about the actual reasons for the conspiracy. Were the
Florentine doctors envious of Cecco’s professional suc-
cess, or were they truly opposed to his scientifi c beliefs,
which he promoted in his widely read commentaries on
important astrological treatises? At the same time that
Dino was conspiring against him, Cecco fell out of favor
with his patron, Charles; according to a contemporary,
the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani, Cecco had
predicted that Charles’s daughter Giovanna would lead
a lascivious life. Undermined by envious intellectuals
and doctors, abandoned by his protector, and faced with
a prejudicial case against him, Cecco was convicted of
heresy and sentenced to death; he was burned at the
stake on 16 September 1327.
Cecco d’Ascoli was renowned for his Latin com-
mentaries on John of Holywood’s Spera mundi and
on the Deprincipiis astrologie of the Arab astronomer
Alcabizio, as well as for his tract Prelectiones ordinarie
astrologie habite Bononie. Today, he is best remem-
bered for his doctrinal or didactic poem Acerba, with
its polemic against Dante. The title Acerba may be
derived from cerva (a doe) and thus may be an allegori-
cal allusion to love, in this case a love of science and
knowledge. However, a more plausible etymology is
that Acerba derives from the Latin acervus, meaning a
compendium of various topics.
Acerba consists of fi ve books, the last of which was
left unfi nished at the poet’s death. Each book is divided
into short chapters containing strophes of six hendeca-
syllables. The fi rst book (9 chapters) is a disquisition
on astronomy and cosmology. The second (19 chapters)
deals with the relationship between ethics and astrology.
Whereas Dante sees Fortune as an angelic intelligence
who distributes her gifts unpredictably, Cecco believes
that human beings can alter their own fate through the
proper exercise of free will. In the third book (18 chap-
ters), the poet describes his moral bestiary: each animal
or gem corresponds to a spiritual inclination and a moral
belief. In the fourth book (12 chapters), the author uses
the dialogue form to underscore the relationship between
the natural world and the moral life of human beings. In
a famous passage (4.13, 1–6), Cecco criticizes Dante for
having used fi ction to speak about divine matters:
Qui non si canta al modo delle rane
qui non si canta al modo del poeta
che fi nge imaginando cose vane;
ma qui resplende e luce onne natura
che a chi entende fa la menta leta.
Qui non si gira per la selva oscura.(“Here one does not sing like the frogs, here one does
not sing like the poet who imagines false things and sets
them forth, but here all nature shines and sheds light
such that the minds of those who hear are gladdened.
Here one does not go through the dark wood.”) At fi rst
glance, Cecco’s position against fi ction appears similar
to that of orthodox clerics who opposed popular fi ctional
representations of theological issues. In reality, Cecco
argues with Dante from a completely different perspec-
tive. The mysteries of the universe can be explained by
a profound understanding of nature. The moral life,
moreover, does not require belief in a transcendental
fi gure. Cecco denies neither the existence of God nor
the importance of divinity in the universe. He simply
asserts that knowledge about the world humans inhabit
can help them lead an ethical life.
With the exception of few passages, Acerba is
aesthetically uninspiring and prosaic. Scholars read it
primarily as an example of Trecento didactic poetry and
for the polemic concerning Dante. They would do better,
however, to give greater consideration to this poet’s life
and work. For one thing, even his adversaries respected
his intellectual courage and conviction. He was, more-
over, an unorthodox and profound thinker whose secular
views represent an Important strand in the intellectual
history of the early Trecento.
See also Dante AlighieriFurther Reading
Camuffo, Maria Luisa, and Aldo Costantini. “II lapidario
deil’Acerba.” Lettere Italiane, 51, 1988, pp. 526–535.
Castelli, Giuseppe. La vita e le opere di Cecco d’Ascoli. Bologna:
Zanichelli, 1892.
Cecco d’Ascoli. “L’Acerba, “secondo la lezione del codice
Eugubino del 1376, ed. Basilio Censori and Emidio Vittori.
Verona: Stamperia Valdonega, 1971.
Censori, Basilio, ed. Atti del I convegno di studi su Cecco
d’Ascoli: Ascoli Piceno, Palazzo dei Congressi, 23–24 no-
vembre 1969. Florence: Giunti Barbera, 1976.
Stabili, Francesco. L’Acerba, ed. Achille Crespi. Ascoli Piceno:
Giuseppe Cesari, 1927.
Thorndike, Lynn. The “Sphere” of Sacrobosco and Its Com-
mentators. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 1949.
(See p. 53 for an assessment of Cecco’s commentaries and pp.
343–411 for Cecco’s commentary on the Sphere.)
Dario Del PuppoCELESTINE V, POPE
(c. 1209 or 1210–1296, r. 1294)
Pope Celestine V (Pietro da Morrone) was born in the
region of Molise in central Italy; the precise place is
probably Sant’ Angelo Limosano, a small rural com-
munity. After being introduced to monastic life, Pietro
(or Peter) became a hermit in the early 1230s, living in
the Apennines of Abraazzo, notably on Mount Maiella
and Mount Morrone. His fame as a miracle worker at-
tracted a constant stream of visitors, and his holiness
drew many followers to him. He needed to obtain eccle-
siastical approbation for his community of followers,CELESTINE V, POPE