Noi leggiavamo un giorno per diletto
di Lancialotto come amor lo strinse;
soli eravamo e sanza alcun sospetto.
Per più fïate li occhi ci sospinse
quella lettura, e scolorocci il viso;
ma solo un punto fu quel che ci vinse.
Quando leggemmo il disïato riso
esser basciato da cotanto amante,
questi, che mai da me non fia diviso,
la bocca mi basciò tutto tremante.
Galeotto fu 'l libro e chi lo scrisse:
quel giorno più non vi leggemmo avante.
Dante Alighieri – La Divina Commedia – Inferno, canto V

We read one day for pastime, seated nigh,
Of Lancilot, how Love enchained him too.
We were alone, quite unsuspiciously.
But oft our eyes met, and our Cheeks in hue
All o’er discoloured by that reading were;
But one point only wholly us o’erthrew;
When we read the long-sighed-for smile of her,
To be thus kissed by such devoted lover,
He, who from me can be divided ne’er,
Kissed my mouth, trembling in the act all over:
Accurséd was the book and he who wrote!
That day no further leaf we did uncover.
Translation by Lord Byron (1820)
In the first section (Cantica) of The Divine Comedy, Inferno (Hell),Dante and Virgil arrive in the second Circle, the Circle of carnal lust, in the night between the first and second day of their journey.
The sinners are whirled and swept by the terrible winds of a violent storm, without rest, just as in life they allowed themselves to be swept away by their passions.
Here they meet Francesca and Paolo and Dante calls out to the lovers, who are compelled briefly to pause before him, and he speaks to Francesca. He asks her what led to her and Paolo’s damnation, and Francesca’s story, while her lover weeps bitterly, moves Dante so much that he also weeps and faints out of pity.
Francesca da Rimini was the wife of Giovanni Malatesta, ruler of the city of Pesaro, whose lameness had earned him the nickname of “Gianciotto” (Johannes Zoctus). Theirs was a marriage of political alliance.
Paolo was his younger brother, and he was a beautiful youth.
Francesca explains how she and her lover were lured into sin: it was a book of the romance of Lancelot and Guinevere that caused their downfall. They were alone, reading it aloud, and when they came to the passage which tells of how Lancelot kissed the queen, they were both overcome. They kissed, and the book was forgotten. “We read no more that day.”
Having detected his wife, Francesca in adultery with his brother Paolo, Gianciotto murdered them both with his own hands, for which he is confined in the lowest circle of Hell.
“Galeotto fu ‘l libro” says Francesca, and Byron translates it into: “Accurséd was the book”. However, the literary translation is “a Galehault was that book” , which refers to Galehaut, a knight in the Arthurian legend. He was Lancelot’s inseparable friend and gave way before Guinevere, yielding Lancelot to her.
Therefore the book Paolo and Francesca had been reading, is defined Galehaut because both it deals with that knight who was the intermediary between Lancelot and the Queen, and it is the amorous intermediary thanks to which they yield to their love.
Reblogged this on giro bloggando … and commented:
Galeotto fu ‘l libro e chi lo scrisse:
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Grazie di cuore! 💜🙏💜
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Talk about being swept away by what you read….. Thanks for sharing this. If Dante were to write today, he would need to add a politician’s ring for the numerous scoundrels presiding around the world.
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All his political opponents, including popes, were put to hell. So at the present moment he should just observe, take note and tell😉😉😉
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I continue to learn so much from your blog. 🙂
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… and I enjoy all your posts, too and like trying my hand at your quizzes😘🙏😘
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Oggi sarebbe più esplicita la spegazione (certo parliamo di altra epoca)…ma io trovo di un’infinita delicatezza questa frase “….quel giorno più non vi leggemmo avante.” Una delicatezza anche se parlava di un tradimento se pur d’amore. E Dante si commuove davanti all’amore di queste anime, perchè in fondo è su questa terra che ha vissuto.
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Sì, Dante si commuove per questa storia, perché consapevole che a volte l’amore può travolgere. Da non dimenticare che Francesca aveva sposato il marito senza neppure averlo visto; era infatti stato mandato Paolo, il fratello, a chiederla in moglie
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Certo Dante è insuperabile nel descrivere un’amore così famoso e broibito, riesce a parlarne con leggerezza e un fondo nostalgico mettendo in risalto la forza di una passione! 🙋♀️
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“quel giorno più non vi leggemmo avante” penso che questo sia uno dei versi più delicati usati per descrivere il prorompere della passione
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Da Fiorentina, non posso che adorare!
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Thank you for sharing the poem and the story behind it. It’s a captivating one.
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I am happy that you liked it, Joyce 🌹🌹🌹
Thank you very much for saying so!!
