- Guido I da Montefeltro
Guido da Montefeltro (1223 –
September 29 1298 ) was an Italian military strategist and lord ofUrbino . He became a monk late in life, and was condemned byDante Alighieri in his "Divine Comedy" for giving false or fraudulent counsel.Biography
Born in
San Leo , he was the son ofMontefeltrano II da Montefeltro .Guido led the Ghibellines of
Romagna to victory over the Guelphs atPonte San Procolo in 1275. Later that year he won a victory over the Malatesta ofRimini atRaversano , driving the Malatesta fromCesena . By the next year Guido was captain ofForlì , with control of all antipapal power inRomagna . Guido commanded the defenders during the siege of Forlì in 1282-1283, against French-commanded forces loyal toPope Martin IV . Although Guido's forces inflicted heavy casualties on their foes, eventually Forlì fell to the papal forces, leading most of Romagna to submit to papal control. Guido accepted the authority ofPope Honorius IV in 1286.Nonetheless, Guido emerged back into public life in 1288, when he was excommunicated and became captain of the Ghibellines of
Pisa . Over the next few years he aided Pisa in its struggle againstFlorence , and the city of Urbino against Cesena.In 1296
Pope Boniface VIII admitted Guido back into the Church, and give him back the lordship of Montefeltro. In the same year he entered theFranciscan order in 1296. He died two years later in the monastery ofAssisi .Role in Dante's "Inferno"
In 1298
Boniface VIII called on Guido for advice in dealing with his struggles against theColonna family , who had disputed the legitimacy of Boniface's election, and had taken refuge in a fortress inPalestrina . Guido's advice was to promise the Colonnas amnesty, and then renege on the promise once they had emerged from their fortress. It is this advice that led Dante to place Guido inHell . In "Canto" XXVII of the "Inferno," Guido recounts how he reluctantly gave advice to Boniface, only after Boniface had agreed to absolve him for the sin of his fraudulent counsel. As Guido recounts his story, after his death St. Francis arrived to claim his soul for the saved, but a blackCherub asserted Hell's superior claim.References
*Lansing, Richard (ed.) "The Dante Encyclopedia" (New York: Garland, 2000) ISBN 0-8153-1659-3.
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