Pier Paolo Vergerio (the Elder) (23 July 1370 – 8 July 1444 or 1445) was an Italian

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

, statesman,

pedagogist Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken a ...

and

canon lawyer Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

Life

Vergerio was born at Capodistria, Istria, then in the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

. He studied rhetoric at

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, canon law at

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

(1387–89) and at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

(1389–90). He is noted for writing to

Pope Innocent VII Pope Innocent VII ( la, Innocentius VII; it, Innocenzo VII; 1339 – 6 November 1406), born Cosimo de' Migliorati, was head of the Catholic Church from 17 October 1404 to his death in November 1406. He was pope during the period of the Western ...

and

Pope Gregory XII Pope Gregory XII ( la, Gregorius XII; it, Gregorio XII; – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario," or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was oppos ...

Hans Baron Hans Baron (June 22, 1900 – November 26, 1988) was a German-American historian of political thought and literature. His main contribution to the historiography of the period was to introduce in 1928 the term ''civic humanism'' (denoting most if ...

writes in ''The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance'', 1966 edition, p.134, "The catastrophe of 1405 ruined Vergerio's career as a humanist''"'' (This refers to Padua losing its independence in 1405). Later he became canon of Ravenna and took part in the Council of Constance in 1414. The next year he was one of the fifteen delegates who accompanied the

Emperor Sigismund Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

to Perpignan, where an endeavour was made to induce

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...

to renounce his claims. From 1417 to his death he was secretary to the Emperor Sigismund. In July 1420, he was the chief orator of the Catholic party at the

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

disputation at Prague. Though never married and probably in

minor orders Minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders —priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte, exorcist, lec ...

, he was not a priest. He died at Buda,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, aged 73 or 74. Pier Paolo Vergerio was the first to publish

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

's ''

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

'' for the public in 1396–1397.

Works

The following of his works have been printed: *"De ingenuis moribus ac liberalibus studiis" (Venice, 1472) *"De Republica Veneta liber primus" (Toscolano, 1526) *"Vita Petrarcae", edited by Tommassini in "Petrarca redivivus" (Padua, 1701) *"Pro redintegranda uniendaque Ecclesia" edited with introduction and notes by Combi in "Archivio storico per Trieste, l'Istria ed il Trentino" (Rome, 1882), 351-74 *"Historia principum Carrariensium ad annum circiter MXXXLV" edited by Muratori, "Rerum ital. Script.", XVI, 113-184 His letters, 146 in number, were edited by Luciani (Venice, 1887). There are still in

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

: a Latin version of Arrian's "Gesta Alexandri Magni"; a ''Life of Seneca''; a panegyric on

St. Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...

; a few comedies, satires, and other poems. His ''On Good Manners'' (1402) is characterised by Quentin Skinner''The Foundations of Modern Political Thought'' (1978) I p. 90, where it is described as ''brief but extremely influential''. as the first treatise about the proper education of princes.

References

*Bergin, Thomas G. and Wilson, Alice S., ''Petrarch's ''Africa'' English translation.'' New Haven. Yale University Press 1977. *Bischoff, Studien zu P. P. Vergerio dem Aeltern (Berlin, 1909) *Everson, Jane E., ''The Italian romance epic in the age of humanism: the matter of Italy and the world of Rome'', Oxford University Press, 2001, *Kopp, Pietro Paolo Vergerio der erste humanistische Padagog (Lucerne, 1894) *Baduber, P. P. Vergerio il seniore (Capodistria, 1866) *Woodward, ''

Vittorino da Feltre Vittorino da Feltre (1378February 2, 1446) was an Italian humanist and teacher. He was born in Feltre, Belluno, Republic of Venice and died in Mantua. His real name was Vittorino Rambaldoni. It was in Vittorino that the Renaissance idea of the com ...

and other Humanist Educators'' (Cambridge, 1897) *Jachino, Del pedagogista Pier Paolo Vergerio (Florence, 1894) *Buschbell, Reformation und Inquisition in Italien und die Mite des 16. Jahrhunderts (Paderborn, 1910), 103–54. *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vergerio, Pier Paolo 1370 births 1440s deaths Canon law jurists Italian Renaissance humanists Writers from Koper 14th-century Italian jurists 15th-century Italian jurists 14th-century dramatists and playwrights 15th-century Latin writers