Commentary Inf XVI 106-108

Dante's cord is now retrospectively added to the details of the scene in Inferno I (as the full moon will be added to that scene in [Inf XX 127-129]). The cord has the function of holding his robes together, but symbolically may also reflect the cincture of one who attempts to 'gird his loins' and live right. (For bibliography of various interpretations of the cord's significance see Mercuri [Merc.1984.1], pp. 14n.-17n.)

Over the years, some commentators have tried to make the case that the cord is that of a Franciscan garment, and that Dante was a member of the (lay) Third Order of Franciscans. This may be true (most doubt it), but the corda would offer no proof at all, since Dante knew the technical name for the cord that bound the garment of a Franciscan: the capestro ([Inf XXVII 92]).

This passage is linked to the question of the identity of the three beasts encountered by Dante in Inferno I (see C.Inf.I.32-54).