Alberic of Monte Cassino was a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, who died in 1088. He was a cardinal from 1057. He was (perhaps) a native of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

, and became a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

. He successfully opposed the teachings of Berengarius, which were considered

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

by the Pope, defending the measures of Gregory VII during the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

. He is the author of numerous works in theology, hagiography, grammar, rhetoric and music; and is the author of the earliest medieval treatise on ''

ars dictaminis ''Ars dictaminis'' (or ''ars dictandi'') is the art of letter-writing, which often intersects with the art of rhetoric. History of letter-writing Greco-Roman theory Early examples of letter-writing theory can be found in C. Julius Victor's ...

'', or letter-writing (''De dictamine''). Many of his letters are found in the works of

Peter Damian Peter Damian (; or '; – 21 or 22 February 1072 or 1073) was an Italian Gregorian Reform, reforming Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine Christian monasticism, monk and cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo ...

. One of his pupils, John of Gaeta, was the future

Pope Gelasius II Pope Gelasius II (c. 1060/1064 – 29 January 1119), born Giovanni Caetani or Giovanni da Gaeta (also called ''Coniulo''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1118 to his death in 1119. A monk of Monte C ...

.I. S. Robinson, ''The Papacy 1073-1198'' (1990), p. 214.

References

External links

* 1088 deaths 11th-century German cardinals German Benedictines Year of birth unknown {{Germany-RC-bishop-stub