The House of Theophylact (the counts of Tusculum) ruled Rome for four generations. A grandson of the founding Theophylact I was Alberic II of Spoleto.
His parents were Alberic I and Marozia (Theophylact’s daughter). Their eldest son, John, was Pope John XI as of 931. (According to Liudprand of Cremona, John was the son of Marozia and her lover, Pope Sergius III.)
Alberic I died when Alberic was young, and Marozia retained power in Rome, marrying a couple more times. According to one historian, Benedict of Soracte, Marozia’s third husband (seen here between the young Alberic and Marozia) intended to have Alberic blinded (disqualifying him from being a ruler). When Alberic found out, he raised a mob that stormed the palace, drove the man out of Rome and imprisoned Marozia,…
The House of Theophylact (the counts of Tusculum) ruled Rome for four generations. A grandson of the founding Theophylact I was Alberic II of Spoleto.
His parents were Alberic I and Marozia (Theophylact’s daughter). Their eldest son, John, was Pope John XI as of 931. (According to Liudprand of Cremona, John was the son of Marozia and her lover, Pope Sergius III.)
Alberic I died when Alberic was young, and Marozia retained power in Rome, marrying a couple more times. According to one historian, Benedict of Soracte, Marozia’s third husband (seen here between the young Alberic and Marozia) intended to have Alberic blinded (disqualifying him from being a ruler). When Alberic found out, he raised a mob that stormed the palace, drove the man out of Rome and imprisoned Marozia, allowing him to rule unencumbered.
His reign from 932 to 954 was peaceful. He styled himself princeps ("prince") of Rome, a title that was twice used in official documents by Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. He controlled Rome firmly, and the popes. When his brother Pope John XI died, Alberic pressured Leo VII to become pope. Leo did not want the position, but Alberic wanted someone pliable. After Leo died (in 939), Pope Stephen VIII succeeded him.
After a number of bishops were involved in an assassination attempt against Alberic, he (it is reported) imprisoned and tortured Stephen. Stephen was succeeded by Pope Marinus II (sometimes called Martin III) on 30 October 942. Marinus favored many monasteries. Alberic was also in favor of restoring monasteries that had been devastated by Muslim attacks. The two got along, but it was said Marinus did nothing with Alberic’s approval.
After Marinus came Pope Agapetus II. Alberic’s hold on the papacy was so complete that in 951 he was able to prevent the coronation of Otto the Great as Holy Roman Emperor (which needed a pope) until after Alberic died.
Before Alberic died in 954, he had made the noble of Rome promise to make his son the next pope. Agapetus was succeeded in 955 by Alberic’s son Octavian, who took the name John XII. Otto the Great was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by John in 964.
Several more popes were descended from or related to Alberic, which means they were descended from Marozia, and we really ought to find out more about her before exploring her descendants. See you tomorrow.