„Nem vagyok sem Aeneas, sem Pál” – Dante túlvilágjárása és elődei I. Dante és Aeneas

Absztrakt

During his voyage through Hell and Purgatory led by Virgil, Dante the Pilgrim’s initial fear and pusillanimity (“I am not Aeneas”) turns into a strong but unspoken claim (I am a new Aeneas), and this transformation is marked by a number of references and rephrases of the Aeneid. The core of the renewal is the Christian message that follows the interpretation of allegorical commentaries. However, Dante draws on several other traditions in his artistic competition with his predecessors. Thus, he invokes Aeneas’ experiences, including his deeds, his map of the Underworld, his encounters, his major virtues, his determination, and his role model, Orpheus. The symbolic journey of the Commedia is longer than Virgil’s path as it eventually creates the Pilgrim’s identity, based on Biblical and apocalyptical tradition as well as medieval visionary literature.