Walking With Dante
Episodes
Walking With Beatrice In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 1 - 24
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From tragedy to comedy, the apocalyptic vision in Canto XXXII has come to an end and Beatrice accepts Dante as her walking companion in Eden.A relativ...
Apocalypse Even In Eden, Part Two: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 109 - 160
15 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the last episode, we talked through some of the "superficial" factors in the grand apocalyptic vision in Eden: its structure, some diction cues, ev...
Apocalypse Even In Eden, Part One: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 109 - 160
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dante is now ready for the final apocalyptic vision of PURGATORIO . . . and in the last place we might expect it: in that bastion of innocence and pur...
A Brief Introduction To Women In The High Middle Ages
08 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Before we continue with Beatrice (and even the young woman who tends the Garden of Eden), let's stop and talk all too briefly about the roles and avai...
Beatrice, Changed; Dante, Panicked; And The Reader, De-centered: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 70 - 108
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dante wakes back up from his unexpected sleep to find that the grand parade is heading off into the forest (or maybe the skies). He's in a panic that ...
Asleep In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 49 - 69
01 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The griffin pulls the chariot or cart up to the denuded tree--the "widowed" tree--and the tree regenerates into a color reminiscent of other moments i...
Games Of Interpretation In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 28 - 48
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The griffin rolls his chariot up to the foot of a denuded tree as Beatrice descends out of her ride. The symbolism (the allegories, in fact) become in...
Sound The Retreat In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 1 - 27
22 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Face to face with Beatrice, the pilgrim Dante is ready for more revelation. Problem is, even after Lethe he's still doing things wrong and must be cor...
A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Cantos XXXII - XXXIII
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As we've done across the second canticle of Dante's masterpiece, COMEDY, we're taking some time to read through the final two cantos of PURGATORIO, XX...
The Revelation Of Beatrice's Hidden, Second Beauty: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 127 - 145
15 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We finally come to the face-to-face meeting of Beatrice and Dante. We've waited for this moment since INFERNO, Canto II, when Beatrice first stepped i...
Beatrice And The Griffin: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 112 - 126
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dante has now crossed Lethe and is ready to face Beatrice head on. She has moved to get ready for this eye-to-eye conversation. She's positioned neare...
Washed Clean In Lethe: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 91 - 111
08 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dante wakes up in the arms of the young woman who first welcomed him to the Garden of Eden. She's dragging him through Lethe before she forcefully pus...
Dante Faints For The Third Time In COMEDY: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 64 - 90
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Beatrice has finished her case against the pilgim Dante. All that's left is for him to find his way beyond confession and into confession . . . which ...
Absence Becomes Elevated, High-Style Presence: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 49 - 63
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Beatrice continues to lead Dante toward contrition, pointing out both the purposes of her body (or corpse) and the ways he has failed to followed her ...
At Long Last, Dante's Confession: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 22 - 48
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since INFERNO, Canto I, we've never fully understood why Dante woke up lost in that dark wood.Now, in the Garden of Eden, Beatrice brings him to ...
The Poet Loses His Words: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 1 - 21
25 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Wailing, Dante comes in for Beatrice's impatience. He hasn't responded yet to her charges, so she turns the spear point of her words on him.He cracks ...
Finding The Fit For Your Talent: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 127 - 145
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Beatrice finishes her first indictment of Dante by showing him the fit subject matter for his abundant talent: her and the damned.She accuses him of c...
When You Don't Get The Redemption You Want: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 100 - 126
18 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Beatrice is now fully in charge . . . so much so that she can even tell the angels in the chariot with her what they can't understand.She launches int...
The Ice Finally Melts: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 79 - 99
14 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Beatrice has offered her first condemnation of Dante, just as his salve and mentor, Virgil, has left the scene. He's stuck across Lethe with the ice s...
The Admiral Comes Into Her Ship: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 55 - 78
11 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We finally hear the first words from Beatrice's mouth. (We've heard her before but as told by Virgil in INFERNO, Canto II.) She is certainly not perso...
Farewell, Virgil: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 22 - 54
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The parade of revelation has stopped and everything holds its breath for what comes next.She's veiled, behind scattered flowers. But Beatrice arrives,...
