Dante's Inferno
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Dante Alighieri, one of the greatest
poets of the Middle Ages,
was born in Florence, Italy on June 5, 1265. He was born
to a
middle-class Florentine family. At an early age he began to write poetry
and became fascinated with lyrics. During his adolescence, Dante fell in
love with a beautiful girl named Beatrice Portinari.
He saw her only
twice but she provided much inspiration for his literary masterpieces.
Her death at a young age left him grief-stricken. His first book, La
Vita Nuova, was written about her.
Sometime before 1294, Dante married
Gemma Donati. They had four
children.
Dante was active in the political
and military life of Florence.
He entered the army as a youth and held several important positions in
the Florence government
during the 1290's. During his life, Florence
was
divided politically between Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Guelphs
supported the church and liked to keep things as they were, unlike the
Ghibellines. The Ghibellines
were mostly supporters of the German
emperor and at the time Dante was
born, were relieved of their power.
When this change took place, the Guelphs for whom Dante's family was
associated took power. Although born into a Guelph family, Dante became
more neutral later in life realizing that the church was corrupt,
believing it should only be involved in spiritual affairs.
