Durandus and Dante : a theology of the liturgy in poetry

Abstract

This thesis explores Dante’s use of liturgy in the Commedia, using Durandus’ Rationale divinorum officiorum as a primary source text for the lived liturgical practice at the end of the thirteenth century. In part one, I examine the themes of hope and miraculous redemption. In Chapter 1, I investigate these themes in the liturgies of Ante-Purgatory (specifically Purg. I-VIII), revealing liturgies and significations of extreme mercy for Dante-pilgrim, the souls arriving on the shore, the excommunicates, the violently killed, and the rulers. In Chapter 2, I study how the person of Mary serves as a figure of limitless mercy and help for the souls in Purgatorio, and a person of devotion and praise in Paradiso. In part two, I focus on the theme of confessions of humility, sin, and faith; relying on models of confession and penitence described in Durandus’ writings. Chapter 3 explores the Gate of Purgatory (Purg. IX, 73-145) as a confession of humility, probing textual elements which strongly represent the virtue of humility in Durandus’ and Dante’s cultural context. Chapter 4 posits the events in the Earthly Paradise (Purg. XXX-XXXIII) as representing a confession of sin followed by foot washing and the Maundy Thursday mass. Chapter 5 concerns Dante’s credo (Par. XXIV) as a confession of faith, analyzing Durandus’ and Dante’s use of biblical confessions of faith alongside the professions made in the Florentine baptismal scrutinies and the baptism itself. My thesis is the first full-length comparative study of Durandus and Dante, and provides, thereby, fresh perspectives on Dante’s literary depictions of Christian life and practice.