Constantine- Constantine was the first Christian Roman emperor and moved from Rome to Constantinople. It has been said that he had given lot of power and material possessions to the Pope. The medieval belief was that Constantine purposely moved East in order to reward Pope Sylvester with power and possessions, because Pope Sylvester had cured him of leprosy. Dante believed that the Donation of Constantinople demoralized many Popes and the Church, but it was not proven a forgery until after Dante’s time. Constantine is another apostrophe that appears in Dante’s Inferno. Constantine is seen in Paradise, not in Inferno. He made a donation that caused a lot of corruption in the Church, according to Dante, so Dante questioned why he is in Heaven. Constantine had good motivation, which proved to be a greater focus than the consequences of his actions. Constantine had the intention of doing good with his Donation, rather than evil, so this act helps get him into Heaven. Find more information on Constantine at https://cosplayvideos.wordpress.com/2019/01/26/david-bruce-dantes-inferno-a-discussion-guide-canto-19-the-simonists/ “Digital Dante.” Edited by Teodolinda Barolini, Inferno 19 – Digital Dante, Columbia University Libraries, 2017, https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/inferno/inferno-19/.

This website consists of many contributors and authors, which are not all named. The editor posted a letter on the website in 2017, but there is no known update to this specific article. The site is edited by Teodolinda Barolini. “Digital Dante is a venue for research and ideas on Dante, and it is managed by a group of affiliates with Columbia University’s Department of Italian.” Digital Dante was created by Jen Hogan in the early 1990s while she was a graduate student in Columbia University’s Institute for Learning Technologies. The poet and translator, Allen Mandelbaum, immediately saw the value in what Jen was creating and gave permission for the use of his translation of the Divine Comedy. Jen earned her Ph.D. in 2000, and the site continued to reside within the Institute for Learning Technologies.

Matthias- The Matthias that is referenced in Dante’s Inferno is also known as Saint Matthias, and is an apostle. He is a disciple, and according to the Acts of the Apostles, the disciple that was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after he betrayed Jesus. It is generally believed that Matthias ministered in Judaea and carried out missions to foreign places. In Dante’s Inferno, Dante flippantly asks Pope Nicholas how much Christ charged Saint Peter before giving him control of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. He also wanted to know how much the Apostles charged Matthias for taking Judas’s place amongst the Apostles after his betrayal. The answer to both questions is nothing. The event of replacing Judas as the twelfth apostle after he betrays Jesus brings Matthias into Dante’s Inferno. Read more on Matthias at https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-matthias/

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Saint Matthias.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 8 Feb. 2007, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Matthias. This article is attributed to “The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica”. According to the Britannica, “The vast majority of articles attributed solely to the editors have been written, reviewed, or revised by external advisers and experts, and the lack of formal acknowledgment of their contributions was an editorial policy dating to the 1970s. In the absence of those authorities' names, Britannica's editors, who have played a key role in the development and maintenance of such articles, have been designated as the contributor.” This particular article was last updated May 17, 2019 by Britannica's editors, which include Adam Augustyn, Patricia Bauer, Brian Duignan, Alison Eldridge, Erik Gregersen, Amy McKenna, Melissa Petruzzello, John P. Rafferty, Michael Ray, Kara Rogers, Amy Tikkanen, Jeff Wallenfeldt, Adam Zeidan, and Alicja Zelazko.

Saint Peter- Saint Peter the Apostle is the patron saint of many parishes. Saint Peter is also known as Simon Peter or Cephas, Prince of the Apostles, the first pope, and founder, with St. Paul, of the sea of Rome. Saint Peter worked as a fisherman with his brother Andrew, who introduced him to Jesus. Jesus called Peter to become a disciple. Peter appeared in the New Testament more than any other disciple. Peter was at Jesus’s side at the Transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the Agony of the Garden of Gethsemane, and played a major role in the Passion of Jesus. He helped organize the Last Supper, and Jesus gave Peter the famous command to lead the new Church, “Feed my lambs…. Tend my sheep…. Feed my sheep”. With that, Peter served as the head of the Apostles. Saint Peter is mentioned in Dante’s Inferno, because Jesus did not use Simony in choosing his apostles. Since Jesus did not use Simony in choosing his apostles, popes should not use Simony in awarding church offices. Peter is included in Dante’s Inferno through a reference to the Acts of the Apostles. Judas, who was bribed with 30 pieces of silver, killed himself, and had to be replaced. Peter and the remaining apostles did not use Simony in choosing Judas’s successor. For more information on Saint Peter, see https://saintpetertheapostle.com/church/about/our-patron-saint/

Bruce, Bruce David. “David Bruce: Dante's INFERNO: A Discussion Guide - ‘Canto 19: The Simonists.’” Davidbruceblog #3, 26 Jan. 2019, https://cosplayvideos.wordpress.com/2019/01/26/david-bruce-dantes-inferno-a-discussion-guide-canto-19-the-simonists/.

