The Monarchia, Dante's treatise on political theory, addresses the fundamental question of what form of political organization best suits human nature; it embodies a political vision of startling originality and power, and illuminates the intellectual interests and achievements of one of the world's great poets. The whole text is here presented in a new English translation, the first for forty years, based on a more up-to-date and scholarly version of the Latin original than has previously been available.

The translation, together with accompanying introduction and notes, has been prepared by Dante scholar Prue Shaw. In this new accessible form, the Monarchia will interest not only Dante specialists, but also students of literary studies, political history and philosophy.