Popes in Hell: Political Ambition is a Cardinal Sin in Inferno

Dante’s Inferno has been known for its biting attacks against the church, which most people have come to believe is a direct reflection on Dante’s values. In Canto XIX, Dante puts one pope, Pope Nicholas III, in hell and announces the arrival of two others, Pope Boniface VIII and Pope Celestine V. These attacks are very bold statements for Dante to make, so Dante must have had some burning desire fueled by a some concrete reasons to condemn these popes. Dante does focus the most on Pope Nicholas III, but Dante mentions two other critical Popes to show the interconnectivity between the Popes. Dante’s attacks on the church are based on political and religious problems that the Popes have committed during the turbulent Florentine times. The characters and interactions in this Canto illustrate how ambition, especially political ambition by the church and ecclesiastical members, leads to sin.

Dante commences his series of bitter political attacks on the church in this Canto with Pope Nicholas III and simony. Simony, which refers to the selling and buying of church offices, was considered one of the most evil sins of Dante’s time (Lectura Dantis 264). Simony was named after the magician Simon Magus who wanted to buy “the gift of imparting the Holy Spirit to the faithful.” (Lectura Dantis 264) Even though Nicholas is the main character in this Canto, Kenelm Foster claims that Nicholas is an insignificant character in Dante’s Inferno and he is only there to herald the more important arrivals of Boniface VIII and Clement V Foster’s claim is partially true—Nicholas’s sins are not as grave as the sins the other two Popes committed, but Foster fails to mention the political significance of Nicholas’s sins (96). Besides simony, Dante also accuses Nicholas of nepotism—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,” (Inferno. XIX. 71) 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 (Inferno. XIX. 70-71). In this quotation, Nicholas admits that political ambition (the desire to politically advance his relatives) 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 this punishment. Since Nicholas says “wealth” after he claims he “advanced” some people, this illustrates simony and financial ambition, which is very political (Inferno. XIX. 70-72).

Dante intertwines more political problems with Nicholas when he compares Nicholas to an assassin. Dante writes, “I was standing like the friar that confesses the treacherous assassin who, once he is fixed in the earth calls him back so as to put off his death.” (Inferno. XIX. 49-41) The word “assassin” is inherently political because assassins are people hired to kill—usually for political reasons. This comparison is extremely interesting because a Pope is the one confessing, Stanley Benfell believes that this represents the “popes’ own inverted and perverted use of ‘le c ose di Dio,’ which have become whores in their hands rather than lawful spouses of Christ.” (149) Although this claim does not seem related to politics, it still shows responds to the idea of Dante separating political ambition from religious ambition: when the church becomes a “whore,” it is generally because of political problems, and Canto XIX supports this when Nicholas reprimands Pope Boniface VIII. While Benfell’s claim is correct in that manner, his claim is somewhat wrong; I believe that Dante inverts the role of the pope for a different reason. By inverting the roles and having the pope confess, Dante is demonstrating how evil simony is, perhaps because it is born from political ambition. Also, when the pilgrim first speaks to Nicholas, he asks, “O whatever you are, you who hold your up side down, sorrowing soul,” but after he Nicholas confesses, he turns this pitiful tone into something more bitter, which portrays Dante’s detest for political ambition (Inferno. XIX. 46-47).

Charles Davis claims in The Cambridge Companion to Dante that “Dante…thought that both empire and papacy were essential to the work of salvation, but only by keeping their functions radically distinct could their effective collaboration be preserved.” (262) Davis is correct: with Nicholas, Dante explicitly illustrates the need for separation of church and politics. Dante writes, “You have made gold and silver you god; and what difference is there between you and the idol-worshipper, except that he prays to one, and you to a hundred?” (Inferno. XIX. 112-114) This quotation illustrates the discrepancy that Davis mentions between financial desires and religious purity. Even though this quotation does not explicitly mention politics, desires for gold and silver have political connotations. Dante also writes, “Therefore stay here, for you deserve your punishment; and be sure to keep your ill-gotten coin, which made you bold against Charles.” (Inferno. XIX. 97-99) This does have many political undertones because Dante is referring to Charles of Anjou, against whom Nicholas enacted many policies. Dante’s warning against political ambition is especially severe here because it may be noted that Nicholas was aiming for political retribution against Charles—after all, Charles was against Nicholas becoming a Pope (Small 769). Also, according the Henry Wadsworth Longfello, Nicholas had also wised to marry his niece to Charles’ nephew but Charles refused and insulted Nicholas. The pilgrim says to Nicholas, “Were it not that I am forbidden by my reverence for the highest keys, which you held in happy life, I would use still heavier worlds for your avarice afflicts the world, trampling the good and raising up the wicked.” (Inferno. XIX. 103-105) This quotation also illustrates political issues—“your avarice afflicts the world” implies simony’s far-ranging political consequences (Inferno. XIX. 103-104). Not only do these quotations represent political ambition, but they are also extremely bitter. The bitterness shows two things: First, it disproves part of Fosters claim. The pilgrim’s bitterness towards Nicholas illustrates that Nicholas is still an important character, and it shows Dante’s hatred for simony, which is also a political sin.

