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== Dante Alighieri ==
{{Era|Individuals|Assassins}}{{WP-REAL}}
'''Durante degli Alighieri''' (May/June c.1265 – September 14, 1321), commonly known as '''Dante''', was an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy Italian] poet of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages Middle Ages] he was also a high ranking covert member of the Order of the Assassins. His ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy Divine Comedy]'', originally called ''Commedia'' and later called ''Divina'' by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boccaccio Boccaccio], is often considered the greatest literary work composed in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language Italian language] and a masterpiece of world [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature literature].
{{Dialogue2|Ezio|Who were these men he condemned to hell?|Sofia|Political opponents, men who wronged him. Alighieri's quill cuts deeply, no?|Sì. It is a subtle way to seek revenge.|Ezio Auditore and Sofia Sartor, upon Ezio's reading of the ''Inferno''.|Assassin's Creed: Revelations|A Little Errand}}
{{Character Infobox
|image = ACIDante.jpg
|birth = c. May or June 1265<br>[[Florence]], [[Republic of Florence]]
|death = 14 September 1321 {{c|aged 56}}<br>[[Ravenna]], [[Papal States]]
|species = [[Human]]
|affiliates = [[Assassins]]
*[[Italian Brotherhood of Assassins|Italian Brotherhood]]
}}
'''Durante degli Alighieri''' (1265 – 1321), commonly known as '''Dante''', was an [[Italy|Italian]] poet of the [[Middle Ages]], famed as the writer of the ''{{Wiki|Divine Comedy}}''. He was also a covert member of the [[Italian Brotherhood of Assassins|Italian Brotherhood]] of [[Assassins]].
In Italy he is known as "the Supreme Poet" (''il Sommo Poeta'') or just ''il Poeta''. Dante, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch Petrarch] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boccaccio Boccaccio] are also known as "the three fountains" or "the three crowns". Dante is also called the "Father of the Italian language". The first biography written on him was by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio] (1313-1375), who wrote the ''Trattatello in laude di Dante''.
==Biography==
===Life as an Assassin===
{{Quote|And so began my apprenticeship with Dante Alighieri, one that was to destroy every bit of happiness I would ever have.|Domenico Auditore.|Assassin's Creed II|Paying Respects}}
Throughout his life, Dante rose through the ranks of the Assassin Brotherhood and became one of its senior members.<ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Paying Respects]]</ref>
In the late 13th century, Dante was tasked with the training of the son of a fellow Assassin, who would later be known as [[Domenico Auditore]], the founder of the [[House of Auditore|Auditore family]] and a descendant of a long line of Assassins.<ref name="AC2"/>
The day that Domenico first found out about the Brotherhood, his [[Domenico Auditore's father|father]], his father's patron [[Marco Polo]], and Dante were present. At the time, Domenico was a sailor who carried cargo across the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], and Marco explained that Dante would train him in the ways of the Order in exchange for transport to [[Spain]].<ref name="AC2"/>
== Life ==
Dante met with Domenico repeatedly before they departed from [[Venice]], first conversing with him about practical needs for the journey, such as supplies, then moving on to deeper lessons, and speaking of ''"higher things about life, love, honor and justice"''.<ref name="AC2"/>
The exact date of Dante's birth is not known, although it is generally believed to be around 1265. This can be deduced from autobiographic allusions in ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Divina_Commedia La Divina Commedia]'', "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_%28Dante%29 the Inferno]" (''Halfway through the journey we are living'', implying that Dante was around 35 years old, as the average lifespan according to the Bible (Psalms 89:10, Vulgate) is 70 years, and as the imaginary travel took place in 1300 Dante must have been born around 1265). Some verses of the ''Paradiso'' section of the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy Divine Comedy]'' also provide a possible clue that he was born under the sign of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_%28astrology%29 Gemini] - ''"As I revolved with the eternal twins, I saw revealed from hills to river outlets, the threshing-floor that makes us so ferocious"'', XXII 151-154), but these cannot be considered definitive statements by Dante about his birth. However, in 1265 the Sun was in Gemini approximately during the period 11 May to 11 June. His birth date is listed as "probably in the end of May" by Robert Hollander in "Dante" in ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_the_Middle_Ages Dictionary of the Middle Ages]'', volume 4. In summary, most students of Dante's life believe that he was born between about the middle of May and about the middle of June 1265, but there is little likelihood a definite date will ever be known.Dante claimed that his family descended from the ancient [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome Romans] (''Inferno'', XV, 76), but the earliest relative he could mention by name was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacciaguida Cacciaguida] degli Elisei (''Paradiso'', XV, 135), of no earlier than about 1100. Dante's father, Alighiero di Bellincione, was a White [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guelphs_and_Ghibellines Guelph] who suffered no reprisals after the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghibellines Ghibellines] won the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Montaperti Battle of Montaperti] in the mid 13th century. This suggests that Alighiero or his family enjoyed some protective prestige and status.
