Thomas of Capua
A letter of Pope Innocent IV dated 14 November 1245, shows that Thomas belonged to the noble family of Eboli, which held lands in the Terra di Lavoro.
Pope Innocent III made him a papal subdeacon and a notary of the apostolic chancery, with which came the title of master (magister).
It is through this connection that Thomas found his way into the will of Marie of Montpellier, queen of Aragon, who left him a legacy at her death in April 1213.
In late February or early March 1216, he was appointed cardinal deacon of Santa Maria in Via Lata.
As a result, Thomas became an early supporter of the Dominican Order, intervening in its favour in the Kingdom of Sicily.
In 1222, after Dominic's death, Honorius gave the church of Santa Sabina to his successor, Jordan of Saxony, strengthening Thomas's connection to the order.
[1] In 1227, the clergy of the Kingdom of Jerusalem requested Thomas as their patriarch, but the newly elected Pope Gregory IX rejected them.
In December 1227, Gregory IX sent Thomas and Cardinal Otto of Tonengo to Foggia to negotiate with Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily, who had been excommunicated for not fulfilling his crusader's vow, but who claimed illness.
Thomas, however, established a good rapport with Frederick and with many of his closest allies, such as Hermann von Salza, Berard of Palermo, James of Capua and Pietro della Vigna.
[1] In November 1229, negotiations to end the War of the Keys, which had broken out between pope and emperor, were opened in Aquino.
The Treaty of San Germano was confirmed on 23 July 1230 and, on 28 August at Ceprano, Thomas and John released Frederick II from his excommunication.
[1] Between October 1232 and April 1233, Thomas and Cardinal Rainald of Ostia mediated a dispute between the cities of Rome and Viterbo.
In February 1235, he was part of a group of cardinals that met in Viterbo to mediate between Bologna and a league of cities led by Modena.
[1] In 1236, when relations between Gregory IX and Frederick II had again soured, Thomas wrote to Hermann von Salza and the emperor urging them to keep the peace and to calm their partisans in Rome.
In November, Gregory sent Thomas and Rainald to northern Italy as papal legates, replacing the ardently anti-imperial James of Palestrina.
[1] The Forme romane curie super casibus penitentie,[7] written in 1219, is the original formulary of the apostolic penitentiary.
His Ars dictandi and 623 of his letters were gathered together into a single collection, the Summa dictaminis Thome Capuani, which survives in 65 manuscripts.
[1] Gregory, abbot of Santissima Trinità in Monte Sacro on Gargano, dedicated his poem De hominum deificatione to Thomas.
