The Sanctity of the Leaders: Holy Kings, Princes, Bishops and Abbots from Central Europe (11th to 13th Centuries) 9786155225598

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SANCTITAS PRINCIPUM sancti reges, duces, episcopi et abbates europae centralis (saec. xi-xiii)

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THE SANCTITY OF THE LEADERS holy kings, princes, bishops, and abbots from central europe (eleventh to thirteenth centuries)

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CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL TEXTS VOLUME 7 General Editors

PATRICK GEARY GERHARD JARITZ GÁBOR KLANICZAY PAVLÍNA RYCHTEROVÁ Series Editor

FRANK SCHAER

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SANCTITAS PRINCIPUM sancti reges, duces, episcopi et abbates europae centralis (saec. xi-xiii)

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THE SANCTITY OF THE LEADERS holy kings, princes, bishops, and abbots from central europe (eleventh to thirteenth centuries) Edited by Gábor Klaniczay and Ildikó Csepregi Translated by Cristian Gaşpar, János M. Bak, Nora Berend and Marina Miladinov [Schumann] Prefaces written by Gábor Bradács, Cristian Gaşpar, Gábor Klaniczay, Stanislava Kuzmová, Ana Marinković, Petr Sommer, Gábor Thoroczkay and Dorottya Uhrin

Central European University Press Budapest–New York–Vienna

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English edition published in 2023 by Central European University Press Nádor utca 11, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary Tel: +36-1-327-3138 or 327-3000 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ceupress.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the permission of the Publisher. Translated by János M. Bak, Nora Berend, Cristian Gaşpar and Marina Miladinov [Schumann] © 2023 by Central European University Press English translation © 2023, János M. Bak, Nora Berend, Cristian Gaşpar and Marina Miladinov [Schumann] All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the permission of the Publisher. ISBN 978-615-5225-28-4 (hardback) ISBN 978-615-5225-59-8 (ebook) ISSN 1419-7782 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

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CONTENTS

Abbreviations 

vii

INTRODUCTION Gábor Klaniczay - Hagiography in Central Europe in the Central Middle Ages 

1

I. SAINT STEPHEN OF HUNGARY  Gábor Thoroczkay - Preface  Vita Sancti Stephani regis (Legenda maior) / Life of King Saint Stephen (Major legend) (transl. Cristian Gaşpar)  Vita et actus Sancti Stephani regis Pannoniorum (Legenda minor) / Life and Deeds of Saint Stephen, King of the Pannonians (Minor legend) (transl. Cristian Gaşpar)  Legenda S. Stephani regis ab Hartvico episcopo conscripta / Life of King St. Stephen written by Bishop Hartvic (transl. Nora Berend and Cristian Gaşpar) 

19 21

II. SAINT EMERIC  Gábor Bradács and Dorottya Uhrin - Preface  Vita Sancti Emerici ducis / Life of Duke Saint Emeric (transl. Cristian Gaşpar) 

177 179

39

81 107

191

III. SAINT GERARD  221 Cristian Gaşpar and Gábor Klaniczay – Preface  223 Passio beatissimi Gerardi (Legenda minor) / Passion of the Most Blessed Gerard (Minor legend) (transl. Cristian Gaşpar)  239 De Sancto Gerhardo episcopo Morosenensi et martyre regni Ungariae (Legenda maior) / On Saint Gerard Bishop of Marosvár and Martyr of the Kingdom of Hungary (Major legend) (transl. János M. Bak)  267

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IV. SAINT PROCOPIUS OF SÁZAVA  Petr Sommer - Preface  Vita sancti Procopii minor / Minor Life of Saint Procopius (transl. Cristian Gaşpar) 

337 339

V. SAINT LADISLAUS OF HUNGARY  Gábor Klaniczay - Preface  De Sancto Ladizlao rege Ungarie / On Saint Ladislaus King of Hungary (transl. Cristian Gaşpar) 

405 407

VI. SAINT JOHN OF TROGIR  Ana Marinković - Preface  Vita S. Joannis ep. Traguriensis / Life of St John of Trogir (transl. Marina Miladinov [Schumann]) 

445 447

VII. SAINT STANISLAUS OF CRACOW  Stanislava Kuzmová - Preface  Vita Sancti Stanislai Episcopi Cracoviensis (Vita minor) / Life of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop of Cracow (Minor life) (transl. Cristian Gaşpar) 

513 515

Select Bibliography  Select Hagiography of the Saints in this Volume  St. Stephen  St. Emeric  St. Gerard  St. Procopius  St. Ladislaus  St. John of Trogir  St. Stanislaus 

607 641 641 646 647 654 657 659 660

Contributors to the volume  Index 

667 673

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359

415

461

531

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ABBREVIATIONS

AASS BHL

Chron. pict.

DHA

DRMH

KDKK 1

MGH

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Acta sanctorum: quotquot toto urbe coluntur vel a catholicis scriptoribus celebrantur… (Brussels and Antwerp: Société des Bollandistes, 1643– ) Bibliotheca hagiographica Latina antiquae et me­ diae aetatis (Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1898–1901; repr. 1992) and Bibliotheca hagio­ graphica Latina antiquae et mediae aetatis, Novum Supp­lementum, ed. H. Fros (ibid: 1986). Chronica de gestis Hungarorum e codice picto saec. xiv / Chronicle of the Deeds of the Hungarians from the Fourteenth-Century Illuminated Codex, ed. and trans. by János M. Bak and László Veszprémy, with a Latin text by Ibolya Bellus, (Budapest and New York: CEU Press, 2018). Diplomata Hungariae antiquissima accedunt epistolae et acta ad historiam Hungariae pertinentia: ab anno 1000 usque ad annum 1196. ed. György Györffy (Budapest: Academia Scientiarum Hungaricae, 1992). Decreta regni mediaevalis Hungariae / The Laws of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary, ed. János M. Bak, György Bónis, and James Ross Sweeney, vol. 1, 1000–1301 (Idyllwild: Schlacks, 1999). Kodeks dyplomatyczny katedry krakowskiej ś. Wac­ ława [The Codex Diplomaticus of the Cracow Chapter of St. Wenceslaus]. Monumenta Medii Aevi Historica Res Gestas Poloniae Illustrantia 1, ed. Franciszek Piekosiński (Cracow: Akademia umiejętności Krakowska, 1874). Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Hanover: Hahn, 1840–)

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MPH MPH SN PL SRH

Monumenta Poloniae Historica: Pomniki dziejowe Polski. ed. Bielowski, August, 1806–1876 (Cracow: Nakł. Akademii Umiejętności, 1864–1893). Monumenta Poloniae Historica Series Nova / Series 2 (Warsaw: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1946–) Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina, ed. Jacques Paul Migne, 1841–1855. Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum tempore ducum regumque stirpis Arpadianae gestarum, ed. Emericus Szentpétery. 2 vols (Budapest: Typis universitatis, 1937–38; reprint ibid: Nap, 1999).

Classical and Biblical references are given in the usual format.

