Dante Alighieri, his parentage, I.
1. Born in the spring of 1265, 2.
Fable concerning his birth, 3.
Extracts from his "Paradiso,"
and his "Inferno," 4. His early
education, 5. Enters upon his
noviciate at a convent of the
Minor Friars, but withdraws before
the term of probation was
ended, 6. Story of his early love
for Beatrice, 7. Pursues his
studies in the universities of
Padua, Bologna, and Paris, 8.
Supposed to have visited Oxford,
8. High estimation in which
his works were held in England,
9. His progress in the schools
of divinity and philosophy, 9.
His marriage with Madonna
Gemma, 10. Style of his poetry,
11. His domestic discomforts,
12. His character as a citizen, a
soldier, and a magistrate, 13.
Serves among the cavalry in the
battle of Campaldino, 14. His
extraordinary valour during that
engagement; his allusion to it
in Canto XII. of the "Inferno,"
15. Is again in the field
at the siege of Caprona, 15. Extract
from Canto XXI. of the
"Inferno," alluding to this action,
16. Traditional account of
his embassies to the courts of
Hungary, Naples, and France,
16. Chosen in the year 1300, by
the suffrages of the people, chief
prior of his native city, 17. His
endeavours to put down the factions
of the Bianchi and Neri,
18. Appeals to the people at
large to support the executive
government, 19. Accused of partiality
to the Bianchi, 20. Undertakes
an embassy to Rome, to
solicit the good offices of the
pope towards pacifying his fellow
citizens without foreign interference,
21. Anecdote of, 21.
During his absence, his dwelling
demolished by the Neri, his property
confiscated, and a fine of
8000 lire decreed against him,
with banishment for two years,
22. Joins himself with the
Bianchi, who transfer their affections
to the Ghibelines, deeming
the adherents of the emperor
less the enemies of their country
than their adversaries, 23. Withdraws
from the confederacy in
disgust, 23. Extract from his
"Del Paradiso," in allusion to
this subject, 24. Extract from
his "Purgatorio," 25. Endeavours
to obtain a reversal of his
unrighteous sentence, 25. Appeals
to Henry of Luxemburgh;
dedicates his political treatise,
entitled "De Monarchia," to
that prince, 26. A third decree
passed against him; he retires to
France, 27. Anecdotes of his
caustic humour, 28. Compared
with Marius, 29. His mental
sufferings during his nineteen
years' banishment, 30. His letter,
refusing the conditions offered
by the Florentine government,
31. His death, on the 14th
of September, 1321, 33. His
splendid funeral, 34. Monuments
raised to his memory, 35.
His confiscated property restored
to his family, 35. His memory
execrated, and his writings proscribed
by pope John XXII., 35.
His person, as described by Boccaccio,
37. Anecdote of, 38. His
family, 39. Notice of his writings,
40. Origin of the "Divina
Commedia," 42. Dramatic character
of the work, 44. Extract
from Canto X. of the "Inferno,"
46. His character as a man and
a poet, 54. Character of his
poetry, 58.
Demisiano, II. 15.
Demourier, General, II. 315.
Digby, Sir Kenelm, II. 11.
Donati, Corso, I. 12.
Donati Lucretia, I. 156.
Dramatists, the, of Spain, III. 95.