Dante Alighieri
(1265–1321)

Dante Alighieri's commitment to bringing literature to a wider audience was evident by his decision to use a common language in his works of literature. The language of scholars at the time was Latin, but Dante wrote many of his works in Italian including one of the most important works of the Medieval period the Divine Comedy.

His masterpiece follows the three-day spiritual journey of a man, also named Dante, who is guided by his beloved Beatrice. Beatrice is believed to be based on his real-life love Beatrice Portinar, whom he only saw a few times. Nevertheless, she leads him out of despair.

Born into a poor but noble family in Florence, Italy, Dante helped run Florence's government until a civil war removed his political party from power. In 1302, Dante was exiled from his beloved city. Dante died in 1321, shortly after completing the Divine Comedy, the crowning achievement of medieval literature.

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