Answer:
What sins are punished most severely and why? Or what does Inferno indicate about medieval values?
The four sins that are most severly punished are: heresy, violence, fraud and treachery, in that order.
We can see a common thing in these sins: either they are related to falsehood and lying (heresy, fraud, and treachery), or they are related to physical aggression (violence).
This classification tells us that in Medieval times, people were particularly concern with honesty and lack of aggression. In particular, heresy is a sin expected to be thought as one of the worst, because of the great importance that religion had at the time, and because many people considered heretics were executed during this era.
Treachery can also be expected to be the worst sin of all, because of its relation with Judas, who betrayed Jesus.
Do you agree with Dante's hierarchy of Hell? Why or why not?
I personally agree with his hierarchy of Hell. Dante was a very smart thinker and good writer, and he developed a vision of hell that not only agrees with many medieval values, but also with values of the modern era.