Brewer's: Francesca da Rimini

Daughter of Guido da Polenta, Lord of Ravenna. Her story is told in Dante's Inferno (canto v.). She was married to Lanciotto Malatesta, Lord of Rimini, but committed adultery with Paolo, her husband's brother. Both were put to death by him in 1389. Leigh Hunt has a poem, and Silvio Pellico a tragedy, on the subject.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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