The Cross of Mars: Crusade Imagery and Theology in the Prologue to the Encounter with Cacciaguida (Par. xiv–xv)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Beginning with Innocent III’s pontificate, participation in the crusades became increasingly interpreted as imitatio Christi patientis. Innocent III’s crusade theology was revived by later pontiffs and became ingrained in the collective imagination through preaching. This article shows how Dante draws on thirteenth-century crusade theology in his depiction of the cross of Mars, with special attention paid to imitatio Christi. Dante’s rendering of his inner sacrifice (Par. xiv, 88–93) foreshadows the apparition of the cross and appears to have been influenced by the imagery of the crusader’s vow as found in contemporary ecclesiastical documents. In these texts, crusaders are frequently depicted as participating in an inner sacrifice prompted by the fire of caritas that recalls Christ’s own sacrifice. Reading Paradiso xiv-xv in light of this context – and with an awareness of the significance of Cacciaguida’s placement in the same heaven – allows us to explore Dante’s self-representation as a miles Christi.