Pier delle Vigna was inappropriately charged with the attempted murder of Frederick II, Holy Roman emperor and king of Sicily. He was conspired against by envious people who wanted to see an end to his greatness. Once charged, Pier was jailed, beaten, and had his eyes viciously removed from his skull, blinding him. He saw no hope for his future, and therefore ended his life, by bashing his head against the wall until his brain leapt from his cranium. Pier was the victim of political envy, which is why Dante was so piteous of him in Inferno, Canto XIII. Pier delle Vigna was in the public eye, in a position of power, and this was his tragic flaw. Because of this fact, he was targeted and he fell horrendously down into the second round of the seventh circle of Hell, the Wood of the Suicides, his soul tethered to the life of a gnarled tree.
It is only proper to explain the life of Pier delle Vigna, before his untimely ending and “life” in death. He started out from somewhat humble beginnings. In the footnotes of Inferno, Canto XIII, it states: “Pier’s name means Peter of the Vine, probably because his father had been a simple worker in a vineyard (Dante, Inferno 13).” He attended school at the first university, University of Bologna, which was founded in 1088. Shortly after he finished school in 1220, he was employed by …show more content…
Pier said, “The courtesan who constantly surveyed Caesar’s household with her adulterous eyes, mankind’s undoing, the special vice of courts, inflamed the hearts of everyone against me, and these, inflamed, inflamed in turn Augustus (Frederick is referred to here as ‘Caesar’ and ‘Augustus’ because he sought to imitate the imperial court of Rome), and my happy honors turned into sad laments (Dante, Inferno 13.64-69).” The people he once trusted became envious of him, and sought to remove him from his favorable position, and unfortunately succeeded in their
It is only proper to explain the life of Pier delle Vigna, before his untimely ending and “life” in death. He started out from somewhat humble beginnings. In the footnotes of Inferno, Canto XIII, it states: “Pier’s name means Peter of the Vine, probably because his father had been a simple worker in a vineyard (Dante, Inferno 13).” He attended school at the first university, University of Bologna, which was founded in 1088. Shortly after he finished school in 1220, he was employed by …show more content…
Pier said, “The courtesan who constantly surveyed Caesar’s household with her adulterous eyes, mankind’s undoing, the special vice of courts, inflamed the hearts of everyone against me, and these, inflamed, inflamed in turn Augustus (Frederick is referred to here as ‘Caesar’ and ‘Augustus’ because he sought to imitate the imperial court of Rome), and my happy honors turned into sad laments (Dante, Inferno 13.64-69).” The people he once trusted became envious of him, and sought to remove him from his favorable position, and unfortunately succeeded in their