Toynbee "Campaldino"
small plain in the Casentino, in the Upper Valdarno, between Poppi and Bibbiena, the scene of the battle, fought June 11, 1289, between the Florentine Guelphs and the Ghibellines of Arezzo, in which the latter were totally defeated, Buonconte da Montefeltro, one of their leaders, being slain on the field.

In his interview with Buonconte (in Ante-Purgatory), D . questions him as to what became of his body, which was never discovered on the battle-field of Campaldino, [Purg. v. 91-93]. [Bonconte.]

. . . come piacque a Dio i Fiorentini ebbono la vittoria, e gli Aretini furono rotti e sconfitti, e furono morti più di millesettecento tra a cavallo e a piè, e presi piu di duemila. . . . Intra' morti rimase messer Guiglielmino degli Ubertini vescovo d'Arezzo, il quale fu uno grande guerriere, e messer Guiglielmino de' Pazzi di Valdarno e' suoi nipoti . . . e morivvi Bonconte figliuolo del conte Guido da Montefeltro, et tre degli Uberti, e uno degli Abati . . . e più altri usciti di Firenze . . . alla detta sconfitta rimasono molti capitani e valenti uomini di parte ghibellina, e nemici del comune di Firenze, e funne abbattuto l'orgoglio e superbia non solamente degli Aretini, ma di tutta parte ghibellina e d'imperio. ({Villani. vii. 131}.)

Among the leaders on the Guelph side were Vieri de' Cerchi and Corso Donati (at that time podestà of Pistoia), who were destined later to become the heads, respectively of the Bianchi and Neri parties in Florence [Bianchi]. It was largely owing to the gallantry of Corso that the day was won for the Florentines. In command of the Aretine reserve was the Conte Guido Novello, podestà of Arezzo, and head of the Ghibelline party, who distinguished himself by running away.

This engagement was also known as the battle of Certomondo, from the name of a Franciscan monastery (founded by the Conti Guidi in 1262) not far from the place where it was fought:

. . .si schierarono e affrontarono le due osti . . .nel piano a piè di Poppi nella contrada detta Certomondo, che così si chiama il luogo, e una chiesa de' frati minori che v'è presso, e in uno piano che si chiama Campaldino, e ciò fu un sabato mattina a dì 11 del mese di Giugno. ({Villani. vii. 131}.)

The later biographers of D. assert that he himself was present at this battle, fighting on the side of the Guelphs (Epist., Nota 4). The only authority for this statement is the Vita Dantis of Leonardo Bruni (Aretino), in which he quotes a fragment of a letter supposed to have been written by D. referring to his experiences in the battle:

. . . dieci anni erano già passati dopo la battaglia di Campaldino, nella quale la parte ghibellina fu quasi al tutto morta, e disfatta, dove mi trovai non fanciullo nell'armi e dove ebbi temenza molta, e nella fine grandissima allegrezza per li vari casi di quella battaglia. [Second Annual Report of the Dante Society (May 15, 1883), p.19.]

It is significant, however, that no mention of the fact is made by Villani (Villiani. vii. 131), or Dino Compagni (i. 10), or Benvenuto da Imola, all of whom give detailed accounts of the battle. It is remarkable also, as A. Bartoli points out [Storia della letteratura italiana (Firenze, 1884), v, pp. 89-90.], that in answer to the bidding of one of the spirits in the Ante-Purgatory, Guarda s'alcun di noi unqua vedesti ([Purg. v. 49]), D. replies: Perchè ne' vostsi visi guati, non riconosco alcun ([Purg. v. 58-59]); and yet Buonconte, whom he could hardly have failed to recognize if he had been present at the Battle of Campaldino, was among those into whose faces he was gazing. Those who hold that D. took part in the battle see a reference to it, [Inf. xxii. 4-5].

Matteo Palmieri, in his Della vita civile (iv. ad fin.), relates a marvellous incident which is alleged to have happened to D. at Campaldino.

©Oxford University Press 1968. From A Dictionary of Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante by Paget Toynbee (1968) by permission of Oxford University Press