D ANDOLO DANTE. 



591 



teaj)ed on sliore. After various changes in the im- 

 perial throne, succeeded by a second siege, in which 

 Constantinople was stormed and pillaged by the cru- 

 saders, the latter proceeded to the election of an em- 

 peror, and Dandolo was first nominated, although, in 

 consequence of his age, and the incompatible cha- 

 racter of doge, the choice ultimately fell on Baldwin. 

 In the sharing of the imperial dominions, Venice ob- 

 tained a full moiety, and Dandolo was solemnly in- 

 vested with tlie title of despot of Romania. He end- 

 ed his eventful life at Constantinople, in 1205 (if the 

 records are to be trusted), at the advanced age of 

 ninety-seven. 



DANDOLO, ANDREW, doge of Venice, and one 

 of the earliest Italian historians, was born about 

 1310, and made doge in 1343. He carried on a war 

 against the Turks with various success, and greatly 

 extended Venetian commerce, by opening a trading 

 connexion with Egypt. The jealousy entertained by 

 the Genoese of this new trade produced a war be- 

 tween the two states, which gave rise to a correspon- 

 dence between the doge and Petrarch, who exhorted 

 him to peace. He died in September, 1354. To 

 Andrew Dandolo is ascribed the compilation of the 

 sixtli book of Venetian statutes ; but he is most dis- 

 tinguished for his Chronicle of Venice, which is writ- 

 ten in Latin, and comprehends the history of the re- 

 public from its commencement to 1342. It is prais- 

 ed for its impartiality, and for its judicious use of au- 

 thentic documents, and was first published by Mu- 

 ratori in his collection of original Italian writers of 

 history. 



DANEGELT (from the Saxon gelt, money), an 

 ancient annual tax of the Anglo-Saxons, to maintain 

 forces to resist the Danes. 



DANIEL, the prophet, a contemporary of Eze- 

 kiel, was born of a distinguished Hebrew family. In 

 his youth, B. C. 600, he was carried captive to Ba- 

 bylon, and educated in the Babylonish court, for the 

 service of king Nebuchadnezzar. After three years, 

 he entered into the service of this monarch, and dis- 

 charged his employments with much credit to him- 

 self, and without violating his conscience. A decree 

 of the king, which he could not conscientiously obey, 

 occasioned his being thrown into the lions' den. Pre- 

 served by a miraculous providence he lived after- 

 wards in happiness and honour. He was elevated to 

 the office of governor and prime minister in the court 

 of the Persian king Darius. Cyrus finally gave him 

 permission to return, with his people, to Palestine. 

 Daniel was a man of high mental cultivation and 

 strict virtue. Being well acquainted with the go- 

 vernment and condition of all the great kingdoms then 

 known in the world, and particularly favoured by the 

 Deity, he could foresee coming events with the great- 

 est accuracy, and, for this reason, deservedly receiv- 

 ed the name of Nabi (prophet), although most of the 

 Jews exclude him from the number of the prophets. 

 1 1 is prophecy has come down to posterity, and is in- 

 cluded in the Hebrew canon. Probably only the 

 second part of it is by him. It is wholly symbolical, 

 full of dreams and visions. The hand-writing on the 

 wall of Belshazzar's palace was interpreted by Daniel. 

 DANIEL, GABRIEL ; one of the French historians, 

 was born at Rouen, in 1649. At the age of eighteen, 

 he entered the Jesuits' college, instructed in several 

 places with much success, and died in 1728. " He 

 ought," as the German Bouterwek says of him, "in 

 his history of his own country, which has earned him 

 his reputation," (.Histoire de France, of which many 

 editions have appeared since 1713, particularly that 

 of Paris, 1755 1757, in 17 vols., 4to ; also numer- 

 ous abridgments, and a German translation, Nurem- 

 berg, 1756 65 ; 1C vols. 4to,) " to connect the flattery 

 of the court, the nobility, and the clergy, with the 



duties of an historian." We often feel the want of 

 .profound research and historical fidelity in his work. 

 He seems to have been destitute of the art of histori- 

 cal description. His thoughts on the proper mode 

 of writing history, he has given to the world in the 

 somewhat tedious introduction to his prolix narrative. 

 His Histoire de la Milice Francaise is still known : 

 less so is his Recueil des Ouvrages Philosophises, 

 Tkeologiques, Apologetiques , &c. (1724, 4to), which 

 contains his Voyage du Monde de Descartes (first pub- 

 lished separately, and translated into English and 

 Italian) a caustic satire on the opinions ol this phi- 

 losopher. 



DANIEL, SAMCEL, an English historian and poet, 

 contemporary with Shakspeare, was born in 1562. 

 He liad an appointment at the court of queen Eliza- 

 beth, and also of Ann (wife of James 1.) ; but he 

 commonly lived in the country, employed in literary 

 pursuits. As an lustorical poet, Lucan seems to 

 have been his pattern. He employed his brilliant 

 talents in writing an epic on the most remarkable 

 occurrences in the history of his country. He be- 

 stowed much labour on the poem which describes, in 

 eight books, the civil wars between the houses of 

 York and Lancaster (History of the Civil Wars be- 

 tween the Houses of York and Lancaster, reprinted 

 with the Rest of the poetical Works of this Author, 

 and some Account of his Life, in Anderson's British 

 Poets, vol. 4). The poetical value of this work, as 

 of Lucan's, consists in a beautiful style. Daniel con- 

 tributed much to the improvement of the poetical dic- 

 tion of England. His stanzas, formed with a careful 

 attention to the Italian. octave, have more dignity and 

 euphony than most v erses of this sort in English litera- 

 ture, hi the first half of the seventeenth century. He is 

 not wanting in rhetorical beauty and force. He was 

 also the author of some poetical epistles, pastorals, 

 fifty-seven sonnets, and a few tragedies. The first 

 seem to have excited much attention. During the 

 reign of queen Elizabeth, he wrote a sketch of the 

 history of England, till the time of Edward III. 

 a work learned and clear, without ostentation, and 

 containing useful and acute views. Daniel died in 

 1619. 



DANISH LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND 

 ART. See Denmark. 



DANISHMEND ; a Turkish ecclesiastic of low 

 rank ; also a talisman. 



DANTE (properly, Durante Alighieri), one of the 

 most distinguished men of whom history makes men- 

 tion, was born in Florence, in 1265. Of the first 

 years of this greatest and earliest of the t lodern poets 

 of Italy, we know little more than that (as he himself 

 tells us, in his Inferno., xv. 8th) he was a scholar of 

 Brunette Latini, a Florentine, distinguished as a poet, 

 a scholar, and a politician. His very early love for 

 Beatrice Portinari (who died in 1290) aroused his 

 spirit, and afforded images and figures to liis poetical 

 mind, as long as it created. He studied philosophy 

 at Florence, Bologna, and Padua, and afterwards 

 theology at Paris. He was also familiar with Latin 

 literature, and wrote the language well for that time. 

 While he cultivated his mind, he, at the same time, 

 served his country as a soldier and a statesman. In 

 1289, he fought in the memorable battle at Campal- 

 dino against the Ghibelines of Arezzo, and, in 1290, 

 at Caprona, against the Pisans. He went on several 

 embassies from the Florentine republic to Rome, and 

 to the courts of different sovereigns. In 1291, he 

 married Gemma, the daughter of Manetto Donati, 

 by whom he had several children. This marriage 

 was not happy, and a separation finally ensued. 



In 1300, Dante was, unfortunately for liimself, 

 made one of the priors, or superior magistrates, of 

 his native city. Florence was, at that time, divided 



