De Monarchia

De Monarchia is Dante Alighieri's main work on political theory, written in Latin. The work was probably written after the death of Emperor Henry VII (perhaps 1316), but must still be seen as a reaction to his policy of a Restauratio imperii.

The core point is Dante's view that the emperor must exercise world dominion so that the divine order can be realised. The Monarchia, which is divided into three books, was written by Dante along Aristotelian lines and its content opposed the papal claim to rule. Often branded an anachronism and naïve fantasy, the work nevertheless reflected medieval notions of the universal power of empire.

Literature

• Francis Cheneval, Die Rezeption der Monarchia Dantes bis zur Editio Princeps im Jahre 1559. München 1995.
• Hans Fenske: Geschichte der politischen Ideen. Frankfurt am Main 1997
• Jürgen Miethke, Arnold Bühler: Kaiser und Papst im Konflikt. Düsseldorf 1988
• Ulrich Prill: Dante. Stuttgart 1999