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HAGIOGRAPHY IN CENTRAL EUROPE IN THE CENTRAL MIDDLE AGES Gábor Klaniczay

The present volume is the third in the Central European Medieval Texts series, which presents important pieces of medieval Latin hagiography from Central Europe. It follows the volume entitled Saints of the Christianization Age of Central Europe (Tenth-Eleventh Centuries)1 and comes chronologically before The Oldest Legend, Acts of the Canonization Process, and Miracles of Saint Margaret of Hungary.2 This is an excellent opportunity to fit the Latin-English texts of these legends into an overall pattern and formulate some general thoughts on the medieval hagiographic production of this region.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS First, what is understood by Central Europe should be clarified. There has been much historiographic reflection and debate on this region, frequently also labeled East-Central Europe to distinguish it from the western, Germanic, part of Central Europe; this is how Oscar Halecki3 and Jenő Szűcs4 originally made this concept Vitae sanctorum aetatis conversionis Europae centralis (saec. X–XI)—Saints of the Christianization Age of Central Europe (Tenth-Eleventh Centuries), ed. Gábor Klani­ czay, Central European Medieval Texts 6 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2013). 2 Legenda vetus, Acta processus canonizationis et Miracula Sanctae Margaritae de Hungaria / The Oldest Legend, Acts of the Canonization Process, and Miracles of Saint Margaret of Hungary, ed. Ildikó Csepregi, Gábor Klaniczay and Bence Péterfi, Central European Medieval Texts 8 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2018). 3 Oscar Halecki, The Borderlands of Western Civilization (New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1952). 4 Jenő Szűcs, “The Three Historical Regions of Europe,” [1983] in idem, The Historical Construction of National Consciousness: Selected Writings, ed. Gábor Klaniczay, Balázs Trencsényi and Gábor Gyáni (Budapest-Vienna-New York: CEU Press, 2022), 231–99. 1

[ 1 ]

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popular. Part of this idea was that this region also included, in the period of its formation around the first millennium, the domains converted by Orthodox missionaries from Byzantium: Bulgaria, Great Moravia, the Rus of Kiev, Serbia, and Romania; it was a region of encounter not only between West and East, but also North and South. This concept of East-Central Europe inspired a series of fruitful comparative historical studies.5 Recently, however, a more restrained, pragmatically circumscribed, concept has been used more frequently, in which Central Europe consists basically of the three medieval kingdoms of Central Europe: Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary (the latter including Croatia).6 Since the volumes of this series contain only Latin hagiography written in the domains of Roman Catholicism, it seemed logical to limit our focus to this narrower concept of Central Europe, although not denying that the religious and cultural influences extended further to the east and north.7 Gábor Klaniczay, “The Birth of a New Europe about 1000 CE: Conversion, Transfer of Institutional Models, New Dynamics,” in  Eurasian Transformations, Tenth to Thirteenth Centuries: Crystallizations, Divergences, Renaissances, ed. Johann P. Arnason and Björn Wittrock (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2004), 99–130; idem, “Von Ostmitteleuropa zu Westmitteleuropa: Eine Umwandlung im Hochmittelalter,“ in Böhmen und seine Nachbarn in der Přemyslidenzeit, ed. Ivan Hlavaček and Alexander Patschovsky (Sigmaringen: Thorbecke, 2011), 17–48; Nora Berend, ed., Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus’ c. 900–1200 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007); eadem, “The Mirage of East Central Europe: Historical Regions in a Comparative Perspective,” in Medieval East Central Europe in a Comparative Perspective: From Frontier Zones to Lands in Focus, ed. Gerhard Jaritz and Katalin Szende (London and New York: Routledge, 2016), 9–23; The Routledge Handbook of East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1300, ed. Florin Curta (London and New York: Routledge, 2022). 6 Nora Berend, Przemysław Urbańczyk, and Przemysław Wiszewski, Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary and Poland, c. 900-c.1300 (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2013); Démystifier l’Europe centrale: Bohême, Hongrie et Pologne du VIIe au XVIe siècle, ed. Marie-Madeleine de Cevins (Paris: Passés composés, 2021); The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Central Europe, ed. Nada Zečević and Daniel Ziemann (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022). 7 Gábor Klaniczay, “Conclusion: North and East European Cults of Saints in Comparison with East-Central Europe,” in Saints and their Lives on the Periphery: Veneration of Saints in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe (c. 1000–1200), ed. Haki Antonsson and Ildar H. Garipzanov (Turnhout: Brepols, 2010), 283–304. 5

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The genre of hagiography also requires further introduction. Here I will be brief, because otherwise I would open the gates for a discussion of a vast territory of learning, extending from the oeuvre of the Bollandists,8 especially of Hippolyte Delehaye9 and René Aigrain,10 to the synthesizing works of recent historiography such as those by Réginald Grégoire,11 Marc van Uytfanghe,12 Thomas Head,13 and Sofia Boesch Gajano.14 Recent decades have witnessed a monumental attempt to provide a detailed and systematized presentation of the learning in this domain, coordinated by Guy Philippart, which resulted in the eight-volume, still unfinished, series of the Corpus Christianorum entitled Hagiographies. Histoire internationale de la littérature hagiographique latine et vernaculaire en Occident des origines à 1550.15 Besides dozens of detailed studies, these volumes also contain relevant recent overviews of the medieval hagiographies of Central Europe for Hungary,16 Poland,17

Hippolyte Delehaye, L’oeuvre des Bollandistes à travers les siècles 1615–1915 (Bruxelles: Société des Bollandistes, 1959). 9 Idem, Les légendes hagiographiques (Bruxelles: Société des Bollandistes, 1905, 19062 , 19273). 10 René Aigrain, L’ hagiographie: Ses sources, ses méthodes, son histoire (Paris: Bloud & Gay, 1953), reprinted with updated bibliographical references by Robert Godding (Bruxelles: Société des Bollandistes, 2000). 11 Réginald Grégoire, Manuale di agiologia: Introduzione alla letteratura agiografica (Fabriano: Monastero San Silvestro Abate, 1987, 19962). 12 Marc van Uytfanghe, “L’hagiographie: un ‘genre’ chrétien ou antique tardif?,” Analecta Bollandiana 111 (1993): 135–88. 13 Thomas Head, ed., Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology (New York and London: Garland Publishing, 2000). 14 Sofia Boesch Gajano, Un’ agiografia per la storia (Roma: Viella, 2020). 15 Hagiographies: Histoire internationale de la littérature hagiographique latine et vernaculaire en Occident des origines à 1550, Corpus Christianorum, ed. Guy Philippart (Brepols: Turnhout, 1994–2020), vols. I–VIII. 16 Gábor Klaniczay and Edit Madas, “La Hongrie,” in Philippart, Hagiographies, vol. II, 102–60. 17 Teresa Dunin-Wasowicz, “Hagiographie polonaise entre XIe et XVIe siècle,” in Philippart, Hagiographies, vol. III, 179–202. 8

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C ­ roatia,18 and the Czech Kingdom.19 For recent historical studies on hagiography in Central Europe one might consult my overview20 and the collection of studies assembled by Marie-Madeleine de Cevins and Olivier Marin.21 The whole of this vast and detailed literature provides one simple and many complicated answers to the question: What is hagiography? The simple answer is: every kind of writing related to Christian saints. The word stems from the Greek ἅγιος / hagios (saint) and γράφειν / graphein (write). Hagiography is made up of various genres: passiones – the acts of the Christian martyrs in the age of persecutions,22 vitae – legends that provide biographical descriptions of the lives of the saints,23 and miracula – folkloric and literary accounts of the miracles performed by particular saints assembled in miracle-lists.24 From the late twelfth century these were registered in the judicially authenticated witness accounts of the canonization processes, a source-type examined by André Vauchez25

Ivanka Petrović, “L’hagiographie, latine et vernaculaire, de l’espace croate, des origines à 1350,” in Philippart, Hagiographies, vol. IV, 183–272. 19 Marianna Cerno and Maddalena Betti, “Latin Hagiography and the Cult of Saints in Czech Territories in the Middle Ages (tenth-fifteenth Centuries),” in Philippart, Hagiographies, vol. VIII, 15–139. 20 Gábor Klaniczay, “The Cult of the Saints in Recent Historiographies of Central Europe,” Sanctorum 10 (2013): 159–86. 21 Les saints et leur culte en Europe Centrale au Moyen Âge (XIe-début du XVIe siècle), ed. Marie-Madeleine de Cevins and Olivier Marin (Turnhout: Brepols, 2017). 22 Herbert A. Musurillo, The Acts of the Christian Martyrs, vols. I–II (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000 [1954]). 23 Thomas J. Heffernan, Sacred Biography: Saints and Their Biographers in the Middle Ages (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1988 [1954]). 24 Hippolyte Delehaye, “Les recueils antiques de Miracles de saints,” Analecta Bollandiana 43 (1925): 1–85, 305–25; for the medieval period, see A Companion to Medieval Miracle Collections, ed. Sari Katajala-Peltomaa, Jenni Kuuliala and Iona McCleery (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2021). 25 André Vauchez, La sainteté en Occident aux derniers siècles du moyen âge: D’après les procès de canonisation et les documents hagiographiques (Rome: École française de Rome, 1981); English translation: Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997). 18

