see in Sweden, but Gothland opposed Sweden regarding
where it should be located. Hadrian did, however, reform
abuses and establish Peter’s pence in Sweden before
returning to Rome. In Rome, Hadrian was apparently
at the right place at the right time: he was hailed as the
apostle of the north; and when Pope Anastasius IV died
on 2 December 1154, Hadrian was elected pope on the
very next day. He is the only English pope.
Hadrian IV’s tenure as pope was fraught with political
intrigue and confl ict. King William of Sicily and Hadrian
were openly hostile to each other; Frederick Barbarossa
merely professed friendship; the barons of Campania
raided and robbed each other and also robbed pilgrims
on their way to Rome; and the populace of Rome, under
the leadership of Arnold of Brescia, was in open revolt
against Hadrian. Hadrian, after determining his situation
in Rome, placed the city under interdict and retired to
Viterbo. The Roman populace, unable to observe any
sacred services until after Lent, eventually made its
submission to Hadrian and banished Arnold of Brescia,
who was ultimately executed. As Hadrian returned to
Rome, Frederick Barbarossa was advancing through
Lombardy. Frederick, having received the Iron Crown
in Pavia, was intent on receiving the imperial crown in
Rome from the hands of Hadrian. A famous meeting be-
tween the two rulers, temporal and spiritual, took place
north of Rome at Sutri on 9 June 1155. Frederick, omit-
ting a part of the customary ceremony of homage, did
not hold Hadrian’s stirrup when the pope dismounted.
Because of this insolence, Hadrian withheld his kiss of
peace and refused to crown Frederick until full homage
was performed. Frederick submitted, performing the
necessary act of homage on 11 June 1155 at Nepi; he
was subsequently crowned in Saint Peter’s on 18 June.
Immediately afterward, fi ghting broke out between the
imperial army and the Roman army; during this fi ght-
ing, more than 1,000 Romans were killed. Without so
much as an acknowledgment of the deaths, Frederick
left Rome and went northward; on his way, he proceeded
to burn the city of Spoleto to the ground.
William I of Sicily and Hadrian IV never established
cordial relations. Hadrian called William lord rather than
king; William took offense, ravaging and ransacking
southern Campania, whereupon Hadrian excommuni-
cated him. John of Salisbury spent three months with
Hadrian in Benevento during this period and obtained
from him the famous Donation of Ireland. The authen-
ticity of the Laudabiliter, the document containing this
grant, is in doubt; but in any case the basic assumption
that the pope was overlord of Ireland and could therefore
grant the entire island itself to whomever he pleased—in
this case King Henry II of England—was an interesting
legal labyrinth. For more than four centuries the popes
maintained their right as overlords of Ireland.
By 1154, William I had captured important Italian
cities and had even confi scated 5,000 pounds of gold
meant for the pope from his ally Manuel I. Eventually,
Hadrian IV sued for peace. Under the peace agreement,
William was invested with the territories of Naples,
Amalfi , Salerno, and the March of Ancona; for his part,
he pledged to be the pope’s liegeman and pay a yearly
tribute. Soon after this, Hadrian made peace with the
Romans and returned to Rome. However, continued
tension between the emperor, William I, and the papacy
challenged Hadrian until his death on 1 September
1159.
See also Arnold of Brescia; Frederick I BarbarossaFurther Reading
“Pope Adrian IV.” Catholic Encyclopedia. Internet ed., 1998.
Tarleton, Alfred. Nicholas Breakspear (Hadrian IV), Englishman
and Pope. London, 1906.
Bradford Lee EdenH.AFS. A BINT AL-HAYY AR-RAKUNIYYA
(12th c.)
A poet who lived in Granada in the twelfth century,
H .afs.a belonged to a noble family and received a superior
education, which enabled her to become a teacher later
in life. Like Wall ̄adah, she was the lover of a poet, Ab ̄u
Yafar, and many of her poems take the form of a dialogue
with him. For example:
Shall I go to your house, or will you come to mine?
My heart always goes where you desire.
You may be sure you will not be thirsty or hot when
you meet me.
A fountain fresh and sweet are my lips, and the
branches of my braids cast a thick shadow.
Answer me quickly, for it would be wrong to make
your Butaynah wait, oh, my Yamil.
No less loving than the famous poet Yamil to his
beloved Butaynah, Ab ̄u Yafar replied to H.afs.a:
If I can fi nd a way, I will go to you.
You are too important to come to me.
The garden does not move, but receives the soft puff of
the breeze.
H .afs.a also was being courted by the governor, Abû
Sa’ ̄ıd, whose great passion for her she did not dare
reject, and probably enjoyed to some extent. Mutual
jealousy caused the relationship between Ab ̄u Sa’ ̄ıd and
Ab ̄u Yafar, who was his secretary, to deteriorate. Eventu-
ally the former had the latter killed. Despite the danger,
H.afs.a did not hide her grief, and wrote the following
lines:H.AFS.A BINT AL-HAYY AR-RAKUNIYYA