Leo S. Olschki Publishing
Titles appearing in Reference — Research Book News — December 2011
In the light of the angels; angelology and cosmology in Dante's Divina Commedia.
Barsella, Susanna. (Biblioteca dell'Archivum Romanicum. Serie 1; storia, letteratura, paleografia; 370)
Leo S. Olschki Publishing, ©2010 212 p. $32.00 PQ4419
978-88-222-5974-5
Barsella offers a close reading of Dante's masterpiece that focuses on his use of angels in the poem, their role in human affairs, their place in the heavenly hierarchy, the different types and their respective duties, and the historical and theological traditions for how angels were understood. She includes a discussion of the system of angels in Dante's Purgatorio. Given the ubiquity of angels in the Inferno and the lack of critical attention they've received, Barsella's study will be of great interest to students and scholars. Quotes are given in Italian with English translation. Leo S. Oschiki Publishing is based in Florence, Italy, and currently has no US distributor. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
