Dante and the Three Religions

DanteandtheThreeReligions GIORGIO BATTISTONI

in non-Christian of Dante'sinterest religionsand cultures of into the sphere Dante studiesaround beganto maketheirway en la Divina musulmana Inklings 1919-21. I referspecificallyto La escatologia of a student himself oftheSpanishJesuitMiguelAsinPalacios, Comedia in Italyduringthecelebrations Thiswork,whicharrived Arabculture.1 ofDante'sdeath,aimed thesix-hundredth anniversary commemorating andmanyoftheideas Commedia of the basic to showthatthe conception thevoyin itwerefoundbyDantein Arabtextsthatnarrated contained Paradise.2 Islamic into the Hell and age ofMuhammadthrough ofthelegendofMuhamvariousversions analyzed Havingthoroughly Asin and rewards, mad'svoyageintotheworldof eternalpunishments Palaciosconcludedthatthemanypointsof contactwiththe Commedia could not have resultedfrompurechance.Rather,theydemonstrated Muslim andmetaphysical thatDantehadaccessto variouseschatological realm hisownChristian in creating textsandthathe usedthisknowledge AsinPalaciosdidnotprovideanytangible oftheafterlife. Unfortunately credibletheideathatDantehadaccessto rendered have could that proof andcirculated sourcesoutsidethatgroupthathadbeentranslated among world. theLatin-speaking withinthe ofMuslimeschatology withthehistory Beforecontinuing took that incident I would liketo recallan place at Verona Commedia, ofDante's ofthesix-hundredth anniversary duringthatcommemoration thecityofVeronadecided celebrations, death.In thewakeofthenational to openthetombofCangrande(onJuly27, 1921)in orderto see ifthat greatpatronofDantehadtakenwithhim,on hisfinaljourney,thethird 13 in whichthe or atleastEpistola or eventheentireCommedia, canticle, 249

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Paradiso had been dedicatedto him.Althoughnone of Dante'smanucadaverwasfoundwithan wasfoundin thetomb,theembalmed scripts One ofthesefabrics entireshroudof Islamicfabricbindingit together.3 animals(Raven,Fish,Lion/ withitsastronomical (ilkanide) symbolizes, theastralsphere; therouteofthesoulthrough Dog, andRabbit/Hare), hasanArabiceulogywovenintoitwiththenameofAllah.4 another fabric I setoutto delveintotheperilFromdirectcontactwiththesefabrics, andtheIslamicworld.In fact,the ous nexusbetweenDante,Cangrande, firstquestionthatarosewas whya Christian princewould have been to respond shroudofMuslimorigin.I attempted interred witha funeral withthepresburialofCangrande thestrange to thisquestionbylinking oftheIslamictracespointedoutbyAsinPalacios: encein theCommedia thecommon althoughthereasonmayhavebeenyetincomprehensible, andMuofDante,Cangrande, thatconnectedtheafterlives eschatology answer hammadwarranted note.It wasjust thissearchfora reasonable that nexus as to the rather than gavewayto my (causal, casual) perilous I "Dante,l'lslam,ed altreconsiderazioni" (1985).Sincethisstudy, study, ofthe"threerings"(aspopularized haveexaminedthereligious paradigm in Boccaccio'sDecameron) andtheidea oftheempirein hopesoffinding theexplanation. an ItalianscholardisAsinPalacios'sstudyappeared, Thirty yearsafter Followwasmissing. thattheSpaniard coveredthosetangible documents Enrico Cerullifixedhis ing a clue fromUgo Monneretde Villard,5 in OxfordandParis,finding withintheCorpus attention on manuscripts translated intoFrenchand Latin,thefamousKitdbal-mVraj Toletanum, andtheLiberscaleMachometi. Therewasmore:a manuscript ofthatbook occursin Rome,BibliotecaVaticana, MS Vat.lat.4072,alsowithinthe Toletanum that was translated intoLatinbyPetertheVenerable, Corpus Abbotof Cluny.Cerullicomments on thesignificance of thesurviving witnesses: manuscript lineadidiffusione del"LiberScalae" Questaprovenienza, dunque, provaun'altra delprimoTrecento. . . . Questofatto ne assicurava la diffusione negliscriptoria e insieme negarantiva, ilcarattere dilibroconsiderato agliocchideglioccidentali, sacrodaimusulmani.6 The importance of thediscovery of thistextin termsof theWestand whichdo littleto distinguish themItalylaynotso muchin itscontents, selvesfromthecollageofArabictextsusedbyAsinPalaciosin elaborating 250

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his argument,as in the factthata singlebook could containthe evidence to supportthe hypothesisthatDante would have had access to Muslim eschatologyconstructedon the voyage of Muhammad to the afterlife. That thistextcirculatedin LatinduringDante's age servedto demonstrate thepropergroundingof Asin Palacios's thesis. - a medievalAndalusianversionof the nocThe LiberscaleMachometi turnaljourney (ism*)and ascension or stairway(mi'raj)of the prophet Muhammad- had been translatedinto Castilian from Arabic by the ToledanJewishphysicianAbrahamAlfaquimbetween 1260 and 1264, as projectsupportedby AlfonsoX the Wise.7 Shortly partof the translation the text would be translatedfromCastilianinto French and thereafter Latinby the notaryBonaventureof Siena. From therecomes itsdiffusion throughoutthe ChristianWest,which may connectthe book to Dante's appearedin the Tuscany.In fact,a citationfromthe LiberscaleMachometi composed work of an Italianpoet. In a volume entitled//Dittamondo, reliMuslim the of in around 1350, Fazio degli Uberti wrote, speaking in thatbook gion, "Ancor nel Libro suo che Scala ha nome ..." (Yet thathas as itsname Scala).8 Let us turnagain to Cerulli: trail 1350e il 1360,conosceva il suo Dittamondo FaziodegliUberti,chescriveva epigonodi Dante,attesta il LibrodellaScala.. . . Fazio degliUberti,immediato insiemela conoscenzanellaToscanadel medioTrecentodel LibrodellaScala.9 Cerulli,however,was a bit too hastyin declaringknowledgeof thisbook in Tuscanyat thattime. In fact,the familyof Farinatadegli Uberti,constrainedin 1266 to abandon Florence, chose for theirnew home that at the timeruledby Mastino I (d. 1277). Verona of the della Scala family, events They werejust one ofmanyGhibellinefamiliesforcedby historical to remakethemselvesas Lombards.10 It was at the courtof Mastino II della Scala (1308-1351), the nephew and immediatesuccessorto Cangrande,thatFazio degliUbertibelonged to a circleof artists, poets,and musicians.Thus ifone wishesto tracethe thereforeof his physicaland political roots of Fazio degli Uberti (and to look not to have one would referenceto the LiberscaleMachometi), Florence and Tuscanybut ratherto Verona and Lombardy.Among this circle, three musiciansstand out, composersof madrigals,theirnames These musicians, just as theapostles signalinga programoftransfiguration. 251

