Pope Celestine V

dialects, Accents of anger, words of agony” (III.25). After asking Virgil what he was hearing Dante learns that the cries he was hearing were from the souls of people who never made the decision to be either good or evil, and consequently was sent to neither heaven nor hell. The first moments after passing through the gates of hell are undoubtedly thought-provoking, but there’s something else noteworthy that happens during this part of the poem. Dante also recognizes the “shade of him who from cowardice made the great refusal” (III.58). Dante never names the person that he recognizes, but scholars believe the unnamed person to be Pope Celestine V. Pope Celestine V abdicated his papal throne a few months after obtaining it. After Pope Celestine V abdicated his throne, Pope Boniface VIII took his place. The significance of this is that the rise of Pope Boniface VIII to papal throne would set in motion the events that would lead to Dante’s banishment from Florence (Raffa). Dante and Virgil continue forward and arrive at the river banks of Acheron where a huge crowd of people are gathered. Dante provides imagery for the scene “As in the autumn-time the leaves fall off, First one and then another, till the branch unto the earth surrenders all its spoils” (III.111). Dante uses the autumn leaves to represent the souls of people and that the leaves’ falling from the tree is comparable to souls falling from grace. Dante creates the idea that each leaf on the tree has the decision to…

extremely important in changing the course of history. Disease can wipe out massive amounts of people, and cause chaos and destruction, but also pave the way for a new age, such as the Renaissance, which followed the Black Death. Disease can exploit the flaws in our society and cause us to improve our way of living. Boniface did not approve of the clergy being taxed by the king. The King of England did not let them be heard in the royal court. Because of this King Philip simply stopped…

Boniface committed was that he took “the beautiful Lady by deceit” (XIX.52). According to the endnotes, the “Lady” is how people in Dante’s time referred to the Church. Boniface was accused of causing the abdication of the previous pope, Pope Celestine V and ascending to the papacy through simony. Pope Celestine is mentioned in the inferno in the third canto, when Dante is describing Limbo. He abdicated as pope only five months in, because of political pressure in the name of Boniface.…

This conflict arose between Gregory and german Emperor Henry IV, where their differing opinions on who should choose local bishops clashed in the early 11th century. Pope Gregory was an advocate for more church authority and believed that he, and future popes, should have absolute say in certain spheres of power and decision making. To cement this total authority, Gregory created his “Dictatus Papae” in 1075, which laid out his vision for the church and delegated certain powers to the pope,…

The clash between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV of France began in the year 1296 over taxation of the French Clergy. Specifically, King Philip IV implemented taxes over the clergy and all other laymen of the French kingdom with a motive to fuel a war with King Edward I of England. Refuting this, Boniface asserted that no cleric was to pay taxes to a king without proper papal consent. If the clergy went against his commands, Boniface threatened excommunication to all who ignored him.…

TOPIC 3: The changing literary and visual representations of China by Westerners in the history One of the oldest countries in the world, China, is also one of the four ancient civilization. For long stretches of history, China had their glory but also had a hard time, and the changed of China also changed impression on westerners by their literary or visual representations. In the 13th - 14th century, Genghis Khan established the Mongolia regime, built the Empire of Mongolia and began his…

He is commissioned to not only create a portrait of Pope Paul V, but he is also given the opportunity to create a piece for St. Peter's Basilica, a massive honor. The papal portrait is far more restrained than his typical style. This is probably because the Pope was very conventional in comparison to his nephew. This sense of assertiveness is portrayed brilliantly in the subject’s posture and facial expression. Meant to serve as both an allusion to the heresy of the protestants and a…

were emphasized giving money to the church rather than focusing on emphasizing faith. Martin Luther wrote a complaint to Pope Leo about this abuse and challenged all of the preachers to a debate over the theology of indulgences. This dispute was a contest between the two strong willed men and it largely ignored the theological objections. Pope Leo regarded the letter as a challenge…

be caused by sudden urbanization of Europe and early influencers of higher education During the High Middle Ages a rise in economic activity would come from a revival of trade that would occur from the rebuilding of old cities and creation of new cities that would be major urban centers throughout Europe. The rise in bigger cities led to people moving from a poor rural life to live a more “prosperous” life in the crowded Urban Centers of Europe (1) Urbanization of Europe…

Was Catholicism responsible for the Dark Ages? In history class we have read about the great ancient empires that came before us, such as the Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians. During our studies we also learned about , the time in between the 6th and 14th century this period has come to be known as the “Dark Ages”. Many historians believe that the term Dark Ages might not be very accurate and that the reasons behind the origins of the Dark Ages, aren’t well understood. Most were taught…