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Secondary sourceBook1904

The Early Lives of Dante

Philip Henry Wicksteed · 1904

An English translation of early biographies of Dante, including Boccaccio's, giving accounts written close to the poet's own time.

This collection of early biographies, written soon after Dante's death, shaped how his life story was first recorded.

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The Early Lives of DantePDF · 206 pages
Philip H. Wicksteed (trans.), The Early Lives of Dante. Alexander Moring Limited, The De La More Press, 1904. Scanned book, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This is a 1904 book translated by Philip H. Wicksteed, collecting early biographical accounts of Dante Alighieri, including material from Giovanni Boccaccio and other early writers such as Bruni. It was published in London as part of a series called The King's Classics.

Why it matters

These early biographies were written not long after Dante's death, by people closer to his world than modern historians are. They are an important link between Dante's own lifetime and later centuries of study, shaping how people have understood his life, even though they were written after he died and may contain errors or legend.

Look closer

  • Why might several early biographers' accounts differ from one another?
  • What does it mean that this book is a translation of a translation-and-revision process spanning years?
  • How reliable do you think a biography written a generation after someone's death can be?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Dante Alighieri on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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