Dante mentions Pope Boniface VIII in this Canto as well to show his ambition and sins. Nicholas, believing the pilgrim to be Boniface, asks, “Are you so soon sated by the wealth for which you did not fear to marry the lovely lady fraudulently, and then to tear her apart?” (Inferno. XIX. 55-57) Although this is the only time that Dante attacks Boniface in this Canto, this is a very powerful attack. The “lovely lady” refers to the Church and this metaphor clearly states how Boniface’s desire for wealth harmed the Church. That is political in nature, and the word “fraudulently” also carries a political connotation (Inferno. XIX. 56-57). Basically, Boniface’s desire for the papacy was so strong that he allegedly used bribes to be elected after he convinced Pope Celestine V to resign (Durling 299). Even though that was never quite proven, Boniface involved himself in many other political acts, which Dante most likely saw as too politically ambitious for a Pope. Not only did Boniface go to war against those who questioned his election to the Papacy, but he also fought with England and France over the right to tax clergy (Cestaro 144). Boniface was accused of “heresy, simony, embezzlement of crusade funds, warmongering, assassination, idolatry, blasphemies, demon worship, fornication, and sodomy.” (Ferrante 122) While it is possible to assume that Dante placed Boniface in hell for any of these sins, the words that Dante employs to specifically refer to Boniface illustrate that Dante is attacking his political ambition. Also, Dante emphasizes the idea of ambition and desire (at least for wealth) resulting in sin by stating that this desire for wealth is what led to Boniface tearing apart the church. Although Dante does not write here that Boniface committed simony, he still shows that Boniface’s ambition and desires result in his sins against the Church.

Dante connects Pope Clement V to these political sins by also mentioning him in this Canto. John A. Scott claims in Understanding Dante that Dante punishes Clement because he moved the papacy, “thus betraying the hopes of the faithful that he would purge the church and the papacy of the desire for worldly power and riches.” (317) Scott’s claim goes hand-in-hand with Davis’ claim, as they both promote the idea that Dante is condemning political involvement. However, Scott’s claim fails to identify that Dante actually attacks Clements’s political ambition and the political implications behind the papacy’s move to Avignon. In Inferno, Nicholas III calls Clement “a lawless shepherd of even uglier deeds,” claiming that Clement is worse than both Nicholas and Boniface (Inferno. XIX. 83-84). So Dante is saying that Clement is worse than Boniface—the same Pope Boniface who was accused of all those ridiculously horrible sins. Dante takes it one step further as he compares Clement to “Jason…and as his king was indulgent to the first one, so the ruler of France will be to him.” (Inferno. XIX. 85-87). According to the Princeton Dante Project, Jason purchased a priestly position for his brother from the King of Syria. This comparison, in effect, illustrates political ambition, simony and the difference between politics and religion. In this quotation, Dante refers to Clement’s bold move of shifting the “papal see from Rome to Avignon and appeased the ambition of Philip IV.” (Durling 300) While there was no concrete proof that Clement was King Phillip’s puppet, Clement did take political action that certainly favored King Phillip—for example, he appointed many French cardinals (Turley 293). By comparing Clement to Jason and claiming that the King of France will be indulgent to Boniface, Dante is citing the political reasons and problems behind the papacy’s new home, which again demonstrates Dante’s warning against political ambition in this Canto.

Although Dante only vaguely mentions Boniface and Clement in Canto XIX, those few lines regarding both Popes portrays the importance of political sin. It is important to understand that, even though Inferno certainly does have many religious undertones, there are also numerous points where Inferno criticizes many other sins, especially political ambition. While all three popes do represent political ambition, they are not the only examples of where Dante uses characters who suffered from ambition. Characters like Brunnetto Latini, Francesca and Farinata were also guilty of political ambition to some degree. Despite how religious the Inferno seems, Dante attacks the members of their church in Canto XIX not for religious problems, but for their politically ambitious values.

Word Count: 1840

Works Cited

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