Virgil and Dante continue walking among the grafters in company with a troop of devils. Virgil talks with one of the sinners, who also plays a trick on the devils. Chaos ensues.
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You know, I have some military experience and I’ve watched soldiers breaking camp, rushing to the attack, parading in review – and even fleeing for their lives. I’ve seen scouts reconnoiter the region around Arezzo, raiding parties, tournaments, jousts; I’ve heard trumpets blaring, bells ringing, drums rolling, flares flashing off ramparts – all of these to the sound of everything you can think of. But I have to tell you, I never saw troops on the ground or ships at sea signaled by such vulgar trumpetry![1]In these opening lines, and before he continues the narrative he began in the previous canto, Dante first connects these two cantos by means of – a fart! Not to dwell on it too much, but this was … Continue reading
By now, we were on our way with that frightening squad of devils. What savage company we had – but as the saying goes: “In church with saints, in the tavern with hoodlums!” But, as before, I was very interested in that pitch down there so I could understand how this bolgia worked and how those poor sinners were being cooked. I’ve heard that dolphins sometimes accompany ships at sea, flying up and down alongside them to warn them of approaching storms. Just like those dolphins, here a sinner would emerge momentarily from the boiling tar to ease his suffering and then, quick as a wink, dive back under to hide itself. Then there were others who just squatted along the edge of their tar-ponds like frogs with just their mouths out while the rest of their bodies where hidden below. But not for long. When Barbariccia, our leader, would approach, they’d all disappear below the boiling pitch.[2]It should be clear by now that without Dante’s curiosity, his Poem would lose most of its energy. If one thinks back for a moment, a lot has happened since he was summoned from his hiding place in … Continue reading
It happened – and it still gives me the shivers to think about it – that one of the sinners still showed himself (as frogs sometimes do) when the others dove down. Well, when Grafficane saw him he hooked him right up by his sticky hair and lifted him out of the pitch. He looked like an otter![3]Dante noted earlier his interested in seeing how the sinners were “cooked,” and he also used the image of a great kitchen where the chef’s helpers poked big chunks of meat back down into the … Continue reading
By now I already knew all their names, those nasty devils, because I listened carefully when Malacoda chose them, each one stepping forward when his name was called. “Hey, Rubicante!”the other fiends shouted, egging him on, “dig those big claws of yours into his back and peel some skin off him!”[4]With all that has gone on already, Dante manages to remember the names of all those devils from when each of them was called forth in the previous canto. And now the weather changes. The “storm” … Continue reading
Seeing the opportunity, I asked Virgil: “Master, see if you can find out who that poor guy is who’s just become those devils’ plaything.” So Virgil went right over to the pitch-smeared sinner and asked him where he was from.
He replied: “I’m Ciampolo from Navarre. My mother couldn’t support me so she sent me to serve some lord. My father was a crook who spent everything he owned and then killed himself. Later, I worked as a servant for King Thibault. That’s where I learned my craft – graft – and here I am paying my bill in this sticky stuff.”[5]Things are starting to get slightly out of hand here, but this doesn’t stop Dante’s curiosity about the otter-sinner (Ciampolo) who has become the devils’ toy. And Virgil immediately complies … Continue reading
Then Ciriatto, who looked like a huge boar with two tusks jutting out of his evil mouth, let that grafter know just how one of those tusks could tear a man open. Ohh, that mouse had fallen in with bad cats! But Barbariccia blocked him with his arms out, shouting: “Get away! I’ve got him!” Then he turned to Virgil and said: “If you want to find out more, now’s the time, before the others tear him up.”[6]This torture is over and above what the contrapasso for this canto calls for. And we have more animal imagery here: Ciriatto looking like a boar, the grafter as a mouse, and the rest as “bad … Continue reading
Still standing nearby, Virgil addressed that poor Spaniard again: “Do you know any Italians stuck down under there with the rest of those sinners?”[7]It is fascinating that such a specific question should be asked. But it’s put to a Spaniard, and Dante (through Virgil) is probably more interested in “his own people” first, as it were … Continue reading
He obliged: “Just a minute ago I was down under with a fellow who’s from near there. How I wish I was still there with him! Then I wouldn’t be here, hooked and clawed.”
