Birds of Prey and the Sport of Falconry in Italian Literature through ...

In the third chapter, Dante's Divine Comedy comes under scrutiny for his ability
to take a courtly image of love and transform it into both a symbol of transcendental love,
and of his own training as a pilgrim.
The fourth chapter looks at prose works, particularly novelle. Here falcons evoke
nostalgia for the old courtly ways, and cause class conflict arising from confusion of roles
in a changing society. It concludes with a look at Boccaccio's story of Federigo degli
Alberighi, who makes the mistake of trying to live the chivalric ideal in a money-based
society, and is forced to eat the last remnant of his courtly past, his falcon.
U ~ G~DUATE N SCHOOL
DEC 1 5 2005