Reginaldo degli Scrovegni was a

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

of the

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

faction who lived in the early 14th century around the time of

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

and

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

. He is best known for being a wicked

usurer Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is c ...

, and by association with his son,

Enrico degli Scrovegni Enrico Scrovegni was a Paduan money-lender who lived around the time of Giotto and Dante. He was the son of Reginaldo degli Scrovegni and Capellina Malacapelli, and was married twice, first to a member of the Carrara family, then to Jacopina (Giaco ...

, who commissioned the famous

Arena Chapel The Scrovegni Chapel ( it, Cappella degli Scrovegni ), also known as the Arena Chapel, is a small church, adjacent to the Augustinian monastery, the ''Monastero degli Eremitani'' in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. The chapel and monaster ...

by Giotto.

Place in Dante's ''Inferno''

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

’s

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

poem ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

'', Dante says that he saw Reginaldo in the inner ring of the Seventh Circle of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

, where the violent are eternally punished. The inner ring of the Seventh Circle is a burning hot desert with a continual rain of fire. The usurers are to be found sitting on the sand, swatting away fire like animals swat bugs, and crying. Around their necks are found purses emblazoned with their

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

. This, and a bit of research into Dante's time-period, make it possible to identify who the suffering sinners are meant to be. Usurers are considered violent because, as Dante's

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

explains in Canto XI, usurers sin against Art, and Art is the Grandchild of God.

Relevant lines from "The Inferno" Canto XVII with explanations (Mandelbaum translation)

:So I went on alone and even farther (43) :Along the seventh circle’s outer margin, :To where the melancholy people sat. : Despondency was bursting from their eyes; (46) :This side, then that, their hands kept fending off, :At times the flames, at times the burning soil: :Not otherwise do dogs in summer-now (49) :With muzzle, now with paw-when they are bitten :By fleas or gnats or by the sharp gadfly. :When I had set my eyes upon the faces (52) :Of some on who the painful fire falls, :I recognized no one; but I did notice :That from the neck of each a purse was hung (55) :That had a special color or an emblem, :And their eyes seemed to feast upon these pouches. :Looking about-when I had come among them- (58) :I saw a yellow purse with azure on it : That had the face and manner of a lion. :Then, as I let my eyes move further on, (61) :I saw another purse that was bloodred, :And it displayed a goose more white than butter. :And one who had an azure, pregnant sow (This person is Reginaldo, because a sow azure on a field argent is the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the Scrovegni family.) :Inscribed as emblem on his white pouch, said :To me: “What are you doing in this pit? :Now be off; and since you’re still alive, (67) :Remember that my neighbor

Vitaliano Vitaliano di Iacopo Vitaliani was a Paduan nobleman who lived in the late 13th century around the time of Giotto and Dante. He is best known for being a wicked usurer according to Dante in the Divine Comedy. Place in Dante's ''Inferno'' In Dant ...

:Shall yet sit here, upon my left hand side. :Among these Florentines, I’m

n; (70) :I often hear them thunder in my ears, :Shouting, ‘Now let the sovereign cavalier, : The one who’ll bring the purse with three goats, come!’” (73) :At this he slewed his mouth, and then he stuck :His tongue out, like an ox that licks his nose.

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scrovegni, Reginaldo Degli Italian untitled nobility 14th-century Italian nobility Year of birth missing Year of death missing Place of birth missing 14th-century Italian businesspeople People from Padua