Bonaventurian Mary in Dante

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Bonaventure, Dante and the Apocalyptic Woman Clothed with the Sun

Author(s): Rebecca S. BealReviewed work(s):Source: Dante Studies, with the Annual Report of the Dante Society, No. 114 (1996), pp. 209-228Published by: Dante Society of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40166601 .

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Bonaventure,Danteand theApocalypticWomanClothedWith the SunREBECCAS. BEAL

Paradiso,when Dante enters he sphereof the sun,he and Beatriceare surroundedby a "corona" f twelvesoul-lights; his first circle isencircledby a second,in CantoXII, nd then a third, n CantoXIV,othat before he leaves the sun Dante perceivesthree concentric circles.Iconographically,hese threecirclesmostobviously nscribe nto the sun asymbolic mageof the Trinity a conceptinvokedat the startof CantoX.But as I haveshown elsewhere, he firstcircleof theologianscelebratingwithin thisheavenhaveanother unction: heyare describedas a "crown"anda "garland,"nd as suchareintegral o aspectaclepresentingBeatriceas the Woman n the Sun from the twelfthchapterof Apocalypse.1 husthe twelvecircling oul-lightsof CantoXcorrespondo the twelve starsofApocalypse12:1,andBeatrice,as she standswithin the sphereof the sunand above heMoon, correspondso theApocalypticWomandescribednthe sameverse:"Etsignummagnumapparuitn caelo:mulieramicta ole,et luna sub pedibuseius, et in capiteeius coronastellarumduodecim"["And great ign appearedn heaven:a woman clothedwith the sun,andwith the moon underherfeet,andon herhead a crown of twelvestars"].2Beatrice'sportrayaln CantosX-XIof Paradisoccordswith the presenta-tions of the Woman n the Sun in illustratedApocalypsemanuscripts, swell as with the majority f Biblicalmedievalcommentatorswho read hefigureof theApocalypticWomanasanimageof the Church.3Dante altersthe Apocalypticconographyof the Womanin the Sun,however,so that in CantoXIIBeatrice'sgarlandof twelve doctorsis sur-roundedbyanother, onsistingof twelve moreluminaries; hen,in CantoXIV, dimly-seenthirdcircle of lights surrounds he other two. While

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Dante Studies, CXIV, 1996

these second and third crowns are necessary to the trinitarianimagery ofthe cantos, their introduction should also lead us to ask how these changesin her crown affect the carefully established iconography of theApocalyptic Woman. For if Dante's appropriation of the figure of theWoman in the Sun begins by establishing the figure of Beatrice as anecclesial, Church-related, version of the Woman, when the poet doublesand trebles the crown so integral to her iconographical identity, he com-plicates the figure in other ways as well. Thus the cantos of the sun beginby identifying Beatrice as the Woman in the Sun; as Thomas indicatesalmost in an aside to Dante, she is the one who is crowned by the first cir-cle of twelve soul lights: "Tuvuo' saper di quai piante s'infiora / questaghirlanda che 'ntornovagheggia la bella donna ch'al ciel t'awalora" (x, 91-93,emphasis mine).4 However, the iconograpy of the "Woman in the Sun"graduallyshifts in focus from Beatrice to Dante. In Canto XII,Dante andBeatrice share the space at the center of the circling theologians: "cosi diquelle sempiterne rose / volgiensi circa noi le due ghirlande" (19-20,emphasis mine); here the "garlandsof roses" now crown both Dante andhis lady, "noi." Later in the same canto, Dante seems to achieve moreprominence than Beatrice at the center of the circles when Bonaventurerecalls that Dominic asked leave to fight "per lo seme / del qual ti fascianventiquattro piante"(95-96, emphasis mine), and the point is underscoredin Canto XIII,when Dante describes the double circle of theologians interms of Ariadne's crown, "che circulavail punto dov' to era"(21, empha-sis mine). I am suggesting, then, that although Cantos x-xi establishBeatrice as the Woman in the Sun, Dante Pilgrim takes that role as well,at first metonymically by association with Beatrice.The figure of the Woman in the Sun changes at several levels; first, andmost obviously, at the literal level, in the addition of crowns and the iden-tification of the human figure who is the focus of those crowns. Further,the allegorical meaning of the image shifts as well from the Ecclesia-ori-ented allegory of Cantos X-xi. As I shall argue in this paper, in Canto XII,where the first circle of theologians and teachers is surrounded by a sec-ond, this second crowning suggests that Dante also wants to present anApocalypticWoman within the context of Marian and contemplative tra-ditions particularlyas the image is appropriatedin the sermons and writ-ings of the figure Dante places as spokesman of the second circle oftheologians in the fourth heaven, the seventh minister general of theFranciscanorder, St. Bonaventure.5

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Bonaventure,ante nd heApocalypticoman lothedWith heSun,REBECCA. bealBonaventure mentions the ApocalypticWoman in the Sun in ten of hissermons.6 In one of these, the Woman clearly refers to Ecclesia, andBonaventure follows standard medieval exegetical treatments of her, sothat one is struck by similarities between Bonaventure's depiction of the

ApocalypticWoman and Dante's first presentation of Beatrice in the sun,in Cantos X-XI.Thus, in a sermon, delivered on the Feast of St. Stephen(Dec. 26), Bonaventure mentions the ApocalypticWoman, focuses on theWoman's crown, and explicates her twelve stars as a crown made up of"doctors"or teachers: "Haec est corona doctorum, quia qui ad iustitiamerudiuntmultos quasi stellae in perpetuasaeternitatesfulgebunt, ut diciturDanielis duodecimo" ["This is a crown of teachers, because 'those whoteachjustice to many will shine as eternal starsforever,'as is said in Daniel12"]7an nterpretation not far removed from Dante's own presentation ofChurch doctors as the soul-lights making up Beatrice's first crown in thesun. Yet despite this and one other nod to the dominant exegetical read-ing of the Apocalyptic woman as Ecclesia, the majority of Bonaventure'sallusions to Apocalypse 12:1 are made with reference to the Woman as theVirgin Mary.8The context is particularly mportant, for the saint incorpo-ratesreadingsof the figure of the Woman in the Sun as Ecclesia only twicein non-Marian sermons- the two just noted- but uses the image in eightof the twenty-four sermons given on feasts devoted to Mary recorded inthe Quaracchi edition: most notably in five of his six sermons on the feastof the Assumption of the Virgin, once in a sermon on the feast of thePurification of the Virgin, and twice in sermons on the Nativity of theVirgin. In all of these Marian sermons, the Woman in the Sun is inter-preted as Mary.The number of uses he makes of the figure in Marian sermons pointto Bonaventure's primary association of the figure of the Apocalypticwoman with Mary, but they do not indicate the way in which the saintappropriates he image and relies on it for emotional and rhetorical impactas well as for didactic content. Thus, for instance, he often usesApocalypse 12:1 at rhetorically significant moments in his sermons: onceas his text and the major image of the sermon (De AssumptionB. VirginisMariae,Sermo6); once as a major partof the introduction (De AssumptionsB. VirginisMariae, Sermo 5); three times in his conclusion (De SancteStephanoMartyre,Sermo2; De SanctisAngelis, Sermo5; De Nativitate B.VirginisMariae,Sermo3); twice while concluding a major division of hissermon (PartIIof De AssumptioneB. VirginisMariae,Sermo2, and PartI of