Dante's family was prominent in Florence, with loyalties to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guelphs_and_Ghibellines Guelphs], a political alliance that supported the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papacy Papacy] and which was involved in complex opposition to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guelphs_and_Ghibellines Ghibellines], who were backed by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperor Holy Roman Emperor]. The poet's mother was Bella degli Abati. She died when Dante was not yet ten years old, and Alighiero soon married again, to Lapa di Chiarissimo Cialuffi. It is uncertain whether he really married her, as widowers had social limitations in these matters. This woman definitely bore two children, Dante's brother Francesco and sister Tana (Gaetana). When Dante was 12, he was promised in marriage to Gemma di Manetto Donati, daughter of Messer Manetto Donati. Contracting marriages at this early age was quite common and involved a formal ceremony, including contracts signed before a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notary_public notary]. Dante had already fallen in love with another woman, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Portinari Beatrice Portinari] (known also as Bice). Years after his marriage to Gemma, he met Beatrice again. He had become interested in writing verse, and although he wrote several sonnets to Beatrice, he never mentioned his wife Gemma in any of his poems.
Dante showed Domenico the [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex|Codex]] of the legendary Assassin [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], and taught him [[the Creed]]. Through their lessons, Dante told his apprentice that society was ''"set up in such a way as to [[New World Order|control its members]], to stop us from thinking, from seeing"''. Soon, Domenico had learned to ''"look past all laws and illusions"'', and see that the people deserved freedom.<ref name="AC2"/>
Dante fought in the front rank of the Guelph cavalry at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Campaldino battle of Campaldino] (June 11, 1289). This victory brought forth a reformation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentine Florentine] constitution. To take any part in public life, one had to be enrolled in one of "the arts". So Dante entered the guild of physicians and apothecaries. In following years, his name is frequently found recorded as speaking or voting in the various councils of the republic.
===Later life and death===
{{Quote|Dante intended to take the Codex to Spain where it would be safe. But he was being watched.|Domenico Auditore.|Assassin's Creed II|Paying Respects}}
Before his journey to [[Barcelona]] could take place, Dante was murdered by [[Templars]] on a trip to gather his belongings in [[Ravenna]]. Domenico's father explained to him that Dante had been tasked with delivering the Codex to Spain, and urged him to take on the responsibility instead.<ref name="AC2"/>
Dante had several children with Gemma. As often happens with significant figures, many people subsequently claimed to be Dante's offspring; however, it is likely that Jacopo, Pietro, Giovanni and Antonia were truly his children. Antonia became a nun with the name of Sister Beatrice.
