HIST 224 - The Age of Dante

Credits: (3)
The lifetime of Dante (1265?-1321) was an age of great vitality in Italy, an age that produced not only the Divine Comedy, one of the literary masterpieces of the Middle Ages, but also the historical writing of Dino Compagni, the political theory of Remigio dei Girolami, and the art of Giotto. In this course we will study the age of Dante from an interdisciplinary perspective, placing literary and artistic developments in their historical, and especially civic, context. We will begin with political developments in medieval Italy, especially Florence, and the political theory they inspired: the birth of the commune; conflicts between Guelfs and Ghibellines, Magnates and Popolani, and Black and White Guelfs. Religion in the commune is our next topic, as we consider the new spirituality of the mendicant orders and their role in Florentine religious life. This will provide a context for our study of the art of the Trecento, or fourteenth century: the paintings of Duccio, Giotto, and Lorenzetti. Throughout the semester we will also be reading Dante’s Divine Comedy.