Dino Compagni (c. 125526 February 1324) was an Italian historical writer and political figure. Dino is an abridgement of Aldobrandino or Ildebrandino. He was born into a ''popolano'' or prosperous family of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, supporters of the White party of the

Guelphs The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalr ...

. Dino was active in Florentine politics serving as consul for the guild of traders, and later as member of the Signory twice, Prior, and Gonfalonier of Justice. He was democratic in feeling, and was a supporter of the new ordinances of Giano della Bella.Adolfo Bartoli and Hermann Oelsner (1911). "

Italian Literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italian people, Italians or in Languages of Italy, other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely re ...

". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 14. (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press. pp. 897-912. After November 1301, when the White faction lost the power of the Signory to the Black (Ghibelline) party, Dino never again served in a Government council. Because he had been a prior, his property was not forfeit; he was not sent into exile, as other members of the White faction were. When

Charles of Valois Charles of Valois (12 March 1270 – 16 December 1325), the fourth son of King Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon, was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, whose rule over France would start in 1328 ...

, the nominee of

Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...

, was expected in Florence, Compagni, foreseeing the evils of civil discord, assembled a number of citizens in the church of San Giovanni, and tried to quiet their excited spirits. His ''Cronica'' relates the events that came under his own notice from 1280 to 1312. It bears the stamp of a strong subjectivity. The narrative is constantly personal. Compagni is more of a historian than a chronicler, because he looks for the reasons of events, and makes profound reflections on them. He is one of the important authorities for that period of Florentine history, notwithstanding the mistakes of fact which are to be found in his writings. During the 1870s,

Karl von Hegel Friedrich Wilhelm Karl, Ritter von Hegel (7 June 1813 – 5 December 1901) was a German historian and son of the philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. During his lifetime he was a well-known and well-reputed historian who received many awards ...

and

Paul Scheffer-Boichorst Paul Scheffer-Boichorst (25 May 1843 in Elberfeld – 17 January 1902 in Berlin) was a German historian of the Middle Ages. He studied history at the universities of Innsbruck, Göttingen and Berlin, receiving his doctorate from Leipzig University ...

participated in a debate about the authenticity of his chronicle, publishing several papers with their arguments. Hegel argued for the authenticity of Compagni's chronicle, and was right.Marion Kreis: ''Karl Hegel. Geschichtswissenschaftliche Bedeutung und wissenschaftsgeschichtlicher Standort'' (= ''Schriftenreihe der Historischen Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.'' Bd. 84). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen u.a. 2012, pp. 82-87, .

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*
Complete text of Compagni's ''Cronica delle cose occorrenti ne' tempi suoi''
(in Italian).
''The Chronicle of Dino Compagni''
Translated by Else C. M. Benecke and A. G. Ferrers Howell, Publisher JM Dent and Co., Aldine House, London, 1906. {{DEFAULTSORT:Compagni, Dino 1255 births 1324 deaths Writers from Florence 13th-century Italian historians 14th-century Italian historians

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