Aribert (or Heribert) ( Italian: ''Ariberto da Intimiano'', Lombard: ''Aribert de Intimian'') ( Intimiano, between 970 and 980 –

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, 16 January 1045) was the archbishop of Milan from 1018, a quarrelsome warrior-bishop in an age in which such figures were not uncommon.

Biography

Aribert went to

Konstanz Konstanz ( , , , ), traditionally known as Constance in English, is a college town, university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the Baden-Württemberg state of south Germany. The city ho ...

in June 1025, with other bishops of

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

, to pay homage to Conrad II of Germany, the beleaguered founder of the

Salian dynasty The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the last Ottonia ...

. There, in exchange for privileges, he agreed to crown Conrad with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, which the magnates had offered to Odo of Blois. This he did, on 26 March 1026, at

, for the traditional seat of Lombard coronations,

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, was still in revolt against imperial authority. He journeyed to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

a year later for the imperial coronation of Conrad by Pope John XIX on 26 March 1027; at a synod at the Lateran he negotiated a decision of the precedence of the archdiocese of Milan over that of Ravenna. He subsequently joined an imperial military expedition into the

Kingdom of Arles The Kingdom of Burgundy, known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles, was a realm established in 933 by the merger of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Burgundy under King Rudolf II. It was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1033 ...

, which Conrad inherited upon the death in 1032 of Rudolph III of Burgundy, but which was contested by Odo. In the political arena of Italy, power was disputed between the great territorial magnates— the ''capitanei''— with their vassal captains and the lesser nobility— the '' valvassores''— allied with the burghers of the Italian communes. Aribert created enemies among the lower nobility, against whom he perpetrated the worst acts of violence, and with the metropolitan of

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, whose episcopal rights, along with those of the smaller sees, he ignored. A revolt soon engulfed northern Italy and, at Aribert's request, Conrad's son, the Emperor Henry III, travelled south of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

in the winter of 1036/37, to quell it. The Emperor, however, took the position of champion of the ''valvassores'' and demanded that Aribert should make a defence against charges brought against him, but Aribert refused, on the grounds that he was the emperor's equal. His consequent arrest provoked the rebellion of the anti-Imperial faction of the Milanese, seen by 19th-century historians as fiercely patriotic. Aribert had soon escaped his imprisonment and was leading the revolt from Milan. The Emperor found himself unable to take Milan by siege and proceeded to Rome, where his diplomatic skills succeeded in isolating Aribert from his erstwhile allies, notably through his famous decree of 28 May 1037, securing the tenancy of lesser vassals, both imperial and ecclesiastical. The Emperor took the step of deposing the fighting archbishop, and John's successor

Pope Benedict IX Pope Benedict IX (; ), born Theophylactus of Tusculum in Rome, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States for three periods between October 1032 and July 1048 (1032–1044; 1045; 1047–1048). Aged about 20 when first elected, he may h ...

excommunicated Aribert in March 1038. That year, he held up the Carroccio as the symbol of Milan and soon it was the symbol of all the Tuscan cities as far as Rome. Aribert ended his episcopacy in relative peace, having agreed to cease hostilities with Henry, at

Ingelheim Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein (), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen Districts of Germany, district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's left bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat sin ...

in 1040, reconciled with him and obtained the revocation of his excommunication.

The cross of Aribert

The tomb of Aribert is located in the first span of the right aisle of

Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( ; ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, Nativity of St. Mary (), it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdi ...

. The archbishop's sarcophagus is surmounted by a copy of the famous crucifix in gilded copper foil (the original is located in the museum of Milan Cathedral) originally donated by Aribert to the monastery of San Dionigi, a convent which was later demolished in 1783. A reproduction of the cross of Aribert is also one of the symbols of victory at the Palio di Legnano. The historical re-enactment takes place every year on the last Sunday of May and concludes with a horse race between the eight ''contrade'' Legnanesi:D'Ilario, p. 337. the contrada winner of the competition exposes the cross for a whole year in its own church of reference until the next edition of the prize.

Notes

References

* (In Italian) Giorgio D'Ilario, Egidio Gianazza, Augusto Marinoni, Marco Turri, ''Profilo storico della città di Legnano'', Edizioni Landoni, 1984.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aribert 1045 deaths 11th-century archbishops 11th-century Italian clergy Archbishops of Milan People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Year of birth unknown