Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia

By Helena Phillips-Robins | Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press

About the book

This study explores ways in which Dante presents liturgy as enabling humans to encounter God.

In Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante’s “Commedia,” Helena Phillips-Robins explores for the first time the ways in which the relationship between humanity and divinity is shaped through the performance of liturgy in the Commedia. The study draws on largely untapped thirteenth-century sources to reconstruct how the songs and prayers performed in the Commedia were experienced and used in late medieval Tuscany. Phillips-Robins shows how in the Commedia Dante refashions religious practices that shaped daily life in the Middle Ages and how Dante presents such practices as transforming and sustaining relationships between humans and the divine. The study focuses on the types of engagement that Dante’s depictions of liturgical performance invite from the reader. Based on historically attentive analysis of liturgical practice and on analysis of the experiential and communal nature of liturgy, Phillips-Robins argues that Dante invites readers themselves to perform the poem’s liturgical songs and, by doing so, to enter into relationship with the divine. Dante calls not only for readers’ interpretative response to the Commedia but also for their performative and spiritual activity.

Focusing on Purgatorio and Paradiso, Phillips-Robins investigates the particular ways in which relationships both between humans and between humans and God can unfold through liturgy. Her book includes explorations of liturgy as a means of enacting communal relationships that stretch across time and space; the Christological implications of participating in liturgy; the interplay of the personal and the shared enabled by the language of liturgy; and liturgy as a living out of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. The book will interest students and scholars of Dante studies, medieval Italian literature, and medieval theology.

Editions of Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia

Hardcover
ISBN 2021931606
Hardcover
ISBN 9780268200688
EBook
ISBN 9780268200671
EBook
ISBN 9780268200701

Read an Excerpt

This study explores ways in which Dante presents liturgy as enabling humans to encounter God.

In Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante’s “Commedia,” Helena Phillips-Robins explores for the first time the ways in which the relationship between humanity and divinity is shaped through the performance of liturgy in the Commedia. The study draws on largely untapped thirteenth-century sources to reconstruct how the songs and prayers performed in the Commedia were experienced and used in late medieval Tuscany. Phillips-Robins shows how in the Commedia Dante refashions religious practices that shaped daily life in the Middle Ages and how Dante presents such practices as transforming and sustaining relationships between humans and the divine. The study focuses on the types of engagement that Dante’s depictions of liturgical performance invite from the reader. Based on historically attentive analysis of liturgical practice and on analysis of the experiential and communal nature of liturgy, Phillips-Robins argues that Dante invites readers themselves to perform the poem’s liturgical songs and, by doing so, to enter into relationship with the divine. Dante calls not only for readers’ interpretative response to the Commedia but also for their performative and spiritual activity.

Focusing on Purgatorio and Paradiso, Phillips-Robins investigates the particular ways in which relationships both between humans and between humans and God can unfold through liturgy. Her book includes explorations of liturgy as a means of enacting communal relationships that stretch across time and space; the Christological implications of participating in liturgy; the interplay of the personal and the shared enabled by the language of liturgy; and liturgy as a living out of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. The book will interest students and scholars of Dante studies, medieval Italian literature, and medieval theology.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia about?

This study explores ways in which Dante presents liturgy as enabling humans to encounter God.

In Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante’s “Commedia,” Helena Phillips-Robins explores for the first time the ways in which the relationship between humanity and divinity is shaped through the performance of liturgy in the Commedia. The study draws on largely untapped thirteenth-century sources to reconstruct how the songs and prayers performed in the Commedia were experienced and used in late medieval Tuscany. Phillips-Robins shows how in the Commedia Dante refashions religious practices that shaped daily life in the Middle Ages and how Dante presents such practices as transforming and sustaining relationships between humans and the divine. The study focuses on the types of engagement that Dante’s depictions of liturgical performance invite from the reader. Based on historically attentive analysis of liturgical practice and on analysis of the experiential and communal nature of liturgy, Phillips-Robins argues that Dante invites readers themselves to perform the poem’s liturgical songs and, by doing so, to enter into relationship with the divine. Dante calls not only for readers’ interpretative response to the Commedia but also for their performative and spiritual activity.

Focusing on Purgatorio and Paradiso, Phillips-Robins investigates the particular ways in which relationships both between humans and between humans and God can unfold through liturgy. Her book includes explorations of liturgy as a means of enacting communal relationships that stretch across time and space; the Christological implications of participating in liturgy; the interplay of the personal and the shared enabled by the language of liturgy; and liturgy as a living out of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. The book will interest students and scholars of Dante studies, medieval Italian literature, and medieval theology.

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia?

Biography, Literature and Literary studies > Literature: history and criticism > Literary studies: general > Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval

Where can I read a sample of Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/2021931606

How long is Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia and how many pages does it have?

Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia has 324 page(s)

Is Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?

Yes it is a part of series The William and Katherine Devers Series in Dante and Medieval Italian Literature

Who is/are the Author/s of the book Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia?

Helena Phillips-Robins

Who is the Publisher of the book Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia?

University of Notre Dame Press

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia is available as hardcover(ISBN 2021931606) and hardcover(ISBN 9780268200688) and ebook(ISBN 9780268200671) and ebook(ISBN 9780268200701)

Where can I buy Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia online or support local independent bookshops?

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Where can I buy Liturgical Song and Practice in Dante's Commedia?