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De Purificatione . VirginisMariae,Sermo3.) In short, whether using theimagein Marianor ecclesialcontexts,Bonaventureoften finds it a vividmeans for shapingall or partof his rhetoricalaim. For instance, n DeSancte tephanoMartyre,ermo , in the courseof summingupthreemajorpointsmade n thebodyof the sermon,Bonaventureuses the figureasanimageof the rewardgivento Church teacherswhose crownwill be likethatof the Woman n the Sun9 an audienceunlikely o obtain he crownof martyrdom, nd still to be exhorted o attemptcrownsgivenforabjec-tionandhumility!In the conclusionof PartIof De Purificatione. VirginisMariae, ermo , the figurebecomes the transitionbetweena meditationon Mary'svirtuesand an exhortation o followher;BonaventureirstcitesProverbs, sking,"Mulieremfortemuis nveniet?""Who hallfindavaliantwoman?"] and then responds with the image of the woman fromApocalypse12,who signifiesMary10Bonaventure'snterpretationf the woman asMaryand his use of theverse forsermonsmayderivefrom the liturgicaluses of Apocalypse12:1.Althoughit was not until the twentiethcenturythat the versebegantoservea prominentrole in the Feastof theAssumptionas the introit ndaspartof the first readingof the Roman rite of the mass (Apoc. 11.19-12.6),n Bonaventure's trongassociationof the verse with the feast ofMary'sAssumptionmaybe inferred rom his use of this versein the con-text of all but one of his six sermonson thatoccasion,where he usuallyassimilatesApocalypse 2.1 to an Old Testament extbeingexplicated.Forexample, in his first sermon on the Assumption, the passagefromApocalypsehelps explaina verse from Isaiah,and Bonaventureuses theApocalypse mage to illustrate he surpassingexcellenceof the Virgin.Here, the Womanclothed with the Sun standsfor the glorifiedVirgin,dressed n thebrightness f wisdom;the moon underher feetsignifies heangelicand humanhierarchies bovewhich the Virginhasrisenwith allknowledge.12n his second sermonon theAssumption, he textof whichis Wisdom7:29,Bonaventureagaindefinesthe Womanas Mary,Queenof Heaven,but the meaningof her iconographic lementschanges.Nowshe is clothedwith "the sun of justice,"while the moon underher feetindicates"worldlyglory strenuouslytroddenunderfoot,"and the starsindicate the honor, dignity,glory and lofty nobilityyielded her by thetwelve orders of saints.13 n the fourth sermon on the Assumption,Bonaventuretresses he figure'sbeingclothedwiththe sun,andanalyzesthe effectsof the sun'slight its strength,brightness,andheat asways

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Bonaventure,ante nd heApocalypticoman lothedWith heSun,REBECCA. beal

of explaining he glorifiedVirgin'sperfectedgrace.14 evertheless,how-everthesesermonschangethe meaningof herattributes, un, moon andstars,Bonaventurerepeatedlydentifies the Woman of Apocalypse12:1with the glorifiedVirgin.Like other Marianwriters, Bonaventureassociatesthe Assumptionwith the Annunciation.15ccording o readingsof Canticles3:11, Marywas thought to have "crowned"Christ with a human body at theAnnunciation.Bonaventureaccordinglyappropriateshis interpretationin aPalmSunday ermon,where he describesatriplecrowngivenChrist.The first of these,givenhim by his mother,wasa "diadem"f flesh:16Primo coronavitummaterVirgo Maria carneo diademate originalis innocentiae inconceptione, secundum quod dicitur Canticorum 3,11: Egredimini,iliae Sion, etvideteegentalomonemndiademate,uo oronavitummaterua. . . FiliaeSion,egred-imini, a deformitate peccati; et videteregemregum, verum Salvatorem Christumincarnatum, in diademate, riginalis innocentiae, quocoronavit um mater ua, VirgoMaria, virtute Spiritus sancti eum concipiendo, in diedesponsationisumanae nat-urae, quae in imitate personae copulata est et coniuncta Dei Verbo, ut sponsasponso vinculo indissolubili, in utero virginali et amore pudico et benevolo cumlaetitia inenarrabiliet gaudio magna. ["In the first place, 'his mother' the VirginMary 'crowned him' with the fleshly diadem of original innocence at his concep-tion, following what is said in Canticles 3:11: 'Rise up, o daughters of Zion, andsee King Solomon in the crown with which his mother crowned him. . . .Daughters of Zion, rise up' from the deformity of sin; 'and see the king' of kings,the true SaviorChrist incarnate,'in the crown' of original innocence, 'with whichhis own mother' the Virgin Mary, 'crowned him' when she conceived him by thepower of the Holy Spirit, 'in the day of his betrothal' to human nature,which wasunited in the unity of person andjoined to the Word of God, as a wife [is wed-ded] to her husband with an indissoluble chain, in the maidenly womb, and withchaste and willing love, with unspeakable gladness and greatjoy."]As Bonaventurecontinues with this sermon, it becomes clear thatChrist's"crowns" re neverdissociated romhisbody:the secondcrown,Christ'scrown of thorns, figuresthe humiliationand sufferingof hispassion,andhisthirdcrown,accordingo Bonaventure,ndicateshis res-urrectionglory, he resurrection f his body,ajust divineresponse o hisIncarnation ndpassion.17In the traditionof Marian nterpretationsf Canticles3.11, the versecameto "comprehend coronationof Mary: n the actbywhich he madeherMotherof God, Christcrownedthe Virgin."18 ary's irstcrown,inotherwords,is, likeChrist's,associatedwith the body.Andjust as Christ

