Note 226 — PART II THE DIVINE COMEDY COMPARED WITH OTHER MOSLEM LEGENDS ON THE AFTER-LIFE

Tadhkira, 75. Cf. Kanz, VII, 212, No. 2,301; 237, Nos. 2,668, 2,671 and 2,801-2,808. Moreover, the existence of giants in hell was traditional in Islam, for the dwellers in Ad, who were condemned to hell by the Koran, were of gigantic stature. In Qisas, 39, the head of one of these giants is compared to the dome of a great building. The coincidence in stature of the giants of Dante and those of Islam is also curious. According to the Tadhkira (p. 75, line 4 inf.) the latter measure 42 fathoms; and Landino, basing his calculations on Dante’s text, says of Nimrod: “Adunque questo gigante sarebbe braccia quarantatre o più” (p. 30 of his prologue to the Divine Comedy).