Included in the Codex Altonensis, this diagram functions as a map of Dante’s passage through hell. Flanked by images of Dante and Virgil entering and subsequently exiting hell, the main body of the map consists of a descending spiral of text describing the steps of Dante’s journey. At the center, the map transitions to visual representation, depicting a three-faced Satan devouring Cassius, Brutus, and Judas at the center of Hell. The concentric rings and circular format of the map ressemble a cosmographical map, closely linking the manuscript to a contemporaneously recognizable scientific discourse. Dante’s Divinia Commedia, though a literary work, depended heavily on the realistic conceptualization of space, especially in the Inferno section. This primed the work for illustrative mapping, which was a common practice when crafting manuscripts of the text in the 14th century. (Patrick Wigent '19)
Hamburg, Bibliothek des Gymnasiums Christianeum, [Pal. 313, f. 7r ] [Sign. R 7/2, f. 5r]
Dante Alighieri. Divina Commedia: Codex Altonensis. Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1965.
Special Collections, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Rights for maps held by individual publishers and institutions. Thumbnails displayed constitute fair use.
Carleton Gould Library Special Collections (Folio) PQ4301 .A1 1965