Adalbert (born 932/936, died 971/975) was the
king of Italy
King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...
from 950 until 961, ruling jointly with his father,
Berengar II
Berengar II ( 900 – 4 August 966) was the King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as Marg ...
. After their deposition, Adalbert continued to claim the
Italian kingdom until his defeat in battle by the forces of
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
in 965. Since he was the second Adalbert in his family, the
Anscarids
The Anscarids ( la, Anscarii) or the House of Ivrea were a medieval dynasty of Frankish origin which rose to prominence in Northern Italy in the tenth century, even briefly holding the Italian throne. The main branch ruled the County of Burgun ...
, he is sometimes numbered Adalbert II. His name is occasionally, especially in older works, shortened to Albert.
Accession
Adalbert was born between 932 and 936, the son of
Berengar Berengar is a masculine name derived from Germanic roots meaning "bear" and "spear". The name appears frequently among certain noble families during the Middle Ages, especially the Unruochings and those related. Bérenger is the French form, while B ...
, then
margrave of Ivrea
The March of Ivrea was a large frontier county (march) in the northwest of the medieval Italian kingdom from the late 9th to the early 11th century. Its capital was Ivrea in present-day Piedmont, and it was held by a Burgundian family of margr ...
, and
Willa Willa is a feminine given name. Notable people and characters with the name include:
* Willa or Guilla of Provence (died before 924), early medieval Frankish queen
* Willa of Tuscany (died 970), queen consort of Berengar II of Italy
* Willa Brown ( ...
, daughter of
Boso,
margrave of Tuscany
The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region.
Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface
:These were origin ...
.
[Gina Fasoli]
"Adalberto, re d'Italia"
''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', vol. 1 (Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 1960).[Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', vol. 2 (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), table 59.] In 950, he and his father were simultaneously elected by the high nobility to succeed King
Lothar II of Italy
Lothair II (926/8 – 22 November 950), often ''Lothair of Arles'', was the King of Italy from 947 to his death. He was of the noble Frankish lineage of the Bosonids, descended from Boso the Elder. His father and predecessor was Hugh of Proven ...
. They were crowned together in the
basilica of Saint Michael
The Basilica of Saint Michael ( sq, Bazilika e Shën Mëhillit) is a former basilica dedicated to Saint Michael, located in Arapaj, Durrës. Its ruins have been declared a Cultural Monument of Albania, Cultural Monument of Albania. The Basilica of ...
in
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...
on 15 December.
[ Berengar tried to force Lothair's widow, ]Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, to marry Adalbert and cement their claim to joint kingship. Although later traditions speak of a marriage, Adelaide refused to be married and fled to Canossa
Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his excom ...
. She was tracked down and imprisoned for four months at Como
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
.
German invasion
In 951, King Otto I of Germany
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henr ...
invaded Italy, forcing the release of Adelaide and marrying her himself. He made no effort to depose the kings of Italy, however. Instead, Adalbert and Berengar were compelled to attend the Diet of Augsburg in Germany in August 952, where Otto formally invested them with the kingdom of Italy, thus subjecting the kingdom to Germany. Between 953 and 956, Adalbert and Berengar besieged Count Adalbert Azzo of Canossa in his castle, where Adelaide had taken refuge in 951.[ In 956, Duke ]Liudolf of Swabia
Liudolf ( – 6 September 957), a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Swabia from 950 until 954. His rebellion in 953/54 led to a major crisis of the rising German kingdom.
Liudolf was the only son of the Saxon duke Otto the Great, son a ...
, Otto's son, entered Italy with a large army to re-assert his father's authority. Adalbert gathered a large force to oppose him. He defeated Liudolf, but before the latter could return to Germany he died in September 957. Following this victory, Adalbert, assisted by Duke Hugh of Tuscany
Hugh ( la, Ugo, Hugo; 953/4 – 21 December 1001), called the Great, was the Margrave of Tuscany from 969 until his death in 1001, and the Duke of Spoleto and Margrave of Camerino from 989 to 996 (as "Hugh II"). He was known for his restoration ...
, campaigned against Duke Theobald II of Spoleto Theobald II (923/925 – July 957/961 or 964) was the Duke of Spoleto and Margrave of Camerino from 953. He was the son of Boniface II of Spoleto and Waldrada.
In 959, Berengar and Guy of Ivrea led an expedition against Theobald. They defeated ...
