Membership of the Guild of Doctors and Apothecaries

The Guilds, or associations of those within a city who practised the same craft, had emerged in Florence y the end of 1100. Between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries they played a significant role in the political struggles and administration of the Commune. Labelled major or minor according to the wealth and social standing of their members, the Guilds also disposed of an independent military force. Their role in the government of the Commune became crucial following the Ordinances of Justice of 1293, especially after the changes made in 1295, which required that anyone wishing to hold public office had to be a member of one of the Guilds, although this did not mean that it was necessary to be a practitioner of the craft. This political situation perhaps explains Dante’s membership of the Guild of Doctors and Apothecaries, attested from 1297, but probably dating from a few years beforehand, since in November 1295, he was already serving on the special People’s Council. His enrolment in this corporation rather than another has been explained in several ways. While the historian Ottokar believes that Dante was conditioned by family connections or even by professional interests shared with the members of the abovementioned Guild, Barbi suggests that the poet’s membership is linked to his knowledge of philosophy, in particular Aristotelian thought, which in the Middle Ages enjoyed numerous points of contact with medicine.