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takes his own body from her flesh at the Annunciation, even so at theAssumption, where Christ takes his mother bodily into Heaven, he"crowns"her again, this time with a resurrectedbody. Mary's coronationsbecome, by extension, an emblem of the Christian hope of the resurrec-tion both of soul and body, but most especially,of the body.When Dante incorporatesthe figure of the double-crowned Woman inthe Sun, he does so precisely in the context of the Incarnation andResurrection. Thus, Dante compares her crowns to two rainbows,"nascendo di quel d'entro quel di fori" (XII,13) and thus anticipates thepoem's final vision when he sees three circles representing the Trinityandwrites of two that "Fun da l'altro come iri da iri / pareareflesso" (XXXIII,118-119). The second rainbow clearly follows from orthodox theologyregarding the procession of the Son from the Father, but it also recallsCanto XII,where rainbow imagery isjuxtaposed with an allusion to Noah:the rainbows "fanno qui la gente esser presaga, per lo patto che Dio conNoe puose, / del mondo che gia mai piii non s'allaga"(16-18). Such anallusion evokes a whole complex of traditional figuration associatingNoah with Christ, the rainbow with God's mercy,and also the flood withdivine retribution for post-lapsarian failings. But the dominant notestruckhere is mercy: the world will never be flooded again;these garlandsof "sempiterne rose" (XII,19) crown the image of the one through whomChrist became incarnate. The Apocalyptic Woman's two crowns speak toher allegoricalrole as Mary at the Incarnationand Coronation, both iden-tified with the revelation of divine mercy.

Against this background, the Pilgrim hears discourse ranging fromBonaventure's symbolic address praising the founder of the Dominicanorder to Thomas's scholastic discourses on the creation and Solomon's onthe resurrection. The first two of these speeches allude to the Fall andIncarnation;the last, Solomon's, to the resurrection. Such evocations areenriched by the figure of the Apocalyptic woman who functions as animage of Mary, the New Eve, crowned by the Deity, most especially herSon. In such a context, Dante and Beatrice's role as allegorically figuringthe Apocalyptic Woman/Mary is both startling and appropriate.Startling,because neither Dante nor even Beatrice is marked by virginity, the traitwhich enabled Bonaventure's clerical audience, for example, to resemblemost closely the Mother of Christ. As B. Capelle has remarked, theGospel for the Feast of Mary's Assumption was a Gospel always used inmasses celebrating virgins, and this use of the reading made it fitting for

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the Assumed Mary in a way which Bonaventure would haveapproved- and which he even anticipates. For Bonaventure, Mary'sdouble coronation was linked to a strongly Trinitariantheology. And heexpands the traditional number of crowns associated with Mary's coro-nation in his fifth sermon on the Assumption, an explication ofCanticles 4:8: "VenideLibano,sponsamea,veni deLibano" precisely theverse that Dante alludes to here, and which ends, coronaberis.LikeDante's anonymous voice, who cries the verse three times, and evenmore like Dante-poet who crowns Beatrice three times in the heavenwhich celebrates the Trinity,Bonaventure believes that the phrase "youshall be crowned" involves three coronations of Mary, each of which isrelated to the work of the Trinity. Her first crown, a "coronagloriosa"["glorious crown"], derives from her conformity to the eternal majestyof the Father; her second, a "corona luminosa" "brilliant crown"], fromher conforming to the brightness of the Only Begotten; her third, a"coronapretiosa" "priceless crown"], from her conforming perfectly tothe love of the Holy Spirit.21These crowns may seem entirely spiritual,but just as in his sermon on Christ's three crowns cited above,Bonaventure makes their relevance to the flesh quite clear: Marydeserves her first crown because of her continence ("candor continen-tiae")\ further, she deserves her second crown because she taught theApostles themselves the mystery of the Incarnation, the Word becom-ing flesh in her body- and it is in the context of his discussion of theIncarnation that Bonaventure explicitly images her as the Woman ofApocalypse.22 Finally, with respect to her third "precious" crown, givenbecause of her conformity to the love of the Holy Spirit, Bonaventurewrites: "Unde colligi potest, quod earn debuerit coronare non tantumspiritu, sed etiam stola corporis" ["Whence it can be gathered that he(God) ought to crown her not merely with a spiritual crown, but evenwith a robe of flesh"].23She is thus to be given a crown associated withthe glorification of the body in the resurrection, but unlike the rest ofthe Church, she will not wait until the LastJudgment, but receives her"crown," her resurrected body, at her Assumption and Coronation. Sheis, in effect, the Church's token of its own coming resurrection, thatevent signalled in PurgatorioXXXby angels compared to resurrectedsouls with "revestita voce" (15) and in ParadisoXIVby Solomon whoexplains to Dante how the souls of the elect will be doubly clothed, bylove, "cotal vesta" (39) and with their bodies, "rivestita"(44).

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Bonaventure,ante nd heApocalypticoman bthedWith heSun,REBECCA. bealBeatrice's status as Mary and thus the "new Eve" in the allegory of the

EarthlyParadisehas been examined elsewhere.241would point out furtherthat her redemptive work is operative not only at the historical, but at thepersonal level of Dante's own "history"in Cantos XXX,XXXI nd XXXIII.Beatrice/Mary's work thus complements that of the Griffin/Christ toovercome the Fall.Whereas his labor is active in pulling the chariot, hers,no less serviceable, is contemplative and most often involves her eyes.Thus, Beatrice describes her labor in tending the fallen gardenwhich wasDante:

Ma tantopiu malignoe piu silvestrosi fa '1 errencol malseme e non colto,quant'elli hapiu di buonvigorterrestro.Alcuntempoil sostennicol mio volto:mostrando i occhigiovanettia lui,meco il menava n drittapartevolto.

(Purg.XXX,118-123)Thus during her first life she sustained Dante by showing him her eyes,that is, by her gaze. In her interaction with the Griffin, Beatrice acts asMary in a more cosmic role as well. Thus she descends from the Griffin'schariot beside a despoiled tree clearly identified as the tree of the fall fromwhich Adam and Eve ate and thus lost their innocence, a tree which wasrobbed of its greenery: "poi cerchiaro una pianta dispogliata / di foglie ed'altra fronda in ciascun ramo" (Purg.XXXII, 8-39). When the Griffindraws his pole to the base of the tree, "s'innovo la pianta,/ che prima aveale ramorasi sole" (xxxil, 59-60). The image of the tree's renewed foliageseems clear: the fall has been overcome, and Beatrice, in whose eyes theGriffin takes form, plays Mary's role in an allegory of the Incarnation.Even the view of Beatrice beneath the tree after the Griffin's ascent recallsMary,for it anticipatesDante's description of Mary left "below"in ParadisoXXIII, fter the brighter sun which is Christ has ascended.From the vantage of ParadisoXII, he description of Dominic's place oforigin as the place from which Zephyr rises to open "le novelle fronde"(47) and reclothe Europe echoes the language of cosmic and personalredemption in Purgatorio.When Dante describes himself after Beatricesends him to his baptism in Eunoe, he resembles the tree restored by theGriffin and anticipates Europa "reclothed," for he is "rifatto si comepiante novelle / rinovellate di novellafronda" (Purg. XXXIII.143-144,

