Manfred continues his shocking speech, giving us the details of his body after his death--thereby continuing the theme of the body in PURGATORIO, Canto III; and thereby giving Dante the poet plenty of room for his imagination to run wild.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we learn what happened to Manfred's body after his death at the hands of the French forces at Benevento--and what can happen to Manfred's soul if the living get busy and focus on his trials at the bottom of Purgatory.

Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:46] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 121 - 145. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or continue the conversation, please scroll down this page.

[04:04] Manfred is humbled and admits (vaguely) that the rumors about him may be true.

[06:35] What is the "aspect" of God that the church leaders have misread?

[08:31] What is the historical record of Manfred's death?

[10:37] Why would Dante the poet make up so much of Manfred's story, particularly the story of his body after his death at the hands of the French forces at Benevento?

[14:50] Why "thirtyfold"?

[17:03] What is the role of the living in terms of the dead? Two answers.

[22:08] A structural look at PURGATORIO, Canto III.

[25:10] Rereading the entire Manfred sequence: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 103 - 145.

And here’s my English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 121 – 145

“My sins were indeed horrible,

But the infinite goodness has such wide-open arms

That they can take back all who return to them.

 

“The shepherd of Cosenza was sent out

To hunt for me by Clement.

If he’d read correctly this aspect of God,

 

“The bones of my body would still lie

Near the head of Benevento’s bridge,

Under a marker of those heavy stones.

 

“Now they’ve been washed by the rain and moved by the wind

Out beyond the kingdom, close to the Verde’s banks,

Where he took them with his torches snuffed out.

 

“No one is so lost, even by the maledictions of those men,

That eternal love can’t come back to them,

As long as hope shows even a hint of green.

 

“Truth be told, whoever dies excommunicated

By the holy church, even if they repent right at the last,

Has to remain outside on this bank

 

“Thirtyfold for the amount of time

Spent in their rebellion, unless the sentence

Gets cut short by good prayers.

 

“See now if you can lighten my load

By revealing to my good Constance

Where you have seen me and how long I am still kept out.

For a great deal is gained here by means of those who are back over there.”