Guido da Montefeltro

Commentary by Amrin Madhani

Ln. 7-15

The Sicilian Bull is a reference to the bronze bull invented by Athenian artisan Perillus and used by the tyrant of Agrigentum in Sicily, Phalaris, to burn his victims alive. The contraption was fashioned in a way that when the victim was being burned, the shrieks inside would sound like the bellowing of a bull. Legend has it the artisan was the first to die at the hands of his own invention. (Charles S. Singleton)

Durling and Martinez in their notes also address this bull as Dante’s use of a simile. They say “the explicit relevance of the simile is to correlate the soul within the flame with the victim within the bull, thus explaining the confused sounds; but the soul within must be the fashioner.” Barolini also notes that this simile of the Sicilian bull functions “as a transforming medium” concluding that the theme of the canto is conversion: of the human mind to that of a bull’s howl.

Ln. 28-30

In these couple of lines the shade that approached Dante and Virgil, after Ulysses is dismissed, reveals him to be Guido da Montefeltro, the most successful mercenary captain of his day. He maintained the power of the Ghibellines in Romagna during a period when Guelfs were becoming widespread in Italy. Guido’s question about Romagna reveals that like other shades he too does not know what is happening in the present. When he died there was still warfare amongst the factions of Ghibellines and Guelfs. (Durling & Martinez)

Ln. 40-54

Historical reference: In these lines, Dante is enlightening Guido about the current condition of the seven cities and the fortified towns of Romagna (which are governed by various tyrants). These cities include Racenna, Cervia, Rimini, Faenza, Imola, and Cesena. Robert Hollander notes that Guido had been in military action for many of them.

Ln. 57

Here Dante is asking the shade his identity. We the readers have already identified him, but interestingly enough pilgrim Dante asks him who he is and promises that he will convey this shade's identity to the world above. Dante is promising this man some type of fame to restore Guido’s reputation.

Ln. 61-66

In response to Dante’s promise of fame, Guido da Montefeltro corrects it by saying that is is not fame that will follow, but infamy. Guido doesn’t want people in the living world to think that he is in eternal hell, given the pride he holds for his earthly possessions. At this point, he doesn’t believe that Dante will ever return to the living world so he does reveal why he is here.

Joseph Markulin (“Dante's Guido da Montefeltro: A Reconsideration”) presents the case that Guido was conscious of the fact that Dante was alive, but was feigning that he doesn’t “in order to concoct a self-favoring narrative that Dante will carry back to the world.”

Ln. 67-72

Introduced to us in this line is Guido’s previous fame in being a great soldier as well as a strategist (Durling & Martinez) which helps him gain the attention of Pope Boniface. Followed by his grandeur life in the battlefield, Guido chooses the life of a Friar (Franciscan Order) in order to stone for his sins. He believed that by dividing his life into “before” and “after” he would be able to repent.

But that is not the case because in the tercet that follows Guido curses the “High Preist” for tempting him to forsake the path of his atonement. Guido makes an attempt--at least superficially--to change his devious ways when he retired from his active warrior life to become a Franciscan friar (Inf. 27.67-8; 79-84). In a previous work, Dante praises Guido's apparent conversion as a model for how the virtuous individual should retire from worldly affairs late in life (Convivio); now the poet calls into question Guido's pretense to a pious life at the same time that he strikes another blow against the pope he loves to hate: Boniface induces Guido to provide advice for destroying the pope's enemies (UT Dante World) Guido’d reputation for cunning proved in the end his eternal undoing. His repentance and confession would have availed for his salvation, had not Boniface VIII. 'brought him back to his first sins.

Ln. 74-75

The analogy of the fox and lion provided insight into Guido’s actions being more fox-like (cunning and mischievous) as opposed to that of a lion (Boniface) whose actions were more harmful and predatory.

Durling and Martinez also note that “corrupt Franciscans were often depicted vulpine in anticlerical literature and its illustration (Romance of the Rose) the fox has a reputation of turning back to his old sins.” This suggests that maybe it’s not the Lion that tempted him, but his nature itself that forced him to go back to his old ways.

Ln. 79-81

Another metaphor for the voyage of life with the allusion to Ulysses, whose last journey is the antithesis of Guido’s retirement ~ until the Pope interferes.

Ln. 85-93

Guido is referring to Pope Boniface VIII (who is unnamed) but is described as a hypocrite for fighting against the Christians instead of their enemies (the Jews and Muslims, Durling & Martinez)

John s. Carroll (1904) provides a more historical account of these lines:

“1297 the Pope was carrying on a war, not, as Guido sarcastically says, against Saracens or Jews, but against Christians – the great rival house of the Colonnas. Two Cardinals of this family, being excommunicated by Boniface and their palaces in Rome destroyed, retired to their stronghold of Palestina. Foiled and furious at his inability to capture this place, the Pope summoned the crafty old soldier-monk from his cloister to advise him how to raze it to the ground. At first, Guido kept silent, for Boniface seemed delirious with 'the fever of his pride'; but on being promised absolution by anticipation, he gave the evil counsel”

According to Guido (and Dante), Boniface does not care for Christians. “Not only does he not oppose the heathen in order to make war on his own, he does not honor his own holy orders, nor those of Guido the friar,” (Hollander)

Ln. 112-113

Guido’s death alludes to the “angel and devil” argument of who possess the deceased soul.

Black Cherubim: In Christian angelology (Durling & Martinez) the cherubim was the second highest order of angels. The Black Cherbuim is supposed to symbolized a fallen angel, waiting to retrieve souls whos sin is intellectual like their own.

John Carroll explains, “The mention of 'one of the Black Cherubim' shows the extraordinary exactness and care with which Dante carries out the symbolism of his poem. The Cherubim are the eighth Order of Angles in the Heavenly Hierarchy, and doubtless that is why they are mentioned in this eighth Bolgia of this eighth Circle. But the reason goes much deeper. The sin punished in this Moat is the abuse and perversion of great intellectual powers to fraudulent ends. Now, the Cherubim represent the intellectual powers in their highest created form.” (Darthmouth Dante)