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and Michael Goodich.26 Hagiographic writing also extends to translationes – accounts of the translations of relics,27 hymns, and offices from the liturgies of the saints,28 and the vast, recently much-researched territory of sermons dedicated to the saints.29 This genre-related differentiation of hagiographic writing is complicated further because in the early Middle Ages, and frequently even in the central Middle Ages, hagiographic texts are often the only historical record of a poorly documented era. They are used as chronicles themselves or intermingled with the texts of the early chronicles from these “dark ages.” Thus, the relationship between hagiography and historiography has been a much-discussed issue in recent scholarship, including the level of the philological interdependence of legends and chronicles.30 The legends in this volume offer some eloquent examples of the mingling of these two important genres of medieval Latin written culture.31 The legends of Saint Stephen of Hungary, espe26 Michael E. Goodich, Miracles and Wonders: The Development of the Concept of Miracle, 1150–1350 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007). 27 Martin Heinzelmann, Translationsberichte und andere Quellen des Reliquienkultes (Turnhout: Brepols, 1979); Patrick Geary, Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978). 28 Eric Palazzo, Liturgie et société au Moyen Âge (Paris: Aubier, 2000), 177–93. 29 Nicole Bériou, L’avènement des maîtres de la Parole: La prédication à Paris au XIIIe siècle (Paris: Institut d’études augustiniennes, 1998); eadem, “Les sermons latins après 1200,” in The Sermon, ed. Beverly Mayne Kienzle, Typologie des sources du Moyen Âge Occidental 81 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2000). 30 Baudouin de Gaiffier, “Hagiographie et historiographie: Quelques aspects du problème,” Settimane di studio del Centro italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo 17 (Spoleto: Presso la Sede del Centro, 1970), 139–66; Felice Lifshitz, “Between Positivism and Genre: ‘Hagiographical’ Texts as Historical Narrative,” Viator 25 (1994): 95– 113; János M. Bak, “Hagiography and Chronicles,” in Promoting the Saints: Cults in Their Contexts from Late Antiquity until the Early Modern Period; Essays in Honor of Gábor Klaniczay for His 60th Birthday, ed. Ottó Gecser, József Laszlovszky, Balázs Nagy, Marcell Sebők, and Katalin Szende (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2011), 51–58; Gábor Klaniczay, “Hagiography and Historical Narrative,” in Chronicon: Medieval Narrative Sources; A chronological guide with introductory essays, ed. János M. Bak and Ivan Jurković (Turnhout: Brepols, 2013), 111–18. 31 This explains why their historical and philological analysis is frequently intertwined in Hungarian historiography: see, for example, János Horváth, Árpád-kori

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cially the second one, the Legenda minor, provide a chronicle-like narrative of the reign of the first Christian king of Hungary with few hagiographic features and almost no miracles.32 The legends of Saint Ladislaus contain a number of passages identical with those in the Chronicle of the Hungarians, a composite text preserved in fourteenth-century manuscripts and synthesized in the text of the Illuminated Chronicle from the times of King Louis I (the “Great”).33 Hungarian historiography has debated whether the Ladislaus legend took these passages from the sizeable part of the Chronicle frequently called the Gesta Ladislai regis, certainly ready by the middle of the twelfth century, or whether the Chronicle borrowed the text from the relevant parts of the legend. This question is important for the dating of both. The detailed analyses of József Gerics and Kornél Szovák convincingly proved the priority of the Chronicle text,34 but whether this text was identical with the one in the fourteenth-century composition or just a shorter, rudimentary, version subsequently completed with additional interpolations,

latin nyelvű irodalmunk stílusproblémái [The stylistic problems of Latin literature of Hungary in the Arpadian period] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1954); Lajos J. Csóka, A latin nyelvű történeti irodalom kialakulása Magyarországon a XI—XIV. században [The formation of the Latin language historical literature in Hungary between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1967); Gábor Thoroczkay, “A magyarországi legendairodalom és történetírás a 14. század közepéig” [Hungarian legend-literature and historiography until the middle of the fourteenth century], in idem, Ismeretlen Árpád-kor: Püspökök, legendák, krónikák [Unknown Arpadian age: Bishops, legends, chronicles] (Budapest: L’Harmattan, 2016), 184–208. 32 Gábor Klaniczay, Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 134–46, 412–15. 33 Chronica de gestis Hungarorum e codice picto saec. Xiv / Chronicle of the Deeds of the Hungarians from the Fourteenth-Century Illuminated Codex, ed. and trans. János M. Bak and László Veszprémy, with a Latin text by Ibolya Bellus, Central European Medieval Texts 9 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2018). 34 József Gerics, “Textbezüge zwischen den ungarischen Chroniken und die Sankt-Ladislaus Legende,” Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 19 (1973): 273–303; Kornél Szovák, “Szent László alakja a korai elbeszélő forrásokban” [The figure of St Ladislaus in the early narrative sources], Századok 134 (2000): 117–45.

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is still debated.35 The thirteenth-century Vita minor of Stanislaus of Cracow is a similar case of a legend incorporating long passages from a chronicle. About one third of the entire text of the legend consists of a slightly rewritten chapter from the Chronica Polonorum by Master Vincent, called Kadłubek, from the early thirteenth century, who provided the first detailed description of the death of the martyred bishop.36 Let me hint further in these introductory remarks as to why I labeled the historical analysis of medieval hagiography e­ xtremely complicated. The authors are often anonymous (the situation of most of the legends in this volume), and we usually ignore precisely when these texts were written, since the remaining authentic manuscript copies may date to more than a century later than the most probable date of creation. This opens a large space for philological, linguistic, and historical arguments debating when legends arose. Furthermore, this is even more difficult because the legends of most saints were rewritten several times and several manuscript versions of them survive; réécriture was one of the essential characteristics of medieval hagiography.37 Historical analysis of the hagiographies of the saints in Central Europe, as one can see in the prefaces of the three CEMT volumes, includes heated debates about the dating and reconstruction of the correct historical order of these legends, and the relationship of their texts to each other and to supposed “lost,” “archaic,” “original” versions. Although the “new philology” of the 1980s and 1990s could have cut these Gordian knots by recognizing the autonomous status of each “variant,”38 the uncertainties of the exact historical contexts of each legend-variant make such an approach rather circular and hypothetical. In any case, centuries of learning Cf. my “Preface” to the Ladislaus legends below at 407–14 in this volume. Magister Vincentius, Chronica Polonorum, ed. Marian Plezia, Monumenta Poloniae Historica Series Nova 11 (Cracow: Nakładem PAU, 1994), 55–60. 37 Miracles, vies et réécriture dans l’Occident médiéval, ed. Monique Goullet and Martin Heinzelmann (Sigmaringen: Thorbecke, 2006). 38 Bernard Cerquiglini, Éloge de la variante: Histoire critique de la philologie (Paris: Seuil, 1989). 35

