Dante and the Limits of the Law

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, European, Italian, Medieval
Cover of the book Dante and the Limits of the Law by Justin Steinberg, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Justin Steinberg ISBN: 9780226071121
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: December 22, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Justin Steinberg
ISBN: 9780226071121
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: December 22, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

In Dante and the Limits of the Law, Justin Steinberg offers the first comprehensive study of the legal structure essential to Dante’s Divine Comedy. Steinberg reveals how Dante imagines an afterlife dominated by sophisticated laws, hierarchical jurisdictions, and rationalized punishments and rewards. He makes the compelling case that Dante deliberately exploits this highly structured legal system to explore the phenomenon of exceptions to it, crucially introducing Dante to current debates about literature’s relation to law, exceptionality, and sovereignty.

Examining how Dante probes the limits of the law in this juridical otherworld, Steinberg argues that exceptions were vital to the medieval legal order and that Dante’s otherworld represents an ideal “system of exception.” In the real world, Dante saw this system as increasingly threatened by the dual crises of church and empire: the abuses and overreaching of the popes and the absence of an effective Holy Roman Emperor. Steinberg shows that Dante’s imagination of the afterlife seeks to address this gap between the universal validity of Roman law and the lack of a sovereign power to enforce it. Exploring the institutional role of disgrace, the entwined phenomena of judicial discretion and artistic freedom, medieval ideas about privilege and immunity, and the place of judgment in the poem, this cogently argued book brings to life Dante’s sense of justice.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Dante and the Limits of the Law, Justin Steinberg offers the first comprehensive study of the legal structure essential to Dante’s Divine Comedy. Steinberg reveals how Dante imagines an afterlife dominated by sophisticated laws, hierarchical jurisdictions, and rationalized punishments and rewards. He makes the compelling case that Dante deliberately exploits this highly structured legal system to explore the phenomenon of exceptions to it, crucially introducing Dante to current debates about literature’s relation to law, exceptionality, and sovereignty.

Examining how Dante probes the limits of the law in this juridical otherworld, Steinberg argues that exceptions were vital to the medieval legal order and that Dante’s otherworld represents an ideal “system of exception.” In the real world, Dante saw this system as increasingly threatened by the dual crises of church and empire: the abuses and overreaching of the popes and the absence of an effective Holy Roman Emperor. Steinberg shows that Dante’s imagination of the afterlife seeks to address this gap between the universal validity of Roman law and the lack of a sovereign power to enforce it. Exploring the institutional role of disgrace, the entwined phenomena of judicial discretion and artistic freedom, medieval ideas about privilege and immunity, and the place of judgment in the poem, this cogently argued book brings to life Dante’s sense of justice.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Swordfish by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book A Little History of Photography Criticism; or, Why Do Photography Critics Hate Photography? by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Meatless Days by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Haiku for a Season / Haiku per una stagione by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Biotechnology and Society by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Freaks Talk Back by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book A World of Homeowners by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book The Refracted Muse by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Elephant Memories by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book The Lucretian Renaissance by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Is Administrative Law Unlawful? by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Not Just Roommates by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Occupy by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Reconstruction after the Civil War, Third Edition by Justin Steinberg
Cover of the book Rescued from the Nation by Justin Steinberg
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy