Dante and the Empire

Dante and the Empire focuses on Dante’s concept of a world-state and explores the sources for his novel interpretation of human civilization and destiny. It offers a new look at controversial passages in the Monarchia and a fresh comparison of these with important verses in the Divine Comedy which reflect Dante’s political experience. Consistency between the poem and the treatise on monarchy is emphasized while traditional readings of the influences of Aristotle, Augustan Rome, Averroes, and Aquinas are reevaluated. Mancusi-Ungaro also addresses philological problems, namely three cases of textual ambiguity in the Monarchia which contribute to Dante’s originality and an understanding of his use of philosophical allegory.