At that, Libicocco cried: “We’ve had enough of this!” Then he jabbed his trident into that sinner’s arm, twisted it, and pulled out a piece of muscle! Draghignazzo also wanted to play, so he tried jabbing the grafter’s leg, but Barbariccia quickly turned around and gave all of them a mean stare.[8]Note how Dante turns up the torture here. The devils have no real interest in Dante’s journey, and one gets the sense that, in spite of the supposed military order of this squad, their real purpose … Continue reading
As soon as that malicious squad had calmed down, Virgil started to question the jabbed one who was eyeing his new wound. “Who were you talking about when you said you left someone underneath when you came up here?” “Ha! Friar Gomita, that wicked monk from Gallura. He knows every kind of fraud. When he had his master’s enemies in his grip he treated them well: he gladly took all their cash, let them go, and then hushed things up. He was no petty grafter – he was the king! Now he’s down there with Michele Zanche of Logodoro. They do nothing but talk about Sardinia. It’s a wonder their tongues don’t wear out! But look here, you can see how that demon there is smiling wickedly at me. For sure he’s going to rip me up again.”[9]One can imagine the scene here: Ciampolo has been hauled up out of the boiling tar, he’s hanging by his hair from the end of Grafficane’s trident, he’s been wounded and taunted, and Virgil – … Continue reading
But Barbariccia turned to the wild-eyed Farfarello who was about to rip into the grafter: “Get off, you dirty buzzard!”
Ciampolo then kept it up with Virgil: “If you want to talk with Italians, I’ll go get some for you. But all these devils need to stand back or else those sinners down there won’t come up. All I need to do is whistle that the coast is clear and I’ll get seven of them for you.”[10]Reader: if you seriously think this will happen, you’ve been taken in by this master grafter. Think again! But prepare to enjoy yet another lie in the offing, fooling everyone but the liar. In … Continue reading
Cagnazzo made a nasty face when he heard this. Shaking his head he said: “Listen to this trick he’s going to play so he can get away from us by jumping back in!”
And the tricky grafter, who knew his trade well, said: “You’re right! I’m the best trickster there is – especially when it comes to getting my friends into trouble.”[11]Cagnazzo has it exactly right, and even he is fooled by Ciampolo’s admission because Ciampolo cleverly admits as much, but he immediately deflects the devil’s suspicion toward the sinners that … Continue reading
Alichino couldn’t resist this challenge and boasted in front of the others: “Don’t worry. I won’t chase after you if you jump in – I can fly and I’ll be there before you even get near that pitch! Come on, Malebranche, let’s hide behind these rocks and see who can play the trick on us!”[12]If this scene were to be performed on stage, one could imagine at this moment that attentive members of the audience would sit up in their seats, smiling now to watch how this is going to play out.
Oh! Listen carefully now as that game unfolded. The devils retreated behind the rocks, led by the one who opposed the game from the start.[13]As if to heighten our attention and insure that we ready to enjoy this scene, Dante here addresses the reader directly. Cagnazzo, who rightly identified the trick that would be played on them above, … Continue reading The Navarrese sinner had perfect timing: in a second he dove back into the boiling tar and ruined the devils’ plan. How ashamed they all looked, especially Alichino, who thought their trick would work. He took flight, shouting, “Now I’ve got you!” But he was too late. Wings couldn’t beat terror: the grafter disappeared into the tar and the one chasing him had to pull up really fast like a falcon swooping down on a duck that dives out of the way just before it’s caught.[14]If Cagnazzo was the first to fall for Ciampolo’s trick, even though he believed it was a trick, poor Alichino actually thought it would work. They all fell for it, and most likely Dante and Virgil … Continue reading
But there was more. Calcabrina was furious to be left behind and he flew off wildly, hoping that the grafter would get away so he could pick a fight with his comrade. Seeing the sinner disappear, he flew at Alichino with great claws ready for a fight. They smacked into each other and wrestled for a moment there in mid-air above the boiling pit. But Alichino was just as furious and wildly clawed back. However, the intense heat from the pit made them break apart – but not before they got their wings all clogged up with tar so they couldn’t fly out.