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ofMountTabor,werecalledMaestroPiero,Jacopoda Bologna,andGiovannida Cascia. We findourselves betweentheyears1336and 1350,whilethesethree "in to be in an earthly themselves musicians Paradise, obviously imagined and its betweenthemodel to theanalogyofproportion scale"(according was used in theMiddleAges),thatin theirmadrigals copy,commonly referred to as "il bel giardino"and"il verziere."In thisParadisethereran a "fiumechiaro"of "perla";therealso grewan "alberodi perla"with The interesting "bei fioriadorno"giving"grandeombra."11 thingis that in a Paradise:thatis,thegardens thesemusicians trulyfoundthemselves of thedellaScala family alongthebanksof theAdige,wheretheshade thatcoveredthemwas providedby a realtreeof pearls,thatis, a tree are in fact These songs,thesecompositions knownin Italianas perlaro. knowntodayas the"Ciclo delperlaro."12 is alsoknownas a bagolaro to bythesemusicians The "perlaro"referred writes: ofDioscurides, in histranslation or lotoPPietroAndreaMattioli, chi lotiin Italia,nonpensochefallerebbe si ritrovano Se purea tempinostri e Dioscoride il veroloto,e massimamente dicesse chefusse quellocuiintesero e in alcunialtriluoghi si chiamabagolaro Plinio,quellochein su '1Trentino a Verona) sichiama (cosicomeancora perlaro.14 In thisplace,bothrealandsymbolic, thesemusicians sangofthewoman namedAnna,theflamethatkindledtheirpoetic-erudite passions. Scholarsgenerally, besideslookingat who couldhavebeen thefleshof Anna,have and-blooddonnaangelicata veiledunderthepseudonym as the Howthe botanic name of the tree referred to investigated perlaro. to thepoemsthemselves, ever,hadtheygivenmoreattention theywould haveunderstood thattheperlaro was before all elsea tree (Meliaazedarach) thatgavethewaterrunning a pearl-like color. bythefeetofthemusicians AsJacoposaid,it was "il bel perlarofiume"(thebeautiful pearlriver). a surname, thancontaining Also,theywouldhaveseenthatAnna,rather hid withinhername'setymology themeaningof "grace,"just as Giothe"GraceofGod" {Par.12.79-81). vanna,forDante,signified HereI willnotconcentrate on this"donnadi grazia"(oralternatively, of"merze"or "mercede"),thiswomanofgrace.Rather,I willfocuson thedescription oftheMuslimParadise,theplacein whichMuhammad obtainedthedivinegiftof Gracethatwouldtransform a commonman intoa prophet, therepresentative ofGod. Havingvisitedtheplacewhere 252

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curtainssoaredin coveringand housingthe "beautifulwomen," the donne thatwere givenby God to thoseworthysouls in Paradise,Muangelicate hammadcontinueshis narrationthus: ofwhichI justspoketo WhenI, Muhammad. . . hadseenthesegreatmarvels, you . . . Gabrieland Ridohan,who werewithme, broughtme to theplace . . . and theyshowedme a certain whichwas calledtheLotusof Forgetfulness describeitevena little thatI canhardly beautiful tree,so greatandso extremely white.It was so beautiful bit. For the tree was completely ofonepearl,marvelously

all others, thatitsbeautysurpassed exceptthebeautyofGod andhisangels.And werelikehim.Andall itsfruits anditsfruits all ofitsleaves,itsflowers, similarly thata man'sheartcouldimagine. hadallthegoodflavors

thananything, and clearer At the foot of thistree arose a springofwater,brighter

sweeterthanhoney.I askedGabrielwhatkindof spring.He repliedthatthe whichmeansthesource grace(my ofcomplete springwas called "Halkaufkar," emphasis).15

It is properlytheinfusionof Grace (Anna forour threemusicians!)that those who arriveat the "loto del termine" transforms (and transfigures) a a or the "tree of pearls"into poet and into a prophet,a representative, scribe of God: "In every trulyinspiredman there is the nature of a would have prophet,and the prophetis in his way a poet," as Boccaccio written.16 Dante would also speak of this "grace" by comparingit with the beautyand natureof theperla. dal Padrede' di susoviene,discendendo Ogni attimodatoe ognidonoperfetto lumi.Dice adunquecheDio soloporgequest*graziaa 1'animadi quellicui vede ne la sua persona,acconcioe dispostoa questodivinoatto stareperfettamente a ricevere . . . ; ondese l'animae imperfettamente ricevere. posta,none disposta male e una come si' infusione: disposta, benedetta [a margaritapearl] pietra questa non ricever celestiale 4.20.7, virtu la emphasis) my vero o pud. (Conv. imperfetta, At thispoint,it will be usefulyetagainto slow our courseto underline severalfactsand advance a hypothesis.The firstfactconcernsthe Islamic featuresthatare presentin the Commediaand in the tomb of Cangrande. made The second regardsthe explicitcitationof the LiberscaleMachometi Withinthe eliteofVerona,thirty by Fazio degliUbertiin his Dittamondo. and Dante twentyyearsafterthatof Cangrande, yearsafterthe death of Fazio degliUbertiatteststo the knowledgeof the book among the Lombard/dellaScala circle (not the Roman/Florentinecircle).The thirdfact 253

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concernsthe concordances and the betweenthe LiberscaleMachometi "Ciclo delperlaro,"whichdemonstrate thatwithinthecourtofMastino II dellaScala,theremusthavebeenaccessto theLiberscaleMachometi and itsdivinesymbolism. to One otherpieceofinformation, notproofin itself butlendingitself a usefulsupposition, leadsme to believethattherecouldhavebeen no Italianfamilyotherthanthe della Scala familythatwould have had a interest in possessing thisLiber(thatwas heldto be sacred):the greater bookhadtheirfamily namein itsItaliantitle,LibrodellaScala. Afterthisbriefaside,it willbe usefulto return to AsinPalacios'shyandto thosewho,according to him,couldhavebeenthemeans pothesis AsmPalacios which Dante his ofMuslimculture. by acquired knowledge was somewhatpreoccupiedwithrecording dozensof probablenames, andsourcesthatcouldhavebrought Muslimeschatology to Dante's texts, attention. This preoccupation was due to the factthatat thattimeno in book could show and of itselfthatDante had derivedfromit single ideasand suggestions forhisown poeticjourney.However,once sucha hadbeen bookanditshistorical, andpoliticalcircumstances geographical, foundto linktheIslamictextandtheuse thatDantecouldhavemadeof are Latiniabove all others)17 it,manyof thenamesand texts(Brunetto seento be ofminorinterest, whereaspreviously theywereindispensable to AsinPalacios,who was necessarily committed to a broadrangeof possibilities. Thushavingidentified thesourcefromwhichDantecouldhavedrawn - a voyagethathe certainly in creating his otherworldly would voyage havewantedto be incomparable withthattakenby Muhammad, with topreviousHebreweschatology, andon a poeticlevelwithregard respect - I wouldliketo mentiontwo to anything written beforetheCommedia citedin passingby AsinPalacios.18 These two could Jewishpersonages havebrought toVeronapertinent Islamicknowledge in additiontopriviThe names legedHebrewknowledgethatshedslighton Dante'swork.19 of thesetwo men linkedto Dante'sVeronaare Hillel ben Samuelof VeronaandManoelloGiudeo(alsoknownas Immanuel ben Solomon). Hillel of Verona

Hillel'sgreat-grandfather was Samuel,hisgrandfather wasEleazarben was Samuel.He was bornin 1220 and diedwell Samuel,and hisfather 254

