to save his and his wife’s reputation.

An example of this in the female perspective is Day 2, Story 9. In this story, narrated by Filomena, a merchant name Bernabò places a bet with Ambroguiolo on his wife’s loyalty to their relationship. Ambroguiolo wins and Bernabò seeks revenge on Zinevra, his wife, for committing adultery by demanding a servant to kill her, though Ambroguiolo was in fact deceiving him. As a result, she dresses as a man in order to convince the servant to not do so and to lie to Bernabò. She later finds out that Ambroguiolo was the one who made this lie against her and bring him and her husband to the sultan. She pleads for forgiveness from her husband and Ambroguiolo is murdered for lying. Filomena (Day 2, Story 9) states, “…Sicurano, weeping, threw herself on her knees at his feet, and discarding the tones, as she would fain have divested herself of the outward semblance, of a man, said: [068]. ‘ My lord, that forlorn, hapless Zinevra am I, falsely and foully slandered by this traitor Ambrogiuolo, and by my cruel and unjust husband delivered over to his servant to slaughter and cast out as a prey to the wolves; for which cause I have now for six years been a wanderer on the face of the earth in the guise of a man.’ [069].”

Overall, these two stories are similar in the sense that the two individuals were successful in using the power of disguise in order to get something that they need/want. Nevertheless, it is clear what role men and women each play in society. In this instance, Zinerva had to disguise herself as a man in order to save herself from being murdered, while the groom disguised himself as another man for his own sexual pleasure. The Decameron web states, “When a male dresses as a female, he is ‘lowering’ his status; when a female dresses as a male, she is ‘raising’ hers.” (Decameron Web | Themes & Motifs, n.d.). Clearly, being a woman during this time was looked down upon and were submissive to men, and Boccacio may or may not have agreed with this. He wrote several stories showing women having to disguise themselves as males in order to “save themselves” from doing something that they did not want to do. Evidently, he understood the hardships that women faced, but it’s difficult to state his overall position.

Citations:

  • Donaggio, Monica. “Il Travestimento nel Decameron.” Studi sul Decameron. Firenze: Le Lettere, 1988.
  • Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). The Decameron: Day 3, Story 2. https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?lang=eng&myID=nov0302&expand=day03
  • Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.-b). The Decameron: Day 2, Story 9. https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?lang=eng&myID=nov0209&expand=day02

Canzoniere 132: Confusion

Philippe Jacques van Bree: Laura and Petrarch at the Fountain of Vaucluse

Similar to the rest of the poems in Il Canzoniere, the general theme in poem 132 is love. However, in this poem, Petrarca seems to question love and shows a sense of confusion regarding this feeling.

In Stanza I, Petrarca writes “If it’s not love, then what is it I feel?/But if it’s love, by God, what is this thing?” He is trying to make sense of this feeling, which seems difficult because he himself is uncertain of the answer. Being that love is such a complex matter, one is bound to feel every feeling every aspect of it, just like Petrarca. He then continues by making two metaphors. The first is love being good, but feeling pain from it. The second is love being bad, but enjoying the pain that it gives you. Here he is expressing his bitter-sweet love for Laura. Though it may bring him unruly pain and confusion, this pain and confusion is giving him the strength to continue loving her.

In Stanza II, Petrarca realizes that he is only bringing himself pain by continuing this love for Laura. He states “And if against my will, what good lamenting?” Here it’s as though he understands that there is no point in crying and feeling sad because there is nothing that he can do about it. Since she was married and had children, his overall love for her was forbidden. After, he acknowledges that he does not give heart “consent” to feel the way he feels. I, however, disagree with this statement because it seems to be contradicting. He has an obsessive love for a woman that he cannot have, yet does not give his heart consent to feel this way.

In Stanza III, Petrarca uses imagery to describe that he is conflicted in this matter. In other words, he is stuck on a small boat in the middle of the ocean without something to steer him. The “contrasting winds” are his emotions. It seems like he is playing tug-of-war with himself because he knows that he is madly in love with Laura, but he also knows that this love is not right. He knows that continuing to love her pains him, but it’s utterly impossible for him not to feel love for her.

In Stanza IV, Petrarca feels as though his world has turned upside-down. Since he has no idea what he is doing or feeling (“so light of wisdom”) and accepts that he is making a big mistake (“so laden of error”), he “shiver in midsummer, burn in winter.” In other words, he is confused and uses irony to describe this confusion. Petrarca also makes a double entendre by using the word laden. In this context, he used this word to explain that is making many errors, but it can also mean to load a ship. This “ship” relates to him being stuck on the boat in Stanza III and the boat being “loaded” with more feelings, errors, and baggage for being in love with Laura. The boat is coming heavier over time making it heavier for it, or Petrarca, to go in the right direction.

Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and Its Influence on the Renaissance

The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri, is a three-part Italian narrative poem published in 1472. In this poem, Dante takes the reader through Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise). While doing this, he explores the essence of sin and how it disengages humans from their relationship with God. The Nine Circles of Hell include Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice and Prodigality, Wrath and Sullenness, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery. The Seven Terraces of Purgatory, which relate to the seven deadly sins, are Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, and Lust. The Nine Spheres of Heaven include the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, and the Primum Mobile. Because of its significance over centuries, The Divine Comedy has been translated into several languages, even so, that Inferno has over 200 translations in English.

The publication of the Divine Comedy has had a monumental involvement with the Renaissance as a whole. For instance, the language that the Divine Comedy was written in. During this time, it was common to read poems written only in Latin because it was “considered to be the only language suitable for literary and philosophical purposes” (How Did Dante Influence the Renaissance – DailyHistory.Org, n.d.). He later resulted in writing the Divine Comedy in the language of Tuscan and also used influences from other Italian regional languages and Latin. This encouraged and motivated future writers to write in Tuscan, such as Petrarch and Boccaccio.

Sandro Botticelli’s illustration of Lucifer in Canto 34.

Another way The Divine Comedy influenced the Renaissance was through his description of Lucifer and Inferno. A painter by the name of Sandro Botticelli illustrated The Divine Comedy in its entirety. One painting, in particular, depicts the image of Lucifer in Canto 34. Dante describes Lucifer with three faces and in each mouth, he is chewing up sinners, and six ginormous wings: “Oh how great a marvel did it seem to me, when I saw three faces on his head! One was in front, and that was crimson;”… “In each of his mouths he was breaking a sinner with his teeth in the manner of a scutch, so that he made three suffer at once.” (Canto 34). Botticelli illustrated exactly that. Dante’s portrayal changed the way many viewed Lucifer in this time, and with the help of Botticelli, readers are able to place an image in their heads of what Lucifer looks like.

These are only a few of the immense amount of ways Dante’s Divine Comedy has influenced the Renaissance, and he will forever be recognized as one of the first “Renaissance Men” in history.

  • How did Dante influence the Renaissance – DailyHistory.org. (n.d.). Daily History. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://dailyhistory.org/How_did_Dante_influence_the_Renaissance
  • Inferno Quotes | Explanations with Page Numbers. (n.d.). LitCharts. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://www.litcharts.com/lit/inferno/quotes
  • Dante’s Divine Comedy in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance art (article). (n.d.). Khan Academy. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/late-gothic-italy/florence-late-gothic/a/dantes-divine-comedy-in-late-medieval-and-early-renaissance-art
  • Shibboleth Authentication Request. (n.d.). Ebookcentral.Proquest.Com. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from http://ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/login?url=http://ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ebrary/ccny-ebooks/unauthorized&url=https%3A%2F%2Febookcentral.proquest.com%2Flib%2Fccny-ebooks%2Freader.action%3FdocID%3D693941