Nicholas Breakspear, Adrian IV: Englishman and Pope

by Alfred Henry Tarleton

Making History. The Home of 99p/99c History Books.

In 1120, a young man approached the Abbot of St. Albans hoping to be taken on as a monk.

He was rejected.

Thirty years later, he had become the most powerful man in Christendom.

This man was Nicholas Breakspear, the only Englishman ever to become pope.

After his rejection from St. Albans, he made his way to France, joining a monastery there and beginning his remarkable career in the clergy.

Soon made Abbot, he regularly battled the monks under his command as he tried to enforce his strict discipline.

During one of these conflicts he caught the attention of Pope Eugenius III, who appointed him as cardinal.

He soon became one of the most trusted advisers of the Pope and was sent on a mission to the Scandinavian kingdoms – a region that had not entirely divested itself of the vestiges of paganism.

When Pope Anastasius IV died in 1154, Breakspear was his logical successor.

He took the name Adrian IV.

During his short reign as Pope, he was beset by challenges from all sides.

Heretics such as Arnold of Brescia threatened to undermine his spiritual authority while the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, sought to extend his power deep into Italy.

Meanwhile, Henry II of England sought to pull on his loyalties as an Englishman to grant him the right to invade Ireland.

Throughout all these challenges, he kept a cool head and was unwavering in his determination to see justice done.

The church could not have hoped for a stronger defender than Nicholas Breakspear.

Carefully researched and drawing upon a comprehensive array of primary documents, Alfred Tarleton has provided a brilliant biography of this most unusual figure.

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 8, 2015

About the author

1862-1921.

A Captain in the Royal navy in WWI.

Also published 'About Deptford' in 1897.