As a result of Dante's death, the Assassins discovered that the Templars were never destroyed despite [[Thomas de Carneillon]]'s efforts to [[Persecution of the Templars|erase]] them in 1307.<ref name="ACU">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[Database: Journal of Thomas de Carneillon, October 12, 1307]]</ref> Though Domenico lost his [[Isabetta Auditore|wife]] to pirates during his attempt to fulfill Dante's mission, he was able to scatter the pages of the Codex in the ship's cargo, preventing them from falling into Templar hands.<ref name="AC2" />
===Legacy===
Dante's most enduring work, written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin as was custom for poetry in that time, is the ''Divine Comedy'', comprised of ''{{Wiki|Inferno (Dante)|Inferno}}'', ''{{Wiki|Purgatorio}}'', and ''{{Wiki|Paradiso (Dante)|Paradiso}}''. In 1511, almost 200 years after its publication, the Italian Assassins' [[Mentor]] [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]] read ''Inferno'' in [[Sofia Sartor]]'s shop. Sofia evoked her admiration for Dante's genius, and Ezio commented on Dante's "subtle way of revenge" through his poems, where he depicted his enemies as being tortured in Hell.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[A Little Errand]]</ref>
Incidentally, two of the people Dante placed in Hell's lowest circle of traitors were [[Marcus Junius Brutus]] and [[Gaius Cassius Longinus]] for having [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|betrayed and killed]] [[Gaius Julius Caesar]], despite the fact that Brutus and Longinus were [[Roman Hidden Ones]] working to stop Caesar, who was a leading figure among the [[Order of the Ancients]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''</ref> In ''Paradiso'', Dante's guide is [[Bernard de Clairvaux]], a [[France|French]] monk who publicly co-founded the [[Knights Templar]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[Abstergo Files]]: "File.0.02\Hst_Beginning"</ref>
== Education & Poetry ==
In 1515, the Assassin [[Giovanni Borgia]] was given a copy of the ''Divine Comedy'' by Ezio Auditore during his training with the Mentor. The following year, Giovanni gave the book to the rogue Assassin [[Hiram Stoddard]] after preventing his theft of an [[Apples of Eden|Apple of Eden]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)|Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed 12|Issue #12]]</ref> This copy eventually became a family heirloom and, by the late 17th century, was in the possession of Hiram's descendant [[Thomas Stoddard|Tom Stoddard]]. In 1692, Tom passed it down to fellow Assassin [[Jennifer Querry]]'s son [[David (Salem)|David]] to teach him how to read.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)|Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed 4 (issue)|Issue #04]]</ref>
But while finding his orientation as a poet Dante was also engaged in the study of philosophy, and spent "some thirty months" frequenting "the schools of the religious orders and the disputations of the philosophers" [Conv. 2.12.7]. This period must have included study in the Dominican school at Santa Maria Novella, where Dante could have learned logic and natural philosophy, and heard Fra Remigio de’ Girolami (d. 1319) expound a theology based on Thomas and Aristotle [Panella; Davis (1984), 198-223]. Remigio, like Dante, read widely in classical literature of all sorts, and he was fond of drawing lessons in political and ethical conduct from his reading. For both Remigio and Dante, moreover, Thomas was primarily the author of the Summa contra Gentiles and the commentary on the Ethics, concerned, like Aristotle himself, to demonstrate the capacities of human reason as a means to truth. It is known that he studied [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscany Tuscan] poetry, at a time when the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_School Sicilian School] (''Scuola poetica siciliana''), a cultural group from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily Sicily], was becoming known in Tuscany. His interests brought him to discover the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitan Occitan] poetry of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubadours troubadours] and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin Latin] poetry of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquity classical antiquity] (with a particular devotion to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil Virgil]).
During the "Secoli Bui" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Ages Dark Ages]), Italy had become a mosaic of small states, Sicily being the largest one, at the time under the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Anjou Angevine dominations], and as far (culturally and politically) from Tuscany as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitania Occitania] was: the regions did not share a language, culture or easy communications. Nevertheless, we can assume that Dante was a keen up-to-date intellectual with international interests.When he was nine years old he met [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Portinari Beatrice Portinari], daughter of Folco Portinari, with whom he fell in love "at first sight", and apparently without even having spoken to her. He saw her frequently after age 18, often exchanging greetings in the street, but he never knew her well; he effectively set the example for the so-called "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtly_love courtly love]". It is hard now to understand what this love actually consisted of, but something extremely important was happening within Italian culture. It was in the name of this love that Dante gave his imprint to the "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolce_Stil_Novo Dolce Stil Novo]" (Sweet New Style) and would lead poets and writers to discover the themes of Love (''Amore''), which had never been so emphasized before. Love for Beatrice (as in a different manner [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch Petrarch] would show for his Laura) would apparently be the reason for poetry and for living, together with political passions. In many of his poems, she is depicted as semi-divine, watching over him constantly. When Beatrice died in 1290, Dante tried to find a refuge in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_literature Latin literature]. The ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convivio Convivio]'' reveals that he had read [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anicius_Manlius_Severinus_Boethius Boethius's] ''De consolatione philosophiae'' and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero Cicero]'s ''De amicitia''. He then dedicated himself to philosophical studies at religious schools like the Dominican one in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Novella Santa Maria Novella]. He took part in the disputes that the two principal [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendicant_order mendicant] orders ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciscan Franciscan] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order Dominican]) publicly or indirectly held in Florence, the former explaining the doctrine of the mystics and of Saint [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonaventure Bonaventure], the latter presenting Saint [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aquinas Thomas Aquinas]' theories.
