Mythological
Tristan
Hero of the medieval legend of Tristan and Iseult, cited by Dante among the lustful in Canto V of the Inferno as an example of fatal love.
Profile
In Canto V of the Inferno, Tristano is named by Virgil in a survey of figures marked by fatal love, alongside Paris. The commentary notes to the same canto recall the character starting from the Round Table, where the grief over the deadly news "seccòe a Tristano ogni virtù e sentimento… e cadde sì come corpo morto," an image that the notes connect to the fall with which the Dantean canto closes. The note to verse 65 further clarifies that Dante treats historical figures and heroes of great poetry without distinction, bringing together人物 of myth and ancient literature. For Dante, the Virgilian text and the Homeric text are worth as much as the texts of the historians, because both offer exempla of human events.
In the text
Linked verses
1 verses| Cantica | Canto | Verso | Testo | Open verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inferno | Canto V | 67 | Vedi Parìs, Tristano»; e più di mille | Open verse |