When The French Monarchy Makes Even The Papacy Look Good: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 82 - 96

As Hugh Capet winds up to the heights of his monologue, he comes to a most shocking climax: that moment when the French monarchy is so bad that it makes even the corrupt papacy look good.

We've come to the very center of Dante's beef with the French crown, voiced by this legendary monarch about his own descendants, particularly Philip IV (or Philip the Fair). It's a tale so dire that even papal corruption is forgotten!

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the narrative climax of Hugh Capet's monologue on the fifth terrace of avarice in PURGATORIO.

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

[01:14] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, lines 82 - 96. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me about this episode, please find its slot on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:06] Identifying the players in the passage: Philip IV (or the Fair) of France and Pope Boniface VIII.

[07:48] Tracing the political history behind this passage.

[15:41] Admitting the shock of Dante's defending Pope Boniface VIII.

[18:42] Talking in code as a survival strategy.

[22:54] Querying whether evil actions can be inherited (since virtuous ones can't be).

[25:11] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, lines 82 - 96.