POLITICAL LIFE OF DANTE 21

The idea of his having celebrated Beatrice and
married Gemma Donati did not appeal to many
of his biographers, and the fact that Gemma did
not follow him in his exile, and that probably he
never saw her again, give a certain color of plaus-
ibility to the tradition that she was not worthy of
her great companion. Unprejudiced examination
of the facts, however, discloses nothing against
her good name. To remain a bachelor was an
unusual thing in those days, and Dante married a
woman of his station in life, to whom he had early
been affianced, who had some possessions, and
who probably made him a very good wife. It
may be supposed that he was more absorbed in
politics and studies than in his family; but al-
though his youth may have been gay, he may be
assumed to have been a dutiful husband and good
citizen when he reached the age and undertook
the responsibilities of manhood. Gemma's not
having followed him into exile can also be ex-
plained by the fact of her having young children
for whom she could provide in Florence, while
they would probably have perished on the way-
side if they had followed their father.
Dante had several children; the existence of
four, two boys and two girls, can be asserted his-
torically. The boys, Piero and Jacopo, annotated
and made known their father's work; a daughte^^
^Antonia, was still alive in 1332-, atvi xW ■^oM.wfe



I



22 DANTE

est, Beatrice, ended her days in a convent in Ra-
venna. She probably closed the eyes of Dante
and her youth and name may have comforted the
last days of the tired poet, reminding him of an*
other Beatrice and of better days.
