The character of Hanno is variously
represented by historians. While some accuse him of acts of injustice
and cruelty, others speak of him as a man of energy, yet one whose holy
life, his paternal care for his see, and his zealous reformation of
monasteries and foundation of churches, gained him the character of a
saint.
Young Henry remained but a year or two in the hands of this stern
taskmaster. An imperative necessity called Hanno to Italy, and he was
obliged to leave the young monarch under the charge of Adalbert,
Archbishop of Bremen, a personage of very different character from
himself. Adalbert, while a churchman of great ability, was a courtier
full of ambitious views. He was one of the most polished and learned men
of his time, at once handsome, witty, and licentious, his character
being in the strongest contrast to the stern harshness of Hanno and the
coarse manners of the nobles of that period.
It would have been far better, however, for Henry could he have remained
under the control of Hanno, with all his severity. It is true that the
kindness and gentleness of Adalbert proved a delightful change to the
growing boy, and the unlimited liberty he now enjoyed was in pleasant
contrast to his recent restraint, while the gravity and severe study of
Hanno's cloister were agreeably replaced by the gay freedom of
Adalbert's court, in which the most serious matters were treated as
lightly as a jest.
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