Brides, Grooms, And Virgil: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 1 - 21
04 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The grand parade of revelation has come to a stop across Lethe from our pilgrim, Virgil, and Statius. Everything seems to hold its breath: the constel...
The Second Coming Of Beatrice: A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Cantos XXX - XXXI
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we have done throughout PURGATORIO, let's read through a chunk of the canticle to get the plot down so that we can then focus on the many moving pa...
The Conclusion (For Now) Of The Timeless Parade Of Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 121 - 154
28 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The pilgrim has found the perfect perch to see the full scope and length of the parade of allegories at the top of the Mount Purgatory in the garden o...
The Shocking Emptiness Of Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 106 - 120
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The parade goes on to include a Roman, two-wheeled, victory chariot between the four animals. It's a brilliant moment, a chariot better than even famo...
No Time For Poetry: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 88 - 105
21 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The parade goes on, now that the pilgrim, Dante, is in a good spot to see it.After the twenty-four lords in white come four animals with green fronds ...
The Parade Of Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 58 - 87
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The parade goes on! Our pilgrim, Dante, turns back from Virgil's amazement and finds more of the parade coming toward him . . . at least, he does so a...
That Which Walks In The Forest: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 31 - 57
14 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the pilgrim, his poets, and the beautiful lady continue to stand beside Lethe, they see the approaching parade of the apocalypse, which is an examp...
Let The Apocalypse Roll: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 1 - 30
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim, Dante, and the beautiful lady across Lethe walk on for a bit before the stream bends and the pilgrim ends up facing the right way to see ...
The Essential Fulcrum Of COMEDY: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 134 - 148
07 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The beautiful lady winds up her discourse with a corollary that combines both revelation and reason to offer a fulcrum to COMEDY as a whole: The class...
The Abundance Of The Poet's Imagination In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 109 - 133
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The lady across the stream continues her answer to the pilgrim Dante's question about the breeze and the water. In this case, she explains the ecology...
The Breeze Of The Poem's Faith: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 85 - 108
30 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The lady in Eden says she's come to answer the pilgrim's questions. And he's got one. It just might not be the first question on our minds.But it's on...
The Many Contraditions In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 67 - 84
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The lady in the forest has come to face the pilgrim and his poets across the stream in the forest.The pilgrim clearly feels a sexual attraction toward...
The Darkening Poetry Around The Solitary Lady: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 43 - 66
23 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim, Dante, calls the solitary lady over to him. She can't cross the stream that divides them, but she can dance in place before coming closer...
Of Brooks, Solitary Ladies, and Layered Meanings: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 22 - 42
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim continues walking through the old-growth forest, so dark that very little light can get into its cooling shade.He is eventually blocked by...
Our Pilgrim Let Loose (Again) In A Dark Wood: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 1 - 21
16 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim has been set free--crowned and mitered, in fact--and can wander at will through the dense, thick wood that tops Mount Purgatory.The openin...
The Top Of The Mount (Part One): A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, CANTOS XXVIII - XXIX
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've come to the top of Mount Purgatory, on the other side of the globe from Jerusalem and the closest earth ever comes to the heavens above.Our pilg...
The Climax Of Virgil In COMEDY: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 124 - 142
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have come to the climax of Virgil's in COMEDY: the apex of his character, the moment when he is what he should have been all along, a poignant and ...
To Refocus Virgil And COMEDY: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 109 - 123
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We come to the climax of Virgil's character in the poem, the end of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII. Let's take this dramatic and chilling scene in two episod...
The Third And Final Dream On Mount Purgatory: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 91 - 108
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim has lain down on a step of the final staircase of Mount Purgatory, positioned between Statius below and Virgil above him.As he watches the...
The Flames Don't Burn Up Irony: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 49 - 90
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim has entered the flames of lust. For the first time, he is not a voyeur of the torments. He experiences them on the last terrace of lust.He...
Of Fraud, Flames, And Love: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 19 - 48
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim stands on the brink of the flames. Virgil has to use every rhetorical trick in his bag to get Dante to move . . . and the only thing that ...
The Whole World Is On Fire: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 1 - 18
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim has come to an impasse: the flames of lust. There's no way forward except to step into them. He must finally feel the sufferings that he h...