36

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have made the field of hagiography one of the most frequented territories of medievalist research in Central Europe. An eloquent testimony of these polemics is provided by the Lives of Saint Adalbert in the first volume of our series. In the preface, Cristian Gaşpar describes in detail the debates surrounding the original text, the place of creation, and the authorship of the “Imperial/Ottonian version” of the legend included in the CEMT collection.39 The same volume contains “The Passion of Saint Wenceslas by Gumpold of Mantua,” translated by Marina Miladinov [Schumann],40 which was chosen partly because it was one of the Latin Wenceslas legends not yet translated into English,41 and it could be dated and attributed easily, unlike several other of his legends, above all that by the monk Christian. We wanted to avoid becoming entangled in the still-passionate polemics around this text.42 In this volume, we include several such debated uncertainties. The three legends of Saint Stephen of Hungary provide not only an excellent example for réécriture, but the dating of the third one, compiled by Bishop Hartvic from the texts of the Legenda maior, the Legenda minor, and his own additions, is still controversial in Hungarian historiography,43 as are similar interrelated debates surrounding the legend of his son, Saint Emeric.44 The Leg Cristian Gaşpar, “Preface to the Life of Saint Adalbert Bishop of Prague and Martyr,” in Klaniczay, Vitae sanctorum aetatis conversionis, 79–94. 40 Ibid. 17–77. 41 For the other translations, see The origins of Christianity in Bohemia: Sources and Commentary, ed. and trans. by Marvin Kantor (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1990). 42 For recent overviews, see Herman Kǿlln, Die Wenzelslegende des Mönchs Christian (Copenhagen: The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, 1996); Petr Kubín, Sedm Přemyslovských kultů / Seven Přemyslid cults (Prague: Togga, 2011), 125–50; David Kalhous, Legenda Christiani and Modern Historiography (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2015); Petr Kubín, “Du cloître au diocèse: la diffusion du culte de sainte Ludmila,” Hagiographica 29 (2022): 81–112. 43 Gábor Thoroczkay, “Anmerkungen zur Frage der Entstehungszeit der Hartvik-Legende des Stephan des Heiligen,” Specimina Nova. Pars prima. Sectio mediaevalis 1 (2001): 107–31. See below also his Preface at 21–38. 44 See below the “Preface” by Gábor Bradács and Dorottya Uhrin at 179–90. 39

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enda maior of Saint Gerard, bishop of Csanád, preserved in a fourteenth-century text, provides significant detailed information not available in the earlier text of his Legenda minor, long a cherished topic for philologists looking for a “lost archaic version.”45 Such polemics are also attached to the Vita minor of Saint Procopius, the holy abbot of the Bohemian Sázava,46 and the issue of precedence between the Legenda minor and the Legenda maior of Saint Stanislaus, the martyred bishop of Cracow.47 Similar debates persist around the hagiographic documentation of Saint Margaret of Hungary, presented in the third volume of the series. The dating of her Legenda vetus is not a problem, but the person of its author and the textual relationship of the fourteenth-century Legenda maior to the Legenda minor, signed by Garinus OP, were long the subject of polemics until convincing arguments were advanced that both versions were the work of the same author.48

THE SANCTITY OF RULERS The lives of saintly rulers constitute the most important group of legends assembled in the three hagiographic volumes of Medieval Central European Texts. As historical research has demonstrated, in the early Middle Ages royal sainthood was a typical and original feature of the cult of saints among recently converted “barbarians.” After Merovingian beginnings, it developed from the seventh century on in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and subsequently in Scandi See below the “Preface” by Cristian Gaşpar and Gábor Klaniczay, at 223–37. See below the “Preface” by Petr Sommer, at 339–58. 47 See below the “Preface” by Stanislava Kuzmová, at 515–30. 48 Csepregi, Klaniczay and Péterfi, Legenda vetus; Tibor Klaniczay, “La fortuna di Santa Margherita d’Ungheria in Italia,” in Spiritualità e lettere nella cultura italiana e ungherese del basso medioevo, ed. Sante Graciotti and Cesare Vasoli (Florence: Olschki, 1995), 3–27; Viktória Hedvig Deák, La légende de sainte Marguerite de Hongrie et l’ hagiographie dominicaine (Paris: Cerf, 2013). 45

46

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navia and Eastern Europe.49 True, some of the obligatory elements of the activity of rulers, such as participating in battles and killing, issuing death sentences, participating in representative and luxurious courtly events, and the duty of procreating male offspring made it difficult for the church to recognize a ruler’s life as an exemplary model of sainthood. Nevertheless, the conversion of the new dynasty-founders to Christianity, the support they gave to the establishment of the Christian Church in their kingdoms, and, eventually, the fact that they paid with their lives for this choice and became martyrs of the faith made their elevation to sainthood possible and acceptable. Recognizing the sainthood of a member of a royal dynasty became the token of an alliance of the kingdom with the Christian Church. It provided the rulers with a new kind of legitimation and the cults of these saintly kings gave the Church an opportunity to influence subsequent rulers to respect new Christian standards of rulership by setting their saintly forebears as ideals to be followed.50 The tenth-century Bohemian duke, Saint Wenceslas (d. 935), set a model for saintly rulers in Central Europe. He belongs to the early medieval type of martyred saintly ruler who was reluctant to assume his authority and renounced it in favor of a religious vocation. His cult and his subsequent hagiography, however, soon made him the saintly patron of Bohemia.51 The dynastic saints of the Hungarian Kingdom brought an important innovation to this type. Saint Stephen (r. 1000–1038) was not a martyr; he earned his sainthood by the merits of his ruler49 From the vast bibliography let me only cite here František Graus, Volk, Herrscher und Heiliger im Reich der Merowinger: Studien zur Hagiographie der Merowingerzeit (Prague: Nakladatelstvi Ceskoslovenské akademie ved, 1965); Erich Hoffmann, Die heiligen Könige bei den Angelsachsen und den skandinavischen Völkern: Königssheiliger und Königshaus (Neumünster: Wachholtz, 1975); Robert Folz, Les saints rois du Moyen Age en Occident (VI e - XIII e siècles), Subsidia Hagiographica n°68 (Bruxelles: Société des Bollandistes, 1984). 50 I discuss this process in greater detail in my Holy Rulers, 43–113. 51 František Graus, “St. Wenzel, der heilige Patron des Landes Böhmen” in idem, Lebendige Vergangenheit. Überlieferung im Mittelalter und in den Vorstellungen vom Mittelalter (Köln: Böhlau, 1975), 159–81; Kubín, Sedm Přemyslovských kultů, 125–50.

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ship: being a converting apostle for his people, and a rex iustus, and a founder and supporter of the institutions of the Christian Church in Hungary and even beyond its frontiers.52 When the first saints were canonized in Hungary in 1083, the cult of the son and heir of Stephen, Emeric (d. 1031), who died young and could not succeed him, was linked to that of his father. An additional motivation behind his cult may have been to strengthen the dynastic aspect of the cult of saints in Hungary. The saintly prince was educated according to the “Admonitions” of his father addressed to him in a Libellus morum,53 but did not live long enough to exercise ambivalent royal activities. He could be presented as an ideal of moral perfection and, according to the contemporary propaganda of the Gregorian papacy, of virginity.54 Finally, the third Hungarian ruler to be canonized, Saint Ladislaus (r. 1077–1095), was none else than the person who initiated the canonizations of Saints Stephen and Emeric in order to strengthen his own legitimacy by patronizing these new dynastic cults. When his canonization took place a century later, in 1192, his hagiographic portrait presented yet a further important evolution in the model of royal sainthood. He was an Athleta Patriae, a heroic knight valiantly defending his kingdom from invaders, an appropriate holy ruler for the age of the Crusades.55 The third volume of the series, the hagiographic documents of Saint Margaret of Hungary, a royal princess and daughter of King Béla IV (r. 1235–1270) represents yet a new type of royal sainthood in Central Europe: its feminization. Reacting to the vogue for cults of royal saints in eleventh- and twelfth-century Europe, the papacy centralized the right of canonization, which made it difficult to have a saintly king canonized from the pontificate of Pope Innocent III (1198–1216) on. This might have contributed to the For a detailed discussion see my Holy Rulers, 114–46. Libellus de institutione morum, ed. Josephus Balogh, SRH 2, 619–27; Sancti Stephani regis primi hungariae: Libellus de institutione morum sive admonitio spiritualis, ed. László Havas (Debrecen: Universitas Scientiarum Debreceniensis, 2004). 54 See below the “Preface” to the legend of Saint Emeric by Gábor Bradács and Dorottya Uhrin, at 179–90. 55 Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 161–94. 52 53

