Pope Adrian IV

The papacy of Adrian IV, or Hadrian, born Nicholas Breakspear, and both the first and last Englishman to succeed St. Peter, is recorded in an edition of ‘The Cronycles of Englonde’, printed by Wynkyn de Worde early in the reign of Henry VIII.

Interestingly, in my copy, in the record of his life the word ‘Pope’ has been crossed out, in accordance with orders issued by the government following the Reformation (see illustration). The censor probably had no idea how important Pope Adrian IV was to the history of England and Ireland, as well as being essential to one of the titles Henry himself enjoyed. Henry was King of England and Ireland, the latter thanks to the only English Pope.

A page from ‘The Cronycles of Englonde’ featuring Adrian IV.

As so often with medieval figures, little is known of Adrian's early life, indeed the year of his birth is not recorded, although John Julius Norwich believed him to be 55 on election as Pope, so he would have been born around 1100. For comparison, Thomas Becket was born in 1119 or 1120.

The Chronicle of England recorded that the “common people saith that he was a bondman of the Abbot of St. Albans”. This meant that he was an unfree peasant, essentially a serf who could not leave his manor or marry without his lord's permission, and he owed a labour obligation to his lord as well. Other sources indicate that his father became a monk, which may be how he became a bondman to an abbey or to an abbot.

This penurious and servile start seemed to drive Adrian onwards, as he left St Albans and travelled, thanks to the generosity of almsgivers, to France, where he found menial employment in the house of the Canons Regular of St. Rufus, near Vallence.

Remarkably, he rose to the position of Abbot, but his rule was so strict that the canons complained to Pope Eugenius III, who then made him a Bishop. Possibly the age-old solution of promoting someone who was a problem. Platina, in his history of the papacy, has a slightly different story - that Eugenius rewarded him for converting the Norwegians.