Dante Alighieri
| Dante Alighieri was an Italian propaganda writer,
philosopher and freemason
of the White Guelph faction, who lived in Florence. In 1321 he published the Divine Comedy, written in Italian, divided into Hell, Purgatory and Paradise (concepts developed in the doctrine of Christianity by Dominicans and Franciscans). It contains 3x33 verses (most important nr in freemasonry), representing the 3 triads in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. His character Beatrice represents Divine Grace, based on Beatrice Portinari married into banking family Bardi, which later merged with the Medici's. His poems were based on the concept of courtly love, also used by the troubadours of South France. |
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In the Divine Comedy Lucifer is trapped in a lake of ice in the 9th circle of Hell. The City of Dis represents Hades (Pluto), god of the underworld.
He promoted Roman Emperor Henry IV (House of Luxembourg) with De Monarchia.
Sandro Boticelli made a portrait of him after his death. Giovanni Bocaccio wrote a book about him.
In 1579 Dominican Cosmos Rossellius wrote Theasurus (storage room) artificosae memoria, describing the circles of Hell (similar to the Divine Comedy) and star constellations as a memory system, and introducing a digital sign language.
He influenced John Milton and William Blake.
In the 19th century the Divine Comedy was illustrated by mason Gustave Doré. His works were translated by August Schlegel (brother of Friedrich Schlegel) and Stefan George.
A region of Death Valley is called Dante's View. Austin Osman Spare published Earth Inferno.
Dante's Divine Comedy plays a role in Seven with Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey and Brad Pitt.
Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones played in Inferno, based on a book of Dan Brown.
born 1256.
died 1321.