==Trivia==
*Durante is an Italian variant of the Latin name ''Durans'' that means "enduring". Alighieri is a name that ultimately stems from Germanic roots ''nadal'', "noble", or ''ald'', "old", and ''gar'', "spear."
At 18, Dante met [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_Cavalcanti Guido Cavalcanti], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapo_Gianni Lapo Gianni], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cino_da_Pistoia Cino da Pistoia] and soon after [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunetto_Latini Brunetto Latini]; together they became the leaders of the ''Dolce Stil Novo''. Brunetto later received a special mention in the ''Divine Comedy'' (''Inferno'', XV, 28), for what he had taught Dante. ''Nor speaking less on that account, I go With Ser Brunetto, and I ask who are His most known and most eminent companions''. Some fifty poetical components by Dante are known (the so-called ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rime Rime]'', rhymes), others being included in the later ''Vita Nuova'' and ''Convivio''. Other studies are reported, or deduced from ''Vita Nuova'' or the ''Comedy'', regarding painting and music.
*''[[Echoes of History]] – [[Ragnarök (Echoes of History)|Ragnarök]]'' {{Mo}}
== ==
==References==
Dante, like most Florentines of his day, was embroiled in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guelphs_and_Ghibellines Guelph-Ghibelline] conflict. He fought in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Campaldino battle of Campaldino] (June 11, 1289), with the Florentine Guelphs against [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arezzo Arezzo] Ghibellines, then in 1294 he was among the escorts of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Martel_of_Anjou Charles Martel of Anjou] (grandson of Charles I of Naples more commonly called Charles of Anjou) while he was in Florence. To further his political career, he became a pharmacist. He did not intend to actually practice as one, but a law issued in 1295 required that nobles who wanted public office had to be enrolled in one of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Corporazioni_delle_Arti_e_dei_Mestieri&action=edit&redlink=1 Corporazioni delle Arti e dei Mestieri], so Dante obtained admission to the apothecaries' guild. This profession was not entirely inapt, since at that time books were sold from apothecaries' shops. As a politician, he accomplished little, but he held various offices over a number of years in a city undergoing political unrest.After defeating the Ghibellines, the Guelphs divided into two factions: the White Guelphs (''Guelfi Bianchi'') -- Dante's party, led by [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vieri_dei_Cerchi&action=edit&redlink=1 Vieri dei Cerchi] -- and the Black Guelphs (''Guelfi Neri''), led by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corso_Donati Corso Donati]. Although initially the split was along family lines, ideological differences rose based on opposing views of the papal role in Florentine affairs, with the Blacks supporting the Pope and the Whites wanting more freedom from Rome. Initially the Whites were in power and expelled the Blacks. In response, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Boniface_VIII Pope Boniface VIII] planned a military occupation of Florence. In 1301, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_of_Valois Charles de Valois], brother of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_IV_of_France Philip the Fair] king of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France France], was expected to visit Florence because the Pope had appointed him peacemaker for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscany Tuscany]. But the city's government had treated the Pope's ambassadors badly a few weeks before, seeking independence from papal influence. It was believed that Charles de Valois would eventually have received other unofficial instructions. So the council sent a delegation to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome Rome] to ascertain the Pope's intentions. Dante was one of the delegates.
