Something that isn't directly addressed in this article is the astonishing fact that, despite Dante's having written seven centuries ago, Italians can still (with some difficulty) understand what is meant when they read his writings (at least, those in vernacular). Such is the influence of Dante's literary language on the language of ordinary Italians today.
To put this into perspective, Chaucer was two generations after Dante, and his writings are _barely_ comprehensible by layreaders. Here's a bit of the prologue of The Canterbury Tales:
And specially from every shires ende/
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,/
The hooly blisful martir for to seke/
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.
To put this into perspective, Chaucer was two generations after Dante, and his writings are _barely_ comprehensible by layreaders. Here's a bit of the prologue of The Canterbury Tales:
And specially from every shires ende/ Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,/ The hooly blisful martir for to seke/ That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.