Henry VII and Dante's Dream of a New Golden Age

Abstract

Dante's Divine Comedy is an attempt to restore a wayward society through the eradication of cupidity. Cupidity, as represented by the She-wolf, has driven Justice from the world just as it drove the goddess Astraea, Justice, from the Golden Age under Saturn's reign. Just like Virgil whom Dante regards as the quintessential poet of the Pagan Golden Age, for prophesying in the Fourth Eclogue the return of the Saturnian Golden Age under Emperor Caesar Augustus, Dante aspires to be the poet of a Christian Golden Age by championing in the Epistles and the Monarchia the coming of Henry VII of Luxembourg as a novel Saturn to bring back Justice to wayward Italy. Ultimately the Saturnine Henry becomes a coordinate for Dante himself, as the role of the poet and that of the emperor seem to meld as promoters of “civilitas.” Although Henry failed to bring about a new Golden Age on earth, Dante did not give up his dream. Convinced in the civilizing power of poetry, Dante offers a vision of the perfect Christian society in Paradise and becomes the poet of the Christian Golden Age. And he will take his seat in the Celestial Rose next to his Emperor.