# Canto XXII: The Barrators and the Malebranche explained — The Divine Comedy > Chapter companion for The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. ## What happens Dante and Virgil continue through the fifth Bolgia of Malebolge, accompanied by the ten demons (Malebranche). They witness a sinner from Navarre, Ciampolo, who is hooked out of the boiling pitch by Graffiacan. Ciampolo reveals his past as a barrator in the service of King Thibault and names other sinners: Friar Gomita of Gallura and Don Michael Zanche of Logodoro. In a cunning escape, Ciampolo dives back into the pitch, causing two demons, Calcabrina and Alichino, to fall into the pitch themselves. The demons are left in disarray as Dante and Virgil depart. ## Themes in this chapter ### Divine Justice The sinners in the pitch are punished for barratry (corruption in office), their torment fitting their sin of fraudulent manipulation. ### Political Corruption and Civic Strife The chapter highlights barratry and the abuse of power, with figures like Friar Gomita and Michael Zanche representing corrupt officials. ## Character check-ins ### Dante Alighieri The pilgrim observes the demons and the sinners in the pitch, noting his heart shudders at the sight. ### Virgil Dante's guide questions the Navarrese sinner about his identity and other culprits, maintaining his role as interlocutor. ### Ciacco Not directly present; the Navarrese sinner is a different barrator, but Ciacco is a glutton encountered earlier in Hell. ## Key lines > I have erewhile seen horsemen moving camp, Begin the storming, and their muster make, And sometimes starting off for their escape; Vaunt-couriers have I seen upon your land, O Aretines, and foragers go forth, Tournaments stricken, and the joustings run, Sometimes with trumpets and sometimes with bells, With kettle-drums, and signals of the castles, And with our own, and with outlandish things, But never yet with bagpipe so uncouth Did I see horsemen move, nor infantry, Nor ship by any sign of land or star. Dante compares the chaotic movements of the demons to various military maneuvers he has witnessed, but notes he has never seen such a bizarre and uncouth procession as this demonic escort. _Dante uses vivid military imagery to emphasize the grotesque and unprecedented nature of the demons' actions._ > I in the kingdom of Navarre was born; My mother placed me servant to a lord, For she had borne me to a ribald knave, Destroyer of himself and of his things. Then I domestic was of good King Thibault; I set me there to practise barratry, For which I pay the reckoning in this heat. The sinner identifies himself as a Navarrese who served King Thibault and engaged in barratry (corrupt administration), for which he now suffers in the boiling pitch. _This confession reveals the sin of barratry and the personal history of the sinner, linking his earthly corruption to his eternal punishment._ > It was the Friar Gomita, He of Gallura, vessel of all fraud, Who had the enemies of his Lord in hand, And dealt so with them each exults thereat; Money he took, and let them smoothly off, As he says; and in other offices A barrator was he, not mean but sovereign. The Navarrese names Friar Gomita, a corrupt official from Gallura who accepted bribes to release prisoners, describing him as a master of fraud. _Friar Gomita is a historical figure condemned for corruption, and Dante uses him to exemplify the sin of barratry in high office._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_divine_comedy_se/chapters/canto-xxii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_divine_comedy_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_divine_comedy_se/chapters