Alberic I (died c. 925) was the Lombard Duke of Spoleto from between 896 and 900 until 920, 922, or thereabouts. He was also Margrave of Camerino, and the son-in-law of Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum, the most powerful man in Rome.
He first appears as a page to Guy III of Spoleto at the Battle on the Trebbia in 889. He may have later been the count of Fermo, but whatever the case, he succeeded to Spoleto after murdering Duke Guy IV. [1]
He was recognised soon by King Berengar I, with whom he fought the Magyars in 899 or 900.
Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, in the Alban Hills southeast of Rome served as palatine iudex (or leader of the militia) [2] for Emperor Louis III. He remained in Rome, commanding a group of soldiers after the emperor's return to Provence in 902, and was prominent in the overthrow of Antipope Christopher in January 904. Together with Alberic, they secured the succession of Pope Sergius III. Under Sergius, Theophylact became both sacri palatii vestararius and magister militum. As the first oversaw appointments, and the second supervised the soldiers, Theophylact had effective control of the city. [3] Theophylact was married to Theodora. They had two daughters: Marozia and Theodora. In 909, Marozia married Alberic. This alliance with the Tusculani was very advantageous, and he received the title of "patrician of the Romans," patricius Romanorum.
Although Alberic was a supporter of Pope Sergius, around 906, when the Pope agreed to crown Berengar Holy Roman Emperor, Alberic allied with his neighbour, Adalbert II, margrave of Tuscany. Together their combined forces blocked the road, preventing Berengar from reaching Rome.
Alberic was margrave of Camerino, [4] and Duke of Spoleto. [4] He was one of the leaders of the Christian League which defeated the Saracens at the Battle of the Garigliano in June 915. [5] He led his troops from Spoleto and Camerino with those of Theophylact of Tusculum to join with Pope John X—and his contingent from Latium and Adalbert of Tuscany—and Nicholas Picingli, the strategos of Bari, leading the Byzantine forces and Lombard and Greek princes of the South: Guaimar II of Salerno, Landulf I of Benevento, Atenulf II of Capua, John I and the later Docibilis II of Gaeta, and Gregory IV and the later John II of Naples. Even Berengar sent a contingent from the March of Friuli. The battle went famously and many a petty prince received titles of great honour. Alberic was appointed the "consul of the Romans" in 917.
He became, however, a tyrant in the Eternal City and people and pope expelled him. He was subsequently murdered in Orte between 924 or 926, probably because of his reliance on marauding Hungarians who supported his power. The dates of his downfall and death are as uncertain as those of his rise. He last appears in a datable document of 917, the Liber largitorius of Farfa Abbey. He had four or five sons by Marozia:
In addition, they had at least one daughter who was used to attempt a marriage alliance with the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos by marrying her to one of his sons, either Stephen Lekapenos or Constantine Lekapenos. [6] [7]
Liutprand of Cremona says that Marozia's first son, who later became Pope John XI, was illegitimate, and the result of an affair with Pope Sergius. Subsequent commentators have repeated this report. Edward Gibbon says that the birth of John in 910, after her marriage to Alberic, would seem to indicate that Sergius was not the father. [8] Horace Mann says that the report "...must be regarded as highly doubtful," and are assertions only made by bitter or ill-informed adversaries, and inconsistent with what is said by reliable contemporaries. [9]
Pope Agapetus II was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 May 946 to his death. A nominee of the princeps of Rome, Alberic II of Spoleto, his pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculum obscurum.
Pope Stephen VIII was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 14 July 939 to his death. His pontificate occurred during the Saeculum obscurum, when the power of popes was diminished by the ambitious counts of Tusculum, and was marked by the conflict between his patron, Alberic II of Spoleto, and King Hugh of Italy.
