"Of the three beasts in Inferno 1, the lonza's puzzling nature is triple, comprising its etymology, its naturalistic counterpart, and its allegorical significance. Dante described it as swift, slender, and spotted. For centuries, scholars have grappled with unsatisfactory zoological identifications. The lynx, panther, leopard(ess), pard, cheetah, hyena, and even lioness have been proposed or rejected in turn." - Allaire

The author refers to Pliny and the Tuscan Bestiary in an attempt to identify the beast called the lonza.

The Electronic Bulletin of the Dante Society of America Web site can be found at http://www.princeton.edu/~dante/ebdsa/.

Language: English