Book Section
Alberto Casadei
Teodolinda Barolini and the Signs of Newness in The Undivine Comedy
This article highlights some of the bold and innovative ideas presented in Teodolinda Barolini's The Undivine Comedy. It examines the question of the veracity or otherwise of the poem according to Dante and according to some of his authoritative interpreters. It then explores the importance of The Undivine Comedy and other works by Barolini for understanding the narrative modes employed by Dante. In so doing, it defines the special status, neither true nor false, of his major work.
Keywords: Truth; fiction; medieval narrative; medieval theology
| Title |
Teodolinda Barolini and the Signs of Newness in The Undivine Comedy
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| Author(s) |
Alberto Casadei
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| Identifier | |
| Description |
This article highlights some of the bold and innovative ideas presented in Teodolinda Barolini's The Undivine Comedy. It examines the question of the veracity or otherwise of the poem according to Dante and according to some of his authoritative interpreters. It then explores the importance of The Undivine Comedy and other works by Barolini for understanding the narrative modes employed by Dante. In so doing, it defines the special status, neither true nor false, of his major work.
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| Is Part Of | |
| Place |
Berlin
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| Publisher |
ICI Berlin Press
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| Date |
November 4, 2025
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| Subject |
Truth
fiction
medieval narrative
medieval theology
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| Rights |
© by the author(s)
Except for images or otherwise noted, this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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| Language |
en-GB
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| page start |
135
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| page end |
148
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| Source |
A World of Possibilities: The Legacy of The Undivine Comedy, ed. by Kristina M. Olson, Cultural Inquiry, 37 (Berlin: ICI Berlin Press, 2025), pp. 135–48
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References
- Alighieri, Dante, The Divine Comedy, trans. by Allen Mandelbaum, 3 vols (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980–82)
- Alighieri, Dante, La Commedia secondo l’antica vulgata, ed. by Giorgio Petrocchi, Società Dantesca Italiana, Edizione Nazionale, 2nd rev. edn, 4 vols (Florence: Le Lettere, 1994)
- Barolini, Teodolinda, ‘Non-Christians in the Christian Afterlife’, Digital Dante (Columbia University Libraries, 2018) <https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/inferno/inferno-4/> [accessed 5 June 2025]
- Barolini, Teodolinda, Dante’s Poets: Textuality and Truth in the ‘Comedy’ (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984) <https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400853212>
- Barolini, Teodolinda, The Undivine Comedy: Detheologizing Dante (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992) <https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400820764>
- Barolini, Teodolinda, ‘Why Did Dante Write the Commedia? Or, The Vision Thing’, Dante Studies, 111 (1993), pp. 1–8; repr. as ‘Why Did Dante Write the Commedia? Dante and the Visionary Tradition’, in Barolini, Dante and the Origins of Italian Literary Culture (New York: Fordham University Press, 2006), pp. 125–31 <https://doi.org/10.5422/fordham/9780823227037.003.0006>
- Barolini, Teodolinda, Dante and the Origins of Italian Literary Culture (New York: Fordham University Press, 2006) <https://doi.org/10.5422/fordham/9780823227037.001.0001>
- Barolini, Teodolinda, ‘Dante’s Limbo and Equity of Access: Non-Christians, Children, and Criteria of Inclusion and Exclusion, from Inferno 4 to Paradiso 32’, in Barolini, Dante’s Multitudes: History, Philosophy, Method (Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame University Press, 2022), pp. 58–81 <https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.21996052.9>
- Barolini, Teodolinda, ‘Il Limbo di Dante e l’equità di accesso: non-Cristiani, bambini, e i criteri di inclusione ed esclusione, da If 4 a Pd 32’, Italianistica, 50.1 (2021), pp. 49–64
- Barolini, Teodolinda, Dante’s Multitudes: History, Philosophy, Method (Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame University Press, 2022) <https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.21996052>
- Casadei, Alberto, Dante oltre l’allegoria (Ravenna: Longo, 2021)
- Casadei, Alberto, ‘Ancora sui canti fiorentini dell’ Inferno (e ancora sul Veltro)’, Italianistica, 52.2 (2023), pp. 11–32
- Crasta, Fabrizio, ‘Gli angeli neutrali da Dante a Matteo Palmieri’, Lettere Italiane, 67.1 (2015), pp. 5–25
- Crisafi, Nicolò, Dante’s Masterplot and Alternative Narratives in the ‘Commedia’ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022) <https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192857675.001.0001>
- Dell’Oso, Lorenzo, ‘L’ Inferno a Firenze? Su alcuni elementi teologici dei primi canti della Commedia ( Inf. 1–4)’, Italianistica: Rivista di letteratura italiana, 53.3 (2024), pp. 12–26
- Falzone, Paolo, ‘Per Dante virgiliano’, in Dante e l’eredità dei classici, ed. by Stefano Carrai, special issue of Letture Classensi, 51 (2023), pp. 31–60
- Freccero, John, ‘The Neutral Angels’, in Freccero, Dante: The Poetics of Conversion, ed. by Rachel Jacoff (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1986), pp. 110–18
- Russo, Vittorio, Il romanzo teologico: Sondaggi sulla ‘Commedia’ di Dante (Naples: Liguori, 1984)
Cite as:
Alberto Casadei, ‘Teodolinda Barolini and the Signs of Newness in The Undivine Comedy’, in A World of Possibilities: The Legacy of The Undivine Comedy, ed. by Kristina M. Olson, Cultural Inquiry, 37 (Berlin: ICI Berlin Press, 2025), pp. 135-48 <https://doi.org/10.37050/ci-37_07>