|
Index
View pictures:
About Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) (3) :
In 1308, Henry VII. was raised to the empire, and prepared to march into Italy.
Dante attached himself to his interests, and wrote to all the potentates of Italy, and to the Italian people generally, a letter in favor of the emperor. In consequence of this letter a decree was issued in Florence which irremissibly banished Dante from his country.
|
| |
|
|
|
The unfortunate issue of Henry's attempt in Italy and the repulse which he met at Florence, together with his death, in 1313, deprived Dante of all hopes of re-establishment. He roved about Italy, a lonely exile, and finally found a welcome at Ravenna, where he was kindly received by Guido Novella da Polenta, the lord of that place, who was a liberal patron of letters.
When a quarrel broke out between Ravenna and Venice, Dante was sent by Polenta as an ambassador to negotiate peace with the Venetians, but they were so enraged that they would not admit him to an audience.
The fatigue of the journey and the mortification of the slight put upon him threw Dante into a fever, which terminated his life, soon after his return to Ravenna, in September, 1321. Guido gave him an honorable burial in the church of the Minorites, and himself pronounced the funeral oration.
previous page | next page
|
|
