|
:'''''Anselm(o) I''' redirects here. There was also St [[Anselm I (bishop of Milan)]].''
{{Infobox Christian leader
|type=Pope
|honorific-prefix=Pope
|name=Alexander II
|image=Pope Alexander II.jpg
|image_size=220px
|birth_name=Anselmo da Baggio
|term_start=30 September 1061
|term_end=21 April 1073
|predecessor=[[Pope Nicholas II|Nicholas II]]
|successor=[[Pope Gregory VII|Gregory VII]]
|birth_date=???
|birth_place=[[Milan]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|death_date={{death date|1073|4|21|df=y}}
|death_place=[[Rome]], [[Papal States]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|other=Alexander
}}
'''Pope Alexander II''' (died 21 April 1073), born '''Anselmo da Baggio''',<ref>Cardini, Franco, ''Europe and Islam'', (Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999), 40.</ref> was [[Pope]] from 30 September 1061 to his death in 1073.
He was born in [[Milan]]. As Anselm I, [[bishop of Lucca]], he had been an energetic coadjutor with [[Pope Gregory VII|Hildebrand of Sovana]] in endeavouring to suppress [[simony]] and enforce the [[clerical celibacy]]. The [[Papal election, 1061|papal election of 1061]], which Hildebrand had arranged in conformity with the papal decree of 1059 (see [[Pope Nicholas II]]), was not sanctioned by the imperial court of Germany. True to the practice observed in preceding papal elections, the German court nominated another candidate, [[Cadalus]], [[bishop of Parma]], who was proclaimed Pope at the council of [[Basel]] under the name of [[Antipope Honorius II|Honorius II]]. He marched to Rome and for a long time threatened his rival's position. At length, however, Honorius was forsaken by the German court and deposed by a council held at [[Mantua]]; Alexander II's position remained unchallenged.
In 1065, Alexander admonished [[Landulf VI of Benevento]] "that the conversion of Jews is not to be obtained by force."<ref>Simonsohn, pp 35–37.</ref> Also in the same year, Alexander called for a [[crusade]] against the Moors in Spain.<ref>Jonathan P. Phillips, ''The Second Crusade: Extending the Frontiers of Christendom'', (St. Edmundsbury Press Ltd., 2007), 246.</ref>
In 1066, he entertained an [[embassy]] from the [[Duke of Normandy]] Guillaume II, ''Guillaume le Bâtard'', (after his successful invasion of [[Brittany]]<ref>[[Breton-Norman War]]</ref> then [[England]] he came to be known as [[William the Conqueror]]) which had been sent to obtain his blessing for the [[Norman conquest of England]]. This he gave to them, giving them a papal ring, [[Flag of England|the Standard]] of [[St. Peter]],<ref>Houts, Elisabeth M. C. Van, ''The Normans in Europe'', (Manchester University Press, 2000), 105.</ref> and a papal [[edict]] to present to the English [[clergy]] saying that William was given the papal [[Blessing (Roman Catholic Church)|blessing]] for his bid to the [[throne]]. These favours were instrumental in the submission of the English [[Church body|church]] following the [[Battle of Hastings]].{{fact|date=October 2011}}
Alexander II oversaw the suppression of the "Alleluia" during the Latin Church's celebration of Lent.<ref>Cabrol, p 46.</ref> This is followed to this day, and in the Tridentine rite "Alleluia" is also omitted during the Advent season.
Alexander II was followed by his associate Hildebrand, who took the title of [[Pope Gregory VII|Gregory VII]].
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==Sources==
{{wikisource author|Alexander II}}
* {{ws|"[[s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pope Alexander II|Pope Alexander II]]" in the 1913 ''Catholic Encyclopedia''}}
*Simonsohn, Shlomo. ''The Apostolic See and the Jews, Documents: 492–1404''.
*{{1911}}
*Cabrol, Fernand. ''Liturgical Prayer: Its History and Spirit. 2003. p. 46''.
{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Nicholas II|Nicholas II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=1061–73}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope Gregory VII|Gregory VII]]}}
{{end}}
{{Popes}}
{{Catholicism}}
{{History of the Catholic Church}}
{{Persondata
|name=Alexander II
|alternative names=
|short description= Pope
|date of birth=
|place of birth= [[Milan]], [[Kingdom of Italy (medieval)|Italy]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|date of death=April 21, 1073
|place of death= [[Rome]], [[Papal States]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander 02}}
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:Italian popes]]
[[Category:11th-century Roman Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Lucca]]
[[Category:People from Milan]]
[[Category:11th-century Italian people]]
[[Category:1073 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Peter's Basilica]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
| 