The Madness Of Hugh Capet's Descendants: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 61 - 81

Hugh Capet continues the story of his family, bringing the saga of the French (or Frankish) crown into Dante's day with three of Hugh's most infamous descendants . . . at least as far as the poet is concerned.

Our pilgrim gets treated to a grim recital of French misdeeds. And we catch our first whiff of antisemitism in COMEDY, just at the moment the actual French monarchy is expelling the Jews from French territory.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this tough middle passage in Hugh Capet's rendition of the avaricious wrongs of the Frankish kingdom.

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

[01:43] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, lines 61 - 81. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation about this difficult passage with me and others, find the entry for this podcast episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:07] The poetics in the passage: structure and rhyme.

[07:51] The troubled disconnection and reconnection of Provence and France.

[12:48] Hugh Capet's first malicious descendant: Charles I of Anjou (1226 - 1281).

[19:10] The second miscreant among his issue: Charles of Valois (1270 - 1325).

[22:56] The first instance of antisemitism in COMEDY.

[29:37] Hugh Capet's third bad seed: Charles II of Anjou (1254 - 1309).

[32:50] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, lines 61 - 81.