Adrian I became Pope. Shortly afterward the Papal States were invaded by King Desiderius of the Lombards who was coincidentally the father-in-law of Charlemagne. Charlemagne had repudiated his wife in 771 after assuming total control of the Frankish kingdom, and at Pope Adrian's request, he agreed to invade northern Italy to fight Desiderius. The end result was that Charlemagne also became King of the Lombards.
Adrian struck the first papal coin, and was also the first Pope to no longer date his documents by the emperor in Constantinople, but by the reign of Charles, King of the Franks (Charlemagne).
Apart from his extremely cordial relationship with Charlemagne, Adrian's legacy included the restoration of some of the aqueducts of Rome, and the rebuilding of the churches Santa Maria in Cosmedin and San Marco in Rome. He died in 795 at the age of 95, and his reign remained the longest of any pope until that of Pius VI in the late 18th Century.
On This Day in 1587:
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| Queen Elizabeth I Image courtesy of Wikigallery.org |
Queen Elizabeth I signed the warrant of execution for Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Mary had been convicted and sentenced to death by a court of 36 nobleman on October 25, but for political reasons, Elizabeth was reluctant to have the sentence carried out. Members of the Privy Council, led by William Cecil, Lord Burghley took matters into their own hands several days later and carried out the execution.
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| Portrait of Mary Francois Clouet c. 1559 |
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