Cielo d'Alcamo was an Italian poet from the 13th century he was associated with
medieval comic poetry. His poem "Rosa Fresca Aulentissima" ("Fresh and Very Perfumed Rose"),
is stored in the Vatican library. He wrote in the language of southern Italy and poked
fun at the troubadour poetry from France which was wide circulation in northern
Italy. He frequented the Magna Curia gatherings of the literary at the court of emperor Frederick ii.
Pietro de la Vina lawyer diplomat and politician in Emperor Frederick ii's court
the emperor sent him on key tasks for example to negotiate with the Pope,
one of the king's mortal enemies and also to England to arrange a union between Frederick ii
and Isabella of England. de la Vina was skillful wily and loyal to the Emperor. At the first
Council of Lyon in 1245 attended by Pope Innocent iv, de la Vina defended the Emperor
but in the end the Emperor was indeed excommunicated by the Pope for heresy. de
la Vina had an interest in culture and the arts and produced a small output of poetry. In 1249
he was accused of treason jailed blinded possibly tortured to death but may have committed suicide.
de la Vina features in Dante's Inferno as having committed suicide rather than
having committed treason this implies he was falsely accused of treason
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Stefano Protonotaro da Messina was a poet of the Sicilian School at the court of King Manfred
son of Frederick. He produced a few works and these are of great literary importance.
He was a high ranking lawyer, one of Stefano's songs is the only Sicilian school work recorded
in both Sicilian and Tuscan language. This work Pir meu is written in standard Sicilian courtly
language and it also includes portions of the common Sicilian language as well
Giacomino Pugliese was a famous Sicilian school poet in the 13th century much of his
work is stored in the Vatican archives. Little is known about his life his work focused on
the struggles of life and love he notably presented truly held feelings and emotions.
His style of work made it much more accessible to the common people. His most famous work is"Death,
why have you made so great a war against me" and this focuses on the dramatic death of a loved one.
His work was typically set to music more in the style of troubadours in the north of Italy
Giacomo da Lentini was a senior Italian poet of the 13th century at the Sicilian School
and a member of the court of Emperor Frederick ii. Giacomo invented the sonnet.
While he wrote in Sicilian his surviving work survives in Tuscan language.
Some of his sonnets were written in a collaborative style of poetry writing
whereby poets would comment upon each other's work for example da Lentini worked with the
Abbot of Tivoli in this way. Giacomo da Lentini appears in Dante's Purgatory
Perceval Doria was a Genoese naval officer in the 13th century. A Ghibelline, he was loyal to
Emperor Frederick ii and Manfred of Sicily. Doria was a troubadour member of the Sicilian School
performing in provencal and Italian. He served in high ranking roles in northern Italian cities
as relations between Manfred and Pope Urban iv deteriorated Doria was forced to destroy the
town of Spoletto in 1259. He later led a group of Saracens and Germans against Charles of Anjou
in defending Manfred's rule. He drowned in a river near Arrone.
Emperor Frederick ii was king of Sicily king of Germany king of Italy Holy Roman Emperor and king
of Jerusalem. He was of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and married to Queen Constance of the Hauteville
dynasty. As a result of the Crusades he controlled Jerusalem and he was frequently
in dispute with the Pope and the Vatican. The typical cause of tension between the Emperor
and the Vatican was the Papal property owned in Italy and Sicily which was free
from having to pay taxes to the Emperor Frederick was excommunicated three times
and even called Antichrist by Pope Gregory ix he spoke multiple languages Latin Sicilian
German a form of French Greek and Arabic. Frederick was fascinated by science and the arts
he supported the Sicilian School of poetry at his royal court in Palermo. The Sicilian
School poetry and the language it was written in profoundly influenced the modern Italian language.
The line of the house of Hofenstaufen ended shortly after Frederick's death.
Frederick's nickname was "stuper mundi" the wonder of the world
and he was famed for overseeing something very similar to a modern working state
with an efficient working bureaucracy. Manfred was the last Hohenstaufen king of Sicily.
He was regent over the kingdom and loyally put down rebellions on behalf of Conradin before he
eventually snatched Conradin's rule. Manfred initially tried to negotiate
and support Pope Innocent iv however long standing grievances returned and caused
friction again between the king of Sicily and the Vatican. Manfred beat the Papal army at Foggia.
He enjoyed the peculiar distinction of being excommunicated by three separate popes,
Pope Alexander iv and Pope Urban iv tried to rally forces to unseat Manfred
but failed. Eventually Pope Urban iv conspired with Charles Anjou to overthrow Manfred at the
battle of Benevento. Manfred lost the battle and died. Charles won became king of Sicily.
Manfred was apparently a very intellectual king and he appears in the Divine Comedy
written by Dante at the gates of Purgatory as a result of having been excommunicated
Enzo of Sardinia was an illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick ii.
It is assumed that he like his brother Manfred attended the Sicilian School of
poetry at Frederick's court and that is where he developed his love for the arts.
Enzo was heavily involved in the conflict between Guelphs and Ghibellines. The dispute between the
king of Sicily and the Vatican. Upon his capture he was imprisoned in Bologna in northern Italy
until his death. During his incarceration Enzo wrote several poems some of which survived him
Guido delle Colonne was a judge and a writer from Messina.
He wrote a prose version of the Trojan war based on earlier works by Dares Phrygius and Dictys
Cretensis. Dante named Guido as a poet and some of Guido's works survive him