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Frederick II played a crucial role in the rise of the Sicilian School of poetry, considered among the most celebrated literary movements of the Middle Ages. The School's poetry, inspired by the courtly love of Provençal troubadours, flourished around his court between 1230 and 1250 and greatly influenced the Dolce Stil Novo poets. He also promoted the establishment of a new language, the illustrious vernacular, which differed from the language spoken by the people and was based on Latin. The emperor himself was the author of a number of lyric poems, showing a personal interest in the art of speech. Jacopo da Lentini stands out among the leading figures of the Sicilian School. A notary at the Emperor's court, his fame is linked to the invention of the sonnet, a poetic form composed of fourteen hendecasyllables. Considering him the forerunner of the Dolce Stil Novo, Dante cites him in the Divine Comedy and, in recognition of his extraordinary love poetry, Frederick bestowed on him the honorary title of Prince of Palermo.
It is no coincidence that Jacopo da Lentini was a notaro (notary) at the Emperor's court since the poets of the School were some of the leading officials of the Regnum Siciliae. Among them, the most distinguished personality was Pier della Vigna, a poet, diplomat, and Imperial Logothete (that is, he acted as Frederick's deputy in his absence), who was arrested for treason and blinded at the Emperor's behest by means of a burning iron. In Dante's opinion, Pier was a victim of palace envy and actual conspiracy: he died by suicide, which is why in the 13th canto of the Inferno he is condemned to eternity in the Woods of Suicide.
