Adrian IV (1100-1159)

Adrian IV (pope, 1154-1159) was born Nicholas Breakspear in or near the burg of St. Albans in 1100, the only Englander to have been elected to the papacy. He studied at St. Alban's and in France, becoming abbot of the Canons of St. Rufus near Avignon. Pope Eugene III made him a cardinal and sent him as legate to Norway, where he distinguished himself as an organiser.

While pope, he was in constant trouble with Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who desired to revive ancient imperial supremacy at the expense of the papacy. An attempt was made to enter into an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I, but the effort came to nothing. Adrian thereafter looked to the Normans of southern Italy for assistance, but died before the differences reached the acute stage. Legend has it that Adrian empowered Henry II to conquer Eire.

During his pontificate and following his death, the state of politics in Rome had descended into a state of heresy and the desire to reorganise the Papal States as a republic. Though Pope Alexander III was named as Adrian's successor, a subsequent election of an anti-pope initiated a 22-year schism.