Anselmo da Baggio (1019-21 April 1073) reigned as Pope Alexander II from 30 September 1061 to 21 April 1073, succeeding Pope Nicholas II and preceding Pope Gregory VII. Under his rule, he gave blessing to William the Conqueror for his conquest of the Kingdom of England.
Biography[]
Anselmo da Baggio was born in 1019 to a noble family in the County of Milan, and he became Bishop of Lucca. In 1061 he was elected as pope, but the Holy Roman Empire did not agree, and they installed Antipope Honorius II in Basel. However, Honorius was deposed by Mantua, allowing for Alexander to have unchallenged rule. In 1065, he told Landulf VI of Benevento that conversion of Jews was not to be obtained by force, and he also called for a crusade against the Moors.
In 1066, Pope Alexander II gave William the Conqueror of the Duchy of Normandy his blessing for an invasion of the Kingdom of England, also giving him a papal ring and an edict to the Church of England ordering them to submit to William. After the Battle of Hastings, the English Church agreed to make peace with William, who became the new king. Alexander died in 1073 and Pope Gregory VII succeeded him.