Calcabrina

Calcabrina is one of the twelve Malebranche, the demons who patrol the Fifth Bolgia of Malebolge in the Eighth Circle of Hell, where the sin of barratry is punished by immersion in boiling pitch. He is named by the demon leader Malacoda as part of the escort assigned to guide Dante and Virgil along the bank of the pitch-filled moat, a group that includes Alichino, Calcabrina, Cagnazzo, Barbariccia, Libicocco, Draghignazzo, Ciriatto, Graffiacane, Farfarello, and Rubicante. Calcabrina's role in the narrative is defined by his participation in the devils' pursuit of the sinner Ciampolo and the subsequent internal conflict that exposes the Malebranche's own disorder and lack of discipline.

Role in the Escort and the Pursuit of Ciampolo

When Malacoda dispatches the ten demons to accompany the poets, Calcabrina is among those named. The escort is led by Barbariccia, who acts as their decurion. During the interrogation of the Navarrese barrator Ciampolo, the demons repeatedly threaten and assault him, with Calcabrina and his fellows showing a savage eagerness to inflict pain. After Ciampolo tricks the demons by offering to whistle for more sinners and then dives back into the pitch to escape, the devils are enraged by his deception. Alichino, who had boasted he would pursue the sinner, dives after him but fails to catch him, emerging from the pitch cross and weary.

The Quarrel with Alichino and the Fall into the Pitch

Infuriated by the mockery of the escape, Calcabrina, flying behind Alichino, turns his talons upon his own companion rather than continuing the chase. He grapples with Alichino right above the boiling moat, and the two demons fall together into the pitch. The heat of the boiling pitch acts as a sudden intercessor, but neither demon can rise because their wings have become so thoroughly coated with the sticky substance. Barbariccia, lamenting, then orders four of the other demons to fly to the opposite side with their grappling hooks to rescue the ensnared pair, who are already baked within the crust of the pitch. The episode ends with the demons thus occupied, allowing Dante and Virgil to escape the chaotic scene.

Thematic Significance: Discord Among the Damned

Calcabrina's attack on Alichino and the subsequent fall into the pitch serve as a vivid illustration of the Malebranche's own inherent discord and lack of control. Though appointed as ministers of divine justice, the demons are themselves prone to the very sins of wrath and fraud they are meant to punish. Their internal conflict, triggered by the successful trick of a single sinner, reveals them as a rabble of petty, violent, and undisciplined beings. This episode provides a moment of dark comedy and underscores a key theme of the Inferno: that even the agents of punishment are part of the same fallen, chaotic order, and that their own malice can be turned against them. The scene also functions as a narrative device that allows the poets to escape the demons' hostile escort, moving them forward on their journey.