Pier della Vigna
In canto XIII of Inferno, Dante enters the Wood of Suicides where he encounters Pier della Vigna, an Italian statesman who was accused of treason by Emperor Frederick II and consequently blinded and sentenced to life in prison. Born to a modest family, Pier was granted an outstanding legal education and possessed an abundance of rhetorical talent, both of which undoubtedly led to his rise to power within medieval Italian society. As his power grew, Pier’s political enemies began to grow envious of his political standing and started to plot against him, directly leading to his his fall from power and his eventual imprisonment. While he was imprisoned, Pier brutally took his own life by smashing his head against a wall until he died, and thus according to Catholic ideology damned his soul to hell forever. However, Dante’s placement of Pier in the Wood of Suicides as opposed to the circle for traitors, as well as his conversations with Pier point to the fact that Dante pitied della Vigna and empathized with his claims of innocence. In spite of Dante’s empathy for a man whom he saw as a faithful servant who was unjustly punished for a crime he did not commit, Pier della Vigna still violated Catholic doctrine by taking his own life and for this reason his soul will forever remain in the Wood of Suicides where, even after the Last Judgment, all those who took their own lives will in theory retrieve their corpses and hang them on the trees in the wood as a sign of their sins.
Historically, Pier rose quickly through the political ranks of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, serving under the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. During his tenure, della Vigna would hold a number of important offices from scribe and notary to judge and official spokesman for the imperial court of Frederick II. At the height of his power in 1247 he was appointed chancellor, which solidified his role as the most influential member of Frederick’s court and the closest of Fredericks advisors. Pier’s high political standing is affirmed by Dante when he writes, “I am the one who guarded both the keys of Frederick’s heart and turned them, locking and unlocking them with such dexterity that none but I could share his confidence” (Inf. 13.58-61). Not only does Dante highlight the importance of della Vigna’s role within Frederick’s court, but he goes on to greatly praise his actions while in power, painting a picture of a hard working civil servant who was a victim of the envy of his enemies. Dante writes, “And I [Pier] was faithful to my splendid office, so faithful that I lost both sleep and strength” (Inf. 13.62-63). Dante’s decision to show Pier in a positive light shows that Dante not only empathized with della Vigna’s difficult role within government, but also that he respected the man who he saw as not deserving of being in hell for eternity. Instead of highlighting his crimes, Dante decides that his accomplishments are more important to telling Pier’s life story, showing Dante’s respect for him. Furthermore, Dante goes on to claim that it was not treason that led to Pier’s downfall, but instead was the envy of those around him, who upon seeing his rise to power became envious and through their envy they sought to bring him down any way possible. In Inferno Dante writes, “The whore who never turned her harlot’s eyes away from Caesar’s dwelling, she who is the death of all and vice of every court, inflamed the minds of everyone against me; and those inflamed, then so inflamed Augustus that my delighted honors turned to sadness” (Inf. 13.64-69). Dante’s claim that Pier was innocent of the crimes he was charged with, as well as the statement that it was the envy of those at court that led to his imprisonment and death, shows that Dante pities della Vigna and believes he did not deserve to be punished, especially considering the fact that he was nothing but faithful to his role within Frederick’s court. He is in a way defending the honor of a man whom he respected and saw as nothing more than a victim of the ever-dangerous life of an imperial courtier.
However, Dante’s compassion for Pier does not change the fact that by taking his own life Pier had broken an important law within the eyes of the Catholic Church and therefore deserves to be forever suffering within the confines of the Suicide Wood. At first Dante tries to excuse Pier’s actions by examining why he would take his own life, which further shows Dante’s sympathy for della Vigna’s situation. Dante writes, “My mind, because of its disdainful temper, believing it could flee disdain through death, made me unjust against my own just self. I swear to you by the peculiar roots of this thorn bush, I never broke my faith with him who was so worthy—with my lord” (Inf. 13.70-76). The pity felt by Dante is palpable, however it doesn’t change the fact that those souls who took their own lives or committed acts of violence against themselves are according to God and the Church sinners for all of eternity. This point is highlighted in the later part of Dante’s discussion with Pier in which he is told that the souls of those who committed suicide will not be reunited with their flesh after the last judgment, but instead will hang their corpses from the tress of the suicide wood where they will forever hang as signs of the crimes they committed against themselves. “Like other souls, we shall seek out the flesh that we have left, but none of us shall wear it; it is not right for any man to have what he himself has cast aside. We’ll drag our bodes here; they’ll hang in this sad wood, each on the stump of it’s vindictive shade” (Inf. 13.103-108). This statement shows that despite Pier’s innocence with regard to his treason, he still has violated a critical element of Catholic doctrine and thus is guilty for having not dealt with his imprisonment and instead took the easy way out by ending his own life. It is for this reason that Pier della Vigna’s soul will forever remain in the Wood of Suicides along with the flesh of his corpse. Therefore, Dante’s compassion is justified but doesn’t change the fact that Pier still will suffer for the crimes he committed, not against the emperor in his role as chancellor, but against himself while in jail for a crime that he sadly did not commit.
Pier della Vigna’s unfortunate downfall from power led to his taking of his own life, which sadly means that his soul is going to remain in the Wood of Suicides for all eternity. Despite Dante’s compassion for Pier and his respect for the offices he held during his political career, della Vigna is still guilty of breaking Catholic law and thus is deserving of the punishment he received.

Bibliography
Alighieri, Dante. Inferno. New York, NY: Bantam Classic Publishing, 1980. Print.
Raffa, Guy P. The Complete Danteworlds: A Readers Guide to the Divine Comedy.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. Print.
Stephany, William A. "Pier della Vigna’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy." Traditio. Volume
38 (1982): 193-212. JSTOR. Web. 5/1/2013.

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[ 1 ]. Raffa, 58
[ 2 ]. Raffa, 59
[ 3 ]. Raffa, 58
[ 4 ]. Raffa, 58
[ 5 ]. Stephany, 193