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multiplication of the cults of saintly princesses in thirteenth-century Central Europe; their cults took over the role of sanctifying their royal dynasties. The model for the sanctity of princesses was provided by Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia (1207–1231), daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary (r. 1205–1235). She was followed by her aunt, Saint Hedwig of Silesia (1174/8–1243), daughter of Berchtold, prince of Andechs-Meran, and by Saint Agnes of Bohemia (1211–1282), daughter of King Přemysl Ottokar I and Constance of Hungary (the aunt of Saint Elizabeth). The cult of Saint Margaret belongs to this series, as do those of her sister, Saint Cunegond (Kinga), duchess of Cracow (1224–1292), and the still “unofficial” cult of Salome (d.1268), sister-in-law of Saint Cunegond and widow of Coloman, duke of Galicia, brother of Béla IV. The royal nunneries of these princesses became “heavenly courts” under the patronage of Franciscan and Dominican confessors and inaugurated a new period of royal and dynastic sainthood for the late Middle Ages.56

MARTYR BISHOPS – HOLY BISHOPS Holy bishops, one of the principal types of martyr and confessor saints after Late Antiquity, constitute a second important group of Central European saints in the first two volumes of the CEMT series.57 Saint Adalbert, second bishop of Prague, himself an aristocrat (from the Slavnik family, the principal rivals of the Přemyslids) is certainly the most important among them.58 His cult is quite Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 195–293; idem, “Agnes of Bohemia and Margaret of Hungary: A Comparison,” in Queens, Princesses and Mendicants: Close Relations in European Perspective, ed. Nikolas Jaspert and Imke Just (Vienna: LIT Verlag, 2019), 263–81. 57 Saintly Bishops and Bishops’ Saints, ed. John S. Ott and Trpimir Vedriš (Zagreb: Hagiotheca Humaniora, 2012). 58 On his cult, see Aleksander Gieysztor, “Sanctus et gloriosissimus martyr Christi Adalbertus: Un État et une Église missionnaires aux alentours de l’an mille,” in La conversione al cristianesimo nell’Europa dell’alto medioevo. Settimane di studi sull’alto Medioevo, t. 14 (Spoleto: CISAM, 1969), 611–47; Gaşpar, “Preface to the Life of Saint Adalbert”; Geneviève Bührer-Thierry, “Saint national ou saint Européen? Les 56

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complex; he was forced to leave his bishopric and became a missionary saint late in life when his efforts to convert the Prussians ended in martyrdom.59 A second martyr bishop whose two legends are included in this volume is Saint Gerard of Csanád, who was of Venetian origin.60 His life-course, as described in his Legenda minor, is a combination of several hagiographic types. He came to Pannonia as a pilgrim and spent seven years in the hermitage of Bél, thus joining the ranks of those Central European hermit-saints who were presented in the first volume of the series: Zoerard-Andrew and Benedict, the two hermits in Nitra,61 and the Five Brethren, disciples of Romuald who migrated from Italy to a Polish hermitage and were martyred there.62 Even later, when he was a bishop, Gerard remained faithful to his hermit vocation and had a hermit’s cell near his bishop’s see. At the same time, his Minor Legend presents an image of the “good bishop,” who organized his new bishopric, established the liturgy and processions, promoted the cult of the Virgin Mary, and preached to his “folk,” demanding discipline, punishing misbehavior yet regretful if he was too cruel, distributing alms, and becoming sentimental on seeing a servant singing a folksong while doing heavy work.63 A bishop’s duties also extended to the realm of politics and Gerard became a model in this field as well. After Saint Stephen’s death, during the time of one of his successors, King Samuel tribulations d’Adalbert de Prague et de ses reliques dans le temps et dans l’espace (Xe-XIIe siècles),” in Cevins and Marin, Les saints et leur culte en Europe Centrale, 247–60. 59 Ian N. Wood, The Missionary Life: Saints and the Evangelisation of Europe (400– 1050) (London: Longman, 2001), 207–39. 60 See below at 239–335. 61 “Lives of the Holy Hermits Zoerard the Confessor and Benedict the Martyr by Blessed Maurus, Bishop of Pécs,” ed. and trans. by Marina Miladinov, in Klaniczay, Vitae sanctorum aetatis conversionis, 315–37. 62 “Life of the Five Brethren by Bruno of Querfurt,” ed. and trans. by Marina Miladinov, in Klaniczay, Vitae sanctorum aetatis conversionis, 183–313; cf. eadem, “Hermits Murdered by Robbers: The Construction of Martyrdom in Ottonian Hagiography,” Annual of the Department of Medieval Studies at CEU 6 (2000): 9–21. 63 See below at 252–53 and 310–11.

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Aba, he courageously confronted him for reigning as a murderous tyrant. Gerard denied him the Easter benediction and predicted a uprising leading to his death. The uprising, however, was succeeded by a pagan rebellion (1046) and it led to the massacre of several bishops, Gerard among them. 64 The much-discussed Legenda maior provides more details on Gerard’s life, but its authenticity is debatable, since the text only received a final formulation in the fourteenth century and contains several clear anachronisms. It adds to his hagiographic profile an exemplary monastic career, raising him to become the abbot of his monastery (probably San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice), before he left on the pilgrimage that took him to Hungary. The Legenda maior includes further colorful descriptions of the hagiographic motifs of the hermit’s life in Bél, and adds a detailed account of a battle against the local pagan chieftain to the story of the foundation of his Csanád bishopric. It completes the descriptions of the bishop’s many activities with his foundation of a late medieval-style cathedral school. The narratives of the martyrdom and subsequent canonization of Gerard are also quite detailed and they are completed by a list of the miracles that happened at his grave, extending as late as the fourteenth century.65 The third holy bishop in this series, John of Trogir,66 is not a martyr, but rather a representative of the ideal of a reform bishop in the spirit of the Gregorian papacy. Ana Marinković points out how much these concepts, originating from Italy just like John himself, permeated the text of his legend. The reformist bishops were active “bishop-reformers,” making peace, working for their civic communities, and standing up in front of the secular authority for more just Christian governance. 67 This kind of militant representation of the ecclesiastic views of secular authority by the bishops could frequently become a source 66 67 64 65

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See below at 260–63. See below at 290–97 and 321–35. See his Legend below at 461–511. See her “Preface” to the legend of Saint John of Trogir below at 447–59.