Barbariccia was as upset as the rest of the squad, and sent four flying fiends to the opposite side with their great hooks. They took their positions, stretched out their hooks and retrieved the two who were drenched in pitch and nicely fried in their crusts! With that we took our cue and quickly left them.[15]As the canto ends and as the trick ends – badly for the devils – note how Dante has Alichino and Calcabrina hauled up out of the boiling tar the same way as Ciampolo was. The “cooks” got … Continue reading
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Notes & Commentary
| ↑1 | In these opening lines, and before he continues the narrative he began in the previous canto, Dante first connects these two cantos by means of – a fart! Not to dwell on it too much, but this was an unusual fart in Dante’s experience. Having done some military service, as he notes here and in the previous canto, he’s seen a lot – as soldiers do. But nothing compares to the signal that sends he and Virgil, guarded by an undisciplined troop of wild devils, off to find the bridge that doesn’t exist. Recalling the comic gathering together of this troop in the last canto, not to mention their ludicrous names, the Poet uses a bit of exaggeration here – “everything you can think of” – to make both the previous scene and the one following now absolutely ridiculous. In the end, as will be seen, the best he can do is to explain his present situation with a half-wicked aphorism. Of course, the fact that Dante is at a loss to describe what he heard within the range of “normal” experience highlights how extraordinary this one is.
The specific reference to Arezzo (a city to the southeast of Florence) marks the famous battle of Campaldino in 1289 – once again between Guelf and Ghibelline forces. The battle took place on a large plain east of Florence and north of Arezzo. Some say that Dante participated in this battle, others say that he was an observer. The Guelfs were nearly routed, but then came back to defeat the Ghibelline army. The mention of jousts brings to mind the Medieval image of mounted knights running at each with long lances; while tournaments were actually more dangerous (and exciting) because they involved whole squads of knights who fought (and could wound) each other. Bells were an important component of military equipment. Each side (each city, for that matter) had a great battle wagon called the carroccio on which were sets of bells that gave various signals to the soldiers during battle and acted as a rallying point. In addition to the bells were numerous flags, banners, pennants, and other symbolic signals. Napier, in his Florentine History, suggests it was not unlike the ancient Israelites carrying the Ark of the Covenant before them into battle. Stretching this image, perhaps too far, one might imagine this mock military parade in Hell, in which both Dante and Virgil seem to be dignitaries, led by a great cart bearing the Ark! |
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| ↑2 | It should be clear by now that without Dante’s curiosity, his Poem would lose most of its energy. If one thinks back for a moment, a lot has happened since he was summoned from his hiding place in the previous canto. Here, at last, he has his chance, and as he’s done before, he provides us with an image from real life to prepare us for what he’s going to describe. There appears to be no modern evidence to validate what Dante says he’s heard, namely, that dolphins appear alongside ships to warn them of storms. Rather, modern studies suggest that they seem to find the waves generated by ships an even faster way to swim while using less of their energy. Regardless, Dante’s likening of the sinners to dolphins is apt, because a “storm” is definitely about to break. We already know that these grafters and crooks are supposed to stay under the boiling tar which, interestingly, undulates like the ocean in which the dolphins swim. Their flying out above the surface or lazing along the edge like frogs with their snouts poking out is strictly against the rules, and the mere sight of Barbariccia is enough to remind them. This much Dante has observed. |
