User:Zawackimc/Buonconte da Montefeltro

Buonconte da Montefeltro (Ghibelline 1250-1289), the son of Ghibelline leader and captain Guido da Montefeltro was a Ghibelline commander in the late 13th century who was featured in Dante's Divine Comedy.

Life

Buonconte da Montefeltro was born in 1250 to Ghibelline leader Guido da Montefeltro and was the illegitimate brother of Frederico da Montefeltro. Buonconte helped remove the Guelphs from Arezzo in June 1287 with the Ghibellines and in 1288 he was in command of the Arentines. While in command go the Arentines, Montefeltro defeated the Sienese at Pieve del Toppo. In 1289 Montefeltro became the captain of the Arentines when he led them into battle with, and were defeated by, the Guelphs of Florence. The Arentines were defeated by the Guelphs of Florence at Campaldino and that was where, in 1289, Montefeltro was killed. Montefeltro's body was never found at the battle ground of Campaldino.

Montefeltro was sent by the Bishop of Arezzo find the enemy position before the battle with Guelphs of Florentine. Montefeltro returned and told the Bishop that it would not be wise to go into battle with the Guelphs to which the Bishop responded by saying that Montefeltro was undeserving of his family name. The Bishop sent the forces into battle where both Montefeltro and The Bishop died.

Place in the Divine Comedy

Buonconte da Montefeltro appears in the 5th canto of the canticle Purgatorio in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Montefeltro appears in the midst of souls praying to Dante. Montefeltro bemoans that his wife and other relatives (by whom he most likely means his daughter who was married to a member of the Conti Guidi family or his brother Frederico who was killed in Urbino in 1322) were not remembering him in their prayers. This view and Montefeltro's lack of hope greatly differs from the character of Jacopo who petitioned Dante for his aid.

Dante, after Montefeltro reveals his name, the questions as to why Montefeltro's body was never found. Montefeltro replied that after being harmed at the throat, he fled. Montefeltro found himself where the Archiano and Arno meet and there he died calling to the Virgin Mary as a saving grace. Then, while an angel of God took his soul, the devil, angered that he did not get Montefeltro's soul at the last moment, destroyed Montefeltro's body out of anger which created a storm that swept Montefeltro's body to the bottom of the Arno. Dante was actually present at the battle at Campaldino as a calvaryman that he considered a great victory for the Guelphs.

The conflict over Buonconte's soul replicates the conflict between St. Francis and a fallen cherub over the soul of Guido da Montefeltro, Buonconte's father. However, in this case the angel wins the should for heaven while for Guido the devil won. The irony that exists is that Guido da Montefeltro arranged for salvation and repentance in his old age but was cast to hell while Buonconte has sincere repentance at the very end of his life and goes to purgatory.

References

• Toynbee, Paget (1898). The Dante Dictionary. https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/pdf/enh149b2446413.pdf
• Hollander, Robert (2000-2007). Purgatorio 5. 88-108, Dartmouth Dante Project.
• The University of Texas at Austin. Ante-Purgatory Cantos 1-5. http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/purgatory/01antepurgatory.html#top
• Markulin, Joseph. “Dante's Guido Da Montefeltro: A Reconsideration.” Dante Studies, with the Annual Report of the Dante Society, no. 100, 1982, pp. 25–40. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40166316.