. During this campaign his forces even encroached on Roman territory in 960.[
]Pope John XII
Pope John XII ( la, Ioannes XII; c. 930/93714 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had do ...
asked the king of Germany for help against Adalbert.[Constance Brittain Bouchard, ''Sword, Miter, and Cloister; Nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980–1198'' (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2009 987, pp. 33, 265, 267 and 310.] Otto entered Italy in 961, while Adalbert assembled a large army at Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
. According to contemporary sources it was 60,000 strong, although this is an obvious exaggeration. Many of the leading noble families refused to join in the defence of Italy except on the condition that Berengar abdicate in favour of his son. This the elder king refused to do, and thus Adalbert was unable to effectively oppose the German invasion. Otto proceeded unopposed to Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, where he was crowned king by Archbishop Walbert in November, and from there to Rome, where he was crowned emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
by the pope on 3 February 962. Adalbert and Berengar went into hiding.[
]
Exile
After his imperial coronation, Otto besieged the various fortresses loyal to Adalbert and Berengar. In the fall of 962, Adalbert left Italy and took refuge with the Arabs of Fraxinetum
Fraxinetum or Fraxinet ( ar, فرخشنيط, translit=Farakhshanīt or , from Latin ''fraxinus'': "ash tree", ''fraxinetum'': "ash forest") was the site of a Muslim fortress in Provence between about 887 and 972. It is identified with modern ...
in southern Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
. From there he went to Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
. From Corsica he opened negotiations with John XII, proposing a joint action against Otto. He sailed to Italy, landing in Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...
. There he was met by the pope's representatives, who escorted him to Rome. Otto, who had forced Berengar to surrender, then marched against Rome. After a perfunctory defence, Adalbert and the pope fled.[
Adalbert returned to Corsica in his second exile. He did not try to regain Italy again until after Otto had returned north of the Alps. When he finally returned in 965, he tried to take Pavia, the Italian capital, but was defeated by another Swabian army, this time under Duke Burchard III. On 25 June, Burchard defeated him in battle between ]Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
and Piacenza
Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...
. Fighting alongside Adalbert were his brothers: Conrad, count of Milan, who had initially made his peace with Otto, and Guy, margrave of Ivrea, who died in the fighting.[
Failing in his second attempt to regain his kingdom, Adalbert began a long series of negotiations with the ]Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, which was threatened by Otto's designs on southern Italy. When these fell through, he retired with his wife Gerberga to her family's estates in Burgundy. Adalbert died at Autun
Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...
, either on 30 April 971 or between 972 and 975. From his marriage, Adalbert had one son, Otto-William, born at the latest in 962 (the marriage must have been contracted before), who succeeded to the county of Mâcon through marriage to the widow of the previous count. This has led some scholars to mistakenly conclude that Gerberga must have been related to the counts of Mâcon. After Adalbert's death, Gerberga married Henry I, Duke of Burgundy
Henry I (946 – 15 October 1002), called the Great, was Duke of Burgundy from 965 to his death and Count of Nevers through his first marriage. He is sometimes known as Odo-Henry or Otto-Henry (in French ''Eudes-Henri''), since his birth name was ...
. Henry adopted Otto-William making him a possible heir of the Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...
. Otto-William was even offered the Italian crown after the death of Arduin
''Arduin'' is a fictional universe and fantasy role-playing system created in the mid-1970s by David A. Hargrave. It was the first published "cross-genre" fantasy RPG, with everything from interstellar wars to horror and historical drama, altho ...
in 1015, although he did not accept.
Sixteen diplomas issued jointly with his father and three issued by himself alone have survived from Adalbert's reign.[ They have been edited and published.][L. Schiaparelli, "I diplomi di Ugo e di Lotario, di Berengario II e di Adalbert", ''Fonti per la Storia d'Italia'', 38 (Rome: 1924), pp. 291–347.] Berengar and Adalbert had silver ''denarii
The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very sm ...
'' minted at Pavia.[J. G. Pfister, "On a Very Rare Silver Coin (''denaro d'argento'') of Berengarius II., King of Italy, with His Son Albertus (Adalbertus) as Coregent, A.D. 950–962", ''The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Numismatic Society'', vol. 18 (1855–56), pp. 57–75.]
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adalbert of Italy
930s births
970s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain
10th-century kings of Italy
Anscarids