Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/349

ALBOIN. Cunimund, with his own hand. On the death of his first wife, Chlotsuinda. He married Rosamund, daughter of Cunimund. He invaded Italy in 568 with his own nation of Lombards, some of the Gepidæ, 20.000 Saxons, and adventurers from other nations; overran Venetia in 568, Liguria in 569, and Etruria in 570, and captured Beneventum in 571. Pavia was conquered in 572, after three years of siege. During a feast at Verona he made his queen drink out of the skull of her father, which he had converted into a wine-cup. In revenge she incited her paramour, Helmichis, to murder her husband (572 or 573). To escape the fury of the Lombards, Rosamund fled with her associate and the treasure to Longinus, the exarch, at Ravenna. Longinus becoming a suitor for her hand, she administered poison to Helmichis, who, discovering the treachery, caused her to swallow the remainder of the cup, and she died with him. For several centuries the name of Alboin continued to be famous among the German nations, who celebrated his praises in martial songs.

ALBONI, al-bö'ne, (1823-94). An Italian contralto, born at Cesena, in the Romagna, March 10, 1823. A pupil of Mme. Bertolotti, and later of Rossini, she made her debut at the age of fifteen at Bologna as Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia, and her success led to an engagement at La Scala, Milan. In 1846-47 she sang in all the principal cities of Europe: in London, at Covent Garden, in rivalry with Jenny Lind, who was at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1852 she visited the United States, singing in the chief towns in opera and concert. With the exception of Malibran (q.v.), she was the greatest contralto of the nineteenth century. Her voice, a fine contralto with a compass of two and one-half octaves, ranging as high as mezzo-soprano, possessed at once power. sweetness, fullness, and extraordinary flexibility. In passages requiring elevation and semi-religious calmness she had no peers, owing to the moving quality of her voice. She possessed vivacity, grace, and charm as an actress of the comedienne type, but her attempt at a strongly dramatic part, like Norma, turned out a failure. She married Count Pepoli, of the Papal States, but kept her maiden name on the stage, appearing in opera at Munich as late as 1872. Her husband died in 1866, and in 1877 she married M. Zieger, a French officer. She died at Ville d'Avray, near Paris. Consult G. T. Ferris, Great Singers (New York, 1893), which gives a most picturesque account of her professional career.

ALBORNOZ, al-bor'noth, (c. 1310-1367). A warlike Spanish prelate. He was born at Cuenca, studied at Toulouse, and subsequently became almoner to Alfonso XI., King of Castile, who appointed him Archdeacon of Calatrava and finally Archbishop of Toledo. He took part in the wars against the Moors, saved the life of the King in the battle of Tarifa, and was present at the siege of Algeciras, where the King dubbed him knight. On account of the boldness with which he denounced the criminal excesses of Peter the Cruel, he fell into disgrace, and fled to Pope Clement VI. at Avignon, who made him a cardinal. Innocent VII. also recognized his abilities as an astute diplomat and sent him as cardinal-legate to Rome, where, by his tact and vigor, he secured, in spite of the intricate complications of affairs, the restoration of the papal authority in the States of the Church (1353-60). Pope Urban V. owed the recovery of his dominions to him, and out of gratitude appointed him legate at Bologna, in 1367. In the same year he died, at Viterbo; but as he had expressed a wish to be buried at Toledo, Henry of Castile removed his body with almost royal honors, and Urban even granted an indulgence to all who had assisted in transferring the body from Viterbo to Toledo. He left a valuable work upon the constitution of the Roman Church, printed for the first time at Jesi in 1473, and now very rare. By his will he provided for the foundation of the College of Spain at Bologna.

ALBRECHT, Ul'brcKt. See.

ALBRECHTSBERGER, al'breKts - berK'er, Johann Georg (1736-1809). An Austrian musi- cian, one of the most learned contrapuntists of his age. In 1772 he was appointed court organist, and in 1792 kapellmeister of St. Stephen's cathe- dral. Among his pupils were Beethoven (whose genius he failed to recognize), Hummel, Mos- cheles, Seyfried, and Weigl. Of his numerous compositions, few are performed nowadays. His most important contributions to music were his theoretical works, the Gründliche Anweisung zur Komposition (1818), and Kurzgefasste Methode, den Generalbass zu erlernen (1792), which are still valuable.

ALBRET, al'bra', (1528-72). Queen of Navarre, only daughter of Henry II. of Navarre, and Margaret, sister of Francis I. Jeanne married Antoine de Bourbon. She was celebrated for her intellectual strength and personal beauty. She embraced Calvinism, and, in spite of Spanish menaces and Roman intrigue, kept her possessions. In 1567 she declared the reformed religion established in the kingdom, and in 1569, with her children, Henry, afterward Henry IV. of France, and Catherine, she brought a small band of Huguenots to Coligny at La Rochelle. and after the murder of the Prince of Condé she was looked upon as the only support of the Protestants. She wrote prose and verse, and some of her sonnets have been published. Consult: Mémoires et poésies de Jeanne d'Albret (Paris, 1893); Freer, Life of Jeanne d'Albret (London, 1855).

ALBRIGHT, filljrit, (1759-1808). The founder of the Evangelical Association (q.v.). He was born near Pottstown, Pa., May 1, 1759, and died at Mühlbach, Pa., May 8, 1808. In 1792 he joined the Methodist Church, in 1796 began his very successful career as preacher among the Germans, and in 1807 was elected first bishop of the church which he founded.

ALBRIGHT BRETH'REN. See.

ALBRIZZI, al-brPt'se, (1763-1836). An Italian author. She was born at Corfu, of Greek parentage. As the wife of the inquisitor of state. Count Giuseppe Albrizzi, her home in Venice became the rendezvous for many celebrities of the day, such as Alfieri, Foscolo, and Byron. With Cicognara, she was one of the first to call attention to the genius of Canova, to whom she paid a glowing tribute in her celebrated work, ''Opere di scultura e di plastica di Ant. Canova descritte da J. A. (Florence, 1809); also published under the title Descrizione delle opere di Canova,'' 5 volumes (Pisa, 1821-25). Her other writings