public domain

Longfellow’s Notes Are a Hidden Treasure: The Best Free English-Language Dante Commentary

· July 17, 2026
Longfellows Notes Are a Hidden Treasure: The Best Free English-Language Dante Commentary

Most people know that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translated Dante. Far fewer realize that his notes are arguably more valuable than the translation itself—and they’re completely free. I discovered this by accident. While hunting for a modern Dante edition, I stumbled onto Project Gutenberg. There I found Longfellow’s 1867 Divine Comedy with full scholarly apparatus. What … Read more

Dante’s Own Sons Wrote Commentaries on the Commedia And You Can Read Them for Free

· July 10, 2026
Dantes Own Sons Wrote Commentaries on the Commedia And You Can Read Them for Free

Imagine your father writes the greatest poem in your language. Now imagine sitting down to explain it to the world. That’s exactly what Pietro and Jacopo Alighieri did—and their commentaries are fully public domain. Dante died in 1321. Within a year, his sons were already interpreting the Divine Comedy. Their readers struggled with Dante’s medieval … Read more