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emphasis mine). The linkage between new growth and clothing as aredemptive response to the Fall, concepts associated in Bonaventure'sintroduction to Dominic's life, also suggest traditional differencesbetween Eve and Mary: the former learns her own nakedness at themoment of her Fall from grace. The latter, "full of grace" at theIncarnation, is, at her Coronation, "reclothed"in a fleshly glorified bodyand crowned, as Dante shows us in the Heaven of the Wise Teachers,with the wisdom Eve sought so desperately.Bonaventure's speech in ParadisoXII hus begins by evoking the Fall andRedemption, and it continues as it began, its nature imagery recallingPurgatorio'sast cantos as well as identifying Dominic with Christ as theNew Adam. An "agricola" XII,71) called to help tend the garden of theLord, Dominic circled the vineyard (XII,86) and, transformed into a rush-ing river, struck with most force "li sterpi eretici" (XII,100) the barrengrowth that needed to be eradicated so that the remaining vines might beeven more fruitful. In a description of Dominic's desire to obtain a war-rant for his activities, Dante combines the image of the saint as warriorand as gardener: "addimandd . . . contro al mondo errante / licenza dicombatter per lo seme / del qual ti fascian ventiquattro piante" (xil, 94-96). The "battle" s waged on behalf of the seeds of which the offspringnow enfold Dante-pilgrim: Dominic, in other words, is a gardenerwork-ing fiercely to overcome the effects of the Fall on the garden planted byChrist in the world after the loss of Eden.25As such Dominic resemblesChrist, the "New Adam," for whom he was named (xil, 70-72). Evenwhen Dante shifts Dominic's defining imagery from caretakerof the gar-den to a rushing river, "quasi torrente" (xil, 99), Dominic's descriptionimitates Christ, the living water, for through Dominic as through Christ,come streams which water "Porto catolico" (xil, 104).

Following Bonaventure comes Thomas, whose speech, primarilyfocused on answering Dante's unvoiced question concerning Thomas'sassertion that after Solomon "non surse il secondo" (x, 114), invokesChrist and Adam directly only to distinguish between them. Symbolically,this speech is linked to Bonaventure's, for Thomas, in fact, begins by con-necting himself to Bonaventure's image of Dominic as "agricola."Butwhereas Dominic is associatedwith planting and tilling- he defended theseed and uprooted sterile growth- Thomas is concerned with threshingthe harvested grain:he says, "Quando l'una pagliae trita,/ quando la suasemenza e gia riposta,/ a batter Paltradolce amor m'invita" (xill, 34-36).

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Bonaventure,ante nd heApocalypticoman bthedWith heSun,REBECCA. BEALThomas next restatesDante's own beliefs and, in the process, invites himto look at the two events already alluded to in Bonaventure's praise ofDominic - humankind's Fall and Redemption:

Tu credi che nel petto onde la costasi trasseper formar la bella guanciail cui palatoa tutto '1 mondo costa,e in quel che, forato da la lancia,e prima e poscia tanto sodisfece,che d'ogne colpa vince la bilancia,quantunque a la natura umana lece

averdi lume, tutto fosse infusoda quel valor che Puno e Paltro fece.(XIII,37-45)

The account accuratelyreflects the Pilgrim's belief that at their creation,God gifted only the unfallen Adam and Christ with all the "light"or wis-dom allowed by nature. But Thomas phrases Dante's belief so as toenclose in it the story of Eve's creation from Adam's rib and so balance hercreation and fall against Christ's passion and satisfaction for human sin.Since Eve is referred to as "la bella guancia/ il cui palato a tutto '1 mondocosta" (XIII, 8-39), this statement reflecting the Pilgrim's belief encom-passes an account of the Fall set out in terms of Eve's sin.

Thomas, however, subtly redirects the emphasis of the Pilgrim's ideasand therefore invites us to "fulfill"Eve with Mary,as Adam is fulfilled byChrist. Accordingly, after describing creation as a self-revelation of theTrinity through various levels of being, Thomas reiterates and approvesDante's opinion "che l'umana naturamai non fue / ne fia qual fu in quelledue persone" (xill, 86-87), but whereas the Pilgrim had emphasized Eve'srole in the Fall, Thomas's restatement underlines Mary's in humanRedemption: "Cosl fu fattagia la terradegna/ di tutta l'animal perfezione;/ cosi fu fatta la Vergine pregna" (xill, 82-84). By naming only Mary,andby alluding to Adam (and through him, to Eve) only as "la terra"requir-ing the creative intervention of the Triune God in order to be made"degna/ di tutta l'animal perfezione," Thomas's discourse suggests notsimply a parallelbetween Adam and Christ, but a progression. In Adam'scase, the dust was made worthy; in Christ's, the Virgin. Thomas's version,with its reference to Mary's reception of Christ should be readagainstthespectacle of the Woman in the Sun as the glorified Mary,for such a visionprovides a rich commentary on the difference between Old Eve, who

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provedso costlyto the world,and the New, whose child redeemed t. IfEve,drawnfrom the side of a man created rom dustand who returnedto dust,exemplifiesdeath,Maryservesas an exemplumof the resurrec-tion and the overcomingof mortality, articularlyn herAssumption.26Dante'svision of theApocalypticWoman Mary New Evein ParadisoXII-XIVeachesa climaxat the moment when Dante-pilgrim'sdentifica-tion with Maryas a doubly-crownedWoman n the Sun"becomes mostexplicit.Thomas has finishedspeaking, nd Beatricehas asked hat Dantebe informedabouta matterassociatedwith the resurrection f the body,

Diteli se la luce onde s'infioravostra sustanza, rimarra con voietternalmente si com' ell' e ora;e se rimane, dite come, poiche sarete visibili rifatti,esser pora ch'al veder non vi noi.(XIV,13-18)