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into his seventies,not before1295. His heritagecan be tracedin Verona fromthe firstyearsof the twelfthcentury. of From 1144 to 1146 Abrahamibn Ezra, a Jew who was a translator Arabic in the translation"school" of Raimundo (Raymund,archbishop ofToledo from1125 to 1141), was a guestin Verona.Ibn Ezra, grammarian, poet, philosopher,and greatestastrologerof all the medievalJews, was also the authorof a work entitledHai benMekits(literally, "Living of the the ascension narrates which the Son of philoso(mi'raj) Vigilant"), the under of states various the across the toward being intelligible, pher that of a recalls Ezra's text Ibn precedingtext, clearly auspicesof intellect. the mysticAvicenna,The StoryofHayyibnYaqzan (1100), in which Hayyis thenameoftheAngelthat, HayymeanstheLiving,YaqzantheVigilant. He hasthesame theGuide,andtheInterpreter. acrossthetale,is theMessenger, Gabrielin thevisionofDaniel;theroleofRaphael roleas thatofthearchangel Urielin theFourth or Michaelin thevisionsof Enoch; thatof thearchangel theGuideis Gabriel,thearchangel Book ofEsdras.In theaccountofAvicenna, he to alloftheprophets oftheRevelations up to Muhammad; givensuccessively withtheHoly Spiritand thephilosophers identify whomtheKoranidentifies the Guide of themystictalesof withtheAgentof Intellect.The Messenger, is boththeAngelofKnowledgeandtheAngel Avicenna justas ofSohrawardi, ofRevelation.20 Anotherascensionstoryis toldby Ibn Tufayl(d. 1185) of Guadix,known ' of Ibn to the Scholasticsas Abubacer,a 'rationalist mystic"contemporary Ezra. He was the author,roughlyfortyyearsafterAvicenna,of the epistle fromArabic into Hebrew by oiHayy ibn Yaqzan,21which was translated Moses of Narbonne(d. after1362) and whichwould laterbecome famous autodidacin Europe in the seventeenthcenturyunderthe titlePhilosqfus in from Arabic, Rome, by Kaloticus.Abubacer's mi'rajwas translated nymosben Kalonymos(a friendofManoello Giudeo) who thenpresented of Hayy ibn Yaqzan and describedits author,philosopher the translation and emir,as "iudex excellensAvobacherAventafel."22 Returningto our Hebrew familyofVerona,we know thatEleazarben of Hillel, headed and promoted a Talmudic Samuel, the grandfather school in Verona,which seemsto be thefirstof itskindin northernItaly. Eleazar was a studentof Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre (d. 1195), a teacherwho duringhis lifetimewas creditedas a seer of visionsof heavenly pilgrimageand who gained fame as a prophet.23The titlewas not 255

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to but indicatedthosewho had dedicatedthemselves merelyhonorary, entailedan educationand Thismysticism oftheMerkava. themysticism in Verona(as Eleazar Liazarius an authority, as exemplified by Magister as Vienna, cameto be known),thatwas renownedin centersas distant and of Worms, Mainz. Cologne,andtheRhenishcommunities Speyer, We do notknowmuchaboutHillel'sfather, Samuel,butwe can say atBarcelonaandof the Talmud of thathe wasa student ofHillelhimself II. In In 1250he wasin theNaplesofFrederick medicineatMontpellier. with Abraham friends and became 1265he wasin Capua,wherehe met ofMaimonhe studiedTheGuide withAbraham Abulafia: forthePerplexed theprophet of all Kabbalist Hebrew ides.24 Abulafia wasthegreatest times, who challengedPope NicholasIII in 1280, as Moses did Pharaoh:he theJewsfromtheyokeof desiredthatthenewpharaohofRome liberate This demandwouldhaveearnedhima spoton thepyre Christianity.25 in a Romanpiazzaifnotforthefactthat(providentially) already prepared thepope died thedaybeforetheexecutionand Abulafiasomehowescapedfromprison. II's reignaround1267, Hillelmovedto Withthe end of Frederick andtranslators Rome,wherehe studiedatan academyofbiblicalexegetes andbefriended In Rome Hillelencountered fromArabic.26 (evenifthere Manoello same that betweenthetwo) wasno scarcity ofdoctrinal disputes to anda friend Giudeowho wouldbe a guestat thecourtofCangrande Hillel moved Dante.FromtheGuelphanRome ofRobertofAnjou, (this still Bonatti where Guido timedefinitively) to Forli,theGhibelline city forEzzelinoHI da Romano, servedas theastrologer andArabictranslator lordof VeronauntilEzzelinodied in 1259. (After Ezzelino,MastinoI to Guido In addition dellaScalainitiated theruleofthedellaScalafamily.) at EzzelinoIll's court.SaliBonatti,Salioneda Padovawas alsopresent forFrederick withMichaelScot (astrologer and translator one, together was a translator in first half ofthethirof Arabic Toledo the II), during teenthcentury.27 Hillel'smostnotablework,Tagmule (Book of theRewards ha-Nefesh oftheSoul),28 wasintended to clarify forhiscoreligionists theissueofthe of the soul. The theproblems text aims to resolve immortality definitively the issue of eternalrecompense, as rewardor punishment, regarding whichthesoulwillreceiveas a resultof theactionsof an individual in thisearthly life.It is an eschatological textwritten by a JewforJews; to drawuponthethreeworldsof however,theauthordoesnothesitate 256

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andJudaism. Islam,Christianity, TogetherwithtextsfromtheHebrew arejoinedtwoArabtexts(AviandNachmanides) tradition (Maimonides text(ThomasAquinas).Hillelthereanda Christian cennaandAverroes) forefoundhimselftogetherwith otherHebrewscholarsbeforehim to citethemostnotable) (BahyabenJosephibnPaqudaandMaimonides, in and otherswho would come afterhim (Dante,firstand foremost) of thewallsimposedbythetruth ofreasonthattranscends a truth sharing three the of faithandtherespective religions. dogmas Manoello Giudeo withHillel of Verona Some thinkthatit was Manoello'sfriendship from Roman in the academyas translators bytheirparticipation (natural Manoellotothecityofthedella thatbrought Arabicandbiblicalexegetes) and becausetheliberality forthisreasonorpossibly Whether Scalafamily. to thoseostracized ofCangrande bythe protection guaranteed hospitality an author,poet,and biblicalexegete,was at church,Manoello,himself Veronaatthesametimeas Dante.Manoello,whowrotein bothHebrew is theauthorofthemostinteresting poemfromthe and thevernacular, Bisbidis. a poementitled courtofCangrande, the 13,bysinging Manoellobeginshispoem,as Dantedoesin Epistola in magnificence thatit surpasses praisesof thecityofVerona,declaring he anyotherplacethathe hadvisitedas wellas anyotherplaceofwhich hadheardgreatthings (suchastheseatofthe"GranCane" oftheTartars). He almostcannotbelievewhathiseyesrevealto him,andlikeDantehe Veronaa localeworthyof thetitle"del diree del findsin Cangrande's nations:Gerof different fare."Here,Manoelloseestherepresentatives barons watches He and French, English. mans,Latins(meaningItalians), fromdifferent lands;he hearsdebateson questions andmarquises arriving to the and theology;and he is an eyewitness of astrology, philosophy, fromCompostella Romansandpilgrims presenceof thethreereligions. to bring intended all was This as wellas "Giudeie Sarracini." arepresent gloryto thatLordwhosevalorandhonorspreadovertheearthandsea. At thiscourt,the"donnacara" (dearto boththeHebrewpoet29and thedellaScala court)ensuresthereignofVirtue:thisis Sapienza.Ma"'n la sala/ del SirdellaScala." thatLove is alsopresent noellocontinues and Thesepresences, Virtue,Wisdom, Love,remindus ofthesustenance 257

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of the "Veltro," the celestialdog thatwould chase the she-wolfin the Inferno:

