Adami Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiæ pontificum, ed. Lappenberg, Mon. Germ., SS. VII, 267; Giesebrecht, Deutsche Kaiserzeit, III; Wattenbach, Geschichtsquellen, II, 63; Pastor in Kirchenlex., s. v.
Adalbert I (or Albert), Archbishop of Mainz (Mayence) 1111 to 1137. He was of the family of the Counts of Saarbrücken, and under both Henry IV and Henry V of Germany he held the office of imperial chancellor, discharging his duties with energy and skill. In 1110, as head of an embassy sent to Rome to arrange for the coronation of Henry V as Emperor (crowned king 6 January, 1099), he had much to do with bringing about the Treaty of Sutri, in which advantage was taken of the character of Pope Paschal II, formerly Abbot of Cluny, who was a saintly man, but no diplomat. A disagreement arising regarding the treaty, Henry subjected the Pope to a harsh imprisonment of two months. Fearing schism, the Pope finally granted Henry the privilege of conferring the ring and staff on bishops, providing they were elected by papal consent, and soon after he crowned Henry in St. Peter's at Rome (1111). Henry, according to compact, named Adalbert Archbishop of Mainz in reward for his part in the shameful intrigue against the Supreme Pontiff. From the day when, as Archbishop elect, he received the insignia of his office, Adalbert become a changed man. Whether this marvellous change was due to a realization of his sacred duties or to an awakening to the sacrilegious injustice of Henry's conduct at Rome, we cannot say. At any rate the ex-chancellor, lately so blindly zealous for the Emperor in right or wrong, became henceforth a brave and loyal defender of the Church and the Pope. In 1112 Henry V was excommunicated, and Adalbert fearlessly promulgated the sentence; whereupon the enraged Emperor cast him into a dark dungeon. After three years of cruel imprisonment had reduced him to a mere skeleton, the people of Mainz, rising in a body, forced Henry to release him. The episcopal consecration, delayed by his confinement, was then received at the hands of Otto, Bishop of Bamberg (1115). Later, when, under Pope Calixtus II, Adalbert was made a legate, Henry seized some pretext for attacking Mainz, whereupon Adalbert aroused the Saxon princes to arms. The two armies met, but arbitration prevented a battle. As a result, the Council of Worms (1122) was finally held, bringing to a close the long strife regarding Investitures. In 1125 Henry V was on his deathbed, and being without male issue sent the imperial insignia to his wife Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England. The politic Adalbert, ever on the alert to ward off any danger of a schism, induced Matilda to return the insignia, and called an assembly of princes, who chose as Henry's successor Lothair II the Saxon, afterwards crowned Emperor in Rome by Pope Innocent II (1133). Thus the Empire passed from the house of Franconia to that of Saxony, which had so long proved itself loyal to the cause of Rome. Adalbert died in 1137, having atoned for his early injustice by long years of faithful and efficient service in all that touched the interests of truth and the welfare of the Church.
Rohrbacher, Hist. de l'église, XV; Will, in Kirchenlex., I, 194. Idem, Regesten zür Gesch. der Mainzer Erzb. (Innsbruck, 1877), I; Huperz, De Adelberto Archiep. Mogunt. (Münster, 1855).
Adalbert, Saint, apostle of the Slavs, probably a native of Lorraine, d. 981. He was a German monk who was consecrated bishop and sent to establish Christianity in Russia in 961. His mission was the result of a request of the princess Olga who, having appealed in vain to the court of Constantinople for someone to evangelize her people, besought the German Emperor Otho, who sent Adalbert and a number of priests to begin the work. Russia was then in a state of barbarism, and the missionaries were attacked on the way, some of the priests being killed. Adalbert barely escaping with his life. Returning to Germany, he was made Abbot of Weissenburg in Alsace, and in the following year became Bishop of the new see of Magdeburg, which was erected for the purpose of dealing especially with the Slavs. Magdeburg became one of the great bishoprics of the country, the chief one in the North, and ranking with Cologne, Mainz, and Trier. Adalbert was made Metropolitan of the Slavs, and established among them the sees of Naumburg, Meissen, Merseburg, Brandenburg, Havelberg, and Posen. The Pope appointed two legates to assist him in his apostolate. He governed his church until his death in 981.
Acta SS., 5 June.
Adalbert, Saint, b. 939 of a noble Bohemian family; d. 997. He assumed the name of the Archbishop Adalbert (his name had been Wojtech). under whom he studied at Magdeburg. He became Bishop of Prague, whence he was obliged to flee on account of the enmity he had aroused by his efforts to reform the clergy of his diocese. He betook himself to Rome, and when released by Pope John XV from his episcopal obligations, withdrew to a monastery and occupied himself in the most humble duties of the house. Recalled by his people, who received him with great demonstrations of joy, he was nevertheless expelled a second time and returned to Rome. The people of Hungary were just then turning towards Christianity. Adalbert went among them as a missionary and probably baptized King Geysa and his family, and King Stephen. He afterwards evangelized the Poles, and was made Archbishop of Gnesen. But he again relinquished his see, and set out to preach to the idolatrous inhabitants of what is now the Kingdom of Prussia. Success attended his efforts at first, but his imperious manner in commanding them to abandon paganism irritated them, and at the instigation of one of the pagan priests he was killed. This was in the year 997. His feast is celebrated 23 April, and he is called the Apostle of Prussia. Boleslas I. Prince of Poland, is said to have ransomed his body for an equivalent weight of gold. He is thought to be the author of the war-song, "Boga-Rodzica", which the Poles used to sing when going to battle.
Acta SS., 3 April; Michaud. Biog. Univ., 139.
Adalbert Diaconus, Saint. See Ethelbert.
Ad Apostolicæ Dignitatis Apicem.—Apostolic letter issued against Emperor Frederick II by Pope Innocent IV (1243–54), during the Council of Lyons, 17 July, 1245, the third year of his pontificate. The letter sets forth that Innocent, desiring to have peace restored to those parts which were then distracted by dissensions, sent for that purpose three legates to Frederick as the chief author of those evils, pointed out the way to peace, and promised that he would do his own part to restore it. Frederick agreed to terms of peace, which he swore to observe, but which he at once violated. The letter then sets forth the crimes of which Frederick was guilty. It accuses him of perjury; of contempt for the spiritual authority of the Roman Pontiff, by disregarding the excommunication pronounced against him and by compelling others to do so; of invading pontifical territory; of having broken the terms of peace made with Pope Gregory, and which he swore to keep; of oppressing the Church in Sicily; of having taken, persecuted, and done to death bishops and others who were on their way to Rome for a council which he himself had asked to be convoked; of having incurred suspicion of heresy for treating a papal excommunication with contempt; of having
