Expert: Maria - 7/22/2009

Question
Maria, can you please illustrate me about Saint Francis of Assisi and Dante's literature. St. Francis appears in the Divine Comedy, but where else in Dante´s literature?
Thank you very much.
Veronica (from Chile).

Answer
Hello Verónica,

Saint Francis of Assisi is mentioned first in Inferno, canto 27, line 112 where the condemned soul of Guido da Montefeltro tells Dante that when he died, Francis came to take his soul to Heaven, but in vain.

Later in Paradiso, canto 11, passim, Dante exalts St. Francis praises and saintliness, his poverty and humility, so that all the canto is a high commendation of this great saint.

Finally in Paradiso, canto 22, line 90 Dante mentions again Francesco d’Assisi when St. Benedict refers to Francis as the founder of a religious order which however did not maintain its original purity afterwards.


As for your question about St. Francis in Dante's other works, like 'La Vita Nuova', 'Il Convivio', 'Le Rime' (all of them written  in Italian) , 'De  Monarchia', 'De vulgari eloquentia', 'Epistulae', 'Eclogae', 'Quaestio de aqua et terra' (all  of them written in Latin), my answer is in the negative, since in none of these works there is any mention of Francis of Assisi.

Best regards,
Maria