Editing Hugh Capet (section)

==Reception==
Italian poet [[Dante Alighieri]] features Hugh Capet as a character in ''[[Purgatorio]]'', the second canticle of the ''[[Divine Comedy]]''. The pilgrim meets Capet on the fifth terrace of Mount [[Purgatory]] among souls performing penitence for [[avarice]] (''Purgatorio'' 20). In this portrayal, Capet acknowledges himself as the "root of the obnoxious plant / that shadows all the Christian lands" (''Purg.'' 20.43-44). The metaphor of the root of the plant is reminiscent of a family tree.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Purgatorio 20 – Digital Dante|url=https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/purgatorio/purgatorio-20/|access-date=2021-03-15|website=digitaldante.columbia.edu}}</ref> Dante thus condemns Hugh as a main source of the evil that has pervaded and corrupted the French monarchy. Dante's personal resentment towards Hugh's legacy likely stemmed from the fact that his exile had been caused by interference in [[Florence|Florentine]] politics by the French crown and [[Pope Boniface VIII]] in the early fourteenth century.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Alighieri|first=Dante|title=Purgatorio|publisher=Anchor Books|year=2003|isbn=978-0385508315|location=New York|translator-last=Hollander|translator-first=Jean|translator-last2=Hollander|translator-first2=Robert}}</ref> In this way, the "obnoxious plant" of the Capetians casts a shadow over both the papacy and the chance for an emperor that might bring order to Italy, Dante's "two suns."<ref name=":1">{{cite book | doi=10.1525/9780520940529-020 | chapter=Canto XX. Hugh Capet and the Avarice of Kings | title=Lectura Dantis, Purgatorio | year=2019 | pages=210–221 | isbn=978-0520940529 | s2cid=241582950 }}</ref>

The myth of Capet's humble origins is another crucial component of Dante's representation of this historical figure in ''Purgatorio''.<ref name=":1" /> Though the notion that Capet was the son of a butcher is rightfully reported by critics to be untrue—he was the son of a duke—situating Capet in a lower social position is vital for Dante. This framing draws the Frankish king closer to Dante's own experience as a member of the lower aristocracy, and makes Capet's rise to power feel more extreme.<ref>Moleta, 216.</ref> In penance for grasping so high above himself in life, Capet and the other avaricious souls of this terrace must lie face down into the rock. The souls inch slowly up the mountain where they lay, acting in moderation in purgatory, when on earth they moved through life guided by greed.<ref>Moleta, 211.</ref>