Ciappo Ubriachi
Encyclopedia
Ciappo Ubriachi was a Florentine
nobleman who lived in the late 13th century around the time of Giotto
and Dante
. In the Florentine Guelph-Ghibelline conflict
, his family was a Ghibelline. He is best known for being a wicked usurer according to Dante
in the Divine Comedy.
’s Divine Comedy poem Inferno
, Dante says that he saw Ciappo in the inner ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell
, where the violent are eternally punished. The inner ring of the Seventh Circle is a burning hot desert with a continual rain of fire. The usurers are to be found sitting on the sand, swatting away fire the way that animals swat bugs, and crying. Around their necks are found purses emblazoned with their coats of arms. This, and a bit of research into Dante's time-period, make it possible to identify who the suffering sinners are meant to be.
Usurers are considered violent because, as Dante's Virgil
explains in Canto XI, usurers sin against Art, and Art is the Grandchild of God.
along the seventh circle’s outer margin,
to where the melancholy people sat.
Despondency
was bursting from their eyes; (46)
this side, then that, their hands kept fending off,
at times the flames, at times the burning soil:
Not otherwise do dogs in summer-now (49)
with muzzle, now with paw-when they are bitten
by fleas or gnats or by the sharp gadfly.
When I had set my eyes upon the faces (52)
of some on who the painful fire falls,
I recognized no one; but I did notice
That from the neck of each a purse was hung (55)
that had a special color or an emblem,
and their eyes seemed to feast upon these pouches.
Looking about-when I had come among them- (58)
I saw a yellow purse with azure on it
that had the face and manner of a lion
.
Then, as I let my eyes move further on, (61)
I saw another purse that was blood-red,
and it displayed a goose more white than butter. (This person is Ciappo, because a white goose on a field red
was the arms of Ciappo’s family, the Ubriachi. )
And one who had an azure, pregnant sow
inscribed as emblem on his white pouch
, said
io me: “What are you doing in this pit?
Now be off; and since you’re still alive, (67)
remember that my neighbor Vitaliano
shall yet sit here, upon my left hand side.
Among these Florentines
, I’m Padua
n; (70)
I often hear them thunder in my ears,
shouting, ‘Now let the sovereign cavalier
,
The one who’ll bring the purse with three goats
, come!’” (73)
At this he slewed his mouth, and then he stuck
his tongue out, like an ox that licks his nose.
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
nobleman who lived in the late 13th century around the time of Giotto
Giotto di Bondone
Giotto di Bondone , better known simply as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence in the late Middle Ages...
and Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
. In the Florentine Guelph-Ghibelline conflict
Guelphs and Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...
, his family was a Ghibelline. He is best known for being a wicked usurer according to Dante
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
in the Divine Comedy.
Place in Dante's Inferno
In Dante AlighieriDante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
’s Divine Comedy poem Inferno
Inferno (Dante)
Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is an allegory telling of the journey of Dante through what is largely the medieval concept of Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as...
, Dante says that he saw Ciappo in the inner ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, where the violent are eternally punished. The inner ring of the Seventh Circle is a burning hot desert with a continual rain of fire. The usurers are to be found sitting on the sand, swatting away fire the way that animals swat bugs, and crying. Around their necks are found purses emblazoned with their coats of arms. This, and a bit of research into Dante's time-period, make it possible to identify who the suffering sinners are meant to be.
Usurers are considered violent because, as Dante's Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
explains in Canto XI, usurers sin against Art, and Art is the Grandchild of God.
Relevant lines from The Inferno with explanations (Mendelbaum translation)
So I went on alone and even farther (43)along the seventh circle’s outer margin,
to where the melancholy people sat.
Despondency
Tears
Tears are secretions that clean and lubricate the eyes. Lacrimation or lachrymation is the production or shedding of tears....
was bursting from their eyes; (46)
this side, then that, their hands kept fending off,
at times the flames, at times the burning soil:
Not otherwise do dogs in summer-now (49)
with muzzle, now with paw-when they are bitten
by fleas or gnats or by the sharp gadfly.
When I had set my eyes upon the faces (52)
of some on who the painful fire falls,
I recognized no one; but I did notice
That from the neck of each a purse was hung (55)
that had a special color or an emblem,
and their eyes seemed to feast upon these pouches.
Looking about-when I had come among them- (58)
I saw a yellow purse with azure on it
Catello di Rosso Gianfigliazzi
Catello di Rosso Gianfigliazzi was a Florentine nobleman who lived in the late 13th century around the time of Giotto and Dante. He is best known for being a wicked usurer according to Dante in the Divine Comedy...
that had the face and manner of a lion
Catello di Rosso Gianfigliazzi
Catello di Rosso Gianfigliazzi was a Florentine nobleman who lived in the late 13th century around the time of Giotto and Dante. He is best known for being a wicked usurer according to Dante in the Divine Comedy...
.
Then, as I let my eyes move further on, (61)
I saw another purse that was blood-red,
and it displayed a goose more white than butter. (This person is Ciappo, because a white goose on a field red
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
was the arms of Ciappo’s family, the Ubriachi. )
And one who had an azure, pregnant sow
Reginaldo degli Scrovegni
Reginaldo degli Scrovegni was a Paduan nobleman of the Guelph faction who lived in the early 14th century around the time of Giotto and Dante. He is best known for being a wicked usurer, and by association with his son, Enrico degli Scrovegni, who commissioned the famous Arena Chapel by...
inscribed as emblem on his white pouch
Reginaldo degli Scrovegni
Reginaldo degli Scrovegni was a Paduan nobleman of the Guelph faction who lived in the early 14th century around the time of Giotto and Dante. He is best known for being a wicked usurer, and by association with his son, Enrico degli Scrovegni, who commissioned the famous Arena Chapel by...
, said
io me: “What are you doing in this pit?
Now be off; and since you’re still alive, (67)
remember that my neighbor Vitaliano
Vitaliano di Iacopo Vitaliani
Vitaliano di Iacopo Vitaliani was a Paduan nobleman who lived in the late 13th century around the time of Giotto and Dante. He is best known for being a wicked usurer according to Dante in the Divine Comedy.-Place in Dante's Inferno:...
shall yet sit here, upon my left hand side.
Among these Florentines
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, I’m Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
n; (70)
I often hear them thunder in my ears,
shouting, ‘Now let the sovereign cavalier
Giovanni di Buiamonte
Giovanni di Buiamonte was a Florentine nobleman who lived in the late 13th century around the time of Giotto and Dante. He was highly esteemed in the Florence of his day as “the sovereign cavalier", and was chosen for many high offices....
,
The one who’ll bring the purse with three goats
Giovanni di Buiamonte
Giovanni di Buiamonte was a Florentine nobleman who lived in the late 13th century around the time of Giotto and Dante. He was highly esteemed in the Florence of his day as “the sovereign cavalier", and was chosen for many high offices....
, come!’” (73)
At this he slewed his mouth, and then he stuck
his tongue out, like an ox that licks his nose.