{{Reflist}}
{{AC2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alighieri, Dante}}
<!--[de:Dante Alighieri]
== Exile and Death ==
[es:Dante Alighieri]
[fr:Dante Alighieri]
[hu:Dante Alighieri]
=== Exile and death ===
[it:Dante Alighieri]
Boniface quickly dismissed the other delegates and asked Dante alone to remain in Rome. At the same time (November 1, 1301), [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_de_Valois Charles de Valois] entered Florence with Black Guelphs, who in the next six days destroyed much of the city and killed many of their enemies. A new Black Guelph government was installed and Messer [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cante_de%27_Gabrielli Cante de' Gabrielli] da [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gubbio Gubbio] was appointed ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podest%C3%A0 Podestà]'' of Florence. Dante was condemned to exile for two years, and ordered to pay a large fine. The poet was still in Rome, where the Pope had "suggested" he stay, and was therefore considered an absconder. He did not pay the fine, in part because he believed he was not guilty, and in part because all his assets in Florence had been seized by the Black Guelphs. He was condemned to perpetual exile, and if he returned to Florence without paying the fine, he could be burned at the stake. (The city council of Florence finally passed a motion rescinding Dante's sentence in June 2008.)He took part in several attempts by the White Guelphs to regain power, but these failed due to treachery. Dante, bitter at the treatment he received from his enemies, also grew disgusted with the infighting and ineffectiveness of his erstwhile allies, and vowed to become a party of one. At this point, he began sketching the foundation for the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy Divine Comedy]'', a work in 100 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canto cantos], divided into three books of thirty-three cantos each, with a single introductory canto.
[nl:Dante Alighieri]
[pt-br:Dante Alighieri]
Dante went to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verona,_Italy Verona] as a guest of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_I_della_Scala Bartolomeo I della Scala], then moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarzana Sarzana] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liguria Liguria]. Later, he is supposed to have lived in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucca Lucca] with Madame Gentucca, who made his stay comfortable (and was later gratefully mentioned in ''Purgatorio'', XXIV, 37). Some speculative sources say that he was also in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris Paris] between 1308 and 1310. Other sources, even less trustworthy, take him to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford]. In 1310, the Holy Roman Emperor [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VII,_Holy_Roman_Emperor Henry VII] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg Luxembourg], marched 5,000 troops into Italy. Dante saw in him a new [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Charlemagne] who would restore the office of the Holy Roman Emperor to its former glory and also re-take Florence from the Black Guelphs. He wrote to Henry and several Italian princes, demanding that they destroy the Black Guelphs. Mixing religion and private concerns, he invoked the worst anger of God against his city, suggesting several particular targets that coincided with his personal enemies. It was during this time that he wrote ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Monarchia De Monarchia]'', proposing a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_monarchy universal monarchy] under Henry VII, and the first two books of the ''Divine Comedy''.In Florence, [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baldo_d%27Aguglione&action=edit&redlink=1 Baldo d'Aguglione] pardoned most of the White Guelphs in exile and allowed them to return; however, Dante had gone too far in his violent letters to ''Arrigo'' (Henry VII), and he was not recalled.
[ru:Данте Алигьери]
[zh:但丁·阿利吉耶里]-->
In 1312, Henry assaulted Florence and defeated the Black Guelphs, but there is no evidence that Dante was involved. Some say he refused to participate in the assault on his city by a foreigner; others suggest that he had become unpopular with the White Guelphs too and that any trace of his passage had carefully been removed. In 1313, Henry VII died, and with him any hope for Dante to see Florence again. He returned to Verona, where [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cangrande_I_della_Scala Cangrande I della Scala] allowed him to live in a certain security and, presumably, in a fair amount of prosperity. Cangrande was admitted to Dante's Paradise (''Paradiso'', XVII, 76).
