ADALBERONE, archbishop of REIMS. - Of the family of the counts of Ardenne, he was a Benedictine and abbot of Gorze and then canon of Metz, until, in 969, thanks to Lothair, king of France, he became archbishop of Reims, at that time the most important diocese in France.
In order to improve the condition of his clergy, he built and restored several monasteries, defending their rights even by force. A patron of the arts, he also took great care of his cathedral school, at the head of which, in 972, he appointed the most learned Gerberto (later Pope Silvestro II). Because of the importance and geographical position of his archiepiscopal see (between two kingdoms), he occupied one of the foremost places in the civil history of his time, amid the disputes between the emperors Ottone II and III and the kings of France Lotario and Lodovico V. In 978, through his influence, Ugo Capeto, duke of Paris and head of a new dynasty, was recognized by the diet of Noyon as king of France. A. died on 23 Jan. 989.