II Saint Vessel e il vasello del galeotto celestiale: Dall'amoroso regno a Sarraz

In a Lectura Dantis of 1982, Gorni observed that the divine ship on the shores of Purgatorio had actually set out from the enchanted waters of the sonnet Guido, i’ vorrei, but had left behind all the fascinations of the Arthurian marvels. On the contrary, this essay argues that the holy vasello, still reminiscent of King Arthur’s ambages pulcerrime, may recall the magic ship of the French romans, and in particular la nef of the Queste, which will eventually bring the Holy Vessel of the Grail to Sarraz. Moving from the earthly to the spiritual realm of salvation, Dante seems to ask his reader not to repeat Francesca’s mistake, but, rather, to continue the interpretive journey in the light of the mystical message conveyed by the entire Lancelot-Graal cycle: which indicates the necessity of a new law, a new knighthood amongst the ranks of the chevalerie celestielle.