[[Category:1265 births]]
[[Category:1321 deaths]]
In 1315, Florence was forced by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uguccione_della_Faggiuola Uguccione della Faggiuola] (the military officer controlling the town) to grant an amnesty to people in exile, including Dante. But Florence required that as well as paying a sum of money, these exiles would do public [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penance penance]. Dante refused, preferring to remain in exile. When Uguccione defeated Florence, Dante's death sentence was commuted to house arrest, on condition that he go to Florence to swear that he would never enter the town again. Dante refused to go. His death sentence was confirmed and extended to his sons. Dante still hoped late in life that he might be invited back to Florence on honorable terms. For Dante, exile was nearly a form of death, stripping him of much of his identity. He addresses the pain of exile in ''Paradiso'', XVII (55-60), where Cacciaguida, his great-great-grandfather, warns him what to expect:{|align="center"
[[Category:Individuals]]
|''... Tu lascerai ogne cosa diletta''
[[Category:Italians]]
|... You shall leave everything you love most:
[[Category:Florentines]]
|-
[[Category:Poets]]
|''più caramente; e questo è quello strale''
[[Category:Writers]]
|this is the arrow that the bow of exile
[[Category:Philosophers]]
|-
[[Category:Politicians]]
|''che l'arco de lo essilio pria saetta.''
[[Category:Assassins]]
|shoots first. You are to know the bitter taste
[[Category:Italian Assassins]]
|-
|''Tu proverai sì come sa di sale''
|of others' bread, how salty it is, and know
|-
|''lo pane altrui, e come è duro calle''
|how hard a path it is for one who goes
|-
|''lo scendere e 'l salir per l'altrui scale ...''
|ascending and descending others' stairs ...
|}As for the hope of returning to Florence, he describes it as if he had already accepted its impossibility, (''Paradiso'', XXV, 1–9):{|align="center"
|''Se mai continga che 'l poema sacro''
|If it ever come to pass that the sacred poem
|-
|''al quale ha posto mano e cielo e terra,''
|to which both heaven and earth have set their hand
|-
|''sì che m'ha fatto per molti anni macro,''
|so as to have made me lean for many years
|-
|''vinca la crudeltà che fuor mi serra''
|should overcome the cruelty that bars me
|-
|''del bello ovile ov'io dormi' agnello,''
|from the fair sheepfold where I slept as a lamb,
|-
|''nimico ai lupi che li danno guerra;''
|an enemy to the wolves that make war on it,
|-
|''con altra voce omai, con altro vello''
|with another voice now and other fleece
|-
|''ritornerò poeta, e in sul fonte''
|I shall return a poet and at the font
|-
|''del mio battesmo prenderò 'l cappello ...''
|of my baptism take the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_wreath laurel crown] ...
|}Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_Novello_da_Polenta Guido Novello da Polenta] invited him to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravenna Ravenna] in 1318, and he accepted. He finished the ''Paradiso'', and died in 1321 (at the age of 56) while returning to Ravenna from a diplomatic mission to Venice, possibly of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria malaria] contracted there. Dante was buried in Ravenna at the Church of San Pier Maggiore (later called San Francesco). Bernardo Bembo, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praetor praetor] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice Venice] in 1483, took care of his remains by building a better tomb.{|align="center"
| Dante's tomb in Ravenna, built in 1780. Cenotaph at Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence. Cenotaph in Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence.
|}On the grave, some verses of Bernardo Canaccio, a friend of Dante, dedicated to Florence:
:''parvi Florentia mater amoris'':"Florence, mother of little love"
Eventually, Florence came to regret Dante's exile, and made repeated requests for the return of his remains. The custodians of the body at Ravenna refused to comply, at one point going so far as to conceal the bones in a false wall of the monastery. Nevertheless, in 1829, a tomb was built for him in Florence in the basilica of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_di_Santa_Croce_di_Firenze Santa Croce]. That [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenotaph tomb has been empty] ever since, with Dante's body remaining in Ravenna, far from the land he loved so dearly. The front of his tomb in Florence reads ''Onorate l'altissimo poeta'' - which roughly translates as "Honour the most exalted poet". The phrase is a quote from the fourth canto of the ''Inferno'', depicting Virgil's welcome as he returns among the great ancient poets spending eternity in Limbo. The continuation of the line, ''L'ombra sua torna, ch'era dipartita'' ("his spirit, which had left us, returns"), is poignantly absent from the empty tomb.
In 2007, a reconstruction of Dante's face was completed in a collaborative project. Artists from Pisa University and engineers at the University of Bologna at Forli completed the revealing model, which indicated that Dante's features were somewhat different than was once thought
== Works ==
:''See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Works_by_Dante_Alighieri Category:Works by Dante Alighieri].''
The ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy Divine Comedy]'' describes Dante's journey through [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy#Inferno Hell] (''Inferno''), [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy#Purgatorio Purgatory] (''Purgatorio''), and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy#Paradiso Paradise] (''Paradiso''), guided first by the Roman poet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil Virgil] and then by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Portinari Beatrice], the subject of his love and of another of his works, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Vita_Nuova La Vita Nuova]''. While the vision of Hell, the ''Inferno,'' is vivid for modern readers, the theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain amount of patience and knowledge to appreciate. ''Purgatorio,'' the most lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it; ''Paradiso,'' the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and ecstatic mystic passages in which Dante tries to describe what he confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" - "at this high moment, ability failed my capacity to describe," ''Paradiso,'' XXXIII, 142).
Dante wrote the ''Comedy'' in a new language he called "Italian", based on the regional dialect of Tuscany, with some elements of Latin and of the other regional dialects. By creating a poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language Italian language] was suitable for the highest sort of expression. In French, Italian is nicknamed ''la langue de Dante.'' Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first (among others such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio]) to break from standards of publishing in only Latin (the languages of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy liturgy], history, and scholarship in general). This break allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience - setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future.Readers often cannot understand how such a serious work may be called a "comedy". In Dante's time, all serious scholarly works were written in Latin (a tradition that would persist for several hundred years more, until the waning years of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment Enlightenment]) and works written in any other language were assumed to be more trivial in nature. Furthermore, the word "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy comedy]," in the classical sense, refers to works which reflect belief in an ordered universe, in which events not only tended towards a happy or "amusing" ending, but an ending influenced by a Providential will that orders all things to an ultimate good. By this meaning of the word, as Dante himself wrote in a letter to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cangrande_I_della_Scala Cangrande I della Scala], the progression of the pilgrimage from Hell to Paradise is the paradigmatic expression of comedy, since the work begins with the pilgrim's moral confusion and ends with the vision of God.
Dante's other works include the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convivio Convivio]'' ("The Banquet") a collection of his longest poems with an (unfinished) allegorical commentary; ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchia Monarchia]'', which was condemned and burned after Dante's death by the Papal Legate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrando_del_Poggetto Bertrando del Poggetto] and which serves as a monumental political philosophy treatise describing a monarchial global political organization and its relationship to the Roman Catholic Church; ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_vulgari_eloquentia De vulgari eloquentia]'' ("On the Eloquence of Vernacular"), on vernacular literature, partly inspired by the ''Razos de trobar'' of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raimon_Vidal_de_Bezaudun Raimon Vidal de Bezaudun]; and, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Vita_Nuova La Vita Nuova]'' ("The New Life"), the story of his love for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Portinari Beatrice Portinari], who also served as the ultimate symbol of salvation in the ''Comedy.'' The ''Vita Nuova'' contains many of Dante's love poems in Tuscan, which was not unprecedented; the vernacular had been regularly used for lyric works before, during all the thirteenth century. One of the most famous poems is ''Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare'', which many Italians can recite by heart. However, Dante's commentary on his own work is also in the vernacular - both in the ''Vita Nuova'' and in the ''Convivio'' - instead of the Latin that was almost universally used. References to ''Divina Commedia'' are in the format (book, canto, verse), e.g., (''Inferno'', XV, 76).
== The Order of The Assassins ==
In unwritten history if you will, Dante was a high ranking member of The Order of The Assassins. Coincidentally he was tasked with the training of the Patriarch of what would become the Auditore family of Florence. It is known as common knowledge to the Assassins that he was actually murdered in Ravenna by Templars while preparing for a journey to Barcelona with his young apprentice, the object of which was to deliver the Codex of Altair to an Assassins Stronghold in Catalonian Spain, somewhere near Barcelona. The stories of his exile and his falling out with the state he so bravely defended are examples of the old saying; "The Victor writes the books." Using this as a fork in the road if you will, it can be gathered that the Templars have manipulated period history to their own needs and benefit to an extent that the whole truth may never be known.
