Elements for the attribution of a new identity to Peter of Spain of the Divine Comedy

Abstract

Based on the rigorous work of philological analysis of medieval testimonies by Angel D’Ors around the identity of Peter of Spain —author of the medieval logic textbook Tractatus—, famous for its mention in the Divine Comedy, this article proposes a review of both the literary criticism of the poem and the generalized identification of the character with the Portuguese Pope John XXI —supposedly the only pope placed by Dante in Paradise—. Based on the text of the Tractatus, the Divine Comedy and its former commentators and the testimonies prior to the poem, we will argue in favor of the identification of this character with Pedro Afonso, bastard son of King Afonso II of Portugal, who, in turn, could be identified with the Portuguese Dominican friar Petrus Alfonsi Hispanus. We will also demonstrate that Dante “saves” eight popes and mentions two others in the chant performed by the Dominican Saint Thomas Aquinas in Paradise.