The author of the article is Bruce David Bruce. The article was last updated January 26, 2019. Bruce David Bruce went to Ohio University and majored in English and Philosophy. He got a bachelor’s degree with a double major in both areas, then added a master’s degree in English and a master’s degree in Philosophy. He is spending his retirement writing books such as Nadia Comaneci: Perfect 10, The Funniest People in Dance, Homer’s Iliad: A Retelling in Prose, and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Retelling in Prose, and has a lot of experience and credibility. He plans to publish one or two books a year for the rest of his life.

Jason of the Maccabees-

Jason of the Maccabees bought an office as High Priest of the Jews. Jason adopted a Greek form of his Hebrew name “Joshua”, who was the son of the high priest Simeon II and a brother of Onias III. According to Josephus, Jason was also the brother of Menelaus. However, according to Maccabees, it is almost undeniably inaccurate. Antiochus granted him authority to establish a Hellenist polis in Jerusalem, where Jason selected and registered citizens himself. Jason’s actions led to a strengthening of Hellenistic culture in the city. However, Jason’s actions also led to a weakening of the traditional way of life and religious worship. Jason’s policy caused the Hasmonean revolt. Jason was dismissed from the high priesthood by the king, and Menelaus, who proceeded to offer Antiochus a larger sum of money for the office. Jason believed a false rumor that was going around that stated that Antiochus was dead. Hearing this, Jason tried to return to Jerusalem and seize power, but he was not successful. Jason was imprisoned by Aretas, the Arabian king, and he spent the last years of his life going from place to place and did not get buried in the family sepulcher. Jason of the Maccabees is in Dante’s Inferno, because the metaphor of the Church as a bride prostituted by her Pope-bridegroom is in reference to Jason and his acts. The metaphor becomes more effective coming after the prostituted sister (Ghisolabella, prostituted by her brother Venedico Caccianemico) and the pregnant abandoned bride (Hypsipyle, seduced and abandoned by Jason). Boniface VIII first deceives his bride, taking her by deceit as Jason did. Jason’s seduction of Hypsipyle is characterized by the same deception and fraud. Find more information on Jason of the Maccabees at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jason

“Digital Dante.” Edited by Teodolinda Barolini, Inferno 19 – Digital Dante, Columbia University Libraries, 2017, https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/inferno/inferno-19/.

This website consists of many contributors and authors, which are not all named. The editor posted a letter on the website in 2017, but there is no known update to this specific article. The site is edited by Teodolinda Barolini. “Digital Dante is a venue for research and ideas on Dante, and it is managed by a group of affiliates with Columbia University’s Department of Italian.” Digital Dante was created by Jen Hogan in the early 1990s while she was a graduate student in Columbia University’s Institute for Learning Technologies. The poet and translator, Allen Mandelbaum, immediately saw the value in what Jen was creating and gave permission for the use of his translation of the Divine Comedy. Jen earned her Ph.D. in 2000, and the site continued to reside within the Institute for Learning Technologies.

She-Bear’s son- The phrase “she- bear’s son” helps identify Pope Nicholas III. That paragraph is talking about Pope Nicholas III, and can be determined by that phrase and other context clues. Pope Nicholas III was born with the original name Giovanni Gaetano Orsini. He was pope from 1277- 1280. Nicholas was also a political realist. Nicholas accepted the idea that every cardinal was the agent of a political interest, and he exalted his own family. From doing this, the Orsini family acquired increasing influence in church policy and administration. For his nepotism, Nicholas appears in hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Nicholas was bias, and did things to help his family. The pope is supposed to put aside family and have the church come first. Nicholas gave his relatives church offices, and he advanced the political power of his relatives. Nicholas put his family ahead of God. The phrase “dressed in the great mantle” means that he was once Pope, and the phrase “the she-bear’s son” means that he was a member of the Orsini family, a name that means “bear.” From the given clues, it can be identified that the spirit is Pope Nicholas III. For more information on Pope Nicholas III, visit https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicholas-III-pope

