Visual perception in Dante’s Commedia according to the early commentaries (1320–1400)

Abstract

The acknowledgment of the prominence of sight and light in Dante’s Commedia, alongside extensive scholarly attention to the poet’s scientific expertise, sources, influences, and vivid similes, highlights a noteworthy area awaiting exploration: the engagement of Dante’s early commentators with the optical content within the text. Insights into their competences, albeit not necessarily reflective of common readers, and an analysis of how they clarify, comment on, elaborate, or overlook specific verses, significantly enrich our understanding of the reception and interpretation of the imagery related to eye functioning, luminous propagation, etc., during the years close to the composition of the poem. This preliminary survey, intended to establish the groundwork for subsequent in-depth investigations, examines commentaries written until the early 15th century, concentrating on passages addressing image transmission and visual perception. The delineated research scope suggests a focus, though not exclusively, on verses and episodes set in Hell, notably in Inf. IX, X, XV, and XXXI.