Analyzing the Content of Medieval and Renaissance Poetry
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CLEP Humanities › Analyzing the Content of Medieval and Renaissance Poetry
The medieval work that followed its author's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven is __________.
The Divine Comedy
The Summa Theologiœ
Beowulf
Sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight
The Canterbury Tales
Explanation
The Divine Comedy tells the story of its author, Dante, traveling through the different realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, all to find what happened to his deceased lover, Beatrice. The work is divided into three separate sections between Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Heaven). The whole work is an allegory for the soul's journey to God, as expressed in Medieval Catholic theology.
Which of these figures was in limbo in Dante Alighieri's fourteenth century epic poem The Divine Comedy?
Sultan Saladin of Egypt
Queen Dido of Carthage
Emperor Frederick II, King of the Holy Roman Empire
Judas Iscariot
Beatrice
Explanation
Sultan Saladin is the correct answer. He was placed in limbo because he was an honorable man, despite being a non-Christian. Sultan Saladin was a contemporary of Richard the Lionheart and conquered Jerusalem in the Second and Third Crusades. Others in limbo in The Divine Comedy include Julius Caesar, Hector, and Avicenna.