Beatrice Portinari

Although the details surrounding the life of Beatrice Portinari, pronnounced bay'-a-treech-ey, (1266-1290) are subject to much dispute, there is little doubt she was a major influence in Dante Alighieri's life, influencing particularly his works of La Vita Nuova and La Divina Commedia.

Dante's Love For Beatrice

The manner in which Dante chose to express his love for Beatrice often agreed with the medieval concept of courtly love. Courtly love was a secret, unrequited and highly respectful form of admiration for another person.

Related Topics:
Medieval - Courtly love

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Yet it is still not entirely clear what caused Dante to fall in love with Beatrice. Seeing as how he knew very little of the real Beatrice, and that he had no great insight to her character, it is perhaps unusual that he fell in love with her. But he did, and there are clues in his works as to why he did:

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:“She has ineffable courtesy, is my beautitude, the destroyer of all vices and the queen of virtue, salvation.”

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Dante saw Beatrice as a saviour, one who removed all evil intentions from him. It is perhaps this idea of her being a force for good that he fell in love with, a force which he believed made him a better person. This is certainly viable, since he does not seem concerned with her appearance - at least not in his writings. He only once describes her complexion, and her "emerald" eyes. Although Beatrice was most likely a very beautiful lady, her beauty is not what Dante fell for when he met her.

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Dante's love for Beatrice stayed with him all through his life. She appears as his guide through heaven in La Divina Commedia, which he wrote shortly before his death. When he began writing the piece in 1307, Beatrice had been dead for seventeen years. Yet Dante continued loving her, even in her passing, until his death in 1321.

Related Topics:
La Divina Commedia - 1307 - 1321

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He wrote of her, following her death:

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:"The love between them was wholly spiritual; after her death Dante realised she was more alive than ever."

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