Dino was active in Florentine politics serving as consul for the guild of traders, and later as member of the Signory twice, Prior, and Gonfalonier of Justice.
[1] After November 1301, when the White faction lost the power of the Signory to the Black (Ghibelline) party, Dino never again served in a Government council.
When Charles of Valois, the nominee of Boniface VIII, was expected in Florence, Compagni, foreseeing the evils of civil discord, assembled a number of citizens in the church of San Giovanni, and tried to quiet their excited spirits.
He is one of the important authorities for that period of Florentine history, notwithstanding the mistakes of fact which are to be found in his writings.
[1] During the 1870s, Karl von Hegel and Paul Scheffer-Boichorst participated in a debate about the authenticity of his chronicle, publishing several papers with their arguments.