The doublegarlandof theologiansresponds irstby praising he Trinity,then Dantehears he voiceof Solomon,who will answerBeatrice's ues-tion: "E o udi' ne la luce piu dia del minor cerchiouna voce modesta,forse qual fu da Pangeloa Maria" XIV, 4-36). Solomon here respondsdirectly o Beatrice'sprompting,and when Dante hearshim, he registersSolomon'sas the voice of the Angel Gabrielappearing o Maryat theAnnunciation,an eventuponwhich herglorification, ymbolizedby hersecond crowning, depends. The process which Solomon proceeds toexplain, he resurrection f the body, s alreadypresentallegoricallyn thespectacleof the Woman n the Sun symbolizing he glorifiedVirginwhoservesasexemplarof the Church'scomingresurrection, ut atthispoint,Dante,who hearsSolomon'svoicejust as he hadportrayedMaryhearingGabriel's,s identifiedwith theApocalypticWomanand with Mary.As in the case of Bonaventure's arlier peech,we read he scene retro-spectively, ememberingheportrayalf the Annunciation n the first er-race of Purgatory,where Gabriel s imaged"inun atto soave"as sayingonly one word: "Giurato i sariach'el dicesse, 'Aw!'"(Purg.X, 38, 40).Manymedievalcommentators xplain,of course,thatGabriel'salutationindicates that Mary,throughher humility,reversesthe effect of Eve'spride-caused all,just as "Ave" eversesEve'sname.27CertainlyDante'spresentation f Maryat the Annunciationas anexemplumon the terrace

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Bonaventure,ante nd heApocalypticoman lothedWith heSun,REBECCA. BEALof Pride indicates his accord with this interpretation,but medieval writersdid not think of the Annunciation solely in terms of humility.Bonaventure thought that Eve's sin consisted in her wishing to be equalto God in wisdom: "radixet origo mortis est elatio mentis mulieris, cumvoluit aequipari Deo in sapientia" ["The root and source of death is thewoman's lifting her mind, when she wished to equal God in wisdom"].28By contrast, Bonaventure uses the Apocalyptic image of the Womanclothed with the Sun to explain that the Virgin received in heaven isclothed with the brightness of wisdom; the moon under her feet signifiesthe angelic and human hierarchies above which the Virgin has risen illu-minated with all knowledge.29ante seems to follow a similar course, firstpraising Mary's humility in PurgatorioX, and then, in ParadisoXII-XIV,where he figures her as doubly crowned by wise teachers of the Church,suggesting that this New Eve in fact obtained through humility what Evesought at such cost to herself and her descendents- wisdom. Dante'sidentification with Mary in his portrayalof himself as Woman in the Sunsuggests, too, that he himself has arrived at a point in his journey wherehe can display humility- a marked contrast to the Pilgrim's earlier fearwhen he considers how pride will be punished in Purgatory and indictshimself of that sin.

Dante's auditory identification of Solomon with Gabriel not onlyrecalls the image engraved on the first terrace of Mount Purgatory,but itanticipatesanother allegoricalpresentation of that scene in Canto XXIIIfParadiso,where Mary herself, "la rosa in che '1verbo divino / carne si fece"(73-74), appearsas a "viva Stella"(92), and Gabriel descends, forms a cir-cle "a guisa di corona" (95), then circles around her and escorts herupward to her alreadyascended Son. Here, the poem represents the firsthalf of the drama of Mary's glorification alreadyfigured in the cantos ofthe Sun. Gabriel, descending as he did at the Annunciation, is literally"crowning" Mary, thus making explicit the traditional meaning of thatevent for her which Dante figured when he heard Solomon's voice inCanto XIV.The drama will finish when Mary goes to her Son and is"crowned"a second time with her resurrected body. We do not see thatevent, but the Pilgrim alludes to it when he tries to see if St. John has abody,and learns that St.John, like the rest of the Church, will have to waituntil the LastJudgment. Mary and Christ alone in Heaven wear "tworobes" ("le due stole," xxv, 127) of resurrected bodies.

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I beganthis discussionwith Bonaventure,and it is germane o a dis-cussionof the figureof theApocalypticWoman o note that the seraphicdoctor's interpretationof the Womanin the Sun is not exhaustedbyecclesialor Marianuses. A third,thoughrelated, nterpretationf the fig-ureemerges n anunfinishedseries of talks,the Hexaemeron,nterruptedbyBonaventure's levation o the cardinalate.n theselectures, ranslatedasthe Collationsn theSixDays,Bonaventurenterpretshe Woman n theSun as an imageof the contemplativesoul. Thus, Bonaventureopens"CollationTwenty-two" y citing Apocalypse12:1,then summarizes hepreviouscollationby explainingthe sun in the verse as the "heavenlyMonarchy,"rTrinity, xhaustively tudied n thepreviouscollation.Themoon below is the ChurchMilitant,andbetween these standsthe soul:"Foras the contemplative oul is a good woman, clothed ith thesun,soalso themoon s underher eet."30 he twelve starsare "mysteries o beunlocked";heyare also "considerations f bodilynatures,spiritual ub-stances, intellectualnotions, affectivevirtues, divinely institutedlaws,divinelyinfused graces, rrevocableudgments, incomprehensiblemer-cies, meritsworthy of reward,rewardinggifts, periodsof time, eternalreasons" Bonaventuresummarizes these as "considerations"which"adorn he soul."31He might as well define them as wisdom, preciselythe kind of wisdom thatthepilgrimseeksduringhis itinerariumentis,orit seems to me quite possible that Dante transformshis ApocalypticWoman n the Sun a third time in orderto apply ust this kindof readingof the figureto his personaaspilgrim.32In Dante,as in Bonaventure, he context of the imageis a considera-tion of the creativework of the Trinity.And whereashis singlycrownedWomanaccordswith interpretationsf the figureasChurch,and hisdou-bly crownedWomanwith the figureas Mary,Dante's final vision in theSuncompleteshis Trinitarianllegoryand seems to focus on the Pilgrim'srole as the soul ascending,quite literallytaken up or assumed,to hisMaker. ustso, afterhe sees "novelle ussistenze . . . fareun giro di fuordal'altredue circunferenze"XIV, 3-75), he exclaimsat this "vero favil-lar del Santo Spiro!"(76), is unable to sustain that sight, but regardsBeatrice, nd finds himself"translato/ . . in piualtasalute" 83-84)to theHeaven of Mars.In otherwords,the vision of hiscompleted riplecrownasWoman n the Sun leads to his raptuso the Heaven of Marsas a con-templativesoul moving incrementally oward a union with God; the

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Bonaventure,ante nd heApocalypticoman bthedWithheSun,REBECCA. BEALvision anticipates,as well, his final ecstatic union with the Triune God inCanto xxxiii.

