Few facts are known about the family background of the Italian troubadour and poet known as Sordello (ca. 1180-1269) and some of what comes down to us is wrapped in contradiction. In spite of this sketchy knowledge, he is a recognized hero and the...

In the following essay, Dunne contrasts three views of the character of Sordello—as revealed by a Provençal chronicler, by Dante in his Purgatorio, and by Browning in his poem Sordello—proposing that "the real Sordello lives in no one of the three."

In the following essay, Barolini attempts to illuminate Sordello's stature in Dante's Purgatorio by comparing his position with that of another figure in the work, Provençal troubadour Bertran de Born.

Bowra, an English critic and literary historian, was considered among the foremost classical scholars of the first half of the twentieth century. He also wrote extensively on modern literature, particularly modern European poetry, in studies noted for their erudition, lucidity, and straightforward style. In the following essay, he argues against the theory that Dante, by placing Sordello in Purgatory, characterized the troubadour as among the negligent rulers. Proposing that Sordello's placement in ...