Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People    < Previous Next >

Birth:          ABT  937 
Death:          ABT 30 Apr  971 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Italy
Adalbert (Latin Adalbertus; born 932×936, died 971×975) was the King of Italy from 
950 until 961, ruling jointly with his father, Berengar II. After his deposition, he 
continued to claim the Italian kingdom until his defeat in battle in 965. Since he was 
the second Adalbert in his family, the Anscarids, he is sometimes numbered Adalbert 
II. It is occasionally shortened to Albert (Latin Albertus).

Adalbert was born between 932 and 936, the son of Berengar, then margrave of Ivrea, 
and Willa, daughter of Boso, margrave of Tuscany.[1][2] In 950, he and his father 
were simultaneously elected by the high nobility to succeed Lothar II of Italy. They 
were crowned together in the basilica of Saint Michael in Pavia on 15 December.[1] 
Berengar tried to force Adelaide, widow of Lothair, to marry Adalbert and cement their 
claim to joint kingship. Although later traditions speak of a marriage, in fact Adelaide 
refused to be married and fled to Canossa. She was tracked down and imprisoned for 
four months at Como.[3]

In 951, King Otto I of Germany invaded Italy, forcing the release of Adelaide and 
marrying her himself.[4] He made no effort to depose the kings of Italy, however. 
Instead, Adalbert and Berengar were compelled to attend the Diet of Augsburg in 
Germany in August 952, where Otto formally invested them with the kingdom of Italy, 
thus subjecting the kingdom to Germany. Between 953 and 956, Adalbert and 
Berengar besieged Count Adalbert Azzo of Canossa in his castle, where Adelaide had 
taken refuge in 951.[1] In 956, Duke Liudolf of Swabia, Otto's son, entered Italy with 
a large army to re-assert his father's authority. Adalbert gathered a large force to 
oppose him. He defeated Liudolf, but before the latter could return to Germany he died 
in September 957. Following this victory, Adalbert, assisted by Duke Hugh of Tuscany, 
campaigned against Duke Theobald II of Spoleto. During this campaign his forces 
even encroached on Roman territory in 960.[1]

Thus threatened, Pope John XII asked the king of Germany for help.[5] Otto entered 
Italy in 961, while Adalbert assembled a large army at Verona. According to 
contemporary sources it was 60,000 strong, although this is an obvious exaggeration. 
Many of the leading noble families refused to join in the defence of Italy except on the 
condition that Berengar abdicate in favour of his son. This the elder king refused to 
do, and thus Adalbert was unable to effectively oppose the German invasion. Otto 
proceeded unopposed to Milan, where he was crowned king by Archbishop Walbert in 
November, and from there to Rome, where he was crowned Emperor by the pope on 3 
February 962. Adalbert and Berengar went into hiding.[1]

After his imperial coronation, Otto besieged the various fortresses loyal to Adalbert 
and Berengar. In the fall of 962, Adalbert left Italy and took refuge with the Arabs of 
Fraxinetum in southern Burgundy.[1][5] From there he went to Corsica. From Corsica 
he opened negotiations with John XII, proposing a joint action against Otto. He sailed 
to Italy, landing in Civitavecchia. There he was met by the pope's representatives, 
who escorted him to Rome. Otto, who had forced Berengar to surrender, then marched 
against Rome. After a prefunctory defence, Adalbert and the pope fled.[1]

Adalbert returned to Corsica in his second exile. He did not try to regain Italy again 
until after Otto had returned north of the Alps. When he finally returned in 965, he 
tried to take Pavia, the Italian capital, but was defeated by another Swabian army, 
this time under Duke Burchard III. On 25 June, Burchard defeated him in battle 
between Parma and Piacenza. Fighting alongside Adalbert were his brothers: Conrad, 
count of Milan, who had initially made his peace with Otto, and Guy, margrave of 
Ivrea, who died in the fighting.[1]

Failing in his second attempt to regain his kingdom, Adalbert began a long series of 
negotiations with the Byzantine Empire, which was threatened by Otto's designs on 
southern Italy. When these fell through, he retired with his wife Gerberga to her 
family's estates in Burgundy. Adalbert died at Autun, either on 30 April 971 or between 
972 and 975.[1][2] He had been married to Gerberga, eldest daughter of Count 
Lambert of Chalon, around 956, and they had one son, Otto-William, who succeeded 
to the county of Mācon through marriage to the widow of the previous count. This has 
led some scholars to mistakenly conclude that Gerberga must have been related to the 
counts of Mācon.[6] After Adalbert's death, Gerberga married Henry I, Duke of 
Burgundy.[2] Henry adopted Otto-William and left him the county of Burgundy.[5] 
Otto-William was even offered the Italian crown after the death of Arduin in 1015, 
although he did not accept.[1][2]

Sixteen diplomas issued jointly with his father and three issued by himself alone have 
survived from Adalbert's reign.[1] They have been edited and published.[7] Berengar 
and Adalbert had silver denarii minted at Pavia.[8]

Parents
____ Berenger II ( 908 - 4 Aug  966)
OF ARLES Willa (ABT  918 - AFT  966)

Siblings
____ Adalbert II (ABT  937 - ABT 30 Apr  971)
OF ITALY Rozala (Rosella) (Rosele) (ABT  960 - 1003)

Marriage To OF MACON Gerberge (ABT  938 - )
    m.  956 his 1st

Notes

Parents
DE MACON Lietald II (ABT  910 - 17 Sep  965)
DE TROYES Berta (ABT  915 - BEF  948)

Children by OF MACON Gerberge ABT  938 - 
____ Otto William (Otton I) (ABT  958 - 21 Sep 1026)

Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017