Bruce, Bruce David. “David Bruce: Dante's INFERNO: A Discussion Guide - ‘Canto 19: The Simonists.’” Davidbruceblog #3, 26 Jan. 2019, https://cosplayvideos.wordpress.com/2019/01/26/david-bruce-dantes-inferno-a-discussion-guide-canto-19-the-simonists/.

The author of the article is Bruce David Bruce. The article was last updated January 26, 2019. Bruce David Bruce went to Ohio University and majored in English and Philosophy. He got a bachelor’s degree with a double major in both areas, then added a master’s degree in English and a master’s degree in Philosophy. He is spending his retirement writing books such as Nadia Comaneci: Perfect 10, The Funniest People in Dance, Homer’s Iliad: A Retelling in Prose, and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Retelling in Prose, and has a lot of experience and credibility. He plans to publish one or two books a year for the rest of his life.

Lady beautiful- Lady beautiful or “la bella donna” is another way of saying beautiful lady. In the case of Dante’s Inferno, the beautiful woman is Nicholas III’s “bride”. The “bride” is really the church, illustrating Pope Nicholas III’s relationship with the church. Lady beautiful is mentioned in Dante’s Inferno as a reference to the church and the way Pope Nicholas III views it. In Dante’s Inferno, Nicholas III speaks bitingly to the man whom he mistakenly thought was Boniface VIII. He accuses the man of deceiving the lady by taking her by deceit and then violating the “beautiful lady” who is his bride (in reference to the Church). Find more information on lady beautiful at http://www.italianstudies.org/comedy/Inferno19.htm

“Digital Dante.” Edited by Teodolinda Barolini, Inferno 19 – Digital Dante, Columbia University Libraries, 2017, https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/inferno/inferno-19/.

This website consists of many contributors and authors, which are not all named. The editor posted a letter on the website in 2017, but there is no known update to this specific article. The site is edited by Teodolinda Barolini. “Digital Dante is a venue for research and ideas on Dante, and it is managed by a group of affiliates with Columbia University’s Department of Italian.” Digital Dante was created by Jen Hogan in the early 1990s while she was a graduate student in Columbia University’s Institute for Learning Technologies. The poet and translator, Allen Mandelbaum, immediately saw the value in what Jen was creating and gave permission for the use of his translation of the Divine Comedy. Jen earned her Ph.D. in 2000, and the site continued to reside within the Institute for Learning Technologies.

Boniface- Boniface was known as the apostle of the Germans. Boniface was an English Benedictine monk, who gave up being elected abbot to devote his life to the conversion of the Germanic tribes. Boniface’s Christian orthodoxy stands out, along with his loyalty to the pope of Rome. Boniface became a regional bishop and authorized to organize the whole German Church, in which he was particularly successful. Boniface is seen in Dante’s Inferno, because Pope Nicholas III mistakes Dante for Boniface. Dante does not see sinners in their respective pouches but participates in an animated dialogic encounter with Pope Nicholas III. Pope Nicholas III is the person who mistakes Dante for a later pontiff, Boniface VIII. Boniface is destined for this spot in hell because of his misuse of the papacy and "the lovely lady," also known as the church. Read more about Boniface at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Boniface

Franciscan Media. “Saint Boniface.” Franciscan Media, 4 May 2018, https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-boniface/.

The writers of this website are the contributors of Franciscan Media. The page was last updated May 4, 2018. The writers are of authority, because “Franciscan Media conducts its publishing ministry with the official ecclesiastical approval of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cincinnati”.

Saint John’s- Saint John was an apostle of Jesus during the first century CE. He played a major role in leading the early church of Jerusalem. He is nicknamed Saint John the Divine and Saint John the Evangelist. Saint John is the author of three letters, the Fourth Gospel, and the Revelation to John in the New Testament. John and his brother Saint James were among the first disciples called by Jesus. Saint John is mentioned in Dante’s Inferno, because the narrator describes himself as the “friar who confesses” and a specific point in his tirade cites the New Testament (visions of the Apocalypse). Dante refers to the author of the Apocalypse the “Evangelist” or “Vangelista”, because in Dante’s time, John the Evangelist was believed to be the author of the Apocalypse and the author of Gospel of John. No knowledge of John of Patmos existed at this time. For more information on Saint John, visit https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=228

Chadwick, Henry. “St. John the Apostle.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 17 May 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-the-Apostle.

