Addressing Inferno Canto XIX: Simony and Corruption in the Papacy
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date published 03/06/2008
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SummaryDante writes Canto XIX as an indictment of church practices that remove its members from the spiritual sphere and give them too much political power. When corrupt people gain power in the Church, their corruption compromises the Church’s status and negatively affects the entire political atmosphere of Europe. This is why simoniacs are punished in the 8th circle of hell – Below thieves, prostitutes, and even murderers.. Specifically, Dante singles out three popes who used simony to further their political ends - Nicholas III, Boniface VIII, and Clement V. Their corruption had negative affects on the Church, Tuscany, and even Dante himself – indirectly leading to his exile from Florence in 1302.
Table of Contents
- Simony takes its name from a scene in the Acts of the Apostles involving the magician Simon Magus.
- Dante intends to showcase specific examples of corruption in the Church and remind the readers of the damage that it has wrought on both itself and on Tuscany.
- The second pope the Poet singles out for condemnation is Boniface VIII.
- The Poet paints Clement V as the worst of the corrupt simoniacs to come.
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