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Abstract:

The article examines the tradition of commentary on sacred and secular books in its evolution from the interpretation of Holy Scriptures in Jewish culture thorough classic interpretations of philosophic and literary works (and later model texts for schools) to the medieval scholastic method. It shows the connection between the techniques of commentary and the development of new educational strategies that resulted in a strict system of studying and commenting on authors called accessus ad autorem. The example of Dante Alighieri illustrates the transition from commentary on “authoritative texts” to self-commentary in order to raise the credibility of books written in vernacular Italian. The author proposes a new genre attribution of the Vita Nuova as mainly a commentary and considers the double meaning of the word “commentary” as both “memoirs” and “interpretation, explanation” that is typical for that age. The first level of Dante’s commentary consists of recollections of his life through the prism of authorial selection and interpretation. The second level is contained in the prose commentary to his own poetic works. The Vita Nuova, therefore, concerns not only Dante’s early love, which transformed his life and prospects, but also his work as a part of vernacular literature. The article also investigates the development of Dante’s theory of commentary in his treatise Convivio, where he applies the method of the “four meanings” used to comment on the Holy Scriptures to a secular text. The last part of the article discusses the main tendencies of literary reflection and self-reflection in the Divina Commedia.