29027 - Italian Medieval Literature (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will be familiar with the figures and most significant works of the main authors of medieval Italian literature, in relation to their poetics and their historico-cultural and political framework. The student will be acquainted with the perspectives of medieval Italian literature, its cultural and textual premises, and its span in a literary season that begins in our thirteenth century and feeds into our Humanism. Literary history, cultural history, philology and exegesis will be the methodological keys to address the characteristics of an era that connects the thirteenth-century birth of our literary tradition with the forms and orientations, already projected towards Europe, of our Humanism.

Course contents

The course focuses on the relationship between Love and Justice. Beatrice from the "Vita Nova" to the "Commedia". The course focuses on the history of Beatrice, her metamorphoses, and the evolution of her image, which very quickly comes to encompass aspects of justice and the judgment of political history (first in Florence, then in the world). Who was Beatrice Portinari, really? Is the angelic figure of this woman truly remote from prophetic-political discourse? What traces of her can we find not only in the Convivio but even in the Monarchia?

The historical-critical framework and explanation of the topic, the discussion of relevant bibliography, the detailed reading of the texts (Rime, Vita Nova, Convivio, Commedia, Monarchia) and their commentary, will form the cornerstone of the lessons on the lesser-known face of Dante's beloved, who is, one might say, a "political Beatrice."

Readings/Bibliography

For the course's introduction, some considerations will be based on the following texts:

G. Inglese, Dante. A Guide to the "Divine Comedy", Rome, Carocci, 2025.

Ch. S. Singleton, The Poetry of the "Divine Comedy," Bologna, Il Mulino, 2021 (new edition). Only La sostanza delle cose vedute (for the first part) and the entire second part, Viaggio a Beatrice.

M. Sanatagata, Le donne di Dante, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2021.

L. Pertile, La puttana e il gigante. Dal "Cantico dei Cantici" al Paradiso Terrestre di Dante, Ravenna, Longo, 1998 (for the parts indicated in class and which will be uploaded to Virtuale).

M. Veglia, Beatrice Politics, Rome, Salerno, 2025 (in press).

For the Divine Comedy, see the edition of the Inferno, edited by M. Veglia and Angelo M. Mangini, Milan, Feltrinelli, 2025 (in press), for cantos I-XVI, XXV-XXVII, XXXII-XXXIII.

For Purgatory (for cantos XXVII-XXXIII), the reference commentary will be that by Giorgio Inglese, Rome, Carocci, 2025.

For Paradise (for cantos XV-XX, XXX-XXXIII), the reference commentary will be that by Giorgio Inglese, Rome, Carocci, 2025.

Attending students, who use their lecture notes, may bring only three authors from the introductory section of the course.

Non-attending students must bring the complete syllabus.

 

Teaching methods

The lesson, especially the lessons of the "laurea magistrale", should have a seminar character. For this reason it would be important for students to bring the texts to class and get used to discussing them with the teacher.

Assessment methods

The test consists of an oral exam on the topics covered in class and on the texts in the exam program (with the distinctions provided for attending and non-attending students). There are no written tests or essays.

Teaching tools

The tools to support teaching are and remain mainly texts, to be read and understood in the classroom, in the conversation between teacher and students.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Veglia