In Cantos X-XIV, hen, Bonaventure's and Dante's treatments of theWoman in the Sun as the Church, Mary or as the contemplative soul arenot contradictory,but recapitulateand explore the same kind of analogiesseen by interpreters of the Canticles, that writing thought to be an epi-thalamion, a celebration of a mystical marriage between God and hisbride, variously interpreted. Thus, while medieval Christian exegetesinterpreted the groom of Canticles as Christ or God, they read the brideas the Church, as Mary, or as the soul- the very interpretationsBonaventure reads into the Woman of the Apocalypse and Dante-poetdrawsupon. An overlap betweeen readingsof the Sponsa in Canticles andthe Apocalyptic Woman of Apocalypse 12:1 was perhaps inevitable, espe-cially since, as Ronald Herzman notes, the Apocalypse in the Middle Ageswas thought to summarize all of Sacred Scripture,33and also because, asE. Ann Matter points out, many of the same exegetes who treated theApocalypse also interpreted the Song of Songs.34 Certainly Dante's ownimagery in the cantos of the sun recalls both the Apocalyptic imagery andthe spousal imagery of Canticles.Canto Xbegins the process of merging the iconography of the Womanin the Sun with allusions to the Canticles' sponsus.Here, after carefullyincluding the proper visual signs identifying Beatrice with the Woman inthe Sun, the poem makes an elaborate analogy between her crown, a"gloriosa rota" (x, 145) and a clock that calls to us in the hour that theSpouse of God rises to say morning devotions to her husband, that hemay love her (x, 139-141). The vehicle of this simile, which explains thecrown of theologians as a clock calling us at the time the Church saysmorning prayers, is carefully designed to include exactly those termsfrom Canticles which explain the union between the Church and God asthat of bride and groom, and it reinforces a reading of Beatrice in the Sunas the Church.35

The following speech in praise of Francis also calls to mind the inter-pretation of Canticles as an epithalamion celebrating the union of Christand the Church. According to interpretersof Canticles, the major charac-ters of the epithalamion are the sponsusand sponsa; he minor characters,"choruses,"are the friends of the bride and the bridegroom. In ParadisoX-XI,the bride and groom are clearly present in symbol: Christ is alluded toas the "Sol de li angeli" (x, 53) and Beatrice as the Woman clothed with

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the Sun represents his bride, the Church. The friends of the bride andgroom are also represented symbolically by the star-like doctors sur-rounding Beatrice as these call to Dante's mind in Canto Xthe clock wak-ing the bride to her obligation to love her husband. In the following canto,when Thomas praises Francis, the identification of the sponsusand sponsaof Canticles is more explicit. Aquinas's description of the crucifixioninvokes spousal terminology identifying Christ as husband and hisChurch as bride. Friends of the bridalpairare also mentioned. As Aquinastells Dante:

Laprovedenza, he governa l mondoperoche andasse er' lo suo dilettolasposadi colui ch'adaltegridadisposolei col sanguebenedetto,in se sicurae anchea lui piu fida,due principiordino in suo favore,che quincie quindile fosserper guida.(XI,28, 31-36)

Thomas's statement indicates that these two saints and the circles praisingthem serve as friends of the bride and groom.Bonaventure's depiction of St. Dominic identifies that saint even moreparticularlyas a friend of the groom. Dominic is not only celestially sealedwith Christ's name, but, says Bonaventure, "Ben parve messo e famigliardi Cristo" (XII,73). An even more obvious friend of the bride and groomis later perceived in Solomon as Gabriel, for the latter appears in CantoXXIII,eenacting the Annunciation and escorting Mary to her Son for hersecond coronation. Now the allegory moves toward an identification ofthe sponsawith Mary,whose Coronation is the culmination of her earlierunion with Christ.

Nevertheless, as the allegory proceeds from ecclesiological to mario-logical levels, each successive stage incorporates the meanings of thatwhich preceded it. The narrative does not abandon its earlier mean-ings- Dante does not displace Beatrice; rather, there is a continuitybetween levels of allegorical meaning. We do well to remember, asJaroslav Pelikan has noted, that "forDante and for Bernard of Clairvaux,as for the entire medieval tradition, Mary stands in continuity with thehuman race, the same human race to which the poet and his readers

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Bonauenture,ante nd heApocalypticoman lothedWith heSun,REBECCA.beal

belong, and therefore that the glory with which she is crowned is a spe-cial form- different in degree, of course, but finally not different inkind- of the glory in which all the saved participate."36n ParadisoX-XIV,the allegorical emphasis moves from the general to the particular, fromEcclesia to Mary, representative of Ecclesia, and finally to the individualsoul who is to imitate her. Thus, at the end of these cantos, Dante is thesoul moving toward ever greater knowledge. While Dante does not fill,as Beatrice does, the role of the "woman" in the sun, his role is certainlyanalogous to that of the soxxVponsaof Canticles, engaged in a journeytoward his God and his beloved. Indeed, in Cantos X-XIV he iconogra-phy of the Apocalyptic Woman allows Dante to manipulate the tradi-tional presentation of her crowns in order to elide the allegorical readingof Beatrice as Church with one of Beatrice as Mary and thence to a read-ing of Dante-poet as soul. For as Dante regards Beatrice in the finalvision of the cantos of the sun, he is enabled to rise to the next sphere.And the lessons learned concerning joy in the fourth heaven prepare thepilgrim to endure the prophecies of his own suffering and exile in thenext heaven, where the dominant iconography takes Dante to Christ'spassion and his own.37University ofScrantonScranton, Pennsylvania

NOTES1. Rebecca S. Beal, "Beatrice n the Sun,"DanteStudies, m (1985), 57-78. John Freccero's"Paradiso: the Dance of the Stars" DanteStudies,xxxvi [1968], 85-111) remains the starting

point foriconographical eadingsof these cantos.More recently,RonaldB. Herzman has focusedon the Apocalyptic mageryof ParadisoXI n light of Dante-pilgrim'sconversion,with particularreference to the treatmentof St. Francis ("Danteand the Apocalypse," n TheApocalypsen theMiddleAges, ed. Richard K. Emmerson and Bernard McGinn [Ithaca, New York: CornellUniversityPress,1992],404-407). See also RonaldL.Martinez,"Ovid'sCrown of Stars(Paradiso13.1-27),"in Danteand Ovid:Essaysn Intertextuality,d. Madison U. Sowell (Binghamton,NewYork: Medieval& RenaissanceTexts & Studies, 1991), 123-138.2. Biblical references in Latin are to the Vulgate edition. Translations are taken from theDouay-Rheimsedition.3. Pierre Prigent,Apocalypse2: HistoiredeI'exegese, eitrage zur Geschichte der biblischenExegese (Tubingen: J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1959). For the exegetical tradition of theWoman as Ecclesia, see Beal, "Beatrice in the Sun," p. 69 and nn. 20-21. More recently,Richard K. Emmerson and Ronald B. Herzman have pointed out that the twelfth-centuryJoachim of Fiore identifies her as "mother church who laboredin proclaimingand deliveringthe word of preaching" ["Mulier ista generaliter matrem designat ecclesiam que in verbopredicationisclamando et parturiendolaborabat"],ExpositionApocalypsim,ol. 154r,cited and

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DanteStudies,CXIV,1996translated in Emmerson and Herzman, The Apocalyptic magination n MedievalLiterature(Philadelphia:University of PennsylvaniaPress, 1992), p. 188, n. 21.

