DAN'TE (properly, DIIRANTE) ALIGHIE'RI, one of the greatest poets of all time, and incomparably the greatest among the Italians, was b. in Florence in 1265. The out ward circumstances and fortunes of his life are involved for the most part in great uncertainty. His family was, by his own account, one of the most illustrious in the city. His father dying while D. was young, his education devolved upon his mother, Bella. In this duty, in which she displayed great fidelity and judgment, she seems to have been counseled and aided by the great statesman, scholar, and poet, Bruuetto Latiui. The elements of knowledge D. probably acquired in Florence; in riper years, lie studied philosophy at Bologna and Padua. After his banishment, he pursued theology for a time at Paris, and, if Boccaccio were to be believed, even visited England. His studies, however, did not prevent him from discharging the public duties of a citizen. He fought in the successful battle with the Aretines at Campaldino in 1289, and was present at the taking of the fortress of Caprona, 1290. What civil offices lie first held, we do not know, but it is certain that he was sent on several embassies, and at last, in 1300, rose to the highest dignity of the city, being chosen one of the Priori for two months, an office which was the source of his- subsequent unhappy fortunes. Florence, on the whole, belonged to the party of the Guelphs (q.v.), but was divided into the two factions of the Neri and Bianchi (the blacks and whites). The Neri were the unconditional adherents of the pope, and this of course gave to the other faction a more Ghibelline leaning. See GUELPHS and Gummi-isEs. A tumult in the city, occasioned by the heads of the ultra-Guelphic or black party, caused their temporary expulsion from Florence. They hurried to Rome, to lay their complaints before his holiness. D., who belonged to the Bianchi, was sent by his party to Rome, to counteract their machina tions; but Bouiface VIII., in concert with the Neri, got Charles of Valois, brother of Philip IV. of France, to come to Florence and restore peace under the title of peace maker. This explains the deadly enmity of D. to Boniface. The peace established by
Charles of Valois consisted in recalling the banished leaders of the Ned, in giving up the houses and property of the Bianchi to be plundered, and banishing many of them, and among others Dante. D. never entered his native city again, and his whole subse quent life was unsettled, spent in various places, and under various protectors, at Arezzo, Verona, Padua, etc. In 1304, the Bianchi made a final attempt to return to Florence by force of arms, which failed; and it was probably on this occasion that D. went to Paris. The march of Henry VII. to Rome in 1310 recalled him t- Italy, and lie endeavored, by addressing ardent letters to the Italian princes, to promote the cause of the empire, which had now become his own. It was probably with this view and at this time, that his work De Jtonarchia was written. The unsuccessful siege of Florence, and the death of the emperor, which followed in 1313, annihilated the last hopes of D., and he spent the closing, years of his life at Ravenna, under the protection of Guido Novello da Polenta. He went on a mission for this prince to Venice, returned sick, and died on the 14th Sept., 1321.
As not unfrequently happens with distinguished men, an accidental circumstance in D.'s early youth had made an indelible impression on the soul of the poet, and, as he himself expresses it, awaked in him a "new life." At a family festivity, he had seen Beatrice Portinaci, then eight years old, the daughter of a rich citizen, and the love that sprang tip in the heart of the nine years' old boy became the fountain of the poetical inspiration of his life. How pure, chaste, and tender this love was, is testified by the Nuora, his first work, which appeared about 1300. It is a collection of poems or canzoni, bearing upon this youthful love, and along with each piece is given a history of its origin and a minute analysis. The best edition of this collection is that prepared by the marquis Trivulzio (Mil. 1827). Beatrice married a nobleman, Simone de Bardi, and died young about 1290. D. himself afterwards married a lady named Gemma, of the powerful house of Donati.