Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri (1265 – 1321), commonly known as Dante, was an Italian poet of the, and a covert member of the Assassin Order.

Life as an Assassin
"And so began my apprenticeship with Dante Alighieri, one that was to destroy every bit of happiness I would ever have."

- Domenico Auditore.

During the Middle Ages, Dante had risen through the ranks of the Assassin Order, and was considered one of their senior members.

Dante was exiled from Florence due to his political connections with the. He was sheltered in Forlì during the exile, where he wrote the Divine Comedy.

In the later 13th century, Dante was tasked with the training of Domenico Auditore, a member of the Auditore family of Florence, and a descendant of a long line of Assassins.

The day that Domenico first found out about the Assassin Order, his father, his father's patron Marco Polo, and Dante were present. Domenico was a sailor who carried cargo across the Atlantic and Mediterranea, thus, as Marco explained, Dante would train Domenico in the ways of the Order, in exchange for transport to Spain.

Dante met with Domenico repeatedly before they departed from Venice, first conversing with him about practical needs for the journey, such as supplies, then moving on to deeper lessons, and speaking of "higher things about life, love, honor and justice."

Dante showed Domenico the Codex of the legendary Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, and taught him the Creed. Through their lessons, Dante told his apprentice that society was "set up in such a way as to control its members, to stop us from thinking, from seeing." Soon, Domenico had learned to "look past all laws and illusions", and see that the people deserved freedom.

Later life and death
"Dante intended to take the Codex to Spain where it would be safe. But he was being watched."

- Domenico Auditore.

Before his journey to Barcelona could take place, Dante was murdered by Templars on a trip to gather his belongings in. Domenico's father explained to him that Dante had been tasked with delivering the Codex to Spain, and urged him to take on the responsibility instead.

Though Domenico lost his wife to pirates during his attempts to fulfill Dante's mission, he was able to scatter the pages of the Codex in the ship's cargo, and keep it safe from Templar hands.

Legacy
In 1511, the Assassin Mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze read Dante's Inferno in Sofia Sartor's shop. Sofia evoked her admiration for Dante's genius, and Ezio commented on Dante's "subtle way of revenge" through his poems, where he depicted his enemies as being tortured in Hell.

Trivia

 * Durante is an Italian variant of the Latin name Durans that means "enduring". Alighieri is a name that ultimately stems from Germanic roots nadal, "noble", or ald, "old", and gar, "spear."