Epistles: structure and content

Dante did not gather his letters, thirteen in all, into a unified collection. Dating from between 1304 and 1317, they were written in Latin with elaborate rhetorical devices and constructions that follow the canonical rules of the artes dictaminis. His first letter of 1304, written in the name of the Captain of the Council of the Whites, addresses Cardinal Niccolò da Prato who had arrived in Tuscany as peacemaker. In his second letter, written the same year, he offers his condolences to the Romena counts upon the death of their uncle. Epistles III and IV, on political isuues, were sent to Cino da Pistoia and the marquis Morello Malaspina respectively, the former accompanying the sonnet Io sono stato con Amore insieme and the latter accompanying the canzone Amor da che convien pur ch’io mi doglia. Epistles V, VI and VII address the rulers of Italy, the villainous Florentines, and Emperor Henry VII respectively, and deal with the Emperor’s descent into Italy, urging Italy’s Princes to welcome the Emperor, vehemently attack Florence and its anti-imperial policy, and exhort Henry to go ahead and attack Florence. Epistles VIII, IX and X were written in the name of Guido da Battifolle’s wife and sent to Margaret of Brabant, the Emperor’s wife. Epistle XI, impressive in its vehemence and rhetoric, addresses the cardinals of Italy, urging them to elect an Italian Pope, after the death of Pope Clement V, who would return the Papal See to Rome. Letter XII, to a Florentine friend, rejects the offer of returning to Florence following the amnesty for exiles in 1315, which Dante considered defamatory. Epistle XIII, whose authenticity is disputed by some, and whose date in uncertain (some say 1314-1317, while others suggest 1319-1320), is to Cangrande della Scala, to whom the author dedicates Paradiso. Besides clarifying the poetic, moral and political motivations underlying the poem, this letter provides a detailed self-commentary on the first lines of Paradiso itself.