Since I didn’t have the chance to write specific comments on every single midterm exam I graded, I thought it could be useful to come up with some general considerations on some of the central issues that came up in the exam, especially those I felt needed a little clarification.
On the relationship between the community and the deceased
It is undeniable that, compared to the Classical tradition, the Italian tradition assigns a less relevant role to funeral rites. One should however be careful to conclude that this deemphasizes or diminishes the role the community has, in the Italian tradition, in the successful transition of the deceased to the afterlife. If the role of the community appears to be lessened, it is because of the particularly strong tie, which the Italian tradition ushers in, between the deceased and God, which is what the examples of Manfred and Buonconte ultimately intend to underscore. This completely changes the ‘gravity’ of the deceased-community system, yet without diminishing any of the parameters. Indeed the crucial role of the community is supported by countless passages in Purgatorio, where the role of prayer for the deceased is constantly underscored, and where the process of purgation itself becomes a community business. One may say that the community is no longer crucial to the mere transition of the soul to the afterlife, yet it remains an essential part of the soul’s fulfillment in the afterlife. And that is indeed a big deal.
On topography and cosmology
The topography of the other world spells out the origins of the world itself. From Oceanus to Styx all the way to the mountain of purgatory, and at least the eight heavens that were known of in Dante’s time, the features of the other world in the Classical and Italian traditions are real geographical markers; for Dante, real astronomical markers too. That makes the other world a real place, albeit at times a vague place. It also makes the other world a place intimately connected with the history of mankind (we have spoken of the 5 ages of man in Hesiod, Ovid, Daniel and Dante). Thus, we may say that the other world in both the Classical and Italian traditions is made of meaningful cosmological signs.
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