Final Thoughts About Poetry, Lust, And Meaning On The Last Terrace Of Mount Purgatory
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we pass Arnaut Daniel, the last penitent soul of Mount Purgatory, let's look back over the discussions of poetry and lust in the seventh (and even ...
French Poetry Doesn't Have To Condemn You: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 136 - 148
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Guido Guinizzelli has pointed to another figure in the purifying flames of Purgatory's seventh terrace. And now he steps forward, one of the greatest ...
Sweet Becomes Truthful Becomes Poetic: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 115 - 135
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante has found his poetic father, Guido Guinizzelli, burning in the fires of lust on the final terrace of Mount Purgatory. Our pilgrim-poet has prais...
The Love That Dares To Speak Its Name: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 94 - 114
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Guido Guinizzelli has named himself and our pilgrim, Dante, is aghast.He gets lost in a classical simile that almost loses its sense, only to finally ...
Queenly Embeasting: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 67 - 93
31 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We finally come to know who has been our spokesperson for the lustful penitents: Guido Guinizzelli, perhaps the most important Italian poet working be...
The Pilgrim Writes His Way Into Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 49 - 66
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've seen the two crowds of the lustful on the seventh terrace of Mount Purgatory and we clearly identified them in the last passage (and on the last...
The Episode In Which My Voice Breaks: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 25 - 48
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim, Dante, may have opened his mouth to answer how he got to where he is in his corporeal body, but he's interrupted by something completely ...
Poets Make The Flames Of Lust More Colorful: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 1 - 24
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The pilgrim, Dante, Virgil, and Statius walk on the narrow ledge between the flames of lust and the drop into the abyss. The penitents in the flames n...
The Flames And Abyss Of Lust: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 109 - 139
17 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante, Statius, and Virgil arrive on the seventh terrace of Mount Purgatory filled with the flames of lust.The pilgrim must make his precarious way be...
The Corporeal Afterlife Of The Immaterial Soul: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 79 - 108
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Statius concludes his discourse on embryology by finally answering the pilgrim Dante's question about how souls can take on material attributes in the...
The Breath Of Life, The Breath Of Poetry: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 52 - 78
10 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Statius goes on to the second part of his discussion of human embryology by following the fetus through its developmental phases until it finally has ...
The Natural Process Of Life: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 34 - 51
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante the pilgrim has asked the pressing question of how immaterial souls can take on material attributes like leanness.To answer that, Virgil has off...
Virgil's Inadequacy On Full Display: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 22 - 33
03 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim, Dante, has asked a very pressing question: How can shades grow thin? How does the immaterial act like the material in the afterlife?Virgi...
Hesitancy Is The Deadly Sin Of Art: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 1 - 21
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante the pilgrim, Virgil, and Statius begin the ever-quickening ascent to the final terrace of Mount Purgatory. As he climbs, the pilgrim has a quest...
A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Cantos XXV - XXVII
27 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Virgil, Statius, and our pilgrim, Dante, head up to the seventh and final terrace of Mount Purgatory.During the climb, Statius engages in a complicate...
The Compensations Of Contemplation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, Lines 130 - 154
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Virgil, Statius, and our pilgrim, Dante, walk along in contemplation, together but also alone with their thoughts.They're interrupted by the angel at ...
Of Mythic Trees, Human Desire, And Ceremonial Solace: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, Lines 100 - 129
20 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Forese Donati has passed on ahead of our pilgrim Dante and his two guides, Virgil and Statius. They now need to walk on along the sixth terrace of Mou...
A Look Back Over The Entire Conversation With Forese Donati: PURGATORIO Canto XXIII, Line 40, to Canto XXIV, Line 99
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've finished the giant conversation between the pilgrim Dante and Forese Donati, complete with its interruption by the shade of the poet Bonagiunta ...
Forese Donati's Parting Apocalypse: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, Lines 76 - 99
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've come to the end of the long conversation between Forese Donati and Dante (as well as others) on the sixth terrace of Mount Purgatory among the p...