Pope Sergius III was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 29 January 904 to his death. He was pope during a period of violence and disorder in central Italy, when warring aristocratic factions sought to use the material and military resources of the papacy. At the behest of Theophylact I of Tusculum, Sergius seized the papal throne from Antipope Christopher, who in turn had deposed Pope Leo V. Sergius' reign was subsequently marked by Theophylact's influence. As pope, Sergius continued many ecclesiastical controversies of his predecessors, including conflict over Pope Formosus' legacy, annulling all ordinations made by the late pope, and the filioque controversy with eastern patriarchs. His pontificate was similarly marked by temporal conflicts, with Sergius' refusal to crown Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor, and his support of Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise's fourth marriage. Sergius also saw the restoration of the Lateran Palace.
Pope Leo V was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from July 903 to his death in February 904. He was pope immediately before the period known as the Saeculum obscurum, when popes wielded little temporal authority.
Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza, was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles senatrix ("senatoress") and patricia of Rome by Pope John X.
Pope John XII, 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 dominated papal politics for over half a century. He became pope in his late teenage years or early twenties. In 960, he clashed with the Lombards to the south. Unable to control Rome easily, he sought help from King Otto I of Germany and crowned him emperor. John XII's pontificate became infamous for the alleged depravity and worldliness with which he conducted his office. He soon fell out with Otto, but died before Otto could succeed in his attempt to depose him.
Pope John XI was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 931 to his death. The true ruler of Rome at the time was his mother, Marozia, followed by his brother Alberic II. His pontificate occurred during the period known as Saeculum obscurum.
Pope John X was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, and was instrumental in the defeat of the Saracens at the Battle of Garigliano. He eventually fell out with Marozia, who had him deposed, imprisoned, and finally murdered. John’s pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculum obscurum.
Saeculum obscurum, also known as the Pornocracy or the Rule of the Harlots, was a period in the history of the papacy during the first two thirds of the 10th century, following the chaos after the death of Pope Formosus in 896 which saw seven or eight papal elections in as many years. It began with the installation of Pope Sergius III in 904 and lasted for 60 years until the death of Pope John XII in 964. During this period, the popes were influenced strongly by a powerful and allegedly corrupt aristocratic family, the Theophylacti, and their relatives and allies. The era is seen as one of the lowest points of the history of the papal office.
The Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto.
Theophylact I was a medieval count of Tusculum who was the effective ruler of Rome from around 905 through to his death in 924. His descendants controlled the papacy for the next 100 years.
Theodora was a senatrix and serenissima vestaratrix of Rome. Theodora was married to Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum. The couple shared effective rulership of Rome between 905 and her death in 916.
Lambert was the King of Italy from 891, Holy Roman Emperor, co-ruling with his father from 892, and Duke of Spoleto and Camerino from his father's death in 894. He was the son of Guy III of Spoleto and Ageltrude, born in San Rufino. He was the last ruler to issue a capitulary in the Carolingian tradition.
Guy III of Spoleto was the Margrave of Camerino from 880 and then Duke of Spoleto and Camerino from 883. He was crowned King of Italy in 889 and emperor in 891. He died in 894 while fighting for control of the Italian Peninsula.
The Battle of Garigliano was fought in 915 between Christian forces and the Saracens. Pope John X personally led the Christian forces into battle. The aim was to destroy the Arab fortress on the Garigliano River, which had threatened central Italy and the outskirts of Rome for nearly 30 years.
Guy was the son of Adalbert II of Tuscany with Bertha, daughter of Lothair II of Lotharingia.
Gregory I was the Count of Tusculum sometime between 954 and 1012. Consul et dux 961, vir illustrissimus 980, praefectus navalis 999. He was the son of Alberic II, and Alda of Vienne. His half-brother was Pope John XII.
Alberic III was the Count of Tusculum, along with Galeria, Preneste, and Arce, from 1024, when his brother the count Roman was elected Pope John XIX, until his own death. He was a son of Gregory I and Maria, brother of Popes Benedict VIII and John XIX, and brother-in-law of Thrasimund III of Spoleto.
The Tusculan Papacy was a period of papal history from 1012 to 1048 where three successive relatives of the counts of Tusculum were installed as pope.
The Synod of Rome (963) was a possibly uncanonical synod held in St. Peter's Basilica from 6 November until 4 December 963, under the authority of the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I to depose Pope John XII. The events of the synod were recorded by Liutprand of Cremona.