Dante the Maker

Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Central Man of All the World Part I: The Making of a Poet 2. Encounters on the Road to Montaperti: Florentine History to 1260 3. Heraldry, Prophecy, and the Individual Self 4. Dante's Family and the History of Florence in the Later Thirteenth Century 5. The Meeting with Beatrice 6. The Faithful Followers of Love 7. The Genealogy of Beatrice 8. Convergent Worlds: The Scientific and Symbolic Modes of Thought Available to Dante and His Contemporaries 9. La Vita Nuova and the Poetry of Praise Part II: Power, Exile, and the Works of Dante's Middle Years 10. The Taste of Power and the Salt of Exile 11. The Poet of Righteousness: Later Lyrics and De vulgari eloquentia 12. Invitation to the Banquet of Knowledge: II Convivio 13. The Descent of Henry of Luxemburg and the Writing of De Monarchia 14. The Last Years: Lucca, Verona and Raveena Part III: The Making of the Commedia 15. The Journey 16. Weight, Number and Measure in the Commedia 17. The Grace of Inspiration 18. The Six Guides and the Four Levels of Meaning 19. Change and Being: The Images of the Commedia 20. The Transformation of Man 21. The End of the Journey Appendix Abbreviations A Note on the Texts and Sources Notes Bibliography Index