Paradiso, Canto 6SummaryReplying to Dante’s questions, the soul reveals himself as Justinian, the Lawgiver and former Emperor of Rome. At first a believer in the divine hut not the human nature of Christ, he was converted to the true faith by Bishop Agapetus. From then on, committing military affairs to his general, Belisarius, he dedicated himself to the codifying of Roman Law. Rebuking both the Guelf and Ghibelline factions, he goes on to show the august nature of the Roman Empire, unfolding the panorama of its history from the earliest times down to the Redemption, the fall of Jerusalem and the championship of the Church by Charlemagne. Concerning the souls whom Dante has seen in Mercury, Justinian explains that, though they all performed virtuous and noble deeds in the first life, they were at the same time tainted with wordly ambition and desire for good repute. Now freed from envious desire for greater reward, they rejoice in the beatitude assigned to them. Among them is Romèo, minister of Raymond Berengar, Count of Provence.
The Prepatory LectureQuestions for Reflection
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Paradiso, Canto 6 © Jan Hearn
The ImagesJustinian: surnamed “the Great”, Emperor of Constantinople, A.D. 527–65. He made a valiant effort to hold together the decaying fabric of the Empire, and by the help of his famous generals, Belisarius and Narses, overthrew the Vandals in Africa and the Ostrogoths in Italy. He is chiefly renowned for his great codification of the Roman Law (see also Notes to this Canto). In the establishment of Justinian’s government at Ravenna, Dante saw the divinely ordained restoration of Imperial sovereignty in Western Europe. In his own greatness Justinian symbolizes the greatness of Rome, and to him Dante accords the honour of unfolding the scroll of Rome’s history from its foundation to the time of Charlemagne. Dante’s awareness of the majesty of Justinian must have been borne in upon him during his years of residence in Ravenna and especially by the impressive figure of the Emperor in the sixth-century mosaic in the Church of San Vitale. His beliefs concerning the divinely ordered destiny of Rome (which he set forth also in his treatise on world government, Monarchia) have been the subject of many an allusion, discussion and discourse throughout the Divine Comedy, but here, in the speech of Justinian, the theme is raised to sublime proportions in which Roman justice is seen as the earthly symbol of the divine.
The Eagle: In this canto it appears as an image within an image, symbolizing in Justinian’s speech the destined might of Rome. (In Cantos xviii-xx, it reappears as an image in its own right, symbolizing both divine and Roman justice.) Romèo: Romieu, or Romée, of Villeneuve (1170–1250), a minister of Raymond Berengar IV, Count of Provence, has been identified as the original of Dante’s Romèo. He is said to have been a friend of Sordello (cf. Purg. vi-viii). Dante, in the words of Justinian, stresses two things concerning him: his faithful service to his lord, and the undeserved disgrace into which he fell. In the story, Romèo is seen to be, like Pier delle Vigne (cf. Hell xiii), an instance of the loyal but ill-rewarded servant, of which Dante himself was a living example, having faithfully served Florence and having likewise received ill usage in return. Allegorically Romèo, like Justinian, symbolizes the nature which serves loyally but with hope of personal advancement; earthly reward was denied him, but in Heaven his recompense is equal to Justinian’s. Tom LA Books |