Alric of Asti
Alric of Asti (also Alrico, Adalric, Odelric) (died December 1036) was an Italian bishop (r.1007/8-1036). He was a member of the Arduinici dynasty.
Alric was the son of Manfred I of Turin and his wife Prangarda. His brother was Ulric Manfred II of Turin. With the help of Ulric Manfred, Emperor Henry II raised Alric to the see of Asti c.1007/8 in opposition to Bishop Peter of Asti, who supported Arduin of Ivrea against Henry II.[1] Alric was confirmed as bishop by Pope John XVIII, without the approval of Arnulf II, archbishop of Milan. To appease Arnulf, Ulric Manfred and Alric were required to walk barefoot carrying, respectively, a dog and a bible to the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan and humble themselves before Arnulf.[2] Alric made many donations to monasteries and other religious institutions, both on his own and with his brother, Ulric Manfred, and his brother’s wife, Bertha of Milan.
Alric was a loyal supporter of the next archbishop of Milan, Aribert. Around 1028, Alric, along with his brother Ulric Manfred, Archbishop Aribert and Bishop Landulf of Turin (r.1011-1037) acted to suppress a heretical movement which had developed at Monforte.[3]
Alric died in the battle of Campomalo (near Pavia) in December 1036, fighting against vassals who had rebelled against Archbishop Aribert.[4]
References
- L. Vergano, ‘Alrico’ in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 2 (1960)
- H. Bresslau, Jahrbücher des Deutschen Reichs unter Konrad II., 2 vols. (1884), accessible online at: archive.org
- S. Hamilton, ‘Inquiring into adultery and other wicked deeds’: episcopal justice in tenth- and early eleventh-century Italy,’ Viator 41:2 (2010), 21-44.
- H. Fichtenau, Heretics and Scholars in the High Middle Ages, 1000-1250 (1998).