Questinonciberaterrane peltro, ma sapienza,amoree virtute, e feltro. e suanazionsaratrafeltro (Inf.1.103-5) With regardto Cangrande,Manoello Giudeo (albeitin a crypticway) likenshim to a new Cyrusthe Great,the one chosenby God, thePersian king and non-Jew,who liberatedtheJews (exiles par excellence) from theirBabylonian captivity.30 Dante, however, as we shall see, likened Cangrandeto Darius the Great,givingto himselfthe functionof converterthatthe prophetDaniel fulfilledin the court of the king of the Medes. written and Paradiso(Ha-Tofetve-ha-Eden), Manoello Giudeo's Inferno in Hebrew as a celebrationof the recentlydeceased Dante Alighieri,deservesto be quoted: When sixtyof myown yearshad passedby,and thequickening signsof death made theiradvance,a vital,generousman,progenyof the saints,who was thanI, sawhisdayscometo an end.Seeingthis,I wasseizedwithterror younger and said,"Alas,Reasonseemsto vanish!". . . And whileI contemplated this, andmy andmyheartachedin mychest,andmytearswerereleasedas a torrent, . . . and I sobbingranlikewater,I was filledwitha heavysenseof mourning said:"Wherethen,O Daniel,are you,you enviableman,and whereis your askyouandhave Wisdom?IfonlyI couldfindyou,comeuponyourgreatness, of to the stream have satiate me with me, you enlighten yourblessedness, you andyou couldletme knowthelengthofmydays,myend;youcouldshowme theplaceofmyreposeandfinalrest."31 Manoello may have referred to Dante as Daniel forseveralreasons.Perthe Middle haps during Ages it was not properto publicize a friendship between a Hebrew and a Christian.It was also customaryfora poet to conceal the trueidentityof a subjectthroughthe use of an alias in order to protectthe subjectfrompryingeyes. Etymologycould also make an alias attractive.The syllableDan is common to both names, while the letteri and the phoneme el of Danie/ recall principleattributesof the Creator.The /of IEVE (whichwas the Italiantransliteration in theMiddle Ages thatwould correspondto themodernEnglishYHWH) indicates mercyand divinelove; theel ofElohim,justice and divinepower.32These 258

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also echo Dante, who accordingto Manoello himself,"ha perattributes donato il peccato di molti ma colpisce i peccatori."33Finally,Manoello could have chosen the name of Daniel because the prophet was, for Dante, the biblicalmodel thathe had appropriatedforhimself,considering his activityat the court of Cangrande as analogous to that which Daniel performedat the courtof Darius.34For thislastreasonManoello, havingjust invoked his recentlydepartedfriendDante/Daniel, has the biblicalprophetshow up at his side. This Daniel, the biblicalalterego of Dante, accompaniesManoello Giudeo throughthe circlesof Hell and along the stepsof theJudaicParadise. Anothersurpriseawaits us, as we learn thatin thisJudaic Paradisea throneis set up to welcome the Christianpoet-prophetas soon as he arrives.In addition,Dante's throneis thesame thatwould welcomeJudah "il leoncello" (theyoungcousin of Manoello) and also Manoello himself. Andit occurredthatwhenI heardthesewords[usedbyDanielto indicatethat the thisthronewouldwelcomebothManoelloand his cousin]I remembered excellenceof mybrother Daniel,who had guidedme alongthepathof truth, who had corrected mycourseandwho was closeto me whenI was in exile:a sacredcrownupon myhead,thelifeofmyown flesh,mysoul,and myspirit. his And the endsof the Earthwere filledwithpraiseforhim,his greatness, And . . . andhisjustness. hishumility andhisjudgment, hisintellect generosity, and theMan saidto me: "Come withme and I will showyou thegrandeur in honorofhisplaceofrest". . . Therewe sawthegreatthrone,covered gold, thatwouldgivelifeto himwho wouldoccupyit,wouldgivehealthto hisflesh. ofblue,purple,andscarletwere It was adornedwithpreciousgemsandfabrics shiningforall of spreadupon it. And therewereplumesof copper,beautifully thenationsof earth[thatis forall pious,sage,orjustpeople,ofanyreligionor nation].Atthetopofthethronetherewasa crowncomposedofa talentofgold Anda voicesaid: thangoldorsilver. anda preciousgemwhosevaluewasgreater "Behold!Forthatcrownis therewardto thosewho sitbesidetheLord."And to mesaid:"Have youseenthecrownandthethrone themanwhowasspeaking likea cub andfromwhichhe himself Danielwillresurrect on whichyourfriend likea lion?This willbe hiseternalrest,and herehe willsit shallraisehimself to theWordoftheLord,andno one on Earthwaswiseror becausehe listened thanhe."35 a greater philosopher Severalpointsregardingthispassagemustbe clarified.First,Judahben Moses of Rome (also known as Giuda Romano and Leone Romano, d. after1330), Manoello Giudeo's cousin,was withHillel of Verona among the firstto introducethe philosophyand theologyof the Scholastics(led 259

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into He also transcribed by ThomasAquinas)into Hebrewliterature. dialecttheverses Hebrewcharacters and translated intoJudaeo-Roman the oftheCommedia thatspeakoffreewill, divinelight,andthenecessity to vows.36 ThusforDante'sthronetobe thesameas that ofbeingfaithful as wellas thatofManoello ofGiudaRomano,hisadmirer andtranslator, thanit mightapGiudeo,"brother"to Dante,is lessincomprehensible themediator as to who arises glance.Andherethequestion pearat first was who put into Giuda Romano'shandspartof the (or perhapsthe in Lombardy. Commedia after itsdrafting entire?) I would also liketo returnto whatthebiblicalprophetsaysto Mail peccatodi molti noelloaboutthedeceasedDaniel:"Egliha perdonato whatDantehaddonewiththe ma colpiscei peccatori."Thisis precisely andParadiso. Commedia andwhatManoellosoughtto do withhisInferno is ManoelloGiudeo's The thirdpointthatI wouldliketo highlight ofa sharedexile theconditions on thelinkthatarisesthrough emphasis in that becomesa bond I and to me when was was close exile?"37) ("who whentheGreatMind,through themouthoftheprophet Daniel,declares in eternallife:"As theGreat itsdesireto havethetwojoined together Mindknewthatwithoutyou he wouldnothavefoundpeace and tranhe willraisehistentbyyourown."38 quility, wouldhavedone Thus a Manoellowho definedDante as a brother to thestandards thiswithdifficulty, hadDantejudgedhimaccording by whichmedievalChristians judged theJews:as deicides,as the living and civically deadwandering theearth.The bond damned,as spiritually betweenDanteandManoellois verystrong, theinferinotwithstanding that Manoello feels with Daniel: when himself ority confronting Andwithregard toyourownvalorbeinglesser thanhis,theCreator knowing thathewouldfinddelight inbeingatyourside,hewillbe foryoulikeMoses, andyouforhimlikeJoshua. In thisway,allwillsee thatyourtwosoulsare and not are andthey together separated, say,"Cantwopeoplegoabouttogether "39 iftheydidnotarrange thatmeeting amongthemselves? A "meeting"in a Paradisethatis "open to thejustofall thenations," as forgedbetweentheHebrewpoet and theChristian poet,couldhave provedcostlyforboth.Alongtheselines,Cino da Pistoiawritesofthis in a sonnetthathe sendsto Bosoneda Gubbio "meeting"in theafterlife fromthe upon thedeathofManoello;Cino, havinggone infinedierum to the sends the sonnet to the man who with church,40 empire together 260

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Manoello Giudeo had givenbirthto theexchangeofpoems thatlamented the death of Dante, his havingbeen takenup by the SupremeJudge"in gloriososcanno":41 MesserBoson,lo vostroManoello, Terror de la suaLegge, seguitando Inferno e provaquello e ne lo passato ch'e datoa chinonsi corregge. martir Non e con tuttala comunegregge, ma con Dantesi stasottoal cappello del qual,comenelLibrosuo si legge, videcopertoAlessiInterminello. Tralornone sollazzo,ma corruccio, del qualfupienoAlessicom'unorso e raggiala dovevedeCastruccio. E Dantedice:"Quel satiromorso ci mostroManoelloin brevesdruccio de l'uomcheinnesta'1persiconeltorso." "Dear Bosone, yourManoello, havThe firstfourlinessayessentially: has ended up in Hell and ing continuedto errin his religion[Judaism], now undergoesthe penaltythatis meted out to those who do not repent." The second stanzaclarifiesthe area of Hell as well as thepainsthat Manoello suffers alongsideDante: "Manoello is not with the common people; rather,he findshimself,with Dante, under the same cappelloas in the Commedia."42 coversAlessioInterminei[alternatively, Interminelli] the that we see penaltythatawaitsthe And, goingback to the Commedia, is to have leccaculi) panderers(or,more vulgaryetaccurate,the ass-kissers, heads covtheirhats),with their theirroofsor heavens (metaphorically, ered withhumanexcrement(Inf.18.112-14). In the thirdstanza,the authorcontinues:"There is no joy or felicity between those two covered in excrement,but ratherdeaf grief,mixed with rage, the same as Alessio has alreadybeen filledwith,just like a bear." In the finalstanzaCino has Dante speakin the firstperson,admitbitingsatire(thatis, the terribleand vulgarpuntingthatthisparticularly ishmentthatis worthyof one ofJuvenal'sSatires)was not properlyhis own idea; rather,it was suggestedto him by Manoello in one of his brief 261

