Alberic III (died 1044) was the

Count of Tusculum The counts of Tusculum, also known as the Theophylacti, were a family of secular noblemen from Latium that maintained a powerful position in Rome between the 10th and 12th centuries. Several popes and an antipope during the 11th century came fr ...

, along with Galeria, Preneste, and Arce, from 1024, when his brother the count Roman was elected

Pope John XIX Pope John XIX ( la, Ioannes XIX; died October 1032), born Romanus, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1024 to his death. He belonged to the family of the powerful counts of Tusculum, succeeding his brother, Benedict VIII ...

, until his own death. He was a son of

Gregory I Gregory I may refer to: * Gregory the Illuminator (250s–330s), Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church in 288–325 * Gregory of Nazianzus (329–390), Patriarch Gregory I of Constantinople, in office 379–381 * Pope Gregory I (540–604), ...

and Maria, brother of Popes Benedict VIII and

John XIX Pope John XIX ( la, Ioannes XIX; died October 1032), born Romanus, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1024 to his death. He belonged to the family of the powerful counts of Tusculum, succeeding his brother, Benedict VIII ...

, and brother-in-law of

Thrasimund III of Spoleto Transamund III (also spelled Transmund or Trasmund) was the Duke of Spoleto and Marquis of Camerino from 982 until his death in 989. His father was Count Atto I of Chieti (Teate) and Penne. The exact dates of his ducal authority in Spoleto are in ...

. Alberic used the title of ''consul, dux et patricius Romanorum'': "consul, duke, and patrician of the Romans." This signified his

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

authority in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He also bore the titular ''comes sacri palatii Lateranensis'' ("Count of the Sacred

Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...

"), which signified his ecclesiastical function in the papal curia. During the

pontificate The pontificate is the form of government used in Vatican City. The word came to English from French and simply means ''papacy'', or "to perform the functions of the Pope or other high official in the Church". Since there is only one bishop of R ...

of his brother John XIX, he was made a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, but he had to abandon this title for the aforemention consular dignity in order to avoid tensions with the

Emperor Henry II Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler ...

. Alberic does not appear in sources after 1033, when he left the comital powers to his son the newly elected pope. He married Ermelina and his son Theophylact III (or IV) became

Pope Benedict IX Pope Benedict IX ( la, Benedictus IX; c. 1012 – c. 1056), born Theophylactus of Tusculum in Rome, was the bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious inst ...

in 1032.John-Peter Pham, ''Heirs of the Fisherman : Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession'', (Oxford University Press, 2004), 56. He was succeeded by his second son Gregory II and left three other sons: the ''consul, dux et senator Romanorum'' Peter, Octavian, and Guy, all titled "Count of Tusculum."

References

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Sources

Foundation of Medieval Genealogy: Northern Italy — 21. Counts of Tusculum.
1044 deaths 11th-century Italian nobility Medieval Roman consuls Medieval Roman patricians Year of birth unknown Counts of Tusculum