The name of the famous poet of Italy Dante Alighieri has worldwide fame. Quotes from his works can be heard in a variety of languages, since almost the whole world is familiar with his creations. They are read by many, translated into different languages, studied in different parts of the planet. On the territory of a large number of European states there are societies that systematically collect, research and disseminate information about its heritage. The anniversary dates of Dante's life are among the major cultural events in the life of mankind.
Step into immortality
At that time, when the great poet was born, mankind was expecting great changes. This was on the eve of a grandiose historical revolution that radically changed the face of European society. The medieval world, feudal oppression, anarchy and disunity were a thing of the past. The emergence of a society of free producers. The times of power and prosperity of nation-states came.
Therefore, Dante Alighieri (whose poems are translated into different languages of the world) is not only the last poet of the Middle Ages, but also the first writer of the New Age. He tops the list, consisting of the names of the Renaissance titans. He first began the fight against violence, cruelty, obscurantism of the medieval world. He was also among those who were the first to raise the banner of humanism. This was his step into immortality.
The youth of the poet
Dante Alighieri's life path , his biography is very closely connected with those events that characterized the social and political life of Italy at that time. He was born into a family of native Florentines in May 1265. They represented a poor and not very noble feudal clan.
His father worked as a lawyer in a Florentine banking firm. He died very early, back in his youth, his later illustrious son.
The fact that political passions were boiling in the country, bloody battles were constantly taking place in the walls of his native city, the Florentine victories were replaced by defeats, could not escape the attention of the young poet. He was an observer of the collapse of Ghibelline power, the privileges of the giants and the consolidation of Pololan Florence.
Dante's training took place within the walls of an ordinary medieval school. The young man grew extremely inquisitive, so he was not enough meager, limited school education. He constantly replenished his knowledge on his own. Very early, the boy began to be interested in literature and art, paying particular attention to painting, music and poetry.
The beginning of the literary life of the poet
But Dante's literary life begins at a time when the juices of the civilian world eagerly drank literature, art, and crafts. Everything that before that could not fully declare its existence, burst out. In those days, new forms of art began to appear like mushrooms in a rain field.
For the first time as a poet, Dante tried himself while in the "new style" circle. But even in those rather early poems, one cannot but notice the presence of a violent surf of feelings that broke the images of this style.
In 1293, the first book of the poet was published under the title “New Life”. There were thirty poems in this collection, the writing of which dates from 1281-1292. They had an extensive prosaic commentary, characterized by an autobiographical and philosophical-aesthetic character.
The verses of this collection were first told about the poet's love story. The object of his adoration was Beatrice Portinari even in those days when the boy was barely 9 years old. This love was destined to last his whole life. Very rarely, she found expression in the form of rare random encounters, fleeting glances of her lover, in her cursory bow. And after 1290, when death took Beatrice, the poet's love becomes his personal tragedy.
Active political activity
Thanks to the New Life, the name of Dante Alighieri, whose biography is equally interesting and tragic, is becoming known. In addition to the talented poet, he was an outstanding scholar, one of the most educated people in Italy. The breadth of his circle of interests was unusually large for that time. He studied history, philosophy, rhetoric, theology, astronomy, geography. He also paid special attention to the system of Eastern philosophy, the teachings of Avicenna and Averroes. The great ancient poets and thinkers — Plato, Seneca, Virgil, Ovid, and Juvenal — could not escape his attention. Particular attention to their creations will be given to the humanists of the Renaissance.
Dante was constantly nominated by the Florentine commune for honorable posts. He carried out highly responsible diplomatic missions. In 1300, Dante Alighieri was elected to a commission consisting of six priori. Its representatives ruled the city.
Beginning of the End
But at the same time, a new aggravation of civil strife is taking place. Then the center of the heat of hostility became the Guelph camp itself. He split into a “white” and “black” fraction, which were very at odds with each other.
The mask of Dante Alighieri among the Guelphs was white. In 1301, with the support of the pope, “black” guelfs seized power over Florence and began mercilessly cracking down on their opponents. They were sent to exile and executed. Only the absence of Dante in the city saved him then from reprisal. He was sentenced to death in absentia. Burning awaited him immediately after coming to the land of Florence.
The period of expulsion from the homeland
At that time there was a tragic breakdown in the life of the poet. Left without a homeland, he is forced to wander around other cities in Italy. For some time he was even outside the country, in Paris. He was glad to see in many palazzos, but he did not stay anywhere. He experienced great pain from defeat, and also longed for Florence, and the hospitality of the princes seemed to him humiliating and insulting.
During the period of exile from Florence, the spiritual maturation of Dante Alighieri took place, the biography of which, until that time, was very saturated. During wanderings before his eyes there was always enmity and confusion. Not only his homeland, but the whole country was perceived by him as "a nest of injustice and anxiety." He was surrounded on all sides by endless feuds between city-republics, fierce contention between principalities, intrigues, foreign troops, trampled gardens, devastated vineyards, exhausted, desperate people.
A wave of popular protests began in the country. The emergence of new ideas, the people's struggle provoked the awakening of Dante's thoughts, urging him to look for all sorts of ways out of this situation.
Ripening dazzling genius
During the period of wanderings, deprivations, mournful thoughts about the fate of Italy, the genius of Dante matured. At that time, he acts as a poet, philosopher, politician, publicist and research scientist. At the same time, Dante Alighieri wrote "The Divine Comedy", which brought him immortal world fame.
The idea of writing this work appeared much earlier. But in order to create it, you need to live a whole human life, filled with torment, struggle, sleepless, incinerating labor.
In addition to "Comedy" there are other works by Dante Alighieri (sonnets, poems). In particular, the treatise “Pir” refers to the first years of emigration. It affected not only theology, but also philosophy, morality, astronomy, natural philosophy. In addition, “Pir” was written in the national Italian language, which was very unusual at that time. After all, then almost all the works of scientists were published in Latin.
In parallel with the work on the treatise in 1306, he saw the world and a linguistic work entitled "On People's Eloquence". This is the first European scientific study of Romance linguistics.
Both of these works remained unfinished, as new events sent Dante's thoughts in a slightly different direction.
Unfulfilled dreams of returning home
Dante Alighieri, whose biography is known to many contemporaries, constantly thought about returning. For days, months, and years, he tirelessly and stubbornly dreamed about it. This was especially evident during the work on "Comedy", when creating its immortal images. He forged the Florentine speech and raised it to the popular political level. He sacredly believed that it was with the help of his ingenious poetic creation that he would be able to return to his native city. His expectations, hopes and thoughts of returning gave him strength to complete this titanic feat.
But he was not destined to return. He finished writing his poem in Ravenna, where the city authorities granted him asylum. In the summer of 1321, the work of Dante Alighieri “The Divine Comedy” was completed, and on September 14 of the same year, the city was buried by a genius.
Death from belief in a dream
Until the end of his life, the poet sacredly believed in peace in his native land. He lived this mission. For her sake, he went to Venice, which was preparing a military attack on Ravenna. Dante really wanted to convince the leaders of the Adriatic Republic that we must abandon the war.
But this trip not only did not bring the desired results, but also became fatal for the poet. On its return trip there was a swampy lagoon area where malaria was “inhabited” by the scourge of such places. It was she who became the cause of the crushing for several days of the poet's forces, torn by very hard work. Thus ended the life of Dante Alighieri.
And only after several decades Florence realized who was lost by her in the person of Dante. The government wanted to pick up the poet’s remains from Ravenna. His ashes are still far from his homeland, which rejected and condemned him, but for which he remains the most devoted son.