The Daunting Problem Of This Sweet New Style: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, Lines 55 - 75
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante the pilgrim has claimed that indeed he is the one who is inspired by love, who writes what love breathes into him and then makes meaning from th...
Dante's Wild Claim About Love's Inspiration: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, Lines 34 - 54
06 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After Forese Donati has pointed out five of the gluttons on the sixth terrace of Mount Purgatory, one of them, the first mentioned and a poet of the p...
Of Eels And Wine: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, Lines 16 - 33
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Forese Donati continues to answer Dante the pilgrim's questions by naming five penitent gluttons surrounding them on the sixth terrace of Mount Purgat...
Virgil's Silence And A First Glimpse Of Paradise: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, Lines 1 - 15
29 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, is set as a direct continuation from Canto XXIII. The poet Dante cues us to the continuation but there nevertheless are a coup...
Renegotiating COMEDY As PURGATORIO Nears Its Climax: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIII, Lines 112 - 133
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Forese Donati has finished his diatribe about Florentine women and is now ready to hear Dante the pilgrim's story. Who did the pilgrim get here in the...
From Lofty To Lyrical In The Prophetic Voice: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIII, Lines 91 - 111
22 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Having praised his wife, Nella, Forese Donati launches into the prophetic voice, the new "high style" that Dante has developed, a screed with a lyrica...
The Heroic Nella Donati: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIII, Lines 76 - 90
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante the pilgrim and his rival/friend/fellow poet Forese Donati continue to talk about their concerns: suffering, placement on the mountain, and the ...
Pain, Solace, And Being Human: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIII, Lines 49 - 75
15 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Having met his poetic rival, Forese Donati, Dante the pilgrim must make sense of the clear and present pain he sees in friend's face.This passage is a...
Gluttons For Poetry: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIII, Lines 28 - 48
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante now walks with the skeletal gluttons who have God's writing on their faces.Along the way, there are increasingly complex and almost gaming liter...
Starved For Affection: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIII, Lines 1 - 27
08 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim must move beyond the mystical tree on the sixth terrace of Mount Purgatory. So he sets off behind Virgil and Statius, only to overtaken by...
Did Dante Think The Characters In Classical Poems Were Real?
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Did Dante think that the characters in Virgil's and Statius's poems were real? Did he believe that the characters who changed shape, being, and even s...
You Are What You Eat . . . And Read: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, Lines 130 - 145
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Virgil and Statius begin to trek around the sixth terrace of Mount Purgatory but are stopped by an upside-down tree . . . that causes more questions t...
Going In Circles To Go Forward: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, Lines 115 - 129
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrim, Virgil, and Statius arrive on the otherwise empty sixth terrace of Mount Purgatory. Virgil seems more hesitant. And our pilgrim, Dante, m...
Placing And Misplacing Your Classical Ancestors: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, Lines 94 - 114
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At the end of their first conversation, Virgil and Statius reconstruct limbo. They transform it into a neighborhood where all the lost, classical writ...
Statius, The Closeted Christian: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, Lines 76 - 93
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Statius finally tells Virgil what we all want to know: the story of his conversion. How did this Latin poet who dedicated his great epic to a Roman em...
Virgil, The Damned Christian Missionary: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, Lines 55 - 74
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Given that Statius claims a passage from The Aeneid made him see the error of his ways, Virgil wants to know how this poet of the Thebes could have ev...
An Interpolated Episode: Dante and Irony
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since we’ve come to a moment of (perhaps!) profound irony as Statius misquotes and even misinterprets Virgil’s AENEID to find his way to salvation...
The Path To God Is Lined With Misquoted, Misinterpreted Texts: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, Lines 25 - 54
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Statius and Virgil continue their conversation as they climb to the sixth terrace with the pilgrim Dante.Statius explains that he discovered his error...
Virgil Offers Up The First Of Many Misread Texts: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, Lines 1 - 24
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Blinded by the angel, Dante the pilgrim begins his climb to the sixth terrace of Mount Purgatory. But his plight is overshadowed by Virgil’s desire ...
A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Cantos XXII - XXIV
04 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have been a long time on the terrace of the avaricious (without knowing there's another sin punished there as well). We're ready to climb on up to ...
