Editing Pope Nicholas III (section)

== Portrayal in ''The Inferno'' ==
[[Dante Alighieri|Dante]], in ''[[Inferno (Dante)|The Inferno]]'' (of the ''[[Divine Comedy]]''), talks briefly to Nicholas III, who was condemned to spend eternity in the Third Bolgia of the Eighth Circle of Hell, reserved for those who committed [[simony]], the ecclesiastical crime of paying for offices or positions in the hierarchy of a church.<ref>Prue Shaw,  ''Reading Dante: From Here to Eternity''  (New York: W. W. Norton, 2014),  pp. 45–51.</ref>

In Dante's story, the simoniacs are placed head-first in holes, flames burning on the soles of their feet (Canto XIX).<ref>Charles T. Davis, "Simoniacs", in  Allen Mandelbaum, Anthony Oldcorn, Charles Stanley Ross (editors and contributors),  ''Lectura Dantis: Inferno'' (Berkeley-Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998), pp. 262–274.</ref> Nicholas was the chief sinner in these pits, which is demonstrated by the height of the flames on his feet. At first he mistakes Dante for [[Pope Boniface VIII]]. When the confusion is cleared up, Nicholas informs Dante that he foresees the damnation (for simony) not only of Boniface VIII, but also [[Pope Clement V|Clement V]], an even more corrupt pope.