Somehow, while researchning the intricacies of WWI-style trench combat, I restumbled onto the story of Count Ugolino Gherardesca.
The Story
I don't know how accurate this version of the story is, but it's the one immortalized in Dante's Divine Commedy, where Ugolino incessantly gnaws on the head of his ally-turned-betrayer Archbishop Ruggeri. The 9th circle of Hell is reserved for those guilty of treason.
In short, Ugolino and Ruggeri were allies during the battles over Pisa in 1298. Ugolino eventually won control of the city, but became paranoid that someone close was working against him. His fears proved true when Ruggeri, a person integral to his success, betrayed him and imprisoned not only Ugolino, but also all the males in his family, as was fashionable during the day.
So, Ugolino and his 4 sons were tossed into this tower, locked in, and left to starve to death. Things got interesting as starvation set in. Dante, please:
"Both of my hands in agony I bit;
And, thinking that I did it from desire
Of eating, on a sudden they uprose,
And said they: 'Father, much less pain 'twill give us
If thou do eat of us; thyself didst clothe us
With this poor flesh, and do thou strip it off.'"
But no, Ugolino didn't do that. Check out Ugolino biting his fingers though. That's a nice little detail. Let's skip ahead to day 6, as Ugolino's last living son dies:
" And there he died; and, as thou seest me,
I saw the three fall, one by one, between
The fifth day and the sixth; whence I betook me,
Already blind, to groping over each,
And three days called them after they were dead;
Then hunger did what sorrow could not do."
Oh yeah. he totally went there. He ate his sons' bodies. Did 50 Cent ever do that?
Auguste Rodin did a nice sculpture of this:
Ugolino crawling over the bodies of his kids, possibly right before buffet time.
Some other related images:
Gustave Dore's illustration of Ugolino and Ruggeri in Cocytus:
Another Dore picture (not one of the 'official' Inferno plates, though) of Ugolino sitting in the tower with his sons.
Amusing Canadian WWI propaganda poster. Photoshop please:
EDIT:
And for comparison, Salvador Dali's interpretation of the Ruggeri/Ugolino story:
Oh, Salvador!
The Story
I don't know how accurate this version of the story is, but it's the one immortalized in Dante's Divine Commedy, where Ugolino incessantly gnaws on the head of his ally-turned-betrayer Archbishop Ruggeri. The 9th circle of Hell is reserved for those guilty of treason.
In short, Ugolino and Ruggeri were allies during the battles over Pisa in 1298. Ugolino eventually won control of the city, but became paranoid that someone close was working against him. His fears proved true when Ruggeri, a person integral to his success, betrayed him and imprisoned not only Ugolino, but also all the males in his family, as was fashionable during the day.
So, Ugolino and his 4 sons were tossed into this tower, locked in, and left to starve to death. Things got interesting as starvation set in. Dante, please:
"Both of my hands in agony I bit;
And, thinking that I did it from desire
Of eating, on a sudden they uprose,
And said they: 'Father, much less pain 'twill give us
If thou do eat of us; thyself didst clothe us
With this poor flesh, and do thou strip it off.'"
But no, Ugolino didn't do that. Check out Ugolino biting his fingers though. That's a nice little detail. Let's skip ahead to day 6, as Ugolino's last living son dies:
" And there he died; and, as thou seest me,
I saw the three fall, one by one, between
The fifth day and the sixth; whence I betook me,
Already blind, to groping over each,
And three days called them after they were dead;
Then hunger did what sorrow could not do."
Oh yeah. he totally went there. He ate his sons' bodies. Did 50 Cent ever do that?
Auguste Rodin did a nice sculpture of this:
Ugolino crawling over the bodies of his kids, possibly right before buffet time.
Some other related images:
Gustave Dore's illustration of Ugolino and Ruggeri in Cocytus:
Another Dore picture (not one of the 'official' Inferno plates, though) of Ugolino sitting in the tower with his sons.
Amusing Canadian WWI propaganda poster. Photoshop please:
EDIT:
And for comparison, Salvador Dali's interpretation of the Ruggeri/Ugolino story:
Oh, Salvador!