Caught Between Two Poets: PURGATORIO, Canto XXI, Lines 103 - 136
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Statius has sung his (first!) hymn of praise to Virgil without knowing that the old poet is right in front of him. Dante the pilgrim is caught between...
The Audacity Of Statius: PURGATORIO, Canto XXI, Lines 76 - 102
27 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We finally get to know our unknown shade on the fifth terrace of Purgatory: Statius, the epic Roman poet.His salvation is one of the most audacious mo...
The (Maybe?) Supremacy Of The Will: PURGATORIO, Canto XXI, Lines 58 - 75
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The still-unknown shade on the fifth terrace of Mount Purgatory rounds out his answer to Virgil's questions with some shocking revelations: The souls ...
The Place Beyond Accidental Change: PURGATORIO, Canto XXI, Lines 40 - 57
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Virgil has asked two questions: Why'd the mountain shake and why'd the shades all cry out with one voice?The unknown shade on the fifth terrace of Mou...
Virgil's Classical Schooling And (Irreverent?) Insistence: PURGATORIO, Canto XXI, Lines 22 - 39
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The unknown shade has been gobsmacked by the fact that escapees from hell may be climbing Mount Purgatory.Virgil explains that the pilgrim is still ve...
A Shade Appears: PURGATORIO, Canto XXI, Lines 1 - 21
13 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante is left wondering why the mountain has shaken when an even deeper mystery occurs: a shade appears seemingly out of nowhere and behind our pilgri...
Fear And Trembling On The Mountain: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 124 - 151
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante the pilgrim and Virgil have seemingly moved off even as Hugh Capet was still speaking. They're picking their way among the avaricious when they'...
Hugh Capet's Antiphon: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 97 - 123
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hugh Capet has spent a long time answering the pilgrim Dante's first question: who were you? He now turns to the pilgrim's second question: why did I ...
When The French Monarchy Makes Even The Papacy Look Good: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 82 - 96
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Hugh Capet winds up to the heights of his monologue, he comes to a most shocking climax: that moment when the French monarchy is so bad that it mak...
The Madness Of Hugh Capet's Descendants: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 61 - 81
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hugh Capet continues the story of his family, bringing the saga of the French (or Frankish) crown into Dante's day with three of Hugh's most infamous ...
Hugh Capet In Purgatory . . . Or Maybe Not: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 40 - 60
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The pilgrim has been attracted by one soul, calling out his examples of Mary, Fabricius, and Nicholas to counter his own sins of avarice.Dante steps c...
Poverty As Reward And Compensation: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 16 - 39
23 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante has gone beyond Pope Adrian V but hasn't left the fifth terrace of Purgatory. He and Virgil pick their way among the many shades until the pilgr...
What The Pilgrim Can Do And What A Redeemer Must Do: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 1 - 15
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pope Adrian V has pushed the pilgrim Dante to move on . . . even though the pilgrim doesn't want to.He and Virgil pick their way through the crowded f...
The Loneliness Of Pope Adrian V: PURGATORIO, Canto XIX, Lines 127 - 145
16 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pope Adrian V concludes his discourse on the fifth terrace of Mount Purgatory on a strangely lonely, alienated note. Perhaps this is what avarice does...
The Most Bitter Pain Of Purgatory: PURGATORIO, Canto XIX, Lines 115 - 124
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pope Adrian V, bound hands and feet to the ground, sets out to answer the pilgrim Dante's second question: What's going on here?In doing so, the pope ...
A Pope In Purgatory For (Surprise!) Avarice: PURGATORIO, Canto XIX, Lines 91 - 114
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante the pilgrim has asked Virgil--at least with a look in the eyes--if he could speak to one of the avaricious penitents, lying face down on the gro...
Stuck To The Ground (Sometimes): PURGATORIO, Canto XIX, Lines 70 - 90
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante and Virgil now walk along the fifth terrace of Purgatory, looking at the souls who are face down, stuck to the ground, unable to move or turn ov...
Look To The Heavens: PURGATORIO, Canto XIX, Lines 52 - 69
02 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dante the pilgrim has had a "P" wiped off his forehead by the angel at the stairs. He's started his climb to the next terrace. All seems well, but he'...