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of conflict, as had already happened in the case of Saint Gerard of Csanád and King Samuel Aba. The life of the fourth holy bishop in the series, Saint Stanislaus of Cracow, murdered by King Boleslaus II in 1079, is archetypical in this respect.68 This tragic conflict between the king of Poland and the bishop of Cracow occurred in the late eleventh century, in the decade when the conflict between secular and ecclesiastical power was rising to the highest intensity with the dictates of Pope Gregory VII. During the twelfth century, the martyrdom of the Polish bishop gradually acquired a greater significance through another, even more archetypical case: the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 and his subsequent canonization in 1173.69 When his cult emerged in the thirteenth century it became the foundation of similarly dominant saintly patronage in Poland, like the cult of holy rulers in the neighboring Bohemia and Hungary.70 The analogy with the martyrdom of Thomas Becket was well exploited in the sermons attached to Saint Stanislaus’ cult.71 The cult of Saint Stanislaus, the most representative of the holy and martyr bishop cults in Central Europe, also completes the image of the medieval bishop as pastor bonus: he administered the church entrusted to him “with utmost dedication” and justice, not tolerating any sinful transgression, not even those coming from the king’s milieu, at the same time giving his flock paternal guidance, Tadeusz Grudziński, Boleslaus the Bold, Called Also the Bountiful, and Bishop Stanislaus: The Story of a Conflict (Warsaw: Interpress, 1985). See the Vita minor of Saint Stanislaus below at 531–605. The German translation of his Vita maior has recently been published in a similar Latin-German bilingual edition as the present one: Heilige Fürstinnen und Kleriker: Lebensbeschreibungen und Wunderberichte von polnischen Heiligen des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts, ed. and trans. by Eduard Mühle (Darmstadt: wbg, 2021), 23–179. 69 Eric Waldram Kemp, Canonization and Authority in the Western Church (London: Oxford University Press, 1948), 82–103. 70 Agnieszka Rożnowska–Sadraei, Pater Patriae: The Cult of Saint Stanislaus and the Patronage of Polish Kings 1200–1455 (Cracow: Unum, 2008). 71 Stanislava Kuzmová, “Preaching on Martyr-Bishops in the Later Middle Ages: Saint Stanislaus of Kraków and Saint Thomas Becket,” in Britain and Poland-Lithuania: Contact and Comparison from the Middle Ages to 1795, ed. by Richard Unger (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 67–85; eadem, Preaching Saint Stanislaus: Medieval Sermons on Saint Stanislaus of Cracow, His Image and Cult (Warsaw: DiG, 2013). 68

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helping the poor and defenseless. The legend provides a long and detailed description of the moral duties of a good bishop, just as the legends of holy rulers provide a kind of mirror of princes.72

HOLY ABBOTS The abbot is the third type of “leader” among the Central European saints presented here. Compared to the numerous holy rulers and bishops, Saint Procopius, abbot of Sázava, is the only saintly abbot among the saints of the central Middle Ages.73 We learn that he protected his community and the poor “as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings.” He set up “guidelines and divine ceremonies in accordance to the Rule of our glorious father Benedict,” he performed healing miracles and chased demons from the possessed. He earned the respect of the duke in the region and exercised his authority “governed by affection and kindness.” 74 The portrait of the holy abbot is further completed by another legend in our collection. As already mentioned, the martyr-bishop Saint Gerard, according to his fourteenth-century legend, started his ecclesiastical career as a monk and subsequently became abbot of the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. This portrait, however, is rather that of a late medieval abbot, not one from the eleventh-century.75 Based on this, the monastic part is rather modest in the hagiography of the sanctity of the leaders in Central Europe. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to conclude from this numerical disproportion that a strong monastic culture was lacking in this region: Benedictine monasteries were centers of religious culture in

72 Eadem, “The Pastor Bonus: Saint Stanislaus of Cracow in Sermons and BishopSaints as Exemplars in the Late Middle Ages,” in Ott and Vedriš, Saintly Bishops, 253–73. 73 See the “Preface” of Petr Sommer to the Vita minor of Saint Procopius below at 339–57. 74 For the quotes from the Vita minor, see below at 370–71 and 378–79. 75 See the Legenda maior of Saint Gerard below at 272–75.

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the eleventh and twelfth centuries.76 Several of the legends of saintly rulers and bishops, though frequently anonymous, were probably written in these monasteries. The cults of the new saints, however, were instituted by bishops allied to, in the service of, or sometimes in conflict with the ruling dynasties – this could be the explanation for the high frequency of saintly rulers and bishops in this region in the central Middle Ages.

ON THE PRESENT VOLUME As a conclusion of this Introduction a few words are in order concerning its composition and the role of its contributors. The Latin texts in the volume, as detailed in the appendix titled “Select Hagiography,” are based on the best available critical editions. We decided to include a full series of the Hungarian legends of the eleventh and twelfth centuries (adding to the one on Saints Zoerard-Andrew and Benedict, published in a previous CEMT volume): three on Saint Stephen, two on Saint Gerard, one on Saint Emeric and one (including two variants) on Saint Ladislaus. These legends were edited by Emma Bartoniek and Imre Madzsar in Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum (1938). The Latin texts published in this volume are emended at several places by Cristian Gaşpar, who prepared the translation and the critical apparatus of most of these legends (except for the Hartvic legend by Nora Berend and the Major legend of Gerard by János M. Bak). In the cases of Saint Procopius and Saint Stanislaus, for considerations of space, we had to limit ourselves to include only their Vita minor, based on the editions by Václav Chaloupecký and Bohumil Ryba (1952), and by Wojciech Kętrzyński in Monumenta Poloniae Historica (1884), respectively. The Latin texts in this volume are also containing some emendations by Cristian Gaşpar, who prepared the translation and the critical apparatus of 76 The Benedictines and Central Europe: Christianity, Culture, Society 800–1300, ed. Dušan Foltýn, Pavlína Mašková, and Petr Sommer (Prague: Nakladatelství lidové noviny, 2021).

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these two legends. As for the Vita of Saint John of Trogir, we relied on the edition by Daniele Farlati (1769) for the translation and the apparatus by Marina Miladinov (Schumann). The Latin and the English texts have been controlled by Frank Schaer, our Series Editor and Ildikó Csepregi, the Co-editor of this volume. As can be seen from the numerous authors of the prefaces, this volume is the result of a long-term cooperation of Central European historians.

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SAINT STEPHEN OF HUNGARY

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PREFACE Gábor Thoroczkay The Legends about Saint Stephen, the founder of the Hungarian state and church (1000/1001–1038),1 form the most important group of hagiographic works describing the saints of the Arpadian dynasty in Hungary. They can be dated to the second half of the eleventh century and to the first half of the twelfth century; among the Hungarian legends, the only one that is earlier to them chronologically is the legend of the hermit-saints from Zobor.2 As they depict the very first king and founder of both state and church, the hagiographic literature of other Hungarian saints (Prince Emeric, Bishop Gerard, King Ladislaus, or Princess Margaret who became canonized only in the twentieth century) could not surpass these early legends in importance. The most influential modern biography on him is György Györffy’s, István király és műve [King Stephen and his achievement] (Budapest: Gondolat, 1977; repr. Budapest: Balassi Kiadó, 2013, based on the last edition revised by the author, published in 2000). Abridged translations: König Stephan der Heilige, tr. Marika Knopp (Budapest: Corvina, 1988); King Saint Stephen of Hungary, tr. Peter Doherty (Highland Lakes, NJ: Atlantic Research and Publications, 1994). See also Gyula Kristó, Szent István király [King Saint Stephen] (Budapest: Vince Kiadó, 2001), and idem, “The Life of King Stephen the Saint,” in Saint Stephen and His Country: A Newborn Kingdom in Central Europe; Hungary—Essays on Saint Stephen and His Age, ed. Attila Zsoldos (Budapest: Lucidus Kiadó, 2001), 15–36, Attila Zsoldos, The Legacy of Saint Stephen (Budapest: Lucidus Kiadó, 2004), and Marie-Madeleine de Cevins, Saint Étienne de Hongrie (Paris: Fayard, 2004). Most of the relevant sources, a representative selection of modern historical writing, and an invaluable bibliography on the topic are now available (in Hungarian) in Szent István és az államalapítás [Saint Stephen and the foundation of the state], ed. László Veszprémy (Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, 2002). 2 “Lives of the Holy Hermits Zoerard the Confessor and Benedict the Martyr by Blessed Maurus, Bishop of Pécs,” ed. with and introduction, notes and English translation by Marina Miladinov, in Vitae sanctorum aetatis conversionis Europae centralis (saec. X–XI)—Saints of the Christianization age of Central Europe (Tenth-Eleventh Centuries), ed. by Gábor Klaniczay, Central European Medieval Texts 6 (Budapest– New York: Central European University Press, 2013), 315–37. 1

[ 21 ]

