Keys of St. Peter
The Keys of St. Peter are the two symbolic keys entrusted by Christ to the Apostle Peter, which in Dante's Purgatory are held by the angelic gatekeeper at the entrance to Purgatory proper. They represent the power to bind and loose, the authority of the Church to grant absolution, and the theological distinction between the grace of confession (the gold key) and the discernment required for true repentance (the silver key). Their appearance marks the transition from Ante-Purgatory to the seven terraces of purification and establishes the sacramental framework within which Dante's own purgation will unfold.
Appearance and Description
The angelic gatekeeper, seated upon the threshold of the Gate of Purgatory, draws forth from beneath his ash-colored attire two keys: one of gold and the other of silver. The gold key is described as "more precious," while the silver key requires "more art and intellect" to operate, for it is the key that "doth the knot unloose." The gatekeeper first applies the white key (the silver) and then the yellow key (the gold) to the lock, and the door opens. The keys are not merely mechanical instruments; they are sacramental symbols whose proper use depends on the gatekeeper's discernment. He explains that he received them from St. Peter himself, who commanded him to err "rather in opening than in keeping shut, if people but fall down before my feet." This instruction establishes a principle of merciful access: the gate is to be opened readily to the penitent, not barred by excessive rigor.
Theological Significance
The two keys embody the twofold power of the sacrament of penance as understood in medieval Catholic theology. The gold key represents the authority and grace of the Church to absolve sin—the power of the keys that Christ conferred upon Peter when he said, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven." The silver key represents the knowledge and discernment required of the confessor, who must judge the sincerity of the penitent's contrition and the adequacy of the confession. The gatekeeper's statement that the silver key requires "more art and intellect" underscores that absolution is not automatic; it demands a careful evaluation of the soul's state. The order of operation—first the silver, then the gold—suggests that discernment must precede the act of absolution. The gatekeeper's warning that if either key fails to turn rightly in the lock, the entrance does not open, reinforces the necessity of both grace and judgment working together.
Narrative Function in Purgatory
The Keys of St. Peter appear at the climax of Dante's approach to Purgatory proper, after his dream of the eagle and his transport by Lucia to the gate. The gatekeeper inscribes seven P's (for peccata, sins) on Dante's forehead with the point of his sword, then uses the keys to open the door. The gate itself is made of diamond, and its hinges turn with a sound louder and more discordant than the Tarpeian gate when the good Metellus was taken from it. As the door opens, Dante hears the "Te Deum laudamus" sung in voices mingled with sweet melody, like the sound of an organ accompanying a choir. The keys thus mark the boundary between the preparatory stages of Ante-Purgatory and the actual work of purgation on the seven terraces. The gatekeeper's final admonition—"that forth returns whoever looks behind"—echoes the biblical story of Lot's wife and establishes a prohibition against looking back that reinforces the forward-directed nature of the penitential journey.
Connection to the Broader Theological Framework
The Keys of St. Peter are referenced elsewhere in the poem as a measure of papal authority and its abuse. In the Inferno, Guido da Montefeltro recalls Pope Boniface VIII's claim to possess the two keys, boasting, "Heaven have I power to lock and to unlock, as thou dost know; therefore the keys are two, the which my predecessor held not dear." Boniface uses this authority to absolve Guido in advance for a fraudulent counsel, a perversion of the keys' proper function. In the Paradiso, St. Peter himself denounces the corruption of the papacy, declaring that his place on earth has been usurped and that his cemetery has been made "a sewer of blood and stench." The keys thus serve as a touchstone for authentic versus corrupt spiritual authority throughout the poem. In Purgatory, however, they appear in their proper, uncorrupted form, wielded by an angel who embodies the ideal of the confessor: merciful but discerning, ready to open but not to admit the unrepentant.
The Keys and Dante's Personal Journey
For Dante the pilgrim, the Keys of St. Peter represent the sacramental means by which he will be prepared for the final stages of his journey. The seven P's inscribed on his forehead correspond to the seven deadly sins that will be progressively erased as he ascends each terrace. The gatekeeper's act of opening the door is the precondition for this process of purification. When Dante later reaches the Earthly Paradise and undergoes his confession before Beatrice, the sacramental framework established by the keys is fulfilled: he drinks from Lethe to forget his sins and from Eunoe to remember his good deeds, and he is thus made "pure and disposed to mount unto the stars." The keys, then, are not merely a symbol of ecclesiastical authority but the instrument through which Dante's own soul is unlocked from the bondage of sin and set on the path to salvation.
