Malebranche (Divine Comedy)

The Malebranche (Italian: [ˌmaleˈbraŋke]; "Evil Claws")[1] are the demons in the Inferno of Dante's Divine Comedy who guard Bolgia Five of the Eighth Circle (Malebolge).

When Dante and Virgil meet them, the leader of the Malebranche, Malacoda ("Evil Tail"[1]), assigns a troop to escort the poets safely to the next bridge.

The troop hook and torment one of the barrators (identified by early commentators as Ciampolo), who names some Italian grafters and then tricks the Malebranche in order to escape back into the pitch.

The demons are dishonest and malicious: the promise of safe conduct the poets have received turns out to have limited value (and there is no "next bridge"), so that Dante and Virgil are forced to escape from them.

There are twelve Malebranche named in the poem: The last of these, for example, is introduced by Dante in lines 100–105 of Canto XXI: They bent their hooks and shouted to each other: And shall I give it to him on the rump?

The Malebranche catch a sinner with their grappling hooks, portrayed by Gustave Doré .
Dante (blue) and Virgil (red) in three scenes with the Malebranche, portrayed by Giovanni di Paolo .