Two Ways Of Being Dead: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 43 -51

We've come to the end of the angel sequence in PURGATORIO, Canto II. The souls arrive on the shores of Purgatory singing a psalm that is unique in the medieval liturgy and that points to important pieces of Dante's developing theology.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this short passage from PURGATORIO, talking about some of its INFERNO references, talking about a garbled line in the text, and reading closely the psalm the souls are singing.

Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[00:48] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 43 - 51. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: markscarbrough.com.

[02:00] INFERNO references in the passage: to Charon and (of course!) Ulysses.

[04:44] A garbled line in the passage and a possible explanation for the textual problems here and ahead.

[08:50] A close reading of the psalm the souls are singing as they arrive at Purgatory.

[19:49] A question about the psalm's musicality in medieval liturgy: one of the only known examples of the "tonus peregrinus."

[22:37] Rereading the entire angel sequence: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 13 - 51.