Jacopo Alighieri (1289–1348; sometimes written as Iacopo Alighieri) was an Italian poet, the son of Dante Alighieri, whom he followed in his exile. Jacopo's most famous work is his sixty-chapter ''Dottrinale''. He is represented by the father in the ''Paradiso'' of the Divine Comedy as Saint James along with Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist, representing his brothers Pietro and Giovanni.

Biography

Born in 1289 in Florence, Jacopo was the son of Dante Alighieri and his wife, Gemma di Manetto Donati. He was exiled from Florence with his father and brothers Giovanni and Pietro in 1315. He subsequently traveled to Ravenna, where he may have lived with his father. Dante died in 1321, and Jacopo sent a copy of the ''Divine Comedy'' to Guido da Polenta, the lord of the city. In 1325, he returned to Florence, where he took minor orders, making it possible for him to become a

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in Verona. At home, he took charge of his family's financial affairs; in 1343, he was able to retake possession of his father's confiscated property. In his later years, he had a troubled relationship with Jacopa di Biliotto degli Alfani, with whom he had a daughter named Alighiera and a son named Alighiero. Jacopo died in 1348, likely in Florence from the

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Works

* The ''Dottrinale'' has 60 chapters in seven-syllable rhyming couplets; each chapter consists of ten stanzas. It treats matters of astronomy and astrology, faith, the virtues of the Church and the State, love and hate, family, human beauty, and free will. The work is inspired by ancient authors, and sometimes imitates Dante. Divided into two sections, the ''Dottrinale'' first deals with the physical order, and then the moral. * The ''Commento'' is virtually a terzina-by-terzina commentary of the text of the ''Inferno'', which is the first of the three parts of the ''Divine Comedy''. ante's_poem_is_in_''terza_rima'',_the_form_he_created_as_the_poem's_poetic_vehicle._The_form's_three-line_stanzas_are_called_terzinas..html" ;"title="terza_rima.html" ;"title="ante's poem is in ''terza rima">ante's poem is in ''terza rima'', the form he created as the poem's poetic vehicle. The form's three-line stanzas are called terzinas.">terza_rima.html" ;"title="ante's poem is in ''terza rima">ante's poem is in ''terza rima'', the form he created as the poem's poetic vehicle. The form's three-line stanzas are called terzinas.Jacopo was one of the first to write a work of this kind. By 1340, less than two decades after Dante's death, six major commentaries were enlightening, guiding, and informing the work's ever-larger readership. (See Hollander's "Dante and his commentators" in ''The Cambridge Companion to Dante''). The ''Commento'' accompanied the copies of the ''Comedy'' sent to Guido da Polenta.

Additional bibliography

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References

External links

* *
''Chiose alla cantica dell'Inferno''
(Florence, 1848)
''Il dottrinale di Jacopo Alighieri''
(Città di Castello, 1895)
''Jacopo's ''Inferno'' commentary, on the Dartmouth Dante Project site''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alighieri, Jacopo 1289 births 1348 deaths Writers from Florence 14th-century Italian poets Dante Alighieri Donati