Rulers and nobles
Trajan
Roman emperor remembered by Dante as an example of the highest virtue, whose figure is carved in the panel of the proud in Purgatory alongside David and the encounter with the widow.
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Trajan the emperor is mentioned by Dante in the Purgatorio as a model of justice and clemency, virtues so great as to move even Pope Gregory the Great to tears. The medieval tradition, accepted by Dante, recounted that the pontiff, touched by the pity shown by the emperor, wept and prayed so much as to obtain from God the revocation of Trajan's damnation, whose soul was thus brought back to salvation. Dante himself places Trajan in Paradise among the just spirits, alongside David, confirming the belief in the miraculous resurrection of the emperor through the prayers of Gregory. In the Purgatorio the sculpture portrays him while administering justice in the episode of the widow, surrounded by his knights bearing the imperial insignia.
In the text
Linked verses
1 verses| Cantica | Canto | Verso | Testo | Open verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purgatory | Canto X | 76 | i’ dico di Traiano imperadore; | Open verse |