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in thepassagein whichwe see thatthishappensto poeticcompositions, thatareirreconcilable. thosewho wishtojoin together things The Three Rings themoralofthestorythatinformed I wouldliketo endby clarifying I to theparableofthethree will return To do so itinerary. myscholastic ofBoccaccio.43 thewritings ringsthatbecamefamousthrough the Melchizedek Saladinposesto thewiseJew question disconcerting is the or of whichof the threereligions, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, the father of the with parable truereligion.Melchizedekresponds who, irritate or as not to so and a beautiful disappoint preciousring, possessing sonsandheirs,hastwootherringsmadebya anyofhisthreewonderful thatit was These two ringswereso similarto thefirst greatcraftsman. At his the from theoriginal to distinguish death,the copies. impossible thathe had leftone ringto eachofhissons,eachbelieving father secretly the be to himself Each ofthesonsthusbelieved theoriginal. legitimate inheritance. heiroftheringandthepaternal delle E cosivi dico,signor mio,delletreleggialiitrepopolidatedaDio padre, i e sua vera la la sua ciascun eredita, legge suoi proponeste: qualila questione ma chi se e si crede avere direttamente comandamenti l'abbia,comedegli fare, ancora nependela quistione.44 anelli, whichwe cannot The parableof the threeringshas a long history, Abuitto notethatin 1270itwasusedbyAbraham retrace here.Suffice 1/ in collection the that it is Hillel of friend of Verona; lafia, prose present whichwasfamousduringDante'stime;andthatanotherauNovellino,45 thor(closeto DanteandManoello)who useditwasBosoneda Gubbio, A Germanscholarhas tracedtheparable in his L'avventuroso sidliano.46 verin hisopinionanother backto eighth-century Baghdad,representing sionoftheparableofthe"threeimpostors": Moses,Jesus,andMuhammad. Also, havingbeen expandedupon by the Hebrewphilosopher intent on liberatMaimonides as wellas thosewisemedievalphilosophers it would from of themselves the cropback censorship, ing yoke religious to theEnlightento giveimpetus century up attheendoftheeighteenth ment.47 The aboveservesto demonstrate thegeneralapologiaoftolerance thatwasascribed to thisfable.48 262

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As to thesymbolism ofthethreeringsanditsunderlying we allegory, cansaythattheparablewasusedbytheHebrewKabbalists whovisualized thetetragrammaton as threeconcentric anddynamic one ofwhich circles, wasredas fire.49 ItwasalsousedbyGioacchinoda Fiore,whomI discuss below.The "moralofthestory," otherthana genericreligious tolerance, in factdrivesa metaphysical that the three transcends it unity religions;50 thereligions underthethreein one guidesa pointof view subsuming thatrecallsYHWH, God, and Allah(threenamesof a singleGod, not as theSole Creator.51 threedivinities) tolerThatsaid,andstrengthened bythisparablethatinvitesreligious ofthreeinterlocking thesymbolism ancethrough ringsthatgivewayto itseemsto me quite to its individual truth a (monotheistic) parts, superior comabouthisTrinity, to recallhereDante'sown verseswritten natural is which Dante three of absorbing captured, literally giriby rotating posed hisveryperson.52 andhavingitincarnated itwithinhimself through sussistenza e chiara Ne la profonda tregiri del'AltoLumeparvemi ditrecolorie d'unacontenenza; comeiridairi e Tundal'altro e '1terzopareafoco pareariflesso, sispiri. chequincie quindiigualmente (Par.33.115-20) As is well known,Dante was waitingforthe age of theworldthat theage oftheFatherandoftheSon,thatis,theage of wouldcomeafter dotato" theHolySpirit. profetico JoachimofFiore,theabbot"di spirito thatwere ofthemillennialist expectations (Par.12.141),wasa proponent andthe world of the the end to with filled a world peaceprior awaiting Between1180 and 1190Joachimgaveformto theHoly LastJudgment. it as threeinterlocking ringreprerings.The first by depicting Trinity sentedthebiblicalage of theFather;thesecond,theevangelical age of ofa newage,whichwasimminent thespirituality theSon; andthethird, oftheTrinity, drivenbythethirdmember andwouldbe ofbriefduration, theHolySpirit. in theLiber knewtheimageof theTrinity Dante certainly jigurarum, future of the whom for did it as not use he did but humanity Joachim, over theother of on the and on Christianity victory depended providence have soon would a God was who, despitemankind, Joachim's religions. 263

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of Christianity theaffirmation put an end to theworldand celebrated theHebrewand/orMuslimAntichrist. against as he wouldratheroverlap thelineartimeofJoachim, Dante refutes of the threeinvisible ofJoachimwiththe circularity the determinism withintellect circlestracked bythestars.Thisis a paththatanyonegifted the the of the from circle heavens: from the can deduce mundi, sphera Dantehinges celestial horizon,andfromtheobliquecircleofthezodiac.53 thisnotionnot on a providencethatis too similarto the fateof the - a providence thatbendswiththedesiresor fearsofmankind pagans ofthehumanrace(thepossibleintellect) butrather on thepotentialities isabletolearnfromnature ofintellect, man (Mon.1.3).Thisman,Dante's of the thehighestand mostprofound in orderto understand mysteries in both evermore, and in orderto advancehimself Fatherof nature54 manthatas a new timeand in thesublunary world,towardtheperfect Paradise. thenewearthly Adamwouldhaveto recreate both a materialized envisions Dante Aroundthesethreecircles, trinity in natureandin thenatureofman,in themacro-andin themicrocosm, to the readerof the Commedia whichis thuscomprehensible through are The circlesthemselves means.55 and experimental bothpsychological mothecircular invisible to thehumaneyebutarerecognizable through the constellathe Earth's tion(gin)ofthepolarstarsaround axis,through tionsaroundtheheavenlyequatorand throughtheplanetsaroundthe on Earth to thosewatching to demonstrate eclipticplane,allfunctioning naandlessonsoftheCreator(Par.8.127-28 "La circular theinfluences of faithto tura,ch'e suggello/ a la ceramortal. . ."). This is a trinity a and means of reason whichone couldapproachby that, science; trinity lookthose fromtheArgonauts, couldbe glimpsed indeed,beginning by oftheCreator ingto thestarsand seeingtherethethree-dimensionality toward thatwouldthenbe revealedtohumanity, andthecreated;a trinity thatis solelya question wasaimed.It is nota trinity whomtheCommedia forallbyovercomtruth ofa singlefaith ordogma;itcanbecomethesole It is a trinity offered ingtherestricted margins by orthodoxChristianity. offaith, reason,andsciencethatis givenas a readingto anywho would wishto knowit by theveryact of Creationby thesingleCreator,the that rationale God. We coulddefineit as a propaedeutic singleUniversal never hasthegoalofdemonstrating thepreambula fideifromwhichDante moves.56 264