| ↑3 | Dante noted earlier his interested in seeing how the sinners were “cooked,” and he also used the image of a great kitchen where the chef’s helpers poked big chunks of meat back down into the boiling pots. Now, it seems, this poor sinner is “done” – in more ways than one, as Grafficane jabs him with his trident and pulls him up out of the pot. Note here also that Dante frequently uses animals to describe the sinners in this bolgia – a way to highlight how their crimes have degraded them. So far, we have had dolphins, frogs, and now otters. Stay tuned. |
| ↑4 | With all that has gone on already, Dante manages to remember the names of all those devils from when each of them was called forth in the previous canto. And now the weather changes. The “storm” predicted by the dolphins is about to break. To “skin” this sinner would be doing to him literally what he did to his victims figuratively. |
| ↑5 | Things are starting to get slightly out of hand here, but this doesn’t stop Dante’s curiosity about the otter-sinner (Ciampolo) who has become the devils’ toy. And Virgil immediately complies with the Pilgrim’s request. The hapless sinner here does what no living grafter would do: he identifies himself. Otherwise, like a good grafter, he tells us virtually nothing about himself except the bare essentials, and this seems to be all that history knows of him as well. He was born and lived a reckless life in northern Spain, he seems to have followed in his father’s footsteps, and he must have held some position of responsibility in the court of Thibault II where he “learned [his] craft.” Thibault was a son-in-law of King Louis IX of France and was king of Navarre in northern Spain during the middle part of the thirteenth century. Ever the accountant of his pilfered sums, he adds his own grim humor to the scene by noting that he’s now “paying [the] bill” for what he did when he was alive. |
| ↑6 | This torture is over and above what the contrapasso for this canto calls for. And we have more animal imagery here: Ciriatto looking like a boar, the grafter as a mouse, and the rest as “bad cats.” But for once one of the devils seems to be helpful. Barbariccia, in charge of the troop, stops Ciriatto’s attack and allows Virgil to put more questions to Ciampolo. In Tuscan slang, ciriatto meant pig, and one will recall more slang with Ciacco the hog in Canto 6. |
| ↑7 | It is fascinating that such a specific question should be asked. But it’s put to a Spaniard, and Dante (through Virgil) is probably more interested in “his own people” first, as it were – especially if we go back to the previous canto and recall the great black devil announcing how Lucca was filled with grafters and that he was going back for more. Technically, Dante never actually uses the word “Italian” in the Poem. Originally, Italia referred to the lower portion of the peninsula. By the time of Augustus, it referred to the entire peninsula. In this passage, Dante uses the word Latino, to indicate the general region of Rome which, in ancient times, was known as Latium. Soon enough, Ciampolo will tell Virgil that he’s been with someone “from near there,” namely, a Sardinian! So much for distances…. |
| ↑8 | Note how Dante turns up the torture here. The devils have no real interest in Dante’s journey, and one gets the sense that, in spite of the supposed military order of this squad, their real purpose is to do as much harm as possible and pay only grudging heed to their leader’s orders. |
| ↑9 | One can imagine the scene here: Ciampolo has been hauled up out of the boiling tar, he’s hanging by his hair from the end of Grafficane’s trident, he’s been wounded and taunted, and Virgil – seemingly oblivious to the sinner’s plight – is right in there with the devils doing Dante’s biding, continuing to interrogate him about whether any of his fellow sinners are Italians! This is reminiscent of Canto 10, where old Cavalcante interrupted the conversation between Dante and Farinata, after which Farinata simply took up where he left off as though nothing had happened.
