Friars Minor in Dante’s World: Aesthetics of the Apocalypse
The goal of my study is to gain a better understanding of the influence that Franciscans had on Dante’s writing, with a particular attention to the _Divine Comedy_. I will focus on the work of Pietro di Giovanni Olivi and Ubertino da Casale, leaders of the so-called Spiritual Franciscans. The secondary literature on this subject fails to acknowledge the importance of Ubertino for Dante’s work, attributing too much weight to Olivi. I believe that our assessment of Franciscan influence on Dante’s work should be corrected in his favor. Without denying the importance of personalities such as Bonaventure and Olivi, I suggest that a rereading of Ubertino could better explain Dante's attitude towards the ideology of the Spirtuals, and shed new light on the making of the _Commedia_.
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Dante Society of America, Charles Hall Grandgent Award, 2007 – HONORABLE MENTION