Christian Religious Beliefs In Dante's Inferno

Dante’s Inferno is an epic poem by Durante “Dante” degli Alighieri, written in the 1300s. He wrote a trilogy, known as the Divine Comedy, consisting of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante was inspired by many events and issues happening at that time, such as the war between Guelphs and Ghibellines, the Battle of Montaperti, and Christian religious beliefs. In this paper, I will explore the first book, Inferno, on the topic of Hell and how the sinners had a significant impact on Dante’s journey through Hell. In Circle 5: Styx, Canto VIII, Filippo Argenti, a sinner of Wrathful, helped Dante to symbolize to readers his anger towards Black Guelphs, political enemies of the White Guelphs. In Circle 7: Round Three, Canto XV, Ser Brunetto Latino,

While Dante and Virgil travel along the swamp by Phlegyas, the Boatman of the Styx, Filippo Argenti, a wrathful, tries to block their pathway. Filippo Argenti was a Black Guelph nobleman, who severely disliked Dante. Some accounts tell a tale of the feud between them which started with Filippo slapping Dante in the face. Dante says to Filippo, “And [Dante] replied: ‘If I come, I do not remain. / But you, who are you, so fallen and foul? / And [Filippo]: ‘I am one who weeps.’ And [Dante] then: || ‘May you weep and wail to all eternity, / for I know you, hell-dog, filthy as you are.” (Canto VIII, lines 34-38) Dante uses Filippo Argenti as a symbol of his anger towards the Black Guelphs. Dante, a member of the White Guelphs, believed in freedom for Rome, whereas the Black Guelphs were in favor of submitting to the powers of the Pope. The White Guelphs were at war with the Black Guelphs, reasons being after the fall of the Ghibellines in Florence, as well as, having different economic views. Dante and the other exiled White Guelphs were fighting two battles, one with the Black Guelphs and the other with the

Dante sees a Florentine in the group of Sodomites, by the name of Ser Brunetto Latino. Latino was a mentor to Dante after the death of his father and had a significant influence on Dante. “Therefore, go on; I will walk at your hem, / and then rejoin my company, which goes / mourning eternal loss in eternal flame / I did not dare descend to his own level / but kept my head inclined, as one who walks / in reverence meditating good and evil” (Canto XV, lines 40-45) Dante uses Ser Brunetto Latino as a symbol of his influences he had in life, as well as, to help explain the beliefs of Dante. On some accounts, Dante put Latino in Hell, because of his homosexuality, which Dante disliked, due to the views of Church. Although there is no record of Ser Brunetto Latino’s sexuality, at the time of the 1300s and Florence, there was a significant amount of intimacy between males. Furthermore, there is also no record of why Dante put Ser Brunetto Latino in Hell, as Brunetto was married at the time, with three to four children. Dante overall used Latino as a symbol of sodomy against Christian