Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-215) and index.
Contents:
Foreword / by Carla D. Hayden -- Preface / by Lucia Alma Wolf -- Alternative names of printers -- Source abbreviations -- 1. Crossing borders : the Library of Congress Dante collections / Lucia Alma Wolf -- 2. Notes on musical instruments in Dante's Divine Comedy / Francesco Ciabattoni -- 3. The mystery of Dante's Cato in the light of Roman law / Bernardo PicicheĢ -- 4. Dante in a global world : Sandow Birk's Divine Comedy / Kristina M. Olson -- 5. A Florentine first : Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy in print, 1481 edition : observations and discoveries / Sylvia R. Albro -- 6. Crossing borders with the Divine Comedy : a catalog of selected works from the Library of Congress / Lucia Alma Wolf -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- About the contributors -- Illustration credits -- Index.
Summary:
"The Unexpected Dante brings together leading scholars whose discoveries and observations add new understanding to The Divine Comedy as a multilayered masterpiece whose publishing history coincides with both the dawn of printing and the digital age. Each essay provides a fresh perspective on the Comedy: the story of Dante's reception in the United States; the poem's symbolic interpretations of musical instruments; Dante's knowledge of Roman law to explain Cato's enigmatic presence in Purgatory; inventive linguistic and artistic adaptations of the poem to contemporary urban settings; and new discoveries regarding Nicolaus de Laurentii's 1481 Commedia, an ambitious volume studied by historians since 1900. A bonus catalog showcases selected treasures from the Library's stellar Dante collections that illustrate the depth and variety of the Comedy's global influence"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.