The Influence of the Pope

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Dante lived in a time of intense political strife and competition over land, resources, and people. Many factions competed for power in the region, including the Holy Roman Emperors, an organization of “german aristocrats who claimed an ancient right to rule Christendom” (Moss, Wilson p. 174), the Papal authorities in Rome, lead by the controversial and power hungry Pope Boniface VIII, and smaller groups in city-states such as Florence, Tuscany and Rome. These groups were often made up of noblemen and other aristocracy in the cities that desired to consolidate local power under a “small, select group” (Moss, Wilson p. 174) that would allow them to exercise their will on the cities’ populace. Another class that emerged in the period was the merchant class, impelled by the increasing move towards urban centers and the lessening control of local feudal lords and vassals, in favor of more overarching rule by kings over a wider area. This rise in consumerism and capitalism lead to a desire for power by the merchant class to “establish a system of rule that would protect their newly acquired wealth.” (Moss, Wilson p. 174) Florence, the home city of Dante, was particularly rife with political strife from the city being dominated by two rival factions, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Dante, coming from a “nonaristocratic but respectable family” (Moss, Wilson p. 175), originally supported the Guelphs, who “represented ordinary citizens and were aligned with the papacy” (Moss, Wilson p. 174), but later moved more towards supporting the Ghibellines, who believed in a united empire under which Florence would be stabilized, rather than the current state of fracture and dissension among the various groups. Both groups desired greater rule, b... ... middle of paper ... ...he power to name a person as Holy Roman Emperor, and that his “absolute spiritual authority over all Christians” (Moss, Wilson p. 176) extended to a right to governmental authority and a position of physical power. This conflict in beliefs led to a war, in essence if not in name, between the two powers, and hostilities and tension throughout all of Europe. The fight lasted throughout the entirety of Dante’s life up to the writing up the Comedia, finally ending with the death of Pope Boniface VIII in 1303, and the crowning of Emperor Henry VIII in 1308. Works Cited Ruud, Jay. Critical Companion to Dante: a Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 2008. Print. Moss, Joyce, and George Wilson. Literature and Its Times: Ancient times to the American and French Revolutions: (prehistory - 1790s). Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Print.

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