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SaintThomasclarifies themethod oftheSummacontra Atthebeginning gentiles, to his the truth thathe willfollowin orderto display according analysis professed thatarecontrary to thistruth: "Thus bytheCatholicfaithandto rejecttheerrors in thenatural reasonto whichallmustadhere. . . to findrecourse itis necessary is in accorthepathofdemonstration how thetruththatis established through dancewiththefaithoftheChristian religion."57 Dante took the figureof the threeringsfromJoachimof Fiore, but how did Joachimhimselfcome by thisfigure?Joachim,along with the papal curia,was in Verona with Pope Lucius III on July22, 1184, when the pope was to meet with the emperorFrederickBarbarossa.A subsequentvisitbyJoachimto Veronais known to have occurredin 1186, this timefollowingwithPope Urban III. At VeronaJoachimdelved into the mysteriesof the tetragrammaton, thanksto his discussionswith a "highlyknowledgeableJew." This acto him quaintanceearnshim the accusation,or defamation,thatreferred Auxerre: of Hence di asJew son ofjews ("ebreo figlio ebrei"). Geoffrey an educaHe is a Jew,bornoftheJewsandeducatedformanyyearsinJudaism, Hebrew tionthatit seemshas not yetbeen expelledout of him. His origin, name. shownin hisforeign is already whichhe andhisfamily keepwell-hidden, Gian Luca Podestawrites: turnsto look ... at thatsameHebrew alludedto inJoachim Butthewisefigure that where the in Verona, papalcuriaresidedbetween1184and city community thetimein in 1186. Thiswas precisely 1187 andwhereJoachimfoundhimself to a profound connected intofocushisnewversionofhistory, whichhe brought NumeroustestimooftheTrinity. ofandtherelations ofthemystery rethinking levelsachievedby severalmembersof theJewish niesrevealtheloftycultural andexegeteAbrainVerona,amongwhomtheSpanishgrammarian community hamibn Ezra had sojournedin 1146. . . . Thanksto theJewishcommunity's on the wasableto receiveinformation inVerona,[Joachim] continuous presence ofthetetragramas to thesignificance basedon speculations ofthought tradition maton (whichduringthe twelfthcenturygenerallycame fromSpain and of thedivine as a code relatedto themystery Provence)thatwas understood force.58 creative And in fact,duringtheseyearsthe mostfamousJew in Veronawas the MagisterLiazariusmentionedin conjunctionwithHillel. that To conclude, I would like to recallthe voyagesinto the afterlife circulatedaroundthecityofVeronawhereDante foundhis "rifugio"and "ostello" and perhapswrotethe entireCommedia. 265

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Abraham ibnEzra,a guestin Veronafortwoyears,authored Hai First, benMekits(The LivingSon of theWatchful), a workthatnarrates the ascension(mi'raj)of the philosopher towardthe Intelligible, acrossthe variousstatesofbeingundertheauspicesoftheAgentofIntellect.59 SecEleazar ben Samuel of Verona(grandfather of Hillel),who freond, the circle of Isaac ben Samuel of quented Dampierreand who earned fameduringhislifetime as a prophetand creditfor"havingvisionsof celestialpilgrimages," had accessto the ecstaticand kabbalistic experiencestiedto themysticism of theMerkava and to themysteries of the "trinitarian relations." of in in his Fiore, Joachim two-year sojourn Vecould in have come contact withthesetraditions. rona, Third,Giacomino da Verona'sDe Babiloniadvitateinfernali the Infernal (On Babylonian narrates thehorrors ofHell State)ofthemiddleofthethirteenth century thejoys andbeautiesofParadise.Fourth, and,in hisDe Ierusalem coelesti, between1288 and 1291 HillelofVeronaat Forlifocusedon thetreatise he retribuzioni in whichhe speaksofParadiseandHell,ofthe dell'anima, future of the of the world, age of theMessiah,and of theresurrection dead. Dante couldhavehad Beyondthesefourotherpossibleconnections, accessto theIslamicLiberscaleMachometi in thelibrary ofthedellaScala This same dellaScala circlewould see Cangrandeaccompanied family. intotheafterlife witha funeral shroudmadeofIslamiccloth,andwould hostFazio degliUberti(thefirstto have citedthiswork)afterhaving hostedDanteand thecomposers ofmadrigals forthe"Ciclo responsible delperlaro." thereisManoelloGiudeo,whopraisedthecourtofCangrande Finally, withhisBisbidis andwho also,to commemorate Danteamonghiscoreliwrotein Hebrewsection28 of theMahbarot. gionists, Eschatalogically, thisis thefinalsectionoftheentirebook,anditbecameknown,forthat

and theParadiso(Ha-Tofetve-ha-Eden). veryreason,as The Inferno

No otherEuropeancitycanboastsimilar or demonstrate a precedents morecloselywovenweb amongthethreesonsoftheone Father. Translated byKyleM. Hall NOTES 1. Miguel Asin Palacios, La Escatologiamusulmanaen la Divina Comedia(Madrid: Maestre, 1919); Asin Palacios, Islam and theDivine Comedy,trans,and abridged by Harold Sutherland(1926; repr.,

