We've seen so many figures down in the ninth of the evil pouches of fraud, the ninth of the "malebolge" in Dante's INFERNO. And we're about to see more, including the guy who (maybe?) started the entire Florentine civil war that has torn Dante and his family apart.
Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look through a short passage to discover a figure who is at the root of Dante's own troubles.
Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:
[01:41] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXVIII, lines 103 - 111. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this episode, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.
[02:52] Mosca has come up before in INFERNO.
[05:42] Who is Mosca dei Lamberti?
[09:25] The damned seemed to have become much more "physical."
[11:50] Is there a parodic reference to Christ's spilled blood here?
[14:59] Mosca offers an elliptical, murky bit of advice that leads to the Florentine civil war.
[18:46] Dante the pilgrim continues the political strife in this passage.
[20:19] Why is the ninth of the evil pouches (of the "malebolge") so crowded? A few speculative answers.