== ==
== ==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Garratt_Gardner Gardner, Edmund Garratt] (1921). [http://www.archive.org/details/dantedante00gardrich ''Dante''], London, Pub. for the British academy by H. Milford, Oxford University Press.
*Hede, Jesper. (2007). ''Reading Dante: The Pursuit of Meaning''. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
*Raffa, Guy P. (2009). The Complete Danteworlds: A Reader's Guide to the Divine Comedy. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226702704.
*Scott, John A. (1996). ''Dante's Political Purgatory'', Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._K._Seung Seung, T. K.] (1962). ''The Fragile Leaves of the Sibyl: Dante's Master Plan''. Westminster, MD: Newman Press.
*Toynbee, Paget (1898) [http://www.archive.org/details/adictionaryprop00toyngoog ''A Dictionary of the Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante'']. London, The Clarendon Press.
*Whiting, Mary Bradford (1922). [http://www.archive.org/details/dantemanpoet00whitrich ''Dante the Man and the Poet'']. Cambridge, England. W. Heffer & Sons, ltd.
Latest revision as of 15:43, 11 May 2026
Ezio: "Who were these men he condemned to hell?"
Sofia: "Political opponents, men who wronged him. Alighieri's quill cuts deeply, no?"
Ezio: "Sì. It is a subtle way to seek revenge."
—Ezio Auditore and Sofia Sartor, upon Ezio's reading of the Inferno.[src]-[m]
Throughout his life, Dante rose through the ranks of the Assassin Brotherhood and became one of its senior members.[1]
In the late 13th century, Dante was tasked with the training of the son of a fellow Assassin, who would later be known as Domenico Auditore, the founder of the Auditore family and a descendant of a long line of Assassins.[1]
The day that Domenico first found out about the Brotherhood, his father, his father's patron Marco Polo, and Dante were present. At the time, Domenico was a sailor who carried cargo across the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and Marco explained that Dante would train him in the ways of the Order in exchange for transport to Spain.[1]
Dante met with Domenico repeatedly before they departed from Venice, first conversing with him about practical needs for the journey, such as supplies, then moving on to deeper lessons, and speaking of "higher things about life, love, honor and justice".[1]
Dante showed Domenico the Codex of the legendary Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, and taught him the Creed. Through their lessons, Dante told his apprentice that society was "set up in such a way as to control its members, to stop us from thinking, from seeing". Soon, Domenico had learned to "look past all laws and illusions", and see that the people deserved freedom.[1]
Before his journey to Barcelona could take place, Dante was murdered by Templars on a trip to gather his belongings in Ravenna. Domenico's father explained to him that Dante had been tasked with delivering the Codex to Spain, and urged him to take on the responsibility instead.[1]
As a result of Dante's death, the Assassins discovered that the Templars were never destroyed despite Thomas de Carneillon's efforts to erase them in 1307.[2] Though Domenico lost his wife to pirates during his attempt to fulfill Dante's mission, he was able to scatter the pages of the Codex in the ship's cargo, preventing them from falling into Templar hands.[1]
Dante's most enduring work, written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin as was custom for poetry in that time, is the Divine Comedy, comprised of Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. In 1511, almost 200 years after its publication, the Italian Assassins' MentorEzio Auditore read Inferno in Sofia Sartor's shop. Sofia evoked her admiration for Dante's genius, and Ezio commented on Dante's "subtle way of revenge" through his poems, where he depicted his enemies as being tortured in Hell.[3]
In 1515, the Assassin Giovanni Borgia was given a copy of the Divine Comedy by Ezio Auditore during his training with the Mentor. The following year, Giovanni gave the book to the rogue Assassin Hiram Stoddard after preventing his theft of an Apple of Eden.[6] This copy eventually became a family heirloom and, by the late 17th century, was in the possession of Hiram's descendant Tom Stoddard. In 1692, Tom passed it down to fellow Assassin Jennifer Querry's son David to teach him how to read.[7]
Durante is an Italian variant of the Latin name Durans that means "enduring". Alighieri is a name that ultimately stems from Germanic roots nadal, "noble", or ald, "old", and gar, "spear."
