Pier delle Vigne was born in the Italian city of
Capua. He studied law at Bologna and became a
notary at the court of Emperor Frederick II of
Swabia (in southwest Germany), who was also king
of Sicily. Vigne helped to draw up Swabia’s law
codes, and in 1220 he became secretary of the imperial
chancellery. His rank, wealth, and power
only grew exponentially.
It is believed that in 1244, Frederick II sent
Vigne to help THOMAS AQUINAS’s family forcibly retrieve
young Thomas, who had recently become a
monk against their wishes. By 1247, Vigne was a
key member of the emperor’s inner circle. In 1249,
however, he fell from power, possibly because he
had been falsely accused of treason. Frederick ordered
that Vigne be blinded and led before the
public in chains. Disgraced, Vigne died shortly
thereafter. Some sources say that he died accidentally,
others that he deliberately hit his head against
a wall. In his Inferno, DANTE depicts Vigne as innocent
of treason but guilty of committing suicide.
Vigne was a member of the Sicilian school of
poetry, which translator Frede Jensen describes as
“the first truly national literary movement in
Italy.” The school, which flourished at Frederick
II’s court between 1230 and 1250, included at least
25 poets who wrote poems of CHIVALRY and
COURTLY LOVE in the Sicilian dialect. Its members
drew inspiration from earlier Provençal TROUBADOURS
like BERNARD DE VENTADOUR and JAUFRÉ
RUDEL. Unlike the hired troubadours, however, the
“Sicilians” were civil servants and nobles.
Vigne’s surviving works include several letters
written in Latin and a few poems, including two
love poems. In “’ Twas Love, whom I desire as well
as trust,” the poet assures his love that he “would
speak well, and not be shy, / in telling you I have
long loved you, more / than Pyramus his Thisbe
could adore.”
Unlike troubadours’ works, Pier delle Vigne’s
poems are meant to be read rather than sung. They
are not lively, but they are elegantly crafted.
An English Version of a Work by
Pier delle Vigne
“’Twas Love, whom I desire as well as trust.” In The
Age of Dante: An Anthology of Early Italian Poetry.
Translated by Joseph Tusiani. New York: Baroque
Press, 1974.
A Work about Pier delle Vigne
Jensen, Frede, ed. and trans. The Poetry of the Sicilian
School. New York and London: Garland, 1986.