Pope Adrian IV

Pope Adrian IV (Latin: Adrianus IV; c. 1100 – 1 September 1159), born Nicholas Breakspear, was pope from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159.

Adrian IV is the only Englishman (as of 2016) to have occupied the papal throne. It is believed that he was born in Bedmond in the parish of Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire and received his early education at the Abbey School, St Albans.

Early life

Nicholas' father was Robert, who later became a monk at St Albans. Nicholas went to Paris and later became a canon regular of the cloister of St Rufus monastery near Arles. He rose to be prior and was then soon unanimously elected abbot. This election has been traditionally dated to 1137, but evidence from the abbey's chronicles suggests that it happened about 1145.

His reforming zeal as abbot led to the lodging of complaints against him at Rome; but these merely attracted to him the favourable attention of Pope Eugene III, who created him Cardinal Bishop of Albano in December 1149.

Pope Adrian I

Pope Adrian I (Latin: Hadrianus I c. 700 – 25 December 795) was Pope from 1 February 772 to his death in 795. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman.

Start of papacy

Shortly after Adrian's accession in 772, the territory ruled by the papacy was invaded by Desiderius, king of the Lombards, and Adrian was compelled to seek the assistance of the Frankish king Charlemagne, who entered Italy with a large army. Charlemagne besieged Desiderius in his capital of Pavia. After taking the town, he banished the Lombard king to the Abbey of Corbie in France, and adopted the title "King of the Lombards" himself. The pope, whose expectations had been aroused, had to content himself with some additions to the Duchy of Rome, the Exarchate of Ravenna, and the Pentapolis in the Marches, which consisted of the "five cities" on the Adriatic coast from Rimini to Ancona with the coastal plain as far as the mountains. He celebrated the occasion by striking the earliest papal coin, and in a mark of the direction the mediaeval papacy was to take, no longer dated his documents by the Emperor in the east, but by the reign of Charles, king of the Franks.

Hadrian

Hadrian (/ˈheɪdriən/; Latin: Publius Aelius Hadrianus Augustus; 24 January, 76 AD – 10 July, 138 AD) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian is known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Britannia. He also rebuilt the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. Philhellene in most of his tastes, he is considered by some to have been a humanist, and he is regarded as one of the Five Good Emperors.

Hadrian was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus into a Hispano-Roman family. Although Italica near Santiponce (in modern-day Spain) is often considered his birthplace, his actual place of birth remains uncertain. However, it is generally accepted that he came from a family with centuries-old roots in Hispania. His predecessor, Trajan, was a maternal cousin of Hadrian's father. Trajan did not officially designate an heir, but according to his wife Pompeia Plotina, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death. Trajan's wife and his friend Licinius Sura were well-disposed towards Hadrian, and he may well have owed his succession to them.

Hadrian (opera)

Hadrian is an opera by American-Canadian singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, scheduled to premiere in 2018 by Toronto's Canadian Opera Company. It is based on the life of Hadrian (76–138 AD), who was Roman emperor from 117–138. The libretto is written by Canadian actor, director and playwright Daniel MacIvor. Hadrian is Wainwright's second opera, following Prima Donna (2009).

Background and development

Hadrian is Wainwright's second opera, following Prima Donna, which premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2009. Wainwright was inspired by Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian (1951) and began composing Hadrian before Prima Donna. However, lacking the confidence to "navigate all the emotional possibilities" that Hadrian would require, he concentrated his efforts on Prima Donna as his first opera production.

Description

The opera will focus on Hadrian's relationship with Antinous, who drowned. According to Wainwright and MacIvor, "You've got everything. A big chorus, lots of characters, the Nile... a love story... a political story... all the elements of traditional grand opera." MacIvor has also said of the opera: "The mystery of why Hadrian's remarkable love for Antinous – underlined by his bottomless grief – has not been celebrated widely as a model of eros points to a fear of same-sex love that has changed little from his age to ours. The deeper I delve into Hadrian's world and his time, the more parallels I see to how we live today." According to the Canadian Opera Company, the opera will be performed in English, "perhaps with a little Latin".

Hadrian (BBC documentary)

Hadrian is a Bafta Cymru-winning 2008 BBC Television documentary film in which Dan Snow follows the travels of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Production

The film was produced by BBC Wales to tie in with the exhibition Hadrian: Empire and Conflict at the British Museum.

Reception

Reviews

Sam Wollaston writing in The Guardian describes the film as, a breathless, whistle-stop tour of the Roman Empire, and complimented Snow for having, contagious bounding enthusiasm, a real passion for his subject, as well as the authority and gravitas to make you sit up and listen, but he is however critical of the cameraman’s dizzying, habit of circling presenters, and the presenter’s, prancing around in the desert, wearing a silk-scarf in the style of, The English Patient or Indiana Jones.

Andrew Billen writing in The Times described the film as a, really rather good account, but described Snow as, a bit too public school for my liking, a bit keen on showing us his biceps, and, a bit too Bear Grylls with his flowing desert scarf, concluding that he was unsure, whether to be pleased or sad that Hadrian died a long and lonely death.