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c’est un plaisir de revenir sur Dante et je vous remercie 🙂
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Je suis vraiment heureuse de savoir que vous avez aimé ce post. Je publierai quelque chose de plus sur Paolo et Francesca 🙏🙏🙏
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Francesca da Rimini a été portée à l’opéra par au moins trois compositeurs : Tchaïkovski, Rachmaninov, et Zandonaï !
Buona serata, Luisa. 🙂
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Merci bien 🙏😘🙏
Buona serata 🌹🌹🌹
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[…] Paolo and Francesca (1) […]
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mi permetto di segnalare questo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mjnJNH76Eo
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E’ meraviglioso! grazie per averlo segnalato 🙏🙏🙏
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L’ho postato qui di seguito: grazie ancora
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E’ uno dei passi più belli della Divina Commedia! Grazie per averli ricordati 🙂
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Grazie a te per avermi lasciato questo gentile feedback. Buona serata, Vitty 🌼💕🌼
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Bellissimo video suggerito da Aure1970
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In un recente intervento Corrado Augias poneva l’attenzione sulla parola “tremante”, su come questa sottolinei ancora di più la delicatezza di un rapporto tra i due giovani amanti. A tremare è Paolo forse per la nuova e travolgente emozione di un amore per lui tutto da scoprire. Grazie sempre Luisa per le belle riflessioni a cui inviti ogni volta.🌹🙏
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Grazie a te, Paolina cara. per questo meraviglioso approfondimento, che non fa che arricchire il mio articolo 🙏💕🙏
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Buona serata Luisa😘🌹🌻
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🌙🌼⭐🌼🌙
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[…] Paolo and Francesca (1) […]
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Thank you for sharing on your blog 🙏
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[…] Paolo and Francesca (1) ➡️ Byron […]
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Thank you so much for sharing it on your blog 🙏💜🙏
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[…] 👉 Paolo and Francesca (1) ➡️ Byron […]
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This is so romantic!
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So glad you liked this famous Italian love story!
Thank you for your nice words 🙏
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Thanks for sharing it!
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🙏🌹🙏🌹🙏🌹🙏
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ottimo pezzo su questo famoso episodio, la cui storicità non sembra in linea con Dante.
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Dante lo rende estremamente tenero e poetico. Come si fa a non essere dalla loro parte?
Buon pomeriggio, Gian Paolo 🌹
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hai ragione! Bella serata
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😊🍀😊🍀😊
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ciao
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🌼🌼🌼
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“just in the middle of our lifetime I found myself in a dark forest, ’cause the right way was lost…”No, Luisa, questo commento non ti viene da un mondo parallelo dove
fu Shakespeare e non Dante a scrivere la Divina Commedia, semplicemente sono io che scherzo 🙂
Ciao.sapevo dalla scuola che Dante “aveva 35 anni”, ma ho pensavo che il poeta non si riferisse tanto alla sua età, all’inizio del “viaggio” quanto ..alla aspettativa di vita di allora, più in generale (“di nostra…vita”). Si,magari la vita media nel ‘300 era meno di 70 anni, ma se così e’, pensavo questo da ragazzo, da scolaro delle medie.
Mi sto riprendendo bene, ciao 🙂
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Ci ho ripensato anch’io…😉😇
Buon pomeriggio, caro Marghian
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Ovviamente, il riferimento è.anche alla mezza età (per allora) di Dante, na non escluderei che avesse pensato anche alla durata media della vita (Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra…vita). Ciao 🙂
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🙏🌹🙏
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[…] 👉🏻 Paolo and Francesca (1) ➡️ Byron 👉🏻 Paolo e Francesca (2) ➡️ Boccaccio […]
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WOW , I FELT LIKE I WAS THERE. THAT’S A VERY GOOD WRITER WHEN THE READER CAN VISUALIZE THE WHOLE THING HAPPENING BEFORE THEIR EYES . THANKS MY FRIEND 😺💃💗
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You’re right, being able to make the reader see the story means having written in a masterly way🙏😘🌹
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🍨🍧 YES MANY TIMES I HAVE TOLD MY HUSBAND GENE ABOUT A MOVIE, ALL ABOUT IT AND THEN IT WOULD BE ON T.V. HE SAID OH I SAW IT WITH YOU SHARON BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME IT SO WELL I THOUGHT I DID SEE WITH YOU
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Great! Have a wonderful Sunday, dear Sharon 😘😘😘😘
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OHYES BEAUTIFUL MORNING
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😘💕😘💕😘
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[…] 👉🏻 Paolo and Francesca (1) ➡️ Byron👉🏻 Paolo e Francesca (2) ➡️ Boccaccio👉🏻 Paolo and Francesca (3) ➡️ Rossetti […]
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Visitare il castello di Gradare dov’è questa tragedia ebbe luogo è davvero emozionante.
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Gradara
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🏰🏰🏰
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Hai ragione: è un luogo da visitare 🙏😘🙏😘🙏
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