Description
Book SynopsisReinterpretation of the significance of the figure of St Bernard in Dante's Commedia.
Trade Review"...[an] intelligent, well-written book..." Peter S. Hawkins, Yale University, Speculum-A Journal of Medieval Studies
"...an engaging study of the cultural mystical meaning of the mysticism of St. Bernard as portrayed in the vision of God conclusion of the Divine Comedy...Botterill's thesis should grasp the attention of Dante scholars and students of mysticism." The Reader's Review
"...the erudition marshaled in Part 2 is certainly impressive and largely convincing..." R. A. Shoaf, Choice
"...investigates the intellectual relationship between Dante and St. Bernard. He analyses the narrative episode about Bernard as a medieval mystic...he examines carefully the two areas in which a direct intellectual influence of Bernard on Dante has been noted: the portrayal of Mary in the .s:Commediar: and the idea of trasumanar in .s:Paradisor: i, 70." Manuscripta
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; 1. (Re-)Reading Dante: an unscientific preface; Part I. Reading: 2. The image of St Bernard in medieval culture; 3. Bernard of Clairvaux in the Commedia: i. Life after Beatrice (Paradiso XXXI), ii. Mellifluous doctor (Paradiso XXXII), iii. Faithful Bernard (Paradiso XXXIII); Part II. Re-Reading: 4. Bernard in the Trecento commentaries on the Commedia; 5. Dante, Bernard, and the Virgin Mary; 6. From 'deificari' to 'trasumanar'? Dante's Paradiso and Bernard's De diligendo Deo; 7. Eloquence - and its limits; Bibliography; Index.
