medieval manuscript illumination

The flamage was already right vertical
   and quelled in not saying any more, and yet
   withdrew its core flame from us, at the behest
of the honey-sweet poet, when another shade,
   which was traveling behind him, did force our gaze
   to turn at its point of flame, due to an ambiguous
noise that escaped from there. Like the Sicilian bull
   that bellowed first with the screaming of that
   man -- and correct he was -- who tempered it with
his file, the shade shouted with cries of the
   suffering victim, such that, though it was made
   of brass, it seemed only to be pierced with pain;
so thus, for having no path nor way to exit
   th' elemental fire, their statements are converted
   into word-salad, in their own idiom.
But after the discourse had made its voyage
   atop the crest of flame, making them waver
   as the tongue had done in granting passage, we
heard it state: "Oh you, to whom I direct my voice,
   and who was just now speaking in Lombard dialect,
   saying, 'Now get going on the way, I question
you no more.', even though I may have been perhaps
   too late in joining you, be not annoyed at stopping
   to talk with me; see how I'm not irritated my-
self, to be burning! If you only just fell into this
   blind world from that sweet country of the Latin
   race, from which I retain all my guilt, tell me
whether the people of Romagna are in peace or at
   war; for I am from the mountainous hills between
   Urbino and the ridge from whence hails the Tiber's source."[30
I was still crouching down and paying attention, when
   my guide nudged me by the side, and said, "Speak up --
   that one there's Italian." And, since I already had
a response at the ready, with no hesitating
   did I begin by saying: "Hey you, you soul
   hidden down in there, your own Romagna is
not free from warfare in the very heart
   of its tyrants, nor was it ever yet; yet none was
   de iure declared, when I took off from home.
Ravenna's been that way for a good many years.
   Polenta's eagle looks down upon them,
   so that it covers Cervia, under its wings.
The land which already gave the time proof, and
   made a bloody pulp of the Frenchies, is discovered
   anew beneath the unripe branches. Both the old
lord and the new lord of Verucchio, who dealt with
   Montagna so evil, are used to gnashing their
   official teeth up there. The Lionet of the White Lair
rules o'er the lands of Lamone and Santerno, as
   Mainardo changes sides with the coldest of seasons.
   And that city which the Savio river washes
along its flank, does survive in between tyranny
   and civilized status, just like how the town seat of
   Cesena lies between the plain and the mountain.
Now, who were you, I pray that you should offer
   an accounting of it; don't be even more
   unyielding than another was, if your name should deserve real-
world merit." After the fire had flamed a
   while, in its own way, it set the pointed edge in
   motion, back and forth, and produced its breath of life[60
as follows: "If I thought my reply might come
   to anyone who may ever return to the world,
   this flame would subside with no further grumbling;
but because no one alive has yet to return
   from this spot, provided I hear the truth, I'm
   replying to you with no fear of infamous
repute. A noble man at arms, was I made a full
   knighthood, in my own opinion, so outfitted that
   it was a fine showing; and the popular belief of
myself sure did hold it to be legitimate, if
   it weren't for that great big priest -- take him to any old
   evil! -- who absolved me of my initial sins: now,
do I long for you to hear about how from me. While
   I still wore the flesh and bone which my mother gave me,
   my acts weren't even those of a lion: rather, tricky
like a fox! I knew all the gimmicks and secret
   combinations in totum, and so did enable
   their artistic pursuit, so that the rumor of such
spreads unto th' ending of the world. When I realized I
   had reached the threshold of the age wherein each man must let
   loose the sails and retrieve the ropes, which at the
very first did seem pleasurable in my eyes,
   and then brought me to regret, and made me penitent,
   having confessed it; oh poor tired soul!, would that
it had been of use. The prince of the new Pharisees,
   having waged war adjacent to the Lateran
   palace, against neither Saracen nor Jew,
since each one of his enemies was Christian, and
   none of their ranks had fought at the conquest of Acre,
   nor gone to the Sultan's land for trade -- he respected[90
neither almighty authority nor religious
   orders, & that Franciscan girdle, which is in
   the habit of making its cinches the skinnier,
did not so with me. However, just as Constantine
   the Great sought Pope Sylvester out at Soracte,
   to be healed of leprosy, so did this guy seek for me,
to find a learned doctor to cure his own fevered
   arrogance, in demanding counsel with me, as I was
   silent, since his statements seemed inebriated.
And then he went on to say: 'Let not your heart
   feel suspicion; I'm absolving you a priori, and
   do you show me how to level Palestrina
down to the ground. I can lock and disclose heaven,
   just as you are aware; yet there are two keys which were not
   precious to my foregoing predecessor.' Now
his heavy forms of argument drove me to the point
   where keeping silent emerged as the worse
   course of counsel, so I said, 'Father, grant me
the cleansing of that very sin wherein
   I may be obliged to fall, long-time guarantee for just a
   little waiting, to bring your triumph to pass upon
the utmost throne.' Next Francesco approached, as I
   became a dead man, against me; but one of th' evil
   ghosts from hell did speak to us: «Don't carry him off;
deprive me not of mine. He's going to have
   to head down among my indigents, for providing
   misleading counsel, of the sort which established me
in there, by his locks of hair; someone who feels no regret
   can not be absolved of sinning, for one cannot
   intend to sin and repent of it at the same time,[120
over the contradiction in the according.»
   Oh my aching grief, as I pulled myself together,
   when it took me off, telling me, 'Perhaps you thought you'd
deny I was no logician!' He sent me straight to
   Minos; and that demon contorted its tail, really hard,
   about my back eight times; and as the shade's end was being
devoured of itself in rabid frenzy, it spoke: 'This
   soul is executed by fire, for thieving.' -- so I'm lost
   right where you see me, clothed in roaming, going off
in my bitterness." When he was finished with going on
   thus the aching flame went away, wrenching and twist-
   ing the spired apex. We went on beyond there, both
myself and my guide, o'er the cliff, until we were at
   the next ridge which overhangs the fosse in which
   due price is paid in full, by those that
acquired their burden in causing schism to split.