
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 by Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D
BE’ATRICE (3 syl.), a child eight years old, to whom Dantê at the age of nine was ardently attached. She was the daughter of Folco Portina’ri, a rich citizen of Florence. Beatrice married Simoni de Bardi, and died before she was twenty-four years old (1266-1290). Dantê married Gemma Donati, and his marriage was a most unhappy one. His love for Beatrice remained after her decease. She was the fountain of his poetic inspiration, and in his Divina Commedia he makes her his guide through paradise.
Dantê’s Beatrice and Milton’s Eve Were not drawn from their spouses you conceive. Byron, Don Juan, iii. 10 (1820).
(Milton, who married Mary Powell, of Oxfordshire, was as unfortunate in his choice as Dantê.)