Technology Archives - Page 6 of 7

Dante Fonts

July 14, 2009 By

“The first Dante fonts were the product of a collaboration between two exceptional artists: Giovanni Mardersteig, a printer, book and typeface designer of remarkable skill and taste, and Charles Malin, one of the great punch-cutters of the twentieth century.
Mardersteig was born in 1892. While still a young man he developed a keen interest in the typefaces and printing of Giambattista Bodoni. The punches and matrices for Bodoni’s original types had been preserved, and Mardersteig obtained permission to use them. Charles Malin cut replacements for some of these original punches; later he cut punches for nearly all the new typefaces Mardersteig designed.
Dante was Mardersteig’s last and most successful design. By this time he had gained a deep knowledge of what makes a typeface design lively, legible and handsome. Years of collaboration with Malin had also taught him the nuances of letter construction, and the two worked closely to develop a design that was easy to read. Special care was taken in the design of the serifs and top curves of the lowercase to create a subtle horizontal stress, which helps the eye move smoothly across the page.
In 1955, after six years of work, the fonts were used to publish Boccaccio’s Trattatello in Laude di Dante. The design took its name from this project.” —Lino Type

See more about Dante Fonts.

“Dante’s Inferno” EA Video Game

April 20, 2009 By Professor Arielle Saiber

“EA introduces an all new original property from the studio behind the hit horror game, Dead Space. The game is based on part one of the medieval epic poem, The Divine Comedy, commonly referred to as Dante’s Inferno, by Dante Alighieri. The dark fiction gave birth to the Tuscan Italian dialect and is widely considered the work that has defined the western world’s contemporary conception of hell and purgatory. The poem tells the tale of Dante who journeys through the twisted, menacing nine circles of hell in pursuit of his beloved Beatrice. Written in the 14th Century, The Divine Comedy, unlike the bible, was published and read aloud in the language of the Italian people, thereby making the poem accessible to the mass public. The poem delivers a striking and allegorical vision of the Christian afterlife and the punishments of hell. In part one, known as Dante’s Inferno, Dante traverses all nine circles of hell; limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery.” —EA Games

“Vita Nuova” and “Inferno”: a Compact Operating System for Building Cross-Platform Distributed Systems

March 8, 2009 By Professor Arielle Saiber

“People often ask where the names Plan 9, Inferno, and Vita Nuova originated.
Allegedly, Rob Pike was reading Dante’s Divine Comedy when the Computing Science Research Group at Bell Labs was working on Inferno. Inferno is named after the first book of the Divine Comedy, as are many of its components, including Dis, Styx and Limbo.
The company name Vita Nuova continues the association with Dante: his first work, a book of poetry about his childhood sweetheart Beatrice, was called La Vita Nuova. The literal translation of Vita Nuova is ‘New Life,’ which in the circumstances is surprisingly prophetic.
Plan 9 is named after the famous Ed Wood movie Plan 9 from Outer Space. There are no other connections except that the striking artwork for the products is a retro, 60s SciFi image modeled on the Plan 9 movie poster.’ —Vita Nuova

Contributed by Kavi Montanaro

“The Literary Sources of Dungeons and Dragons” (Video Game)

October 19, 2006 By Professor Arielle Saiber

“Planes: Nine Hells: Caina
The name used for the first part of the ninth circle of Hell in Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Canto XXXII. Dante describes it as a completely frozen lake formed by the river Cocytus.
Planes: Nine Hells: Dis
In Greek mythology, a synonym for Hades–both the place and, in Virgil’s Aeneid (VI, 358 & 524), the god Hades/Pluto. In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Cantos VIII-IX, Dis a large, walled city in Hell with a well-guarded gate, which is the origin of the D&D plane’s description. In Canto XXXIV, Dis is another name for Lucifer.
Planes: Nine Hells: Malbolge
The name is derived from Malebolge, the term used for the Eighth Circle of Hell in Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Cantos XVIII-XXX, and means ‘evil pouches.’ . . .
Planes: Pandemonium: Cocytus
The name for one of the major rivers in Hell in Dante Alighieri’s Inferno. Dante’s description of the river bears no similarity to that of the D&D outer plane. . .
Devil, Dispater
In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Canto XXXIV, Dis is another name for Lucifer. “Pater” is Latin for “father,” so it is not much of a stretch from there to call the ruler of the city of Dis the “father of Dis” and thereby avoid the possible confusion from calling both the city and the character just “Dis.” . . .
Devil, Geryon
Originally a three-bodied monster from Greek mythology. However, the D&D version is taken directly from Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Cantos XVI-XVII. . . .
Devil, Horned (Malebranche)
Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, Cantos XXI-XXII.” […] –Aardy R. DeVarque, Hahn Library

Contributed by Sam Donovan (Bowdoin, ’07)

“Devil May Cry” Video Game

October 5, 2006 By Professor Arielle Saiber

“The game revolves around P.I. (Private Investigator) Dante and his one-man devil hunting agency ‘Devil May Cry’, which he runs in hopes of finding and killing the demons that killed his mother. Dante also has a twin brother named Vergil, whom we learn very little about during the course of the game. The story alludes to The Divine Comedy in the game’s areas (roughly resembling and representing inferno, purgatorio, and paradiso) as well as in some of the character names; however it is purely an aesthetic similarity, and indeed the game borrows from a very wide range of sources for inspiration. After a less than proper introduction, a woman named Trish, who bears a striking resemblance to Dante’s mother, convinces Dante to help her defeat Mundus, the Emperor of the Underworld, who is the leading antagonist of the game. The duo then sets off to Mallet Island, where Mundus’s resurrection is about to take place, and where the majority of the game plays out.” [. . .] —Wikipedia

See Also: devilmaycry.com and devilmaycry.org

Contributed by Charlie Russell-Schlesinger (Bowdoin, ’08)

* * * * *

In Shin Megami Tensi 3 players also encounter the persona Dante from Devil May Cry and reference to the circles of hell.

Contributed by RJ Chatellier (Clemson University ’23)

How to Cite