This article is attributed to “The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica”. According to the Britannica, “The vast majority of articles attributed solely to the editors have been written, reviewed, or revised by external advisers and experts, and the lack of formal acknowledgment of their contributions was an editorial policy dating to the 1970s. In the absence of those authorities' names, Britannica's editors, who have played a key role in the development and maintenance of such articles, have been designated as the contributor.” This particular article was last updated May 17, 2019 by Britannica's editors, which include Adam Augustyn, Patricia Bauer, Brian Duignan, Alison Eldridge, Erik Gregersen, Amy McKenna, Melissa Petruzzello, John P. Rafferty, Michael Ray, Kara Rogers, Amy Tikkanen, Jeff Wallenfeldt, Adam Zeidan, and Alicja Zelazko.

Simon Magus- According to the testimony of St. Justin, Simon Magus came from Gitta, located in the country of the Samaritans. He was called "Magus" because of his artistic abilities, and announced himself as the "great power of God" from his teachings. He would hear Philip's sermons and was impressed. Simon Magus was baptized, in which was evident later, done out of selfish motives. By being baptized and becoming united with other believers of Christ, he hoped to gain greater magical power and increase his influence as a result. Simon offered Saint Peter money, so that he too, could have such powers that when he lay his hands on anyone they will receive the Holy Spirit. Peter told Simon to “take thy wealth with thee to perdition, thou who hast told thyself that God’s free gift can be bought with money”. Simon Magus is talked about in Dante’s Inferno, because Dante enters the realm of simony. Simony is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as “having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to impart the power of the Holy Spirit to anyone on whom he would place his hands”. Cantos 19 opens with, “O Simon Magus! O his sad disciples! Rapacious ones, who take the things of God, that ought to be the brides of Righteousness, and make them fornicate for gold and silver!”. The opening of this cantos is why it is important to mention Simon Magus, and it then talks about his followers and those who make sacrifices for gold and silver. However, this is an apostrophe and Simon Magus does not appear in Inferno. For more information on Simon Magus, visit https://www.britannica.com/biography/Simon-Magus

Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Simon Magus." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company,1912. 21 May 2019 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13797b.htm.

This article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph E. O'Connor. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight, and his email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. The website was last updated in 2017. The author is of authority, because he has a lot of writing experience and has done a lot in this particular genre, such as The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas.

The Eighth Circle. Fraud, The Third Trench. Simoniacs- Cantos 19 describes the lowest two circles of hell. Fraud is a form of malice and hatred, which Virgil explains in Dante’s Inferno 11.22-7 as being unique to human beings. Because these traits are described as being unique to human beings, they are seen as more displeasing to God than sins of lust and violence, which not only humans possess. Circles eight and nine are distinguished from one another according to the sinner’s relationship to his or her victim. Those who harm someone they share a special bond of trust with are punished in the lowest circle of hell. If the two people do not have any bond, the guilty soul is sent to one of the ten concentric ditches that make up circle eight to suffer. This is present in Dante’s Inferno, because Virgil explains fraud as being unique to humans. Thus, they are seen as more sinful and displeasing to God. Circle eight is made up of the souls of those who have hurt someone they do not share a bond with. This is present in Dante’s Inferno, because Dante and Virgil go through the eighth circle of hell, where Dante enters the realm of simony. In this article, there is information about a novel with the title taken directly from “The Eighth Circle” in Dante’s Inferno. http://www.criminalelement.com/the-edgar-awards-revisited-the-eighth-circle-by-stanley-ellin-best-novel-1959/

The University of Texas at Austin contributors. Dante's Inferno - Circle 8 - Subcircles 1-6 - Cantos 18-23, ITS Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services, http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/circle8a.html.

This article was written by the “University of Texas at Austin” contributors. The date the website was last updated is not available, but it was last viewed on May 26, 2019. The authors of the website are of authority with a college degree and professors that teach the topic at the University of Texas at Austin.