Dante's Inferno, Episode 3: Lady of the Mind

Where can I find a woman like...Dante's girl? On this episode of Young Heretics, we finally get the high-fallutin' invocation of the Muses we've come to expect from any epic poem. But it's not enough! Dante needs more woman than the Muses can be...more grace, more truth, more light. And it comes from on high--first from the Virgin Mary, then Sainty Lucy, then finally his beautiful, his famous, his beloved Beatrice. Today we introduce this central figure in the Comedy, inspiration of Dante's career and "lady of his mind." We'll talk about the Muses, memory, and the communion of saints. And hopefully by the end, we'll see how much courtly love meant to the poets of this age--and how much, perhaps, it can mean to us. Check out my book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://amzn.to/4tKWACP Sign up for Hebrew, Greek, or Latin courses at the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics/ Get the Anthony Esolen translation: https://amzn.to/4sgKLTj Get the Dorothy L. Sayers translation: https://amzn.to/4djdh2s Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:59 Dante's Girl 06:11 Invocation of the Muses 21:09 Beatrice and Saint Lucy 34:15 Courtly Love 50:32 Formal and Final Corner 1:01:14 Closing Remarks