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The earliest legend of Saint Stephen is the Major Legend (Legenda maior). Its date is debated, although the majority of scholars retain that it was written in the years before Stephen’s canonization in 1083 because it does not mention the king’s death and the events and miracles that followed it.3 Since the end of the nineteenth century, however, there has been another scholarly opinion according to which the later Hartvic Legend took over the description of the king’s death, his miracles, and canonization from the end of the Major Legend. Hence, these scenes would not be Bishop Hartvic’s original work either and thus the Major Legend could be dated only to the time after 1083, perhaps during the reign of King Coloman (r. 1095–1116), before the formation of Hartvic’s Legend.4 It is certain that the author of the Minor Stephen-Legend was already familiar with it. The work presents King Stephen chiefly as an ascetic saint, the founder of the state and of the Christian Church in Hungary, and having among his virtues those of extolling clemency and humility. In this respect he introduces a new type of saint, that of a king who has not suffered martyrdom but who has organized the state and the ecclesiastical structure of his country. Thus Stephen’s canonization created a new model and opened up ways to the possibility of sanctifying other rulers who acted as apostolic leaders in their countries.5 It contains few miracles, and only a little of the folkloristic tradition and other types and motifs usually occurring in hagiographic literature. Nevertheless, it aims to illustrate how God’s grace operated through Stephen’s converting activity. By offering the kingdom to the Virgin Mary he made his Elemér Varju, Legendae Sancti Regis Stephani (Budapest: Singer–Wolfner, 1928), 83–89. 4 Gyula Kristó, “A nagyobbik és a Hartvik-féle István legenda szövegkapcsolatához” [On the textual relationship of the Major Legend and the Hartvic Legend of Stephen], in idem, Írások Szent Istvánról és koráról (Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely, 2000), 175–94. 5 Gábor Klaniczay, “Szent István legendái a középkorban” [Saint Stephen’s legends in the Middle Ages], in Szent István és kora [Saint Stephen and his time], ed. by Fe­ renc Glatz and József Kardos (Budapest: MTA Történettudományi Intézet, 1988), 188–89; idem, Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 134–47, 411–15. 3

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position clear both against the claims of the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy over Hungary.6 There is more agreement about the author of the Legend: he is generally regarded to have been a Benedictine monk. His education is clerical and among his sources there are some that can be linked to the Benedictine Order, and he also knew the—still scarce—literary tradition of his country. He surely knew King Stephen’s Admonitions written to his son and also his Laws that were at that time probably transmitted together with them. Scholars also suppose, yet it is far from certain, that he used the first piece of the budding chronicle writing literature in Hungary.7 The command of Latin in the Legenda maior is far from being excellent; the rhymed prose typical of the period appears in an elaborated form only in some parts of the work.8 Its stylistic and linguistic analysis has been the focus of intensive research in recent years and has produced a new, more refined picture: it underlines the author’s good knowledge of Classical—not medieval—Latin, manifest in the grammar and selection of the technical vocabulary, but his language is regarded as school-Latin.9 The text, with minor corrections, became part of the Legend written by Bishop Hartvic, and after this latter became official, the first legend sunk more or less into oblivion. It had already been transmitted as a separate work from the twelfth century onwards, and in its present (possibly 6 József Gerics, “Politikai és jogi gondolkodás Magyarországon VII. Gergely pápa korában” [Political and legal mentality in Hungary at the time of Pope Gregory VII], in idem, Egyház, állam és gondolkodás Magyarországon a középkorban [Church, state and mentality in Hungary during the Middle Ages] (Budapest: Magyar Egyháztörténeti Enciklopédia Munkaközösség, 1995), 156–64. 7 Gábor Thoroczkay, “A magyar krónikairodalom kezdeteiről” [About the beginnings of the Hungarian chronicle literature], in Aktualitások a magyar középkorkutatásban: In memoriam Kristó Gyula (1939–2004) [Current issues in Hungarian medieval studies], ed. Márta Font et al. (Pécs: PTE BTK Történettudományi Intézet, 2010), 24–27. 8 János Horváth, Árpád-kori latinnyelvű irodalmunk stílusproblémái [The stylistic problems of Latin literature of Hungary in the Arpadian period] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1954), 136–42. 9 Tamás Körmendi, “Szent István király Nagyobb legendájának nyelvezete” [The language of Saint Stephen’s Major Legend], Fons 10 (2003): 81–118.

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truncated) form, together with the Minor Legend, it is known in four manuscripts today, mostly originating from a Cistercian environment.10 The origin of the Minor Legend (Legenda minor) can be determined on the basis of three factors: the work refers to King Ladislaus I (r. 1077–1095) as already being dead; its author, in most likelihood, knew the Major Legend; and, finally, Bishop Hartvic used the Minor Legend together with the Major Legend when writing his own compilation. Considering these elements, the Minor Legend can be dated to the time of King Coloman. The author of the Minor Legend, who was probably also a Benedictine monk, depicts a quite realistic picture of the king as the chief organizer of the state and the ecclesiastical structure, presenting him as a severe yet impartial judge. This Life, like the Major Legend, contains barely any motifs and themes characteristic of hagiography. The work presents Stephen following the entire course of his life, adding several new pieces of information and details that correct its main source, the Major Legend. Its author surely knew Stephen’s Laws and used some hagiographical works written in Benedictine surroundings. In addition, his references to Horace and Persius show his knowledge of Classical education. During the Middle Ages, the Minor Legend had a similar fate as the Major Legend, which Hartvic’s Legend having relegated both into the background. Its manuscript tradition is 10 On the Major Legend see also Kálmán Guoth, “Eszmény és valóság Árpád-kori királylegendáinkban” [Ideal and reality in the Arpadian legends of kings], Erdélyi Múzeum 49 (1944): 320–22; Horváth, Árpád-kori, 136–42; Lajos J. Csóka, A latin nyelvű történeti irodalom kialakulása Magyarországon a XI—XIV. században [The formation of the Latin historical literature in Hungary in the 11th–14th centuries] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1967), 105–18; Richard Pražák, “The Legends of King Stephen,” Hungarian Studies 1 (1985): 165–68; Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 413– 14; Körmendi, “Szent István,” 65–80 (with the history of the research). About the manuscript tradition: the oldest is the so-called Ernst Codex (mid-twelfth century), followed by the Codex of Heiligenkreuz and the Codex of Lilienfeld (thirteenth century) and the much later Codex of Melk (fifteenth century). Best edition: Emma Bartoniek in SRH 2, 377–92. About the manuscript tradition and the earlier edition, see Emma Bartoniek, “Praefatio,” SRH 2, 365–76; Kornél Szovák in SRH 22 , 773–75.

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also identical with that of the Major Legend, since it appears as the second book of Stephen’s Life in the four surviving codices. Among Stephen’s three Lives this one has received the least attention; hence, its linguistic analysis still needs to be done, together with a comparison of its vocabulary with that of the Major Legend.11 It is worth comparing the Major Legend with the Minor Legend regarding the content, as the information included in both constituted, in the last third of the eleventh century, the minimum of hagiographical-historical memory concerning the foundation of the Hungarian state and Church. Such a comparison, of course, could be deceiving, since the author of the Legenda minor knew the Major Legend and no doubt exploited its content, and there are several motifs in both legends that belong to the popular topoi of legend-literature. It is still interesting to list the material in them and then to analyze the information present in the Major Legend but lacking from the Minor Legend. The only major addition of the Minor Legend is the passage that describes the conspirators against King Stephen,12 which suits well the realistic tone of this work. The historical background of this perhaps comes from the complications around the succession to Stephen’s throne and the deeds of Prince Vazul. The Minor Legend provides an account of the king’s death and his canonization as well. The first piece of shared content in the two presently known texts of Stephen’s Life recounts how it was essentially divine grace and the Savior himself who converted the Hungarians.13 The second group of information they share concerns Grand Duke Géza, Stephen’s father, depicted in both Legends as the one who initiated the conversion of the country but who did not and could carry For the Minor Legend, see also Guoth, “Eszmény,” 322–24; Horváth, Árpádkori, 143–48; Csóka, A latin nyelvű, 119–33; Pražak, “The Legends,” 168–70; Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 414. Best edition: Emma Bartoniek in SRH 2, 393–400. (We will provide here both the references to this original edition and the page numbers in the subsequent current edition.) 12 SRH 2, 399. See below at 100–103. 13 Ibid., 378, 394. See below at 42–43 and 84–85. 11

