Dante, Political Theology & The Divine Comedy

Abstract

Despite the vast critical interest in Dante Alighieri's (1265-1321) theology and philosophy there still remains much work to be done in order to identify and appreciate more fully and critically his political theology, especially relating to his Divine Comedy. The key focus of my research is on how Dante's political theology was expressed in The Divine Comedy and on identifying his political theological agenda. In this thesis, Dante's political theology is considered as his analysis and criticism of the governing political authorities and ecclesiastical organizations of his era. This thesis demonstrates that Contrapasso is the key literary and theological technique which Dante employs to express his political theology. Dante's, Virgil's and Beatrice's interactions with the souls in the afterlife confirm this. Dante's political theological message is of the need for reform of the Catholic Church, especially of corrupt clergy and of a wider corrupt society. The thesis demonstrates how Dante connected theology with his social critique. It shows that he imaginatively expresses his theology through poetry, thereby creating the conditions for a critical analysis of the political structures of contemporary Florentine society. His political thought is grounded in theology. He presents to his readers the ways in which theology articulates God's justice and challenges unjust political arrangements of his time, particularly as these impact on the Church. In so doing, Dante reveals the truth of the current situation in Florence through his use of Contrapasso, thereby giving the readers of The Divine Comedy an ideal framework to strive towards, hence revealing his political theological message of reform. Jean and Robert Hollanders' translations of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso were chosen as the main texts for this thesis. This research is divided into six chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to my chosen methodologies and chapter two is the literature review. Chapter three maps Dante's historical and social surroundings. Chapter four maps Dante's hermeneutical horizons. Chapter five is the case studies chapter which maps and analyses Dante's political theology. Finally chapter six is the conclusion which also outlines considerations for future study.