Lambert (died 19 June 931) was the
archbishop of Milan from his ordination on 5 October 921 until his death. He was related to two prior archbishops:
Andrea da Canziano (died 906) and
Garimpert, his father and predecessor, who involved him in the administration of the diocese before 921.
Lambert, along with Marquis
Adalbert I of Ivrea and Count
Giselbert of Bergamo Giselbert is the name of:
* Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine (c. 890 – 939), also known as ''Giselbert''
* Giselbert I of Roussillon (d. 1013 or 1014)
* Giselbert II of Roussillon (d. 1102)
* Giselbert, Count of Clermont (d. after 1097)
* Giselbert va ...
, led a rebellion against King
Berengar I
Berengar I ( la, Berengarius, Perngarius; it, Berengario; – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887. He was Holy Roman Emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friu ...
in 921, sparking a long civil war over the
Italian throne. The rebels gathered an army outside
Brescia, but Berengar surprised them and took many prisoners. Berengar's use of
Hungarians as troops raised great indignation and the rebels offered the throne to King
Rudolf II of Burgundy
Rudolph II (c. 11 July 880 – 11 July 937), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was King of Burgundy from 912 until his death. He initially succeeded in Upper Burgundy and also ruled as King of Italy from 922 to 926. In 933 Rudolph acquired the ...
. Lambert sent troops to the
Battle of Firenzuola (29 July 923), where Rudolf established himself on the Italian throne.
[Valerie Eads, "Firenzuola, Battle of", in ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology'' (Oxford University Press, 2010), vol. 1, pp. 51–52.]
When northern Italy was devastated by
Hungarian raids in 925, while Rudolf was in Burgundy, Lambert and several other high-profile supporters of Rudolf defected. On their behalf, Lambert offered the crown to Count
Hugh of Arles
Hugh (c. 880–947), known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until his death. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to estab ...
.
[ Liutprand of Cremona; Paolo Squatriti, trans., "Retribution", in ''The Complete Works of Liudprand of Cremona'' (Catholic University of America Press, 2007), pp. 115–17.]
When in 926 Duke
Burchard II of Swabia
Burchard II (883/88429 April 926) was the Hunfriding Duke of Swabia (from 917) and Count of Raetia. He was the son of Burchard I of Swabia and Liutgard of Saxony.
Burchard took part in the early wars over Swabia. His family being from Franconi ...
invaded Italy in support of Rudolf, Lambert invited him to Milan while secretly arranging his ambush. He even allowed him to hunt deer in his private hunting preserve. Burchard was then attacked and killed by the
Pavians on the road from
Novara to
Ivrea on 29 April 926.
[
Lambert died on 19 June 931 and was buried in the '']Basilica Vetus
Santa Maria Maggiore, called the ''basilica vetus'' (old basilica) or ''basilica minor'' (minor basilica), was a church in Milan, established in 313, which served as co-cathedral alongside Santa Tecla until it was torn down after 1386 to make ro ...
''. He was succeeded by Hilduin
Hilduin (c. 785 – c. 855) was Bishop of Paris, chaplain to Louis I, reforming Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, and author. He was one of the leading scholars and administrators of the Carolingian Empire.
Background
Hilduin was from a pr ...
, the exiled bishop of Liège, a relative and appointee of Hugh.[Liutprand, "Retribution", p. 132.]
References
{{Authority control
Date of birth unknown
931 deaths
Archbishops of Milan