4. All quotationsare takenfrom DanteAlighieri,La Commediaecondo anticaulgata, cura diGiorgioPetrocchi,4 vols. (1966-67;rpt.,Firenze: Casa EditriceLe Lettere,1994).5. For earlypatristicMarianreadingsof the Woman in the Sun as Mary,see E. Ann Matter,"TheApocalypse n EarlyMedievalExegesis," n TheApocalypsen theMiddleAges,op.cit.,esp. p.44; Matter demonstrates, however, that these readingswere assimilated to an ecclesiologicalinterpretationof the book as a whole: "Allthe Apocalypsecommentaries from the Carolingianworld thus show the continuing assumptionof the text as an allegoryof the Church,and a con-tinuing process of filtering specific interpretations rom earlier commentaries to support thatassumption" p.49). For aninterpretation rguing or more prevalentMarianreadingsamongtheearly Fathers,see MartinJugie, La Mort et VAssomptione la SainteVierge Citta del Vaticano:BibliotecaApostolicaVaticana,1944), p. 40.6. WhetherDeAssumptione. VirginisMariae,Sermo is indeed Bonaventure's s open to ques-tion. Hilda Graefhas sharplyquestionedthe ascriptionof that text to Bonaventureon doctrinalgrounds (Mary:A History fDoctrine ndDevotion,PartI; 1963 [London:Sheed andWard,1985],pp. 288-290). In the following analysisI shall assume that the sermon is indeed the saint's,butmy argument,as will be seen, in no way dependson thatassumption.7. De SanctoStephanoMartyre, ermo , in Sanctae onaventuraeopera mnia,Vol. K, (Quaracchi,1901),p. 488. Unless otherwisenoted,all references o Bonaventure's ermons are fromthis vol-ume of the Quaracchiedition of his works.8. The other exampleof Bonaventure'suse of the figurein an Ecclesial sense is less appositeto Dante. A sermon takingas its text Psalm90:11 "Angelissuis mandavitde te, ut custodiant tein omnibus viis tuis" ["He has given his angelschargeover thee, thatthey may keep thee in allthy ways"] mentions the ApocalypticWoman as the Church. The starson her headrefer to theaccomplishmentsof the church'sangelicministers(De SanctisAngelis,Sermo , p. 631).9. Op. cit.,p. 488.10. De Purificatione. VirginisMariae,Sermo , p. 649.11.Adolf Adam writes: "The formulary or the festal mass is still, for the most part,the 1950formulary.The two nongospel readingsand the special prefaceare new" (TheLiturgical ear: tsHistoryand ItsMeaningAfter heReform f theLiturgy,rans.MatthewJ. O'Connell [New York:Pueblo, 1981], p. 216). For the modern use of Apoc. 12:1 as the first introit to the mass cele-bratingthe Assumption, see Graduate acrosanctaeomanae cclesiae e temporet desanctis,1938(Paris:Desclee, 1957), pp. 582-588; for the use of the verse as the first readingsee the MissaleRomanum um ectionibus,ol. 3, Tempuspernnum:hebdomadali-xxi (Cittadel Vaticano:LibreriaEditriceVaticana,1977), pp. 949-951. B. Capelle points out that the early Roman Introitwas"Vultumtuum," the epistle, "In omnibus requiem quaesivi"("LaFete de l'Assomptiondansl'histoire liturgique," Ephemeridesheologicae ovanienses [1926], p. 40). Thirteenth-centuryFranciscansseem to have used another introit but the same opening lecture; thus, the OrdoMissalisof Haymo of Faversham, ourth general ministerof the Franciscanorder, presentsthefollowing summaryfor the firstpartof theAugust 15 mass: "IN ASSUMPTIONE BEATEVIR-GINIS intr.Gaudeamusmnes n domino s. Eructavit GloriaoratorioFamulorumuorum. er eun-demepistolalectio libri SapientieIn omnibus equiem uesivi inis suavitatemdoris" Sourcesf theModemRomanLiturgy: heOrdinals yHaymoofFavershamndRelated ocuments1243- 1307] Vol.II:Texts,ed. StephenJ. P. VanDijk [Leiden:E.J. Brill, 1963], p. 294). In this book and elsewhereVan Dijk andJoan Hazelden Walkerhaveshown the importanceof Haymo and the Franciscansin establishing iturgicalpracticewhich became embedded in the Romanbreviaryandmissal,andwhich laterdeveloped into the version adoptedat Trent. For the Tridentine form of the mass,see MissaleRomanum,x decretoacrosanctionsiljTridentiniestitutumVenice: Iuntus, 1575). SeealsoCyrille Vogel,Medieval iturgy: n Introductiono theSources,ev. andtrans.WilliamG. Storeyand Niels Krogh Rasmussen, O.P., with John K. Brooks-Leonard;1981 (Washington,D.C.:PastoralPress, 1986).12. De Assumptione. VirginisMariae,Sermo1, pp. 689-690.

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Bonaventure,ante nd heApocalypticoman lothedWith heSun,REBECCA. BEAL13. "Muliersta est Virgo regia, quae dicituramictaole, d est decore Solis iustitiae;etlunasub

pedibus ius,id est mundanagloriastrenuissimeconculcata,quae ad modum lunae modo est indefectu,modo est in augmento;etincapite iuscoronatellarumuodecim,d est omnis honor et dig-nitas, gloria et sublimitas generisque nobilitas duodecim Sanctorumordinibus per duodecimStellas ulgidasdesgnatisconcessa,quarumnovem sunt spirituum supernorum,tresvero triplicisstatushomnum, scilicetactivorum,contemplativorumet praelatorum"Deassumptione. VirginisMariae,Sermo , p. 692).14.De Assumptione. VirginisMariae,Sermo , p. 698.15. For an extensive treatmentof the traditionsassociating he Annunciation andAssumptionboth doctrinallyand within the context of a literarywork, see James I. Wimsatt,"The BlessedVirginand the Two Coronationsof Griselda,"Mediaevalia, I 1980), esp. pp. 194-195.16."Sermo20 [Dominica in Palmis],"Sect. 11, 11.190-201, in SanctiBonaventurae,SermonesDominicales,d. Iacobi Guidi Bougerol, Bibliotheca FranciscanaScholasticaMedii Aevi curaPP.Collegii S. Bonaventurae Grottaferrata:adri Editori di Quaracchi, 1977).