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DanteandtheThree Giorgiobattistoni Religions, London:Cass, 1968); AsinPalacios,Dantee I'Islam,trans.RobertoRossiTestaand YounisTawfik 1994),2 vols. (Parma:Pratiche, ofAsinPalacios'sworkinDante ornon-reception ofthereception 2. Fordetailedconsiderations "DanteandIslam:History andAnalysis studies, see,in thisvolume,theessaysofVicenteCantarino, ofa Controversy," 37-55,andMariaCorti,"DanteandIslamicCulture,"57-75. The themeof Dante and Islamis also discussedin GiorgioBattistoni, "Dante,l'lslam,e altre 11 (1987):26-49. considerazioni," Labyrinthos di Gian LorenzoMellini,"Veronae l'Orientein epoca gotica,"in Le stqffe 3. See particularly ed. LiciscoMagagnato(Florence:Alinari,1983), sul 300 Veronese, e ricerche Ritrovamenti Cangrande: e il datoornamentale," delleseteesotichescaligere "II problema ibid., Arduini, 47-71; andFrancesco ed. nelmedioevo di unprincipe deltaScala:La Mortee il corredo europeo, 197-235,as well as Cangrande Paola Marini,EttoreNapione,andGianMariaVaranini (Venice:Marsilio,2004). alcunianniorsonodalprof.M. Mazzaoui,suonapressapdelversetto 4. "La traduzione proposta "II citedin Arduini, la suafortuna": Allahpossaperpetuare che il al nostro cosi: sultano, signore gloria poco continuamente . . . di una sempliceformula 205. "Si tratta problemadelleseteesotichescaligere," citedin E. J. Grube,"II problemadelle A Te (Allah)piu altoonoree potere": che significa: ripetuta 45. di Cangrande, in Le stqffe di Cangrande," stoffe Studie testi 5. Ugo Monneretde Villard,Lo studiodell'Islamin EuropanelXII e nelXIII secolo, BibliotecaApostolica 110 (Vatican: Vaticana,1944):53-54. dellaDwinaCommedia, delle 6. EnricoCerulli,II "Librodellascala"e la questione jontiarabo-spagnole BibliotecaApostolica Vaticana,1949),17 and248. Studie testi150 (Vatican: trans.RobertoRossiTesta,notesandpretacebyCarlobaccone 7. Il LibrodellascaladiMaometto, (Milan:Mondadori,1991). e le rime,ed. GiuseppeCorsi (Bari: Laterza,1952), 8. Fazio degli Uberti,II Dittamondo 5.12.94-96. 9. Cerulli,//"Librodellascala,"355,357. - Lapo, laddeo, and hazio- see tfattistoni, uante, 10. For theheirsof FannatadegliUberti 35-36. e altre considerazioni," l'lslam, seeJacopoda Bologna,"Nel bel zardinochel'Aticecenge,"in Poesie 11. For"il bel giardino," ed. del peri testidi lingua,1970),38. Per musicali Trecento, GiuseppeCorsi(Bologna:Commissione seeMaestroPiero,"Sovraun fiumeregale,"inEnricoPaganuzzi,"II 'perlaro'e l'acqua "il verziere," trecenteschi perle nozze di FrancescoBevilacquae AnnaZavarise,"Attie dell'Adigenei madrigali ser.6, vol. 38 (June6, 1987),418. For di Verona, Scienzee Lettere diAgricoltura dellaAccademia memorie fiume da chiaro,"in Paganuzzi,"II 'perGiovanni see Firenze, the "fiumechiaro," "Appress'un " laro,' 418. FortheAdigethecolorofthe"perla,"seeJacopoda Bologna,"O dolceappress'un bel see MaestroPiero,"A l'ombra 417. For "corrente," perlarofiume,"in Paganuzzi,"II 'perlaro,'" " d'unperlaro,"in Paganuzzi,"II 'perlaro,' 417. at oi the ItalianArsnovathatare recognizedto nave originated 12. Amongthe compositions thatsingsofa mostbeautiful "Anna,"whois associated Verona,therestandsouta groupofmadrigals " the"Ciclo constitute witha "perlaro":see Paganuzzi,"II 'perlaro,' 413. Thesemadrigals gracefully 39-42. edaltre considerazioni, in Battistoni, Dante,VIslam del Perlaro."The topicis treated Venetiandialect,the perlaro was also calledthe bago13. In earlierformsof theLombardfable;further, In Venetian or dialect,however,"bagola" represents from laro," "bagola," berry. thatloitersabouttellingstories.Thus it seemsto me thatthesethree "bagolone"is thestoryteller wellin theshadeofthistreeofchiacchiere banter).See themselves situated (chit-chat, poet-musicians dellalinguaitaliana dizionario (Turin:Unione,1986). "perlaro,"Grande dellalinguaitaliana. dizionario 14. Citedin perlaro, Grande istamagna, mirabilia . . . viderim 15. Cerulli,II "LibrodellaScala,"143: "Cum ego,Machometus me ad duxerunt mecum et . . Gabriel erant, . sum Ridohan, quemdam locutus de quibus vobis, qui michiquamdamarboremitamagnam 'zaderathalmouta,'. . . et ostenderunt locumqui nominatur Eratenimarboriliade unicasolum enarrare. et tarnpulcherrimam quod vixhoc possemaliquatenus cunctassuperabat alias,excepta eciam Et ita alba. mirabiliter pulcritudo ipsius quod pulcra perla, Et omniaquidemipsiusfoliaet floressimiliter Dei et suorumeciamangelorum. atque pulcritudine

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DanteStudies, CXXV, 2007 sui omnesbonos saporesquos possitcor erantmanerieiejusdem.Habebanteciamfructus fructus manabatfonsquidamaque albioriset clarioris Nam ad pedemipsiusarboris hominiscogitare. quam resulla et supermel eciamdulcioris. Ego veroquesivia Gabrielecujusmodifonsille esset.At ipse dixitquod eratfonsqui nominatur 'Halkaufkar,' respondens quod interpretatur: gradefonsperfecte." 79 n. 18. e la cultura 16. Battistoni, ebraica, Dante,Verona of AsinPalacioswiththe 17. "Hence ifbeforeone weretemptedto reconcilethehypothesis seemthat ofBrunetto LatiniattheCastiliancourtofAlfonsoX, nowitwouldrather ambassadorship withregardsto theVisionof Muhammadone mustlook not a possiblelinkwiththe Florentine in thepossible who in facthada directinterest atthatgroupofTuscanGhibellines butrather Guelfs, IsdelV sulLibrodellascalae la conoscenza EnricoCerulli,Nuovericerche failure ofthatambassadorship." the BibliotecaVaticana laminOccidente privileges 1972),6. IfCerulli'sstatement (Vatican: Apostolica, theItalianlinkwiththe Guelfsor Ghibellines, we cannotneglectto notethat,whether Ghibellines, LiberscaleMachometi alwaysseemsto be givento theTuscans:again,theLombardlinkis ignored. trans.Sutherland, 18. AsinPalacios,IslamandtheDivineComedy, 255; Dantee I Islam,1:377and 513 n. 49. 19. For the knowledgeof eliteHebrewcultureto whichDante would have had access,see is comparedto the intellect at 32-33, wherethepotential e la cultura ebraica, Battistoni, Dante,Verona is comparedto thepowerful childand theActiveIntellect by GiudaRomano), king(as described betweenthe "granLombardo"and the novenne, us of the hiddenrelationship young reminding tables"are discussedas they wherethe "astronomic and in Paradiso 27.70-93 36-37; Cangrande theastronomical weredevelopedbyJacobbenMachiribnTibbon,whichDanteusesin calculating 26.134-38 courseofhisjourney;verses67-68, wherethe/andtheEl spokenbyAdamin Paradiso to medieval thataccording ofMercyandDiligence{Rigore) recallthetwodivineattributes (middoth) verses in thelettersthatcomprisethe nameof God; and finally, rabbinical exegesisare inherent thatCino da Pistoiaputsin the mouthof Dante,who 66-67, whereone can reada declaration withwhichhe to be indebtedto ManoelloGiudeo forthe "bitingsatire"(satiro confesses morso) 18.112-32. in Inferno AlessioInterminei punished 20. HenryCorbin,L'Irane lajilosofia (Naples:Guida,1992),125-26. Tale 21. Muhammadibn'Abdal-MalikibnTufayl,IbnTujayl'sHayyIbnYaqzan:A Philosophical andNotes,trans.LennEvanGoodman(Los Angeles:Gee Tee Bee, 2003). withIntroduction Translated e il Paradiso, 16 n. 161. 22. Romano,L' Inferno shownto himby ofIsaacandtherevelations ascensions on thenocturnal 23. Ancienttraditions See GershomGerhard theangelsarecitedin a studyon theyearofRedemption. Scholem,Le origini dellaKabbala,trans.AugustoSegre(Bologna:II Mulino,1973),296 and310; andGershomGerhard trans.GuidoRusso (Milan:Saggiatore, correnti dellamistica ebraica, Scholem,Le Grandi 1965),129. Fiorini inAbraham ed. 24. MosheIdel,L'esperienza mistica (Milan: Jaca,1992). Abulajia, Pierluigi See alsoBattistoni, e la cultura 24-26. ebraica, Dante,Verona 19.31-78.On Nicholas treatment of thissimoniacal 25. See Dantes interesting pope m Inferno III and BonifaceVIII, see Battistoni, "II GranLombardodantesco:Corpo politicoe questionidi 104-5. e la cultura ebraica, identita," 61-64; andBattistoni, Dante,Verona 39-41. 26. Forthe"accademiaromana,"see Battistoni, e la cultura ebraica, Dante,Verona 27. Battistoni, e la cultura 23-24. ebraica, Dante,Verona 28. HillelBen Shemu'elof Verona,Sefer (Book of theRewardsof theSoul), tagmule ha-nefesh ed. GiuseppeSermoneta ha-Yisre'elit ha-le'umit le-mada'im,1981),37 (Jerusalem: ha-Akademyah and272 (inHebrew). 29. Forthe"donnacara,"see Battistoni, e la cultura 54-57. ebraica, Dante,Verona 30. ManoelloGiudeo(2000) 104-106.". . . glihassidim cheil Messiasarebbegianato sostengono franoi,dopo esserecomparsooriginariamente comeCiroimperatore di Persia,il FigliodelTUomodi cuiparlanomoltiprofeti e i Vangeli:fuluia togliere da BabiloniagliEbreirinviandoli a Gerusalemme ad aspettarvi l'iniziodeU'Impero." ElemireZolla, "Le chiavidel SantoSepolcro,"//Sole- 24 Ore, December24, 2000,29. ForRomanandFlorentine "novelliBabilonesi,"see Epistola 6.8; forexiles wholikeDantesuffer in Babylon,Epistola 7.8. 31. Romano,V Inferno e il Paradiso, 3-5.

