Overview

The first biography in over a century of Adrian IV, the only English pope in the history of the Catholic Church. Nicholas Breakspear has been overlooked for centuries, even though his achievements outshone those of his contemporary, the martyr Thomas Becket. Born in poverty and probably illegitimate, Breakspear rose to become the only Englishman to ascend the throne of Saint Peter, ruling over the papal states as Adrian IV. His life is not a tale of liturgy or sermons, and there are more cannons than canons, as Breakspear faced fighting in Scandinavia and the Second Crusade in Spain. He was immediately thrust into conflicts upon his election as pope in 1154. First, he had to overcome the rebellious republicans of Rome before defending his Church against armed threats from the Norman King William of Sicily, the Byzantine Emperor Comnenus and finally the German King Frederick Barbossa, intent on restoring the former glories of the Holy Roman Empire. Breakspear saved his Church from German domination, but his legacy is contested. There was a papal schism on his death, while many blame him for allowing Henry II's subjugation of Ireland in 1171. For the first time in over 100 years, R. A. J. Waddingham returns to the evidence in chronicles and medieval manuscripts to tell the whole story of Breakspear's remarkable journey through twelfth-century Europe. AUTHOR: R. A. J. Waddingham is a retired consulting actuary and an Honorary Fellow of Royal Holloway, University of London. He was awarded a CBE in the Birthday Honours of 2012 for services to pensions. In 2019 he completed a Graduate Certificate in Historical Research, with merit, at Birkbeck, University of London. 12 colour illustrations

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A charmingly readable account of a remarkable pope - and an English one at that -- Simon Jenkins, author of <i>Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals</i> This fluent and engaging history brings to life the only pope thus far to hail from these lands - surely one of English history's most neglected characters - an impressive and absorbing book -- Jonathan Phillips, Professor of History of the Crusades at Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of <i>The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin</i>

A charmingly readable account of a remarkable pope - and an English one at that -- Simon Jenkins, author of <i>Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals</i>

A charmingly readable account of a remarkable pope – and an English one at that -- Simon Jenkins, author of <i>Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals</i> ‘… an informative and enjoyable account of the life of one of England’s “illustrious but neglected son[s]”’ - Catholic Herald 'In R. A. J. Waddingham's company we can follow Nicholas Breakspear's remarkable journey with pleasure and profit.' - Times Literary Supplement 'R. A. J Waddingham provides a compelling account of Nicholas Breakspear's remarkable journey from obscure origins to the very top of the medieval Church.' - Church Times '... one of those rare non-fiction books that is readable from cover to cover.' - The Historian

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R. A. J. WADDINGHAM is a retired consulting actuary and an Honorary Fellow of Royal Holloway, University of London. He was awarded a CBE in the Birthday Honours of 2012 for services to pensions. In 2019 he completed a Graduate Certificate in Historical Research, with merit, at Birkbeck, University of London

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