摘要：The article analyses Dante’s explanatory paraphrase and exegesis of theLord’s Prayer, which opens the eleventh canto (v. 1–24) ofPurgatory. The author reminds us that the prayer is the only one fully recited in the entireComedyand this devotional practice is in line with the Franciscan prescription to recite it in the sixth hour of the Divine Office when Christ died on the cross. The prayer is reported by the poet on the first terrace ofPurgatory, where the proud and vainglorious must learn the virtue of humility, and therefore it symbolizes the perfect reciprocity between man and Godhead. Dante collates and amplifies the two complementary Latin versions of theLord’s Prayerfrom Matthew 6: 9–13 and Luke 11: 2–4. The two synoptic texts are supplemented by the Gospel of John, from which Dante takes the concept of celestial bread (manna) – the flesh and the blood of Christ – which nourishes, liberates and sanctifies Christians. Apart from the Bible, Dante also draws upon the Augustinian and Tomistic traditions. However, the main hypotext behind the prayer, which is neither cited nor acknowledged in any explicit form in theComedy, is the FranciscanLaudes creaturarum(“Canticle of the Creatures”), also known as theCanticle of the Brother Sun. Written in vernacular by St. Francis himself, who is also the author of theExpositio in Pater noster, theCanticlewas still recited and sung together with theLord’s Prayerin the Franciscan communities in Dante’s time. Moreover, following the parallel readings popular nowadays in Dante studies, the author argues thatPurgatorio11 may be elucidated in the context ofParadiso11, which is the Franciscan cantopar excellence, and taken together they both offset cantos 10, 11, 12 ofInferno, which are based on the sin of pride (superbia). The denunciation of pride in and around canto 11 ofInfernoalludes to humility – the remedy of such pride inPurgatory11, which in turn prepares the reader for the encounter with St. Francis – the paragon of humility – inParadiso11. The author concludes that the Dantean paraphrase of theLord’s Prayeris no less than an elaborate exegesis and homage to Christ and His teachings, something which is encompassed in a nutshell intheSermon on the Mount.
