
In the third bolgia Dante and Virgil observe the simonists: the sinners are locked upside down in a rock with protruding legs. Their shins are broken and their feet are on fire. Surely, a strange sight.
In general the sin of simony is the buying and selling of spiritual goods. Simonists were named after Simon Magus who offered Peter and Paul money to teach him how to perform miracles. Predictably Peter and Paul rejected Simon’s offer. So he challenged them to a flying contest. When Simon was happily flying through the air, Peter made the sign of the cross and Simon came crashing into the ground, head first. To some extent this explains the awkward position of Dante’s simonists.
Dante and Virgil standing next to the inverted simonists remind of the iconography of Peter and Paul watching Simon Magus crash into the ground.
Sources:
– Dante – Inferno, translated by Robert Hollander
– Charles S. Singleton – Inferno XIX: O Simon Mago
– Mark Musa – E questo sia suggel ch’ ogn’ uomo sganni (Inferno XIX, 21)
– John A. Scott – Understanding Dante
– Richard Lansing – From Image to Idea
Simon Magus or Σίμων ὁ μάγος: Biblical magician. Separate sources portray him very differently. Simon Magus was reputed to have been a native of Gitta and a Samaritan by birth. He was converted to Christianity and baptised by Philip the Evangelist. His confrontation with Peter is recorded in Acts 8: 9-24. It is not clear whether he was truly the father of the Gnostic sect known as the Simonians as is often claimed. His enemies also claimed that he made himself out to be a ‘great one’. ‘Homilies’ suggests that Simon denied that God the Creator was just. This led to accusations of polytheism and dualism and perhaps does support the rather tentative connection with Gnosticism. The Apocrypha give slightly varying accounts of his death but all based on the theme of falling whilst flying.
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The Autun image is really interesting as well. 1100 you say?
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@simonjkyte Thanks for the comment! Well, the 1100s actually, so somewhere in the 12th century. The building of the cathedral was started in 1120, it was consecrated in 1132 and mostly finished by 1146 (wikipedia). So middle of the 12th century seems likely.
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This is great blog. Like many artists I am influenced by the writings of Dante. Thankyou for sharing your writing on Dante. I look forward to following more of your posts.
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Thanks for the kind words 🙂
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