Editing Pope Celestine V (section)

==In literature==
[[File:Caelestinus V - Opuscula omnia, 1640 - BEIC 9744840.tiff|thumb|''Opuscula omnia'', 1640]]

A persistent tradition identifies Celestine V as the nameless figure [[Dante Alighieri]] sees among those in the antechamber of Hell, in the enigmatic verses:

{{Poemquote|''vidi e conobbi l'ombra di colui''
''che fece per viltade il gran rifiuto.''
("I saw and recognized the shade of him
who due to cowardice made the [[great refusal]].")|''Inferno'' III, 59–60|}}

The first commentators to make this identification included Dante's son [[Jacopo Alighieri]],<ref>{{cite book | last= Alighieri | first = Jacopo | title = Chiose alla cantica dell'Inferno | location = Florence | publisher = Tipografica di Tommaso Baracchi | year = 1848 | url = https://archive.org/details/chioseallacanti00aliggoog | page = [https://archive.org/details/chioseallacanti00aliggoog/page/n31 12] | language = it}}</ref> followed by Graziolo Bambaglioli in 1324. The identification is also considered probable by recent scholars (e.g., Hollander, [[Barbara Reynolds]], Simonelli, Padoan). [[Petrarch]] was moved to defend Celestine vigorously against the accusation of cowardice and some modern scholars (e.g., Mark Musa) have suggested Dante may have meant someone else ([[Esau]], [[Diocletian]] and [[Pontius Pilate]] have been variously suggested).

In 1346, Petrarch declared in his ''De vita solitaria'' that Celestine's refusal was a virtuous example of solitary life.<ref>{{Cite book | last= Petrarca | first = Francesco | title = De vita Solitaria | location = Bologna | publisher = Gaetano Romagnoli | year = 1879 | url = https://archive.org/details/lavitasolitaria01petr | quote= De vita Solitaria petrarch. | language = it}}</ref>

Pope Celestine V is referenced in Chapter 88 of [[Dan Brown]]'s ''[[Angels & Demons]]'', where he is controversially referenced as an example of a [[List of murdered Popes|murdered pope]]. Brown writes that an X-ray of his tomb "revealed a ten-inch nail driven into the Pope's skull."<ref>Brown, Dan. ''Angels & Demons''. Pocket Star Books, 2000, p. 352.</ref> While the reference to the X-ray is fictitious (no X-ray has ever been conducted on Celestine's tomb), it has been indeed alleged that Celestine was murdered, possibly by order of his successor, [[Pope Boniface VIII]]; however, there is no historical evidence of this.<ref>[[Ferdinand Gregorovius]] (1906) ''History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages'', vol. 5 part 2.</ref> A 2013 examination of the half-inch hole in Celestine's skull found it to have occurred post-mortem, when the remains were already skeletonized, likely during a reburial.<ref>{{cite web | title=Medieval hermit pope not murdered after all | website=NBC News | date=8 May 2013 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/medieval-hermit-pope-not-murdered-after-all-flna1c9847402 | access-date=31 August 2024}}</ref>

The life of Pope Celestine V is dramatised in the plays {{lang|it|L'avventura di un povero cristiano}} (''[[Story of a Humble Christian]]'') by [[Ignazio Silone]] in 1968 and ''Sunsets and Glories'' by [[Peter Barnes (playwright)|Peter Barnes]] in 1990.

His life is the subject of the short story "Brother of the Holy Ghost" in [[Brendan Connell]]'s short story collection ''The Life of Polycrates and Other Stories for Antiquated Children''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Life of Polycrates and Other Stories for Antiquated Children |last=Connell |first=Brendan |publisher=Chomu Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-1907681042 }}</ref>

He is the subject of a popular history by author [[Jon M. Sweeney]], ''The Pope Who Quit: A True Medieval Tale of Mystery, Death, and Salvation'', published by Image Books/Random House in 2012.<ref name=Sweeney/> In 2013, HBO optioned the film rights.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/predicting-the-pope-would_b_2689615 | title=Predicting the Pope Would Quit | first=Jon M. | last=Sweeney| work=[[HuffPost]] | date=15 February 2013}}</ref>

Celestine V is the subject of the poem {{lang|it|Che Fece...Il Gran Rifiuto}} by the modern Greek poet [[Constantine P. Cavafy]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Che Fece ... Il Gran Rifiuto|url=https://allpoetry.com/Che-Fece-...-Il-Gran-Rifiuto|website=All Poetry|access-date=June 12, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=C. P. Cavafy|url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/c-p-cavafy|website=Poetry Foundation|access-date=June 12, 2023}}</ref>