ATTONE, bishop of VERCELLI. — Few certain details are known about his life. Of noble Lombard family, we know that in 924 he was elected bishop of Vercelli, a diocese which he governed for a long time. He had numerous dealings with the rulers of the period, Berengario II, Ugo, and Lotario II, from whom he received privileges and donations for his Church; it is not certain, however, that he was the archchancellor of the latter king. Despite these relations and his principles of obedience to authority, because it was established by God (see in this regard the letter to Valdone, bishop of Como, in which a dependence upon the Carolingian writers of the ninth century is evident), A. opposed Berengario II with great courage, since he did not respect the freedom of the Church.
His literary activity is noteworthy: we possess from him a lengthy Expositio in epistulas Pauli, certainly authentic, numerous letters (some of them interesting for their prose rhythm), and pastoral sermons; the authenticity of the Polyptychum, a summary of moral philosophy containing interesting polemical observations against the Germans and Burgundians who were living in Italy, is disputed. A. is even more important in the history of the Church of the tenth century for his work of great pastoral zeal in reforming and improving the clergy and religious life of his diocese. A document of this reforming activity is his Capitolare, that is, a collection of one hundred canons concerning the duties of ecclesiastics, the administration of the sacraments, observance of the liturgy, etc.; they are all ancient conciliar provisions that are repeated. Much insistence is placed on combating the widespread Nicolaitism and simony, which A. is the first to call a heresy. In the Libellus de pressuris ecclesiasticis, a true canonical treatise in three books, written between 940 and 943, A. combats the abuse of bringing ecclesiastics before secular tribunals, the conferral of sacred ordination upon unworthy or incapable persons, and the squandering of Church property by laymen.
The date of A.’s death is unknown, but it certainly occurred before 964, in which year his successor Ingone was already bishop of Vercelli.