(From Serafini, Monete e Bolle Pontificale)
ADRIANO III, pope - Silver denarius.
He refused to grant permission to ecclesiastics who wished to appeal to Rome. From that moment the alliance between the Holy See and the Normans remained unaltered and provoked the anger of the emperor. For this and for various other reasons of a jurisdictional nature, Frederick Barbarossa soon changed his original attitude toward the Pope and ended up in open conflict with him; the most significant episode was that of the incident involving the papal legates present at the court of Besançon to remind the sovereign of the numerous “benefits” received by the Church. This word was misinterpreted by the noble officials, jealous guardians of sovereign honor, but then, through the efforts of those who wished to maintain good relations between the two authorities, a settlement of the dispute was reached. It was the Pope who yielded, also because the German clergy had written to him declaring itself in agreement with the emperor; however, occasions to resume the struggle were not lacking. When Frederick descended into Italy in 1158, he held a great diet at Roncaglia, where, among other things, he reaffirmed his rights over Corsica, which was papal territory, and imposed tributes even on the lands of the Church, claiming possession of various cities. To the papal protests the emperor replied fiercely, asserting that his sovereignty over Rome should not remain a mere name and issuing threats. Since an attempt at arbitration had failed, Barbarossa looked favorably on the Roman democrats, who were always hostile to the Pope, and the latter allied himself with the Lombard communes in conflict with the emperor. The war, now inevitable, was instead averted by the sudden death of A. at Anagni on 10 Sept. 1159. The age-old conflict, given the lofty moral stature of the two adversaries, had now reached its critical moment, which derived its rationale from the very organization of medieval society.
In 1156 Henry II of England sent an embassy to A. to ask his permission to conquer Ireland; it was an indiscreet request inasmuch as, by granting it, the Pope would have justified an aggression. If the reply bull that has come down to us is authentic, A. would have imposed various conditions for the undertaking and would not have admitted the hereditary possession of the island by the English kings. Yet the expedition took place only much later.
A. continued the work of his predecessors aimed at centralizing ever more the bureaucratic structure of the Curia and for this reason granted numerous privileges and exemptions to monasteries to bind them to the Holy See. He was a vigorous and wise Pontiff, as well as eloquent, charitable, and virtuous.