Dante and the Making of a Modern Author

478 Pages·2008·3.14 MB·English

by  Albert Russell Ascoli

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DANTE AND THE MAKING OF
A MODERN AUTHOR
Leading scholar Albert Russell Ascoli traces the metamorphosis of
Dante Alighieri – minor Florentine aristocrat, political activist and
exile,amateurphilosopherandtheologian,daringexperimentalpoet–
intoDante,authoroftheDivineComedyandperhapsthemostself-
consciously“authoritative”culturalfigureintheWesterncanon.This
isthefirstcomprehensiveintroductiontoDante’sevolving,transfor-
mativerelationshiptomedievalideasofauthorshipandauthorityfrom
the early Vita Nuova, through the unfinished treatises, The Banquet
andOnVernacularEloquence,totheworksofhismaturity,Monarchy
andtheDivineComedy.AscolirevealshowDanteanticipatesmodern
notionsofpersonalized,creativeauthorshipandthephenomenonof
“Renaissanceself-fashioning.”Unusually,thebookexaminesDante’s
careerasawhole,offeringanimportantnewpointofaccessnotonly
totheDanteanoeuvre,butalsotothehistoryandtheoryofauthorship
inthelargerItalianandEuropeantraditions.
albert russell ascoli is Gladys Arata Terrill Distinguished
Professor in the Department of Italian Studies at the University of
California,Berkeley.

DANTE AND THE MAKING
OF A MODERN AUTHOR
by
ALBERT RUSSELL ASCOLI
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB28RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521882361
© Albert Russell Ascoli 2008
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2008
ISBN-13 978-0-511-38627-5 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-88236-1 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
ForBarbara

Contents
Preface pageix
Abbreviationsofprimarytextsandtranslations xiv
introduction
1: Theauthorinhistory 3
i: Whatisan“auctor”? 3
ii: TheautoreoftheCommedia 12
iii: Theory 21
iv: History 29
v: Criticism 44
vi: Organization 54
vii: “Whatisan‘Other’?” 61
part 1 an author in the works: dante before
the commedia
2: Definitions:Thevowelsofauthority 67
i: TheproblemofConvivio 67
ii: “Author”and“authority”inmedievaldiscourse 75
iii: Dante’s“maggioreautoritade”(Convivio1.4.13) 85
iv: “Autore”from“autentin” 97
v: “Autore”from“avieo” 108
vi: “Lasuaprimavoce” 122
3: Language:“Neminemantenos” 130
i: VernacularauthorshipbetweenConvivioandDeVulgariEloquentia 130
ii: Vernacularandgrammar 136
iii: Individualityanduniversality 149
iv: Thepoet’slanguage 157
v: Theauthor’slanguageinhistory 169
vii
viii Contents
4: Auto-commentary:DividingDante 175
i: “Foduepartidime” 175
ii: VitaNova 178
iii: Convivio 201
iv: FromDantedividedtothepoeta-personaggio 218
part 2 authority in person: dante between
monarchia and the commedia
5: “Nojudgmentamongequals”:DividingauthorityinDante’s
Monarchia 229
i: MonarchiaafterConvivioandDeVulgariEloquentia 229
ii: AuctoritasinMonarchia 240
iii: TheMonarch’sauthority:Conflictandjudgment 248
iv: “ADanielcometojudgment” 263
6: Palinodeandhistory 274
i: Historicizingthepalinode 274
ii: Palinodemanqu´einMonarchia 282
iii: Beyondthepalinode:BetweenMonarchiaandtheCommedia 291
7: TheauthoroftheCommedia 301
i: “Indeathhewasundivided” 301
ii: When“Dante”met“Virgil” 307
iii: Virgiliocrowns“Dante” 329
iv: Aperfectpoet 357
v: “Dis´eparlando” 369
vi: Theperfectpoet 400
Worksconsulted 406
Indexofpropernamesandworkscited 445