Dante was born into a family who claimed allegiance to the Guelphs, one of two opposing factions (the Ghibellines being the other) that kept Italy divided through civil wars during the greater part of the Middle Ages (the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries). The Guelphs were primarily of the merchant middle classes and were sympathetic to the papacy (both the Pope himself and the church in general), while the Ghibellines were primarily of the aristocracy, held contempt for the church, and were instead sympathetic to the Holy Roman Emperor. Dante was born into a contentious period in Florence’s history, with power bouncing back and forth between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines.
It helps to know the background of this contention to understand better the context of Dante’s belief system, which so influenced his writing. The Ghibellines gained power in Florence in 1249 and immediately banished the Guelphs. Ezzelino da Romano was one of the leaders of the Ghibelline movement and had a reputation for cruelty. He is depicted by Dante as a tyrant in The Divine Comedy. When the Ghibelline leader, Frederick II, died in 1250, the Guelphs regained and retained power until 1260. By all accounts, Florence prospered politically and economically during this time. However, when the Guelphs were deemed responsible for the Florentine loss in the battle of Montaperti (1260), the Ghibellines resumed power once again, putting an end to the prosperous times Florence saw under Guelph rule. The ruling Ghibellines restored laws that favored their own party, exiled prominent Guelphs, and destroyed every building belonging to or associated with the principal leaders of the Guelph party in a deliberate campaign of revenge. Dante’s father was not affected by this destruction or these exiles, suggesting that he either received some type of exemption or was of such low political standing among the Guelphs that he was deemed insignificant and not worthy of punishment.
Being born into this historic Florentine power struggle, it is no wonder Dante took an active position in the cause. We know that Dante’s loyalties lay with the Guelphs, as there is a record of his fighting at the forefront of the Guelph cavalry at the battle of Campaldino (1289) against the Ghibellines. The Guelphs emerged victorious and took back the ruling authority of Florence from the Ghibellines. At this point, Dante took an active interest in politics, so much so that by 1295 he had earned quite a name for himself in Florentine political circles.
There was serious turmoil in the Guelph party, however, and by 1300, the Guelphs had split into two factions, the Bianchi (Whites) and the Neri (Blacks). The Whites emerged as the power in Florence. They supported the burgher government (made up of the democratic middle class, or merchant class) and the Ordinance of Justice (restrictive laws primarily directed against all Ghibelline sympathizers, who were primarily of the more noble classes, and requiring that anyone who wished to enter public office must first be actively enrolled in either a commercial or an artisan guild). The Whites were opposed to Pope Boniface VIII and wished to extend the political power of the Florentines as well as their intellectual dominance. The Blacks, though, supported the aristocracy and had the support of the Pope. Naturally, Dante supported the Whites. Dante followed the Aristotelian concept that man is a social/ political being, and he held firm to the belief that individuals should put their knowledge and skills to use in the service of their country. His philosophical mind and writing were just some of the skills that he possessed. Therefore, further conforming to the enrollment requirements set forth by the Ordinance of Justice, in 1295 Dante entered the Guild of Physicians and Apothecaries (the only guild suitable for philosophers). By 1300 he maintained an active political and public role with the White faction and was named prior (magistrate), one of the six highest-level magistrates in Florence. He is recorded as having spoken or voted in various councils of the republic. Unfortunately, a substantial portion of minutes from the meetings that took place between 1298 and 1300 were lost during the repercussions suffered by Italy in World War II. As a result, the specifics of Dante’s involvement in Florentine councils of the republic remain relatively uncertain.
The dominance of the Whites was relatively short-lived, though, because in 1301 the Blacks were restored to power in Florence and sought payback against whom they deemed to be the more influential and outspoken Whites. As one might expect, Dante fell under the category of those to receive such payback and was one of the first to be ousted from public office. On a phony charge of corruption and hostility toward the church, he was sentenced in January 1302 to permanent exclusion from public office, including the Blacks’ promise of death by burning should he ever go against this sentence. Ultimately, in April 1302, the Blacks succeeded in banishing the entire White faction, including Dante, from Florence. At this time Dante was married, with at least three children that we know of: Jacopo, Pietro, and Antonia. Once he was exiled, Dante never returned to Florence and never saw his wife, Gemma, again; his sons and his daughter would join him in later years.
Never seeing his wife again might seem a bit harsh, but there might be a reason why he did not seek out his wife or fight to have his family exiled along with him. As was common at the time, Dante’s family promised him in marriage when he was 12 years old to Gemma di Manetto Donati (ca. 1265-1329/32), daughter of a prominent family in Florence. The actual marriage would take place between three and five years later. As the marriage was an arranged one, there is a good chance he did not have undying feelings toward Gemma. This is another instance in which exploring Dante’s work provides some insights into events in his life. As it has been established that Dante tended to put much of himself in his writings, the fact that he didn’t mention Gemma in any of his poems (not even a word or a scribble) is perhaps the best indication we have of a lack of passionate love toward her. Or, perhaps Gemma was aware of Dante’s emotional devotion to another woman and so did not mind too much when he was exiled. While Gemma is glaringly absent from Dante’s work, several of his poems mention or are singularly devoted to this “other woman”—Beatrice. Although they were apparently never involved in a romantic relationship, theirs is perhaps the most romantic of poet-muse relationships to exist in literature, and it is certainly the most popular.
When he was nine, Dante met and fell instantly in love with Beatrice di Folco Portinari (“Bice”) (1266-1290), a girl differing only a few months in age from himself who would have a powerful presence in his life and in his writings and who would ultimately become one of the most celebrated fictionalized representations in all of literature. If he was so in love with Beatrice, why didn’t Dante’s family promise him in marriage to her instead of Gemma? Aside from the fact that love had very little to do with arranged marriages, we do not know for certain. It is quite possible, though, that Dante’s family took into consideration her background (though we are unaware of the specifics of her family connections) and may have felt that a marriage to Gemma would prove more beneficial than a marriage to Beatrice.
Dante claimed in his writings that his love for Beatrice was transcendent, a spiritual and mystical love of true friendship rather than a passionate sexual or physical love (though cynics might claim that this sounds like a “we’re just friends” defense). Who could blame Gemma for not joining Dante in exile?— transcendent love is a tough act to follow. It is, perhaps, not coincidental that Dante’s daughter took the name of Sister Beatrice upon entering the convent at Santo Stefano degli Olivi at Ravenna. It is quite evident that the feelings Dante had for his Beatrice not only held sway over his emotions throughout his lifetime but also had a definite effect on his family. Gemma must have been an incredibly tolerant wife.
Sadly, Beatrice died in 1290, when Dante was in his mid-twenties. After Beatrice’s death, Dante was overcome with grief and set out to memorialize his lost love by composing several poems dedicated to Beatrice. The collection he produced at this time was placed together with poems he had previously written and devoted to her in her lifetime. The result was The New Life, a collection of poems in which he recounts the first time he ever saw Beatrice (“the glorious lady” of his heart). The New Life ends with the promise that he would write of Beatrice “what has never before been written of any woman”—this would ultimately become the Paradiso section of The Divine Comedy.
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