Voyages of the hart : the role of Love in psycho-cosmic jour
Medieval records of psycho-cosmic journeys arouse feelings of love. This is especially true of the Divine Comedy. Not only do they arouse these feeling but they are also heroic with the achievement of a great reward after a perilous undertaking and may involve a summons that is most often the result of supernatural forces at play. Indeed, we see this time and time again when Guillaume is sent on his perilous way by the white stag-doe, or in the agreement of Lucia and Beatrice for Dante's journey though hell and into heaven. The journeys also seem to involve the idea of dangerous undertakings as is seen with the situation that Ulysses found in Cato 26 of the "Inferno" but more so, the stories deal with the grace of God and the constancy of divine love for humans. In looking at the "Divine Comedy," it is important to remember that medieval Europe was a far less secular world than we have today, with its centre in the papal courts of either Rome or, at this time, Avignon. In medieval Europe, pilgrimages were an important element of faith, often crossing hundreds of miles. To people who rarely travelled beyond ten miles from their homes, such a pilgrimage must have seemed nearly as daunting as the journey though hell seemed to
Dante also prophecies a golden age to come, even reserving a seat in the Empyrean for Empire. This is evident as we recall that Dante's mission is one of divine love. Another story that we looked at was "The Way Of The Seeker. Beatrice, Dante's love beyond the grave, is a symbol for this Godlike gift and she, as the embodiment of the grace of love, can be the only one who can guide Dante though the realms of heaven. Dante is unable to interpret his vision of God once he has returned to the mortal realm. As we get older, we develop human reason, which is Virgil in the story. After all, does it not appear strange that Dante's journey is blessed even as he journeys further than anyone had ever gone before to be saved? First of all, we must understand that in Dante's time there was no salvation without God's grace. Remember that Dante was a supporter of the Emperor over the pope. The story of Guillaume is likewise a pilgrimage in that his journey to heal his wound takes him far from home through the unknown but at the end there are truly great rewards. Sufi was a school of Islam that preached a personal experience of God. It is a place opposite Jerusalem a major site of humans and the home of God as man so that Purgatory is the opposite of the world of men. Indeed, Dante's whole journey, especially his entrance into heaven would not be allow ed if it were not for the divine grace that Beatrice had obtained on his behalf. In both there is a conference of the birds and in the Divine Comedy they are guides who play major roles in the story. God's grace aids Dante in Heaven and saves him from hell, divine grace allows Guillaume to find his lady love and be healed, the birds journey to find God.
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Acceptance Essays