17. Tertio coronavitummater ivina iustitiasplendidodiadematehonoris et gloriaein resur-rection"("Sermo20,"Sect.13,11. 25-26).18.Wimsatt,op.cit.,p. 193.19. Capelle, op.cit.,pp. 39-40.20. ForBonaventure,see, for instanceDeAssumptione. VirginisMariae,Sermo , pp. 699-700.21. Ibid.,pp. 699-700.22. Ibid.,p. 699.23. Ibid.,p. 700.24.James I. Wimsatt,"Beatriceas a Figurefor Mary,"Traditio,xxin (1977), 402-414.25. MaryMagdalene,of course,takes the resurrectedChristfor a gardener n the narrative fLuke.Artistssuch as Durer continue a traditionassociatingChristas a gardenerpreciselyas he isthe New Adam.26. Comparethe Pilgrim'searlierdescriptionof his belief about Eve's role in the Fall in the

EarthlyParadise.There, the Pilgrim reprovedEve's sin, for had she remained faithful, "avreiquelle ineffabilidelizie/ sentiteprimae piu lunga fiata" Purg.xxrx, 29-30). Dante-poet under-cuts the pilgrim'semphasison female hubrisbyjuxtaposingthese opinions to a narrativeprais-ing women: Mateldawho guides Dante through the Garden,the female figuresof the virtues,but most especiallyBeatrice.By contrast, t is the men who areprimarilyassociatedwith the Fall.Thus, those with him condemn Adam as the source of original sin: Dante hears "mormorareatutti 'Adamo'" xxxji, 37) when the Griffin arrivesat the tree of the Fall. Increasingly he spot-light falls on Eve's partner,and Beatrice'smagisterialdescriptionof the Fall is itself Adam-cen-tered: in Canto xxxm's explicationof the Pageantof the Church, she comments, "Per morderquella,in penae in disio / cinquemiliaanni e piu l'animaprima bramo colui che '1morso in sepunio" (61-63). Beatrice'sjudgment of Dante shows him as guilty as his forebear; ike Adam,"questi u talne la suavita nova virtiialmente,ch'ogneabitodestro fatto averebbe n lui mirabilprova" Purg.xxx, 115-117). Her descriptionof Dante's sin in terms of a garden gone wild, andher statementthat "Tantogiu cadde" s frankly apsarian.27. For the typologicalrelationshipbetween MaryandEve in later cantos of the Paradiso,eeJaroslav Pelikan, EternalFeminines:Three TheologicalAllegories n Dante's "Paradiso"NewBrunswick,New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1990), esp. 104-105.28. "Sermo42"Sect.4, 11. 8-59, Sermones ominicales,p.cit.29. uSignummagnum pparuitn caelo:Mulieramictaole, d est sapientiaeclaritate . . et in capiteeiuscoronatellarumuodecim,d est illuminatioomnium cognitionum"(DeAssumptione. VirginisMariae,Sermo1,pp. 689-690.The Virgin'swisdom andknowledgeare stressedelsewhere as well:see, for instance,DeAssumptione. VirginisMariae,Sermo , p. 700, where Maryis praised or hav-ing taughtthe Apostlesthe mysteriesof the incarnationand "illuminated hem."30. Bonaventure,Collations n the Six Days, Vol. 5 of The Worksof Bonaventure: ardinal,SeraphicDoctor ndSaint,trans.Jose de Vinck (Paterson,New Jersey:St. Anthony Guild Press,1970), p. 341. See also p. 361: "And so the soul is a womanclothedwiththesun,and the moon . .

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DanteStudies,CXIV,1996Underhereet,anduponherheada crown ftwelvetars,or it is full of lightsand never turns its eyesawayfrom light."

CollationesnHexaemeron,lso known as Illuminationescclesia,urvivesin two ratherdifferentreportationes,ne edited by FerdinandM. Delorme (S. Bonaventurae,Collationesn HexaemerontBonaventurianauaedam electa Florentiae:Ad ClarasAquas, 1934]), the other translatedby deVinck whom I cite in this essay.For a descriptionof the Collationessee IgnatiusBrady,O.F.M.,"St.Bonaventure'sDoctrine of Illumination: ReactionsMedieval and Modern,"in Bonaventureand Aquinas:EnduringPhilosophers,d. Robert W. Shahan and FrancisJ. Kovach (Norman:University of Oklahoma Press, 1976), pp. 60-61. Brady points out that the "work was wellknown"(n. 14), being published four times between 1495 and 1588. Indeed, the Collationes,heItinerariumentis,he Commentaryon Peter Lombard'sSentences,nd some spuriousworks were"allthat survived the Renaissance"before the Quaracchieditions of 1882-1902 (p. 57).31. Out.,p. 361.32. For a very differentreadingof the iconographyof the third circle in terms ofJoachim'sthought, see Peter Dronke, "'Orizzonte che rischiari': Notes towards the InterpretationofParadisoiv,"RomancePhilology,xrx, No. 1 (1975), 1-19.33. Herzman,"Danteand the Apocalypse,"p. 413. Fora different versionof recapitulationnApocalypse nterpretation, ee Matter,"TheApocalypse n EarlyMedieval Exegesis,"pp. 39-40.34. "TheApocalypse n EarlyMedievalExegesis,"p. 46. See also E. Ann Matter,The Voice fMy Beloved:The Song of Songs in WesternMedievalChristianity Philadelphia: University ofPennsylvaniaPress, 1990),pp. 14, 106-111.35. For a careful readingof the clock simile and its transformationof the alba,see PatriciaZupan,"The New Dantean;42foi: Note on Paradiso, 139-48,"Lectura antis,VI 1990), 92-99.36. Op dr.,p. 103.37. Research or this essaywas begun under the auspicesof a 1990 SummerFellowshipfromthe National Endowment for the Humanities. A version of the essaywas presentedin apanelon"MedievalConceptsof the BiblicalApocalypse n Literature" t the Twenty-eighth InternationalCongress on Medieval Studies, The Medieval Instituteof Western Michigan University, May1993. I am particularlygrateful to Ronald Herzman and to Guy Raffa for their helpful andencouraging readings.

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