Ruolo sociale e memoria degli Alighieri prima di Dante

Abstract

The issue of the nobility Dante’s family can now be approached using new tools. Recent investigations on the communal society, on its social networks, and on the structure of family memory enable us to trace the historical framework of Cacciaguida’s account. At the very beginning the Alighieri family was related to those who would become its enemies at the end of the 13th century. After, to crown what can be seen as a ruthless social climb, the Alighieris, like many other city families, appear to have constructed a “myth of the origins”. Dante did not passively accept this myth, but called it into question and possibly used it as an inspiration for his tormented reflections on nobility.