Dante Alighieri: biography, dates of life, creativity

World fame is the name of the famous poet of Italy Dante Alighieri. Quotations from his works can be heard in a variety of languages, since almost all the world is familiar with his creations. They are read by many, translated into different languages, studied in different parts of the world. On the territory of a large number of European states there are societies that systematically collect, research and disseminate information about its heritage. The anniversary dates of Dante's life are among the major cultural events in the life of mankind.

Step into immortality

At the time when the great poet was born, humanity expected great changes. It was on the eve of a grandiose historical upheaval, which radically changed the face of European society. The medieval world, feudal oppression, anarchy and disunity were a thing of the past. The emergence of a society of free commodity producers. The time of power and prosperity of national states came.

Therefore, Dante Alighieri (whose poems are translated into different languages of the world) is not only the last poet of the Middle Ages, but also the first writer of modern times. He heads a list consisting of the names of the Renaissance titans. He was the first to begin the struggle against violence, cruelty, obscurantism of the medieval world. He was also among those who first raised the banner of humanism. This was his step in immortality.

The Youth of the Poet

The life path of Dante Alighieri, his biography is very closely related to those events that characterized the social and political life of Italy at that time. He was born in the family of indigenous Florentines in May 1265. They represented a poor and not very distinguished feudal clan.

His father worked as a lawyer in the Florentine banking firm. He died very early, even at the time of his youth, later a famous son.

The fact that political passions were boiling in the country, bloody battles were constantly taking place in the walls of the city, Florentine victories were replacing defeats, could not escape the attention of the young poet. He was an observer of the disintegration of the Ghibellian power, the privileges of the grandees and the consolidation of the Polanska of Florence.

Dante's studies took place within the walls of an ordinary medieval school. The boy grew extremely curious, so he was not enough lean, limited school education. He constantly replenished his knowledge on his own. Very early the boy began to be interested in literature and art, paying special attention to painting, music and poetry.

The beginning of the literary life of the poet

But the literary life of Dante begins at a time when the juices of the civil world drank with literature, art, crafts. All that previously could not fully declare its existence, burst out. In those days, new forms of art began to appear as mushrooms in the field of rain.

For the first time as a poet, Dante tried himself while staying in a circle of "new style". But even in those early enough poems one can not help noticing the presence of the violent surf of feelings that broke the images of this style.

In 1293, the first book of the poet was published under the title "New Life". In this collection there were thirty poems, the writing of which dates from 1281-1292. They had a vast prosaic commentary, characterized by an autobiographical and philosophical-aesthetic character.

In the poems of this collection was first told about the love story of the poet. The object of his adoration was Beatrice Portinari back in the days when the boy was barely 9 years old. This love was destined to last his whole life. Very rarely, it found its manifestation in the form of rare occasional encounters, fleeting glances of the beloved, in her futile bows. And after 1290, when the death took Beatrice, the poet's love becomes his personal tragedy.

Active political activity

Thanks to the "New Life" the name of Dante Alighieri, whose biography is equally interesting and tragic, becomes famous. In addition to the talented poet, he was an outstanding scholar, one of the most educated people in Italy. The breadth of his circle of interests was unusually large for that time. He studied history, philosophy, rhetoric, theology, astronomy, geography. He also paid special attention to the system of Eastern philosophy, the teachings of Avicenna and Averroes. His attention was not able to escape the great ancient poets and thinkers - Plato, Seneca, Virgil, Ovid, Juvenal. Particular attention to their creations will be given to humanists of the Renaissance.

Dante was constantly nominated by the Florentine commune to honorable posts. He performed very important diplomatic missions. In 1300, Dante Alighieri was elected to a commission consisting of six priors. Its representatives ruled the city.

Beginning of the End

But at the same time there is a new aggravation of civil strife. Then the center of the height of hostility was the Guelph camp itself. He split into a "white" and a "black" faction, very much at odds with each other.

The mask of Dante Alighieri among the Guelphs was white. In 1301 with the support of the Pope "black" the Guelphs seized power over Florence and began mercilessly cracking down on their opponents. They were sent to exile and executed. Only Dante's absence in the city saved him from reprisals. He was sentenced to death in absentia. He was waiting for the burning immediately after coming to the Florentine land.

The period of exile from the homeland

At that time, a tragic breakdown occurred in the life of the poet. Left without a homeland, he is forced to wander through other cities in Italy. For some time he was even outside the country, in Paris. He was happy to see in many palazzos, but he never stayed. He felt great pain from defeat, and also yearned for Florence, and the hospitality of the princes seemed humiliating and insulting to him.

During the period of exile from Florence, the spiritual maturation of Dante Alighieri took place, the biography of which was very rich up to that time. During the wanderings before his eyes there was always enmity and confusion. Not only his homeland, but the entire country was perceived by him as "a breeding ground of untruth and anxiety". It was surrounded on all sides by endless quarrels between republic cities, brutal strife between principalities, intrigues, foreign troops, trampled gardens, ruined vineyards, exhausted, desperate people.

A wave of popular protests began in the country. The emergence of new ideas, popular struggle provoked the awakening of Dante's thoughts, urging him to search for all possible ways out of the current situation.

Maturing of a dazzling genius

During the wanderings, deprivations, mournful reflections on the fate of Italy, Dante's genius ripened. At that time he acts as a poet, philosopher, politician, publicist and scholar-researcher. At the same time Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy, which brought him immortal world fame.

The idea of writing this work appeared much earlier. But in order to create it, you need to live a whole human life, filled with agony, struggle, sleepless, withering labor.

In addition to the "Comedy", other works by Dante Alighieri (sonnets, poems) also appear. In particular, the treatise "Feast" refers to the first years of emigration. It touches not only theology, but also philosophy, morality, astronomy, natural philosophy. In addition, the "Feast" was written in the national Italian language, which was very unusual at the time. After all, almost all the works of scientists were published in Latin.

In parallel with the work on the treatise in 1306 saw the world and the linguistic work entitled "On the People's eloquence". This is the first European scientific study of Romance linguistics.

Both of these works remained unfinished, as new events sent Dante's thoughts in a somewhat different direction.

Unfulfilled dreams of returning home

Dante Alighieri, whose biography is known to many contemporaries, constantly thought about returning. For days, months and years he tirelessly and persistently dreamed about it. This was especially evident during the work on the "Comedy", when creating her immortal images. He forged Florentine speech and carried it to the national political level. He sacredly believed that it was through the help of his genius poetic creation that he would be able to return to his native city. His expectations, hopes and thoughts of return gave him the strength to complete this titanic feat.

But he was not destined to return. He finished writing his poem in Ravenna, where he was granted asylum by the city. In the summer of 1321 the creation of Dante Alighieri "Divine Comedy" was completed, and on September 14 of the same year the city was buried by a genius.

Death from the belief in the dream

Until the end of his life, the poet faithfully believed in the world in his native land. This mission he lived. For her sake, he went to Venice, which was preparing a military attack on Ravenna. Dante really wanted to persuade the leaders of the Adriatic Republic that they should give up the war.

But this trip not only did not bring the desired results, but also became fatal for the poet. On his way back there was a swampy lagoon area where the scourge of such places was inhabited - malaria. It was she who caused the destruction of the poet's forces, tormented by very hard work, for several days. Thus ended the life of Dante Alighieri.

And only after a few decades Florence realized who she was lost in the face of Dante. The government wanted to take away the remains of the poet from the territory of Ravenna. His ashes until our time are far from home, which rejected and condemned him, but for which he remains the most devoted son.