Commentary by Amrin Madhani

Ln. 1-7

Entering the ninth bolgia, Dante finds himself on a moat where those who sinned of scandal and schism are being punished. He opens this canto with a rhetorical question asking how a person, removed of any constraints-in his case restraints pertaining to verse- could begin to describe the blood and gore he was witnessing. Immediately the reader is preparing for a scene so grotesque aligned with a similar crime.

Ln. 7-9

Apulia: the Medieval Kingdom of Naples, stretching from the “heel” and “toe” of Italy (Durling & Martinez).

Oelsner comments that all of these wars in Apulia are alluded to “(a)The wars of the Romans (descended from the Trojans) against the Samnites, 343-290 B.C. (b) The Punic wars (264-146 B.C.), in the second of which was decided the battle of Cannae (216 B.C.), where so many Romans fell, (c) From 1059 till 1080 Robert Guiscard (for whom cf. Par. xviii. 48) opposed the Greeks and Saracens in S. Italy and in Sicily. (d) The Apulian barons, to whom Manfred had entrusted the pass of Ceperano (on the Liris) turned traitors and allowed Charles of Anjou to advance thus paving the way for Manfred's defeat at Benevento (1266). (e) At the battle of Tagliacozzo (1268) – Charles overthrew Manfred's nephew, Conradin, by a stratagem.” (Dartmouth Dante Project)

The overwhelming references to wars that lasted from 500 BCE to 1268 BC are meant to show exactly how many deaths may have occurred over those years and to just imagine the amount of death and blood present in this bolgia may just be impossible.

Barolini also notes “the lengthy accumulation of Romans, Anjevins, and other mutilated combatants who have fallen on the battlefields of southern Italy, part of a simile that introduces the carnage of the ninth bolgia. If all those wounded warriors were assembled and each demonstrated his wounds, the accumulated carnage would in no way equal the foulness of this place” (Digital Dante)

These gruesome deaths of mutilation serve as a means to imagine the mutilation of the body in this bolgia by the devils.

Ln. 14: Robert Guiscard

Guiscard was born in Normandy and offered to the Dukedom of Apulia and Calabria by Pope Nicholas II.fought the Greeks and Saracens in southern Italy and Sicily during the last half of the eleventh century. Dante places Guiscard in the heaven of Mars, among the Christian warriors who fought for the faith; (Par. XVIII, 48.)

Ln. 25-27

In this tercet readers are introduced to the mutilated punishment. The gruesome depiction of mutilated bodies are in conjunction with the crime itself. The mutilation of the sacred religion (Christianity) was instigated by sinners who participated in heresy and schisms. Now their punishment is to have their own bodiesbe broken up “cloven and mutilated in varying degrees, according to the discord which they sowed,” (Carroll). Dante is commenting that it is a diabolical sin to have been involved in the intentional separation of the holy religion.

Ln. 31-33

Muhammed is considered by many Muslims the last prophet of Allah, whose role was to bring the Word of God down to the people of Arabia. Dante has Muhammad in the ninth bolgia because of the schism brought to Christianity with the birth of Islam.

Durling and Martinez note that in Dante’s sources he may have believed that Muhammad was a Nestorian Christian before founding Islam, thus he was thought of as a heretic and schismatic for inciting one-third of the world's believers away from the true faith.

Ali, cousin and Son-in-Law of Muhammad, helped in the founding of Islam. Durling and Martinez suggest that Ali’s wound is a completion of the splitting of the body with the vertical and horizontal slash; it may conceivably refer to the splitting of Islam into Shi’a and Sunni.

Ln. 73

Pier of Medicina: was a leading candidate among several like-named members of the house of Medicina (Durling & Martinez). This man was said to have sowed discord between the members of the Malatesta and Polenta families.

Ln. 85

The traitor with one eye is an allusion to Malatestino of Rimini, who desired to add Fano to his leadership. He set up a conference between Angioello da Cargnaro and Guido del Cassero, two very important members of the town, to La Cattolica and had them treacherously drowned. As a response to his treachery, he was mutilated in the face, causing him to lose an eye. (John S. Carroll, Darthmouth Dante).

Ln. 106

Interestingly enough Mosca Lamberti’s advice to the Amidei family accounts for the origin of the divide between the Guelfs and Ghibelline factions.

Rev. H. F. Tozer recounts the story: Buondelmonte, a young Florentine nobleman, was betrothed to a lady of the Amidei Family. Later on, he rejects her and instead married a daughter of Donati. Mosca encourages the family to avenge themselves for the insult. He says “cosa fatta capo ha” which translates to “death settles a matter once for all” and consequently Buondelmonte was murdered.

Ln. 108

“The seed of evil for the Tuscans.” These words instead of ending the problem unleash more violence.

Ln. 135

Achitophel was a counselor to King David and his son Absalom. Achitophel stirred discord in Absalom and advised him to usurp his father’s throne, which eventually led to Absalom’s death.

This analogy was used to describe Bertran de Born who stirred up strife between the “young king” Prince Henry, the son of Henry II of England.