Speaking Like a Philosopher: Dante and Renaissance Treatises on Love

Poetic authorities had been employed in love treatises throughout the centuries but during the Renaissance Petrarch was universally acknowledged as the love poet par excellence. Dante, on the other hand, despite having written extensively on the topic, seemed to occupy a marginal role in Renaissance love treatises. Indeed, only a few sections from the Commedia appear to have been included with some regularity in writings on love. This chapter explores the reasons behind Dante’s qualified presence in Renaissance love treatises, focusing on some lectures produced in the context of the Florentine Academy, which celebrated Dante as a philosopher as much as a poet. Studying the limited presence of Dante in Renaissance love treatises will ultimately offer a new angle to appreciate his sixteenth-century reception.