Alber, Matthew, one of the leaders of the Ref- ormation in Southern Germany, born at Reutlingen, 1495, studied at Tubingen, and was ordained priest about 1521. He received a call as preacher to his na- tive town, where he labored so faithfully in behalf of the Reformation, that, in 1523, the people generally were favorable to it. In 1524, Alber, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the abbot of Konigsbronn, the patron of the churches of Reutlingen, was appointed by the city authorities the first pastor of the city. At the instigation of the abbot of Konigsbronn, he was summoned before the bishop of Constance, but, owing to the urgent solicitations of his friends, did not go. He was therefore put under the ban by the bishop, by Pope Leo X, and bj' the imperial court of Rothweil. The three decrees were simultaneously posted on all the church doors, but failed to produce any effect. Alber, with the applause of the people, proceeded un- dauntedly on the way of reformation. He abolished the Latin mass, introduced the use of the native lan- guage at divine service, removed the images from the churches, and got married. In December, 1524, he was summoned before the Imperial Chamber of Esslingen, where he was charged with 68 heresies, all of which he acknowledged, except the charge that he had spoken disrespectfully of the Virgin Mary. The court, after examining him three days, dismissed him unpunished. The Anabaptists, who at this time endeavored to es- tablish themselves at Reutlingen, were prevailed upon by the sermons of Alber to leave the city. He also succeeded in keeping the citizens of Reutlingen from joining in the peasants' war. Zuingle, in a letter of November 16, 1526, endeavored to gain Alber over to his view of the Lord's Supper; but Alber, like his friend Brentz, remained on the side of Luther, with whom he became personally acquainted in Wittenberg in 1536. In 1537 Alber took part in the colloquy of Urach, when he zealously combated the use of images in the churches. In 1539 he received from the uni- versity of Tubingen the title of doctor of divinity. When the Interim was forced upon Reutlingen, he left the. city on June 25, 1548, and was called by Duke Ulric as antistes (first pastor) of the collegiate church (Stiftskirche) of Stuttgart. Duke Christopher ap- pointed him church counsellor, and, in 1563. lie was made abbot of Blaubeuren. He died Dec. 2, 1570. He
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•published several sermons, a catechism (GrundJicher Bericht des wahren Christenthumes), and a work on Providence (Vom rechten Brauch der ewigen Vorsehung Gottes). See Hartmann, Matthias Alber, der Reforma- tor der Reichsstadt L'eutli/ig> n ^Tubingen, 1863) ; Her- zog, Real EncyMopadie, i, "202.
Albert, bishop of Liege (saint and martyr of the Roman Church), was the son of Godfrey, duke of Bra- bant, lie was unanimous]}' chosen to succeed Ra- dulphus, bishop of Liego, who died on the 5th of Au- gust, 1191. The Emperor Henry VI opposed this election with all his power, but Celestin II confirmed Albert in the see, and made him cardinal. Henry still persisted in his opposition ; and to carry it out fully, three German gentlemen followed Albert to Rheims, whither he had retired, and in his own house, where they had been kindly and generously received, they murdered him, piercing him with thirteen mortal wounds. His body was at first interred at Rheims ; but, under Louis XIII, it was translated to Brussels, where it is still preserved. The Roman Mart}'rology commemorates him on the 21st of November. His life, written by one of his attendants, is in the history of the bishops of Liege, by Gilles, monk of Orval. — Landon, Eccles. Diet, i, 202 ; Hoefer, Biog. Generate, i, 597.
Albert, "the Great" (Albertcs Magnus), so called on account of his vast erudition, was born at Lauingen, Suabia. The date of his birth is variously given, by some 1193, by others 1205. He studied at Padua; and entered the order of St. Dominic in 1221. His abilities and learning were of the highest class, and he was deemed the best theologian, philosopher, and mathematician of the age ; indeed, his knowledge of mathematics was such, that the people, unable to comprehend the intricate mechanism which he used in some of his works, regarded him as a magician. An automaton which he made was so exquisitely con- trived that it seemed to be endowed with powers of spontaneous motion and speech, and deceived even St. Thomas Aquinas, his pupil, who broke it in pieces with a stick, thinking it to be an emissary of the evil one. He was a strong Aristotelian, and his authority con- tributed greatly to uphold the reign of Aristotlein the schools at that period, in opposition to the papal bull against him. When Jordanus, general of the Do- minicans, died in 1236, Albert governed the order for two years as vicar-general. Being afterward made provincial for Germany, he established himself at Co- logne, where he publicly taught theology to an infinite number of pupils who flocked to him from all parts; and from this school proceeded Thomas Aquinas, Am- brose of Siena, and Thomas of Cantimpre. In 1260 he was nominated to the bishopric of Ratisbon, and re- luctantly consented to accept it ; he did not, however, long retain it, and in 1263 obtained permission to leave it, ami retire into his convent, where he occupied him- self entirely in prayer and study until his death, which happened on the 15th of November, 1280.