Editing Dante Alighieri (section)

==Florence and politics==
{{further|Guelphs and Ghibellines}}
[[File:Statue of Dante Alighieri (Uffizi).jpg|thumb|upright=.7|left|Statue of Dante at the [[Uffizi]]]]
Dante, like most Florentines of his day, was embroiled in the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Guelph–Ghibelline conflict]]. He fought in the Battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289), with the Florentine Guelphs against [[Arezzo]] Ghibellines;<ref name="Davenport2005"/><ref name=DASM>{{cite web |title=Guelphs and Ghibellines |url=http://www.dantemass.org/html/guelphs-and-ghibellines.html |publisher=Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts |access-date=December 30, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212042335/http://www.dantemass.org/html/guelphs-and-ghibellines.html |archive-date=December 12, 2015 }}</ref> he fought as a ''{{ill|feditore|it}}'', responsible for the first attack.{{Sfn|Santagata|2016|p=62}} To further his political career, he obtained admission to the Guild of Physicians and Apothecaries around 1295.{{Sfn|Santagata|2016|p=95}} He likely joined the guild due to association between philosophy and medicine,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sandor|first1=Vlaicu|last2=Dumitrascu|first2=Dinu I.|last3=Bojita|first3=Marius T.|last4=Dumitrascu|first4=Dan L.|title=Medicine and Pharmacy in the Works of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321)|date=April 2022|journal=Medicine and Pharmacy Reports|volume=95|issue=2|pages=218–224|doi=10.15386/mpr-2451|doi-access=free|pmid=35721038 |pmc=9176311}}</ref>{{Sfn|Shaw|2014|p=17}}{{Sfn|Took|2021|p=47}} but also may have joined as apothecaries were also booksellers.{{Sfn|Barbero|2022|p=138}}{{Sfn|Santagata|2016|p=78}} His guild membership allowed him to hold public office in Florence.{{Sfn|Shaw|2014|p=17}} As a politician, he held various offices over some years in a city rife with political unrest.

After defeating the Ghibellines, the Guelphs divided into two factions: the White Guelphs ({{Lang|it|Guelfi Bianchi}})—Dante's party, led by Vieri dei Cerchi—and the Black Guelphs ({{Lang|it|Guelfi Neri}}), led by [[Corso Donati]]. Although the split was along family lines at first, ideological differences arose based on opposing views of the papal role in Florentine affairs. The Blacks supported the Pope and the Whites wanted more freedom from Rome. The Whites took power first and expelled the Blacks. In response, [[Pope Boniface VIII]] planned a military occupation of Florence. In 1301, [[Charles of Valois]], brother of King [[Philip IV of France]], was expected to visit Florence because the Pope had appointed him as peacemaker for Tuscany, but the city's government had treated the Pope's ambassadors badly a few weeks before, seeking independence from papal influence. It was believed Charles had received other unofficial instructions, so the council sent a delegation that included Dante to Rome to persuade the Pope not to send Charles to Florence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www3.nd.edu/~italnet/Dante/text/Chronology.html|title=Chronology|website=Renaissance Dante in Print (1472–1629)|publisher=University of Notre Dame|access-date=December 25, 2023|archive-date=December 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225174529/https://www3.nd.edu/~italnet/Dante/text/Chronology.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|title=The Oxford Handbook of Dante
|year=2021
|page=343
|isbn=9780198820741
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|editor=Elena Lombardi |editor2=Francesca Southerden |editor3=Manuele Gragnolati
}}
</ref>