Dante’s use of the Arthurian legend
By the
late 13th century the Arthurian legend and its stories were so
well-known throughout Europe that Dante could use them for one of the most
famous episodes of his Divina Commedia: that
of the tragic love and death of Paolo and Francesca (Inferno, Canto V). Dante
placed the two lovers from Rimini in the ring (girone) of the lustful (lussuriosi).
Virgil, who is Dante’s guide through Hell and Purgatory, first points out to
Dante some of the famous figures in the ground of the lustful: some of them
come from classical history and literature
- Helen of Troy, Dido, Cleopatra; others – such as Tristan – come straight
from the Arthurian legend.
Tristan,
one of the bravest knights of the Round Table, is there because of his
adulterous love for Isolde, wife to King Mark of Cornwall – who was Tristan’s
uncle and who finally killed him.
The interplay of history and romance: Paolo and Francesca
But it is
really when Paolo and Francesca tell their own story that Dante’s debt to the
tales of medieval chivalry clearly appears. In real history, Francesca was the
daughter of Guido da Polenta, Prince of Ravenna. She was married to Gianciotto
Malatesta, Prince of Rimini, who was bad – looking and lame. Francesca fell in
love with the handsome Paolo, brother of Gianciotto, and when their love was
discovered they were both killed by Gianciotto. In the Divina Commedia, Paolo
and Francesca confess to having become lovers while they were reading a book
containing the stories of the knights of King Arthur’s court:
The whole
episode of Paolo and Francesca is set in a medieval courtly context, where the
reading of romances was common. The references to the Arthurian legend are
precise. Lancelot is the knight who loved Guinevere, wife to King Arthur, and
who died for his unhappy love. In the proverbial phrase, “Galeotto fu ‘l libro”, galeotto does not derive from galera
– prison or gaol – as is sometimes thought, but it is the Italian version
of the name Galehault or Galahad, another knight of the Round Table. It was
Galehault who first incited Lancelot to kiss Guinevere. The analogy is clear:
just as Galehault acted as a go-between, so the romance that Paolo and
Francesca were reading incited them to their first kiss.
Love and death in romances
The mention
of both Lancelot and Galehault is
significant. Dante knew very well that behind the brilliant side of the
Arthurian stories – the tournaments, the feasts at court, the shining armour,
the brave deeds of knighthood – love is always closely linked to death. Every
great love of the Arhurian legend is limked to treason, suffering and, finally,
death: Lancelot and Guinevere, Tristan and Isolde, Merlin and Morgana.
Similarly, reading tales of chivalry and falling in love was for Paolo and
Francesca only the prelude to their tragic end.
Questions
1.
What references to the Arthurian
legend does Dante make in Inferno, V?
2.
Who is Virgil and what’s his role in
the Divina Commedia?
3.
Who is Tristan? What’s his story?
4.
Who is Lancelot, instead?
5.
What are the historical facts in the
story of Paolo and Francesca?
6.
How does Dante link them to the
courtly world of romances?
7.
What’s the meaning of the proverbial
phrase “Galeotto fu ‘l libro”?
8.
How are love and death linked in the
Arthurian legend?
Writing task
Write a short summary of this interdisciplinary card. Use your own words as much as you can.
Source: Cattaneo, De Flavis CAKES AND ALES 1, Signorelli Scuola
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