In the works of Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccaccio, specifically Dante’s Inferno and Boccaccio’s Decameron, both authors placed their own views and attitude on the church. Born at in similar times, Dante and Boccaccio in an era of church corruption and mix between church and state, both had similar opinions on the church. Dante’s views of the church were mostly views of criticism portrayed through the sinners he encounters in his trip through purgatory and hell while Boccaccio explained his views through his characters’ mentioned in his collection of tales.
Dante’s attitude towards the church could be argued to be a bit harsher than Boccaccio’s. Dante attacked the church through his creation of the nine circles of Hell. These nine circles …show more content…
Simony, which refers to the selling and buying of church offices, was considered one of the evilest sins of Dante’s time. Even though Nicholas is the main character in this Canto, he is seen as an insignificant character in Dante’s Inferno and he is only there to herald the more important arrivals of Boniface VIII and Clement V and connote political ambition. In Inferno, Nicholas admits to Dante, “I was a son of the she-bear, so greedy to advance her cubs that I pocketed wealth up there, and myself down here.” (Inferno. XIX. 70-72) When Nicholas states, “advance her cubs,” he is referring to helping out his own family by giving them positions related to the church. Not only does this provide evidence of nepotism, but it also illustrates political ambition. The words “greedy” and “advance” especially demonstrate Nicholas’s political ambition. In this quotation, Nicholas admits that political ambition is what placed him in hell. Dante portrays the dangers of political ambition in this Canto by showing how Nicholas’s political ambition is what resulted in his sins. Even though there is no concrete proof that Nicholas was a simoniac, the pilgrim in Inferno launches a caustic attack accusing Nicholas of simony. In fact, Nicholas’s words “I pocketed wealth up there, and myself down here,” explains that the wealth Nicholas “pocketed” was a sin and earned him …show more content…
The Decameron indirectly criticizes the corruption of the Catholic Church. While this criticism is moderated by the book’s undoubting Christian faith, the absolute distrust of the Christian Church is clear. For instance, the tale of Ser Ciappelletto, tells the story of an entirely corrupt man who lies his way into sainthood. Indeed, “the fame of Ciappelletto’s holiness and the people’s devotion to him grow that there was almost no one in some sort of difficulty who did not make a vow to him rather than to some other saint. In the end, they called him Saint Ciappelletto” (Decameron 36). However, the storyteller presents this troubling tale of ecclesiastical corruption with a positive message. Ser Ciappelletto, despite the menace he poses to Catholicism, demonstrates the truth of Christianity: for “how very great is God’s loving-kindness towards us, in that he does not consider our sinfulness, but the purity of our faith” (Decameron 37). The Church’s temporal corruption demonstrates the benevolence of the Christian God, who accepts prayer even though it comes in such a complex
Dante’s attitude towards the church could be argued to be a bit harsher than Boccaccio’s. Dante attacked the church through his creation of the nine circles of Hell. These nine circles …show more content…
Simony, which refers to the selling and buying of church offices, was considered one of the evilest sins of Dante’s time. Even though Nicholas is the main character in this Canto, he is seen as an insignificant character in Dante’s Inferno and he is only there to herald the more important arrivals of Boniface VIII and Clement V and connote political ambition. In Inferno, Nicholas admits to Dante, “I was a son of the she-bear, so greedy to advance her cubs that I pocketed wealth up there, and myself down here.” (Inferno. XIX. 70-72) When Nicholas states, “advance her cubs,” he is referring to helping out his own family by giving them positions related to the church. Not only does this provide evidence of nepotism, but it also illustrates political ambition. The words “greedy” and “advance” especially demonstrate Nicholas’s political ambition. In this quotation, Nicholas admits that political ambition is what placed him in hell. Dante portrays the dangers of political ambition in this Canto by showing how Nicholas’s political ambition is what resulted in his sins. Even though there is no concrete proof that Nicholas was a simoniac, the pilgrim in Inferno launches a caustic attack accusing Nicholas of simony. In fact, Nicholas’s words “I pocketed wealth up there, and myself down here,” explains that the wealth Nicholas “pocketed” was a sin and earned him …show more content…
The Decameron indirectly criticizes the corruption of the Catholic Church. While this criticism is moderated by the book’s undoubting Christian faith, the absolute distrust of the Christian Church is clear. For instance, the tale of Ser Ciappelletto, tells the story of an entirely corrupt man who lies his way into sainthood. Indeed, “the fame of Ciappelletto’s holiness and the people’s devotion to him grow that there was almost no one in some sort of difficulty who did not make a vow to him rather than to some other saint. In the end, they called him Saint Ciappelletto” (Decameron 36). However, the storyteller presents this troubling tale of ecclesiastical corruption with a positive message. Ser Ciappelletto, despite the menace he poses to Catholicism, demonstrates the truth of Christianity: for “how very great is God’s loving-kindness towards us, in that he does not consider our sinfulness, but the purity of our faith” (Decameron 37). The Church’s temporal corruption demonstrates the benevolence of the Christian God, who accepts prayer even though it comes in such a complex