Pietro della Vigna

Pietro della Vigna, or Pier delle Vigne (also Petrus de Vineas or de Vineis; c. 1190 – 1249), was an Italian jurist and diplomat, who acted as chancellor and secretary to the Emperor Frederick II.

He was born at Capua in humble circumstances and studied law at Padua. Through his classical education, his ability to speak Latin and his poetic gifts, he gained the favour of Frederick II, who made him his secretary, and afterwards "judex magnae curiae", councillor, governor of Apulia, prothonotary and chancellor. The emperor, to whose heart (according to his character in Dante's "Inferno") he held the keys, sent him to Rome in 1232 and 1237 to negotiate with the pope; to Padua in 1239 to induce the citizens to accept imperial protection; and to England in 1234-1235 to arrange a marriage between Frederick and Isabella of England, sister of King Henry III of England.

He proved a skilful and trustworthy diplomat, and he persistently defended the emperor against his traducers and against the pope's menaces. But at the Council of Lyons, which had been summoned by Pope Innocent IV, Pietro della Vigna entrusted the defence of his master to the celebrated jurist Taddeo of Suessa, who failed to prevent his condemnation. Frederick, whose suspicions had been awakened by the slanders of the envious, had him imprisoned and blinded without giving him a chance to rebut his accusers.

Unable to bear his disgrace, he committed suicide in his prison at Pisa in 1249. Although the exact date, place, and manner of his death are subject to controversy, Flaminio del Borgo records that it occurred in the church of St. Andrea at Pisa in 1256. His fate, whatever its details, has given rise to many legends.

The Guelphic tradition accuses Pietro della Vigna, as well as the emperor and the court, of heresy. It was even stated, probably without any foundation, that they were the authors of the famous work, "De tribus impostoribus", wherein Moses, Christ and Mahomet are blasphemed.

Pietro della Vigna was a man of culture. He encouraged science and the fine arts, and contributed much to the welfare of Italy by his legislative reforms. He was also the author of some vernacular poetry, of which two "canzoni" and a sonnet are still extant.

His letters, mostly written in the name of the emperor and published by Iselin ("Epistolarum libri" vi, 2 v., Basel, 1740), contain much valuable information on the history and culture of the 13th century. A collection of the laws of Sicily, a "Tractatus de potestate imperiali", and another treatise, "On Consolation", in the style of Boethius, are also attributed to him.

As a suicide, he appears as one of the damned in the Woods of Suicide in the "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, Circle VII, ring ii, Canto XIII: Violent against self. Vigne reveals his identity to the travelers Dante and Virgil: "I am he that held both keys of Frederick's heart,/ To lock and to unlock; and well I knew/ To turn them with so exquisite an art." (trans. by Sayers, ln. 58-60).

Dante's portrayal of della Vigne emphasises his skill as a rhetorician. His syntax is complex and tangled, like the thornbushes. At one point, Dante echoes it: "I think he thought that I was thinking" (John Ciardi translation)

References

*Huillard-Bréholles, "Vie et correspondence de Pierre de la Vigne" (Paris, 1864)
*Presta, "Pier delle Vigne" (Milan, 1880)
*Capasso and Ianelli, "Pier delle Vigne" (Caserta, 1882)
*1911
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11766c.htm Peter de Vinea] - Catholic Encyclopedia article