Thomas of Capua: Ars Dictaminis

This Ars dictaminis is a handbook of letter-writing by Thomas of Capua (d. 1239), cardinal and head of the papal chancery under Innocent III, Honorius III and Gregory IX. It opens with a play on the psalm ‘Judge justly, sons of men’, attacking those who confuse judgement, call good evil and evil good, teach what they never learned, want to fly before they have wings and mistake brass for gold. It then praises the Roman Church, from beneath whose feet flow living waters, as the model of correct style. The treatise sets out the parts of the letter and the forms of salutation, with examples of greetings suited to persons of different status, especially religious.

Thomas of Capua was one of the leading stylists of the papal curia, and his handbook transmits the norms of the curial style, with its rhythmic cadences, which became the standard for chanceries throughout Europe. His teaching and the collection of letters associated with him, the Summa dictaminis, were widely used as models in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The handbook is short but authoritative.