Dante
(1265–1321)
Dante (B * FLORENCE, 1265 – D † RAVENNA, 1321) Dante (short for Durante) Alighieri, the greatest pre-Renaissance Italian poet. He was the son of a notary, and had a good education, learning classical Greek and Latin. As a young man he was a pharmacist, magistrate, and an elected town official, fully involved in the tumultuous political life of the time, siding with the »white« Guelphs, who favored less papal interference. The »black« Guelphs, with aid from France, seized Florence in 1301 and…