When first published in 1926 this book aroused much controversy. The theory expounded in the book was that Islamic sources in general, and the writings of Ibn al-`Arabi in particular, formed the basis of Dante’s poem Divine Comedy, the poem which symbolised the whole culture of medieval Christianity. The book shows how fundamental Muslim legends of the nocturnal journey and of the ascension of the Prophet Muhammed appear in Dante’s writings.

Dante put Muhammad in one of the lowest circles of Hell. At the same time, the medieval Christian poet placed several Islamic philosophers much more honorably in Limbo. Furthermore, it has long been suggested that for much of the basic framework of the Divine Comedy Dante was indebted to apocryphal traditions about a “night journey” taken by Muhammad. Dante scholars have increasingly returned to the question of Islam to explore the often surprising encounters among religious traditions that the Middle Ages afforded. This collection of essays works through what was known of the Qur’an and of Islamic philosophy and science in Dante’s day and explores the bases for Dante’s images of Muhammad and Ali. It further compels us to look at key instances of engagement among Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

Describing Dante's descent into Hell midway through his life with Virgil as a guide, Inferno depicts a cruel underworld in which desperate figures are condemned to eternal damnation for committing one or more of seven deadly sins. As he descends through nine concentric circles of increasingly agonising torture, Dante encounters doomed souls including the pagan Aeneas, the liar Odysseus, the suicide Cleopatra, and his own political enemies, damned for their deceit. Led by leering demons, the poet must ultimately journey with Virgil to the deepest level of all. For it is only by encountering Satan, in the heart of Hell, that he can truly understand the tragedy of sin.

These 135 fantastic scenes depict the passion and grandeur of Dante's masterpiece — from the depths of hell onto the mountain of purgatory and up to the empyrean realms of paradise.

Dante Alighieri was early in recognizing that our age has a problem. His hometown, Florence, was at the epicenter of the move from the medieval world to the modern. He realized that awareness of divine reality was shifting, and that if it were lost, dire consequences would follow. The Divine Comedy was born in a time of troubling transition, which is why it still speaks today. Dante's masterpiece presents a cosmic vision of reality, which he invites his readers to traverse with him. In this narrative retelling and guide, from the gates of hell, up the mountain of purgatory, to the empyrean of paradise, Mark Vernon offers a vivid introduction and interpretation of a book that, 700 years on, continues to open minds and change lives.

The Prophet of Islam in Old French gives the first English translation of the only medieval French narratives that present comprehensive accounts of Muhammad's prophethood: Alexandre du Pont's Romance of Muhammad from 1258 and the 1264 translation of a Muslim apocalypse, The Book of Muhammad's Ladder. The introduction addresses the problems of the romance's divergence from conventional Christian representations of Muhammad's confirmation as prophet and the absence of Christian commentary in the apocalypse. It discusses the traditions regarding Muhammad's prophethood, the conventions of the apocalyptic genre, and the propagandistic aims of both narratives in relation to the crusades and missionary activity at that time. These works are of particular interest because they are the first to present to a French lay audience the topic of Muhammad's prophethood, and scholars have long debated whether the apocalypse influenced Dante's Divine Comedy.