Dante and the Mystical Tradition: Bernard of Clairvaux in the Commedia

In this study, Steven Botterill explores the intellectual relationship between the greatest poet of the fourteenth century, Dante, and the greatest spiritual writer of the twelfth century, Bernard of Clairvaux. Botterill analyzes Bernard’s appearance as a character in the closing cantos of the Paradiso in the context of his medieval reputation as a contemplative mystic, devotee of Mary, and, above all, a preacher of outstanding eloquence. Botterill’s new critical stance will provoke a reevaluation of Bernard’s significance in the Commedia.