«Plus quam vivus fecerim, mortuus faciam contra eos». Leben, Tod und Kult des Petrus von Verona in Mailand

The cult of the Friar Preacher Peter of Verona, killed by a plot attributed to the cathars of Milan in 1252, who was cannonized in less than a year and celebrated with the title “St. Peter Martyr,” appears to be an element of notable importance for the life of the citizens of Milan in the century following his death. The contributions of recent historiography have shed light on events of his life and his cult, and seem to describe a paradign in which friar Peter of Verona and St. Peter Martyr appear as two distinct subjects: the one that cannot be distinguished in the actual activities of his life, and the other weighted down with political and ecclesiological significance. This contribution proposes to focus on the activities of friar Peter as prior and inquisitor, which seem to present him as particularly active in the struggle against heresy, but also as following the direction of the politics of Greogory IX and then of Innocent IV against the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Along the same lines the image of Peter as a canonized saint are developed. In particular, this paper attempts to understand the political and religious significance of the plot that would lead to his murder, verifying the manner in which the cities of Lombardy positioned themseves at the time of these events as well as the orientation of the families of Milan which were involved. In addition, some documents that seem to witness to the future martyr’s effective foundation of confraternities which carried his name after his canonization will be taken in to consideration.