Friar Gomita – obviously a wicked monk – was a native of Sardinia which, at the time, was a part of the Republic of Pisa. The Pisans divided the island into four provinces, one of which was Gallura, administered by Friar Gomita. Ciampolo’s description of him may be exaggerated, but Gomita was apparently well-known for his frauds. He also happened to be the chaplain to the Governor of Gallura, Nino Visconti, an honorable man who, during his early exile, was one of Dante’s patrons. Dante places him in Canto 8 of the Purgatorio. Visconti held Gomita in high regard and would not give credence to the many accusations made against him. But when it came to his attention that Gomita was taking bribes to get various notorious prisoners released – some of them Visconti’s enemies – Visconti had him hanged. There is an unmistakable likeness between what Ciampolo tells of this “wicked servant” and the parable of the “clever servant” in St. Luke’s Gospel (16:1-8). In that story, the servant was called to account by his master. Realizing that he would be dismissed, he called his master’s debtors and, one by one, reduced their debts thinking that they would receive him kindly after he lost his position. Of Michele Zanche of Logodoro there is little documentary evidence, but he is thought to have been the governor of Logodoro, another of Sardinia’s four provinces. When Enzo the king of Sardinia went to war, he left Zanche in charge. Zanche, like Friar Gomita, was noted for his frauds. In 1249 Enzo was captured by the Bolognese and imprisoned in their city until he died in 1271. In the meantime, Enzo’s wife, Adelaisa, was granted a divorce and Zanche married her. It should be noted that before Adelaisa married Enzo and became queen she had previously been married into Genoa’s nobility, the powerful d’Oria family. Following Zanche’s marriage (and many more frauds), he managed to govern the entire island until he was murdered by his son-in-law, Branca d’Oria, in 1290. This act of treachery is memorialized in Canto 33 where Branca will be found – at the bottom of Hell! After identifying Friar Gomita and also noting the evil monk’s companion, Michele Zanche, Ciampolo complains of their constant and annoying chatter (within the boiling tar) about Sardinia. This humorous touch should remind the reader of Canto 17 where Virgil sends Dante off by himself to talk with the usurers. The last one he spoke with, Rinaldo dei Scrovegni, a Paduan, had also complained that he was surrounded – in that case – by Florentines who did nothing but brag and talk about Florence. In his commentary on this canto, Musa notes: “The sinners apparently have a secret social life, meeting and talking endlessly under the cover of the black, bubbling pitch.” And he points out how this is appropriately suggestive of the grafters’ shady dealings. In the end, Ciampolo may recognize a fellow grafter in the devil Farfarello. Exchanging knowing glances, the sinner can read the devil’s evil intent to rip into him again. |
| ↑10 | Reader: if you seriously think this will happen, you’ve been taken in by this master grafter. Think again! But prepare to enjoy yet another lie in the offing, fooling everyone but the liar. In addition to the “secret society” underneath the boiling tar, there are secret codes which are now being divulged. |
| ↑11 | Cagnazzo has it exactly right, and even he is fooled by Ciampolo’s admission because Ciampolo cleverly admits as much, but he immediately deflects the devil’s suspicion toward the sinners that will be brought up by the trick. If, as the saying goes, “There is no honor among thieves,” it works for grafters too. |
| ↑12 | If this scene were to be performed on stage, one could imagine at this moment that attentive members of the audience would sit up in their seats, smiling now to watch how this is going to play out. |
| ↑13 | As if to heighten our attention and insure that we ready to enjoy this scene, Dante here addresses the reader directly. Cagnazzo, who rightly identified the trick that would be played on them above, is now the first to fall for it! Unwittingly, he leads all the others off to the hiding place. And once again, one can imagine Dante laughing to himself as he constructed this mad scene that is about to make its final “plunge” – pun intended – into chaos. |
| ↑14 | If Cagnazzo was the first to fall for Ciampolo’s trick, even though he believed it was a trick, poor Alichino actually thought it would work. They all fell for it, and most likely Dante and Virgil did too. But Alichino thinks he can make it right by doing what he warned he would do: take flight and catch the sinner in the act of trying to escape. Here Dante rounds out his references to the animal kingdom: Alichino is like a falcon swooping down on Ciampolo who is like a duck. |
| ↑15 | As the canto ends and as the trick ends – badly for the devils – note how Dante has Alichino and Calcabrina hauled up out of the boiling tar the same way as Ciampolo was. The “cooks” got cooked! Though it was unexpected, in hindsight it becomes clear that the devils seem as anxious to harm each other as they are to harm the sinners, thus very much acting like grafters themselves. That the two devils end up stuck in the boiling tar is clever. Using bird lime is an ancient way of catching birds and not uncommon in the Middle Ages. A very sticky substance is prepared and smeared on tree limbs and branches, thus trapping birds who land on it. Flying like falcons chasing a duck, the two devils not only ended up fighting, but smeared and stuck with tar. In the end, the final trick wasn’t just a lie, it also enabled Ciampolo, the master grafter, to subject the two devils to the same contrapasso as the sinners themselves. With this, the play is over; Dante and Virgil quickly leave the theater. |