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| | The Pope Who Gave Ireland to the English -- TheWildGeese.com |
 | | Pope Adrian IV n Dec. 3, 1154, the day after the death of Pope Anastasius IV, the freshly gathered conclave of cardinals unanimously elected the Bishop of Albano as Anastasius' successor. |
 | | The new pope had been born 54 years earlier in or near St. Alban's, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, where he was given the name Nicholas by his commoner father, Robert Breakspear,. |
 | | Adrian IV's father, Robert, was not a wealthy man, and Nicolas set out to the continent to better himself, like many intelligent commoners of the period, using the church to better his education and position. |
| www.thewildgeese.com /pages/adrianiv.html (1844 words) |
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