Dante had his origins in 13th to 14th century Florence, Florence was then a form of commune reigning the city-state. Florence had no single head of state but was led by elected a leader who served two month terms called Priars. Priars during work could not be influenced by family because during those two months of service they were denied access to their families. They were influenced by money and had the power to sign peace …show more content…
Machiavelli wrote and studied the change in political beliefs in France and Italy. Machiavelli was a descendant from Florence like Dante but Machiavelli came from a different political climate. Florence had changed many times since Dante’s oligarchy succumbed to the power of rich Signori who gained control of the councils of government. The Signori passed laws that had the upper classes fight to take away power from the lower classes. Slowly the oligarchy became a monarchy with fake republics to be able to give the people a place to air their grievances. Signori found ways to pass down power and territorial consolidation of smaller city-states started. Consolidation started wars and during these times of emergency the Signori families took the needed power to become despotism and dukedoms. The constant fear causes intellectuals to question beliefs. William of Ockham started the intellectual revolution as humanists changed their views and believed the material world is the illusion. Ockham’s theory was that things are named things based on human decision. Ockham also held if there are universals god created humans could not understand. Knowledge of the universal being was not possible so metaphysics does not exist. Humans could not understand god but must worship god based on human ability. People believed scripture was a complete value of god but cannot understand the supernatural. The upheaval was at its height when King Charles VII of France invaded. The change failed due to syphilis triggering a shift in political power. When Pope Julius II used Spanish troops to defeat the French and repel French, he brought back the Medici Family as Signori. But for a time the city state was under the control of the French and Spanish. It was these two political powerhouses that Machiavelli served. After the purge of the foreigners Machiavelli, wrote The Prince to attempt to receive