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DanteandtheThree Giorgiobattistoni Religions, 32. In thisconnection, see the figureof the "threerings"in Gioacchinoda Fiore,whereis IEVE. RecallDante,who hadAdam(whoseoriginal written, precisely, languagehadbeenHebrew) say:"Js'appellavain terrail sommobene / ondevienla letiziache mi fascia/ e El si chiamopoi" e la cultura Dante,Verona ebraica, 67-68, (Par.26.134-36). This themeis examinedin Battistoni, 88-89 n. 52. 33. In addition,Daniel in Hebrewmeans"God hasjudged,"and in the Commedia, Dante the orpermanent resting-places. poetactsas a divinejudge,locatingpeoplein theirtemporary theanalogyof Dante-Danieltheprophet,theessayofAndrePezardis helpful, 34. Regarding 50 (1973): 2-96. I alsospeakofthis de Dieu," Studidanteschi "Daniel et Danteou Les Vengeances e la cultura 78-82. in Battistoni, ebraica, Dante,Verona relationship 86-89. e il Paradiso, 35. Romano,L'Inferno nelMedioevoe nelRinasci"L'incontroculturale traebreie cristiani 36. GiuseppeSermoneta, "La dottrina medievale e moderna, nelVItalia 200; GiuseppeSermoneta, mento,"in Ebreie cristiani 3rd ser.6.2 di Jeudahe ImmanuelRomano," StudiMedievali, e la 'fedefilosofica' dell'intelletto (1965):21 n. 41, 22 n. 45. 86. e il Paradiso, 37. Romano,L Inferno 38. Ibid.,87. 39. Ibid.,87. 40. For Cino's lackof loyaltyto theidea of theEmpire,see BrunoNardi,"Dante e il 'Buon ed. alia 'Monarchia'di Dante," in Dante Alighieri, ossiaIntroduzione OpereMinori, Barbarossa,' DomenicoDe RobertisandGianfranco Contini,vol. 2 (Milan:Ricciardi,1988),265-69. 41. For thepoemsof Bosone and Manoelloupon the deathof Dante,see Battistoni, Dante, 44-65. e la cultura Verona ebraica, 42. Dante would have also been consignedto Hell forCecco d'Ascoli.See FrancescoStabili book 1, chapter 2, lines55-66, ed. Crespl. (Cecco d'Ascoli),L'acerba, 43. Boccaccio,Decameron, Day 1, Story3. 44. Ibid. ed. AlbertoConte(Rome:Salerno,2001),Story73. See alsoin thesameedition 45. //Novellino, "Fonti,"365-67. ed. RobertoGigliucci(Rome: Bulzoni,1989), 46. Bosone da Gubbio,L'avventuroso siciliano, 201-2. unddasBuchVondendrei siveVarietas: 47. Friedrich Niewohner,Veritas Toleranzparabel Lessings La vitae lo deitreimpostori: 1988); and SilviaBerti,ed., Trattato (Heidelberg:Schneider, Betrugem deSpinoza(Turin:Einaudi,1994). Benedetto delSignor spirito evo(lunn: Kosenoerg,ivdj;. nelmedw deitreanellie la tolleranza 48. MarioPenna,La parabola 49. MosheIdel,Cabbala(Florence:Giuntina, 1996),109. of thethree laws visionshownby primary 50. As to a unitary components (transreligious!) Ibn'Arab!,Ruml,Sufi,Dante,ManoelloGiudeo), dellaPurita,"IbnPaquda,SaintFrancis, ("Fratelli e la cultura see Battistoni, ebraica, 17, 128-31. Dante,Verona see on thethreemonotheistic ofMaimonides ofthethought 51. Foran encapsulation religions, und Toleranzin Mittelalter FriedrichNiewohner,Maimonides: (Heidelberg:Schneider, Aufkldrung wrotethisofa singleGod: "A ofMaimonides, 1988),34-36. ManoelloGiudeo,a declaredfollower darGliunnomeil nostrocuoretremae teme/ poicheognipopololo chiamaconun nomediverse/ Noi [thepiousof thenationsof theworld],dunque,diciamosia il Suo nomequelloche e. / Noi e il crediamoal PrimoIncreatoe che favivere,/ che fu,che e, che sara."See Romano,L'Inferno 85. Paradiso, dei treanelli, e il paradigma in Battistoni,11contestoVeronese 52. Thisthemeis addressed 134-37. Thesetregiri,whichdepartfrom e la cultura ebraica, Dante,Verona 23-27; andin Battistoni, moreoverdepart as an "equilateral thatsaw the Holy Trinity thetraditional triangle," symbology at anyrate,they of the churchas to the Holy Trinity; of thefathers fromthe edifying teachings froma cathartically happyendingthat,in closingtheCommedia, something quitedifferent represent to doctrinal in a completeandmimetic Dantecouldhaveoffered acquiescence, up on a silverplatter, readers. hisChristian

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DanteStudies, CXXV, 2007 ed. PatrickBoydeandVittorio 53. RichardKay,"L'astrologia di Dante,"in Dantee la scienza, Russo (Ravenna:Longo, 1995), 132: ". . . percheabbiamosempresaputoche Dante cercavadi riconciliare e di darea ciascunacio che ad essaeradovuto.Non e quindiper ragionee rivelazione le stellementre il voleredi Dio attraverso cheDantecercadi scoprire nientesorprendente accorgersi cristiana." e giudatoin questosforzorazionaledallarivelazione thethemeof "Natureand/orGrace"in Dante,SaintThomas,and 54. Christopher Ryantreats " concettidiversidellaNaturain Dantee nella contraGratiam': SigerofBrabantin 'Naturadividitur 363-73. in Dantee la scienza, cultura medievale," filosofico-teologica 10.1-27. 55. Paradiso e antagocantodel 'Paradiso,'" in Esemplarita 56. SalvatoreBattaglia,"L'umano e il divinonell'ultimo

diDante,2 vols.(Liguori:Naples,1974-75),vol. 1, 213: "Dantecontinuaa pensare nismo nelPensiero razionale.II suo Dio pud essereaccettatonon tantodai credenti, l'essenzadivinasul fondamento e di da chi si e educatoal pensierodi Platonee di Aristotele quantoa piu ragionedai filosofi, Cicerone." en Occidenteau moyen de deux cultures La rencontre 57. Georges C. Anawati, Islam et christianisme:

Dominicaind'EtudesOrientales, 1991); trans.EugeniaFera,Islame cristianesimo: age(Cairo:Institut Occidente medievale L'incontro tradueculture nelV (Milan:Vitae Pensiero,1994),50-51. Forthephilo135-37. e la cultura seeBattistoni, to truths offaith, adherence ebraica, Dante,Verona sophical-scientific Vitadi Gioacchinoda Fiore(Rome: Laterza,2004), 58. Gian Luca Podesta, //tempodeWApocalisse:

134-35,225-26.

di sourcesusedby Dante in Paradiso1-22, Kay,"L'astrologia 59. Regardingtheastronomical MichaelScot,26 percent;GuidoBonatti,15 perthefollowing Dante," 126,specifies percentages: 13 percent;IbnEzra,13 percent;andso forth. cent;Alchabitius,

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