Adalbero (archbishop of Reims)

Adalbero (French Adalberon; died 989) was the archbishop of Reims, chancellor of Kings Lothair and Louis V of France.

Upon the death of Louis V, in 987, Adalbero and Gerbert of Aurillac addressed the electoral assembly at Senlis in favour of Hugh Capet, to replace the Carolingian monarch. Adalbero pleaded:

"Crown the Duke. He is most illustrious by his exploits, his nobility, his forces. The throne is not acquired by hereditary right; no one should be raised to it unless distinguished not only for nobility of birth, but for the goodness of his soul."

Capet was elected and crowned at Noyon, 3 July in that year by Adalbero. The part played by Adalbero in diminishing the Carolingians would not be continued by their successors, Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine or the bastard son, Arnulf.

Sources

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.