Pope Adrian IV: An Historical Sketch

This book is a biographical sketch by author Richard Raby on the 12th century pope Adrian IV. Pope Adrian IV (born Nicholas Breakspear) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159. He is the only Englishman to have been pope. One of the famous acts of Pope Adrian was the definitive statement of marriage as a sacrament, when he allowed serfs to marry without having to obtain their lord's permission as had traditionally been the case. Adrian's reasoning was that a sacrament outweighed a feudal due and that no Christian had the right to stand in the way of another's receiving of a sacrament.