DANTE ALIGHIERI : FOR THE LOVE OF BEATRICE

A Renaissance Event of Romance

According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, The term Renaissance is applied to the intellectual characteristic of the period of European history that marks the transition between the medieval and the modern. Chronologically, it is usually taken to fall in the 15th and 16th centuries, occuring earliest in Italy and later in England. The period was marked by a rediscovery of the classics, questioning of religious dogmas, the growth of a more scientific outlook, major developments in art and literature, new inventions and overseas discoveries, and a general assertion and emancipation of the human intellect.

Ahhhh, but it was so much more. The Renaissance, with its rebirth of appreciation of the arts and beauty, was a time for poetry, pondering, and love.

One of the most famous and long lived of these adoring appreciations and love of another human being was Dante Alighieri's Early Renaissance love for his one-time childhood acquaintance, Bice.

Durante (Dante) Alighieri (b. Florence, c. May 29, 1265) was only nine in c. 1274 when he met the eight-year old Beatrice (Bice) di Folco Portinari. This first glance of love would become the driving power that would fuel Dante's lyrics and verse. By his own account, this event was the most memorable of his youth.

In c.1277, good fortune honors Dante's noble, but impoverished family, yet dishonors the besotted Dante. At the age of twelve, he is betrothed to Gemma di Manetto Donati, the daughter of a powerful Guelph (political party*) family. Later in c. 1283, at the age of eighteen, he marries Gemma Donati. Although his union with Gemma produces from three to five children (records are uncertain), Dante carries an eternal torch for Beatrice.

In 1287, Beatrice marries nobleman Simone de Bardi, but the story of her life will be a short one. Sadly, Beatrice dies in 1290, only 24 years of age. At the news of her death, Dante enters a state of mourning. In her memory, he pens verse, much of which deals with the horror and pain of unrequited love-- Most definitely inspired by Beatrice, his muse. Throughout his career, much of Dante's prose and poetry celebrated Beatrice And ideal love, portraying his love for her as one and the same. In celebration of her life, two years after her untimely death, Dante publishes the Vita Nova.

"So that if it please Him by whom all things live to prolong my life for a few years, I hope to write of her what never yet was written of any woman."

A Scene from Dante's Divine Comedy

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