Introduction

This chapter describes the life of Dante. Dante has always been a controversial writer, politician, and cultural icon. The Church considered him the author of potentially dangerous works, and his Monarchia was even burned in 1329 by bishop Bertrand du Pouget. The poet and his works soon became so popular, however, that the Holy See had to refrain from putting the Comedy on the index of forbidden books, instead directing its censorial attention to banning Dante's treatise on the relation between temporal and spiritual power, or to downplaying the aggressively theologized lyrical fiction of the Vita nuova. A quick glance at the book market in Italy confirms the wide range of approaches to Dante's status as a contemporary popular figure. The cross-fertilization that has ensued from the interplay of the volume and the Princeton University conference that produced it will help to bridge the gap between academic “Dantism” and broad audiences that avail themselves of Dante-inspired cultural products.