The Dante Encyclopedia (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, Vol. 1836) (Hardcover)

by R. Lansing (Author) "Punished in Antenora, in the ninth circle of Hell, among the traitors to one's country or cause (Inf. 32.78)..." (more)
Key Phrases: stil nom, rulgari eloquentia, vidgari eloquentia, New York, Middle Ages, Princeton University Press (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
In the English-speaking world, Dante has the status of a great unknown. His reputation is secure; his Inferno, with its scrupulously organized tiers of punishment, is a byword and a blessing for satirists and artists; his life and works are the subjects of a steady, enthusiastic stream of secondary literature. Yet the whole of his work is little understood. Few readers ever advance beyond the first portion of his mighty poem to its conclusion in Heaven; fewer still ever gain a sufficient understanding of his context, of the nuances of his response to his world, or of the complexity of his approach to style, language, and religious belief. One mark of the incompleteness of our knowledge is that this immense new reference work on Dante is almost unprecedented in our language, as Lansing (Italian studies, Brandeis Univ.) points out. This work includes entries on all principal characters in the Divina Commedia, as well as on his other writings, the tortured politics of his day, the formative theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, translations into English, metrics, and the reputation of Dante in other countries and centuries. Especially valuable are judicious articles on hotly debated questions, such as the meaning of Dante's ambiguous Ulysses in the Inferno or the true identity of the Matelda of the Purgatorio. The back matter contains some marvelous additional resources, including an exhaustive listing of musical settings of the Commedia, and a list of the Popes and Holy Roman Emperors down to Dante's day. Some of the articles are needlessly dry, but on the whole, this new resource is hard to fault. An indispensable reference work for most libraries, it is an excellent point of entry for readers eager to probe the deeper mysteries of this great genius's work. Highly recommended.DGraham Christian, formerly with Andover-Harvard Theological Lib., Cambridge, MA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"...a splendid work, highly recommended for all academic libraries concerned with the humanities." -- Choice - September 2000

"The premier English-language reference source on Dante. ... Comp lit will never be the same." -- College and Research Libraries News - November 2000

...a splendid work, highly recommended for all academic libraries concerned with the humanities.
–Choice, October 2000

...almost unprecedented in our language... An indispensable reference work for most libraries... Highly recommended.
–Library Journal (starred review), August 2000

Comprehensive and authoritative, offering the reader access to both Dante's personal genius, as well as the time in which he lived....the Dante Encyclopedia returns real value for the investment. Both serious Dante scholars and undergraduates studying him for the first time will benefit from this reference. It is an encyclopedia that does justice to its subject, and that is saying a lot.
–Against the Grain, September 2000

Comprehensive and authoritative, offering the reader access to both Dantes personal genius, as well as the time in which he lived....the Dante Encyclopedia returns real value for the investment. Both serious Dante scholars and undergraduates studying him for the first time will benefit from this reference. It is an encyclopedia that does justice to its subject, and that is saying a lot.
–Against the Grain, September 2000

The premier English-language reference source on Dante.... Comp lit will never be the same.
–College and Research Libraries News, November 2000

This massive but highly readable reference work can be used often by educators and general readers alike...it has remarkable consistency of style, content, an space....This information makes interesting reading. High level of clarity, insight, and sopistication is maintained throughout.....
–American Reference Books Annual, 2000

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1040 pages
• Publisher: Garland Publishing; illustrated edition edition (April 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815316593
• ISBN-13: 978-0815316596
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.2 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,277,208 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The New Dante Reference of Choice, July 16, 2000

By A Customer

Prof. Richard Lansing's Dante Encyclopedia is a reference work of deep interest, wide scope, and unimpeachable authority. General readers, students, and scholars--especially those who are English-based--are bound to make this volume their Dante reference of choice. Hundreds of clear, intelligent, and up-to-date entries from today's best-respected Dante scholars discuss every person and place mentioned in Dante's works as well as a vast number of biographical, historical, and cultural topics. The encyclopedia will appeal to anyone who is looking for a better appreciation of the poet's background, achievement, and critical legacy.

The maps and schematic drawings at the beginning of the encyclopedia are the best of their kind. The text is interspersed with an abundance of fine photographs and illustrations. Appended to the work are a detailed and reliable chronology of the poet's life, useful lists of the popes and emperors, a chronology of musical settings of Dante's Comedy, a list of available recordings of these settings, a list of reference works (including electronic resources), a complete pronouncing index, with textual citations, of the Italian and Latin proper names used by Dante, and an exhaustive index of subjects and illustrations.

So big, so accurate and comprehensive, the Dante Encyclopedia completely supersedes its predecessors and promises to remain authoritative for many years. No college or university, no lover of poetry and world literature will want to be without it.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last a reasonable encyclopedia in English!, May 1, 2000

By A Customer

A fantastic accomplishment! As a longtime Dante enthusiast, I have been waiting for something in English (my Italian not being up to snuff yet) that combines breadth with depth.

As my own metric, I like to pick a topic that is not altogether esoteric and that is the subject of at least several competing theories. In studying Dante, that topic for me is numerology. I was especially pleased to read the article on numerology because the Dante Encyclopedia fairly explained the competing theories on the use of numerology by Dante. Never have I seen one source that provides the in-depth overview that this book does. For the serious student of the classics, this is a must-have! Gracie! And bravo!