LAMBERTO of HERSFELD. — Benedictine monk and historian. At about 25 years of age he entered the monastery of Hersfeld and probably directed its school. In 1070 he went to the abbeys of Saalfeld and Siegburg to study the institutions and rites of the new monks who had come from Fruttuaria with Archbishop Anno.
Driven by love for his monastery, which he defended against many adversaries, between 1063 and 1073 he wrote the life of its founder, Lull, archbishop of Mainz, and a lost work.
While Abbot Hartvico and his monks favored Emperor Henry IV, L., after the election of Rudolf of Swabia, wrote his *Annales*, with the intention of proving the just deposition of Henry and the legitimate election of Rudolf. Because of this bias, the *Annales* lose some of their value, but they remain a valuable source, especially for the early years of the pontificate of Gregory VII; they extend indeed only to 1077.
LAMBERTO, king of Italy, emperor. — Son of Guy II, duke of Spoleto, and of Ageltrude, daughter of the dukes of Benevento, died near Marengo from a fall from a horse on 15 Oct. 898. He was elected associate of the Empire by Pope Formosus in 892; in December of that year he received from the same Pontiff the imperial dignity, which was later confirmed to him at the death of his father in 894.
Arnulf of Germany was set up against him; having come down into Italy at the Pope’s invitation and having captured Rome, which was stoutly defended by Ageltrude, Lambert’s mother, he was crowned emperor by Formosus on 22 Feb. 896. Supported by John IX, Lambert was present at the synod which the Pope held in the same city during the spring of 898, at which the anti-Formosan “Cadaver Synod” was condemned. Lambert was a young man full of bold hopes, and despite the warlike spirit of his mother Ageltrude, he succeeded in giving the country a brief period of peace.