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out this task to the end.14 The third event they both contain is the battle against Chieftain Koppány—though without mentioning his name—and in connection with this the reference to Saint Martin and the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma.15 The fourth shared element is the description of Stephen’s marriage with Gisela, the Bavarian princess.16 The fifth is the organization of the country into dioceses, with both legends confirming that Rome gave consent in this matter.17 The sixth is the founding of the royal basilica at Alba Regia (Székesfehérvár).18 The seventh shared element is the founding of churches and pilgrims’ houses in Rome and Jerusalem.19 As the eighth similarity I would list the victory over the Pecheneg people, with the help of miracles.20 And finally, the ninth common feature describes the long illness that preceded the king’s death.21 By way of summarizing the above-mentioned elements we can describe the content of the legends as such: the conversion of the Hungarians initiated out of divine will, initiated by Géza but completed only by Stephen through the establishment of the structural framework of the ecclesiastical system, which was acknowledged by the papacy as well. Armed with the help of Saint Martin, Stephen overcame those who turned against him and founded the Abbey at Pannonhalma (whose privileges were specified even further in Hartvic’s Legend22). Within the kingdom another noteworthy ecclesiastical foundation of his was the provostship at Alba Regia (this is also discussed in more detail by Hartvic, 23 if this passage is not a later interpolation), whereas abroad he founded churches 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 14 15

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Ibid., 378–80, 394–95. See below at 44–45 and 84–87. Ibid., 381–84, 395. See below at 50–57 and 88–91. Ibid., 384, 394. See below at 58–61 and 86–87. Ibid., 383, 397. See below at 54–55 and 94–95. Ibid., 385–86, 396. See below at 62–63 and 92–93. Ibid., 386–87, 396–97. See below at 62–63 and 94–95. Ibid., 388–89, 397–98. See below at 70–71 and 96–97. Ibid., 390, 399. See below at 74–75 and 100–103. Ibid., 409–10. See below at 120–23. Ibid., 418. See below at 136–37.

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in Rome and Jerusalem. At some point during his reign he had an overwhelming victory over the Pechenegs. His wife was Gisela, Bavarian princess and his death came following a long illness. These were the elements that hagiographic memory retained as the most important regarding Saint Stephen. The Minor Legend omits some significant facts, such as the activity of Saint Adalbert of Prague, bishop and martyr, in Hungary.24 Present day historical research sees in him the bishop who baptized Stephen, supporting this claim with historical25 as well as linguistic arguments.26 For some reason, however, this information about his person and his activity did not belong to the stock of knowledge that was obligatory to know at the end of the eleventh century. This is all the more striking as the first church of the country, the archdiocese of Esztergom, regarded him as its patron saint. To explain his omission, I would point to his German affiliations and his imperial contacts, which were probably still known during the time of the writing of the Minor Legend. The memory of such relations could have been more disturbing at the beginning of King Coloman’s reign than in the second half of Ladislaus’ reign, since the emperor sided with Coloman’s younger brother, Duke Álmos; this is why Adalbert was passed over without notice in the Minor Legend. In a similar way, it is quite odd that the author of the Legenda minor omitted Stephen’s offering of the country to the Virgin Mary.27 Perhaps he sided more with the papal version, which saw the country dedicated to Saint Peter.28 Sancti Adalberti Pragensis episcopi et martyris vita altera, ed. J. Karwasińska, Monumenta Poloniae historica, n. s., 4. 2. (Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnicto Naukowe, 1969), 19; SRH 2, 380. See below at 48–49. 25 Gyula Kristó, “Szent István születési ideje és megkeresztelése” [Saint Stephen’s date of birth and baptism], in Árpád fejedelemtől Géza fejedelemig: 20 tanulmány a 10. századi magyar történelemről [From Grand Duke Árpád to Grand Duke Géza: 20 studies on tenth-century Hungarian history] (Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó: 2002), 231–32. 26 Körmendi, “Szent István,” 82–83. 27 SRH 2, 385–86. See below at 60–63. 28 DHA, I, 195. 24

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It is also worth noting that when writing about the organization of the church in Hungary, the authors of the two legends, each emerging from a Benedictine tradition, both mentioned Rome’s agreement, even though the Hungarian kings at the time still practiced uncontestably the Carolingian model of rulership and were regarded as sovereign heads of the church in the kingdom. By underlining that the country had been offered to the Virgin Mary, the author of the Major Legend undoubtedly went against papal principles, yet he did not venture to omit the papacy from the foundation-history of the church in Hungary in the years 1080–1090.29 Writing about Rome’s consent, the author of the Minor Legend probably wished to express his sympathy with the papal reforms which began slowly in the 1050s, as well as with the principles formulated by Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085) in the 1070s. It is likely that the author of this legend did not share King Coloman’s view about his own royal role as head of the church. This is indicated by the fact mentioned above, namely, that he did not mention Stephen’s offering of the Hungarian Kingdom to the Virgin Mary. The Minor Legend is silent about Stephen’s founding of a church in Constantinople as well. The reason for this was that it was probably not a historical fact worth emphasizing in the mid-1090s, when Coloman was trying to make an alliance with the Normans, the enemies of Byzantium. The accounts of the miraculous victories over the Pechenegs, however, seem to indicate a larger nomadic attack during Stephen’s reign, probably hitting Transylvania. Hence, such an attack, in my opinion, must be taken into consideration as a historical reality, much more than it has been in previous scholarship.30 Although both legends underline the differences between Grand Duke Géza and King Stephen, it was an undeniable fact even a century later that it was Géza who had initiated the conversion of the Hungarians, despite worshipping pagan gods as well. This is all the more interesting considering that today’s historical research has—quite understandably—started to doubt that Géza had almost 29

Guoth, “Eszmény,” 334–35. Cf. Györffy, König Stephan, 169.

30

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been equal to Stephen in the organization of state and church,31 and has focused on their differences instead, as well as on Géza’s unsuccessful attempts in the above mentioned fields.32 In a short outline these are the main differences when comparing the two legends. The third, and most significant, Life of Saint Stephen was penned down by Bishop Hartvic during the reign of King Coloman. The work was probably written around 1097–1099. Its dating has been debated for a long time, with many important scholars arguing for the years of 1110s. There are, however, several arguments that support the earlier dating, for example, the period of activity of the legend-writing bishop, described in more detail below (end of the eleventh century, beginning of the twelfth century). There is an observation, which seems to support the earlier dating, namely that Hartvic’s work must have been a carefully thought out and quickly expressed response to the letter of Pope Urban II (1088–1099), written in 1096, which promised King Coloman the leadership of Saint Stephen’s ecclesiastical organization, in exchange for his loyalty to the papacy. 33 The work’s heavily anti-Gregorian tone, which sets itself against the papal reform ideas also points to the earlier date. This anti-Gregorian tone, according to Coloman’s Second Synod of Esztergom was already outdated in Hungary by the early 1110s, since, as a result of the papal legate’s activity, the requirements of the Gregorian reforms had been accepted in the Hungarian Church by this time.34 These considerations, along with other arguments, make the earlier date almost certain.35 Ibid., 61–98. Kristó Gyula, “Géza fejedelem” [Grand Duke Géza], in idem, Árpád fejedelemtől, 213–24; idem, “Géza fejedelem megítélése” [Reconsidering Grand Duke Géza], in Szent István és az államalapítás [Saint Stephen and the foundation of the state], ed. László Veszprémy (Budapest: Osiris, 2002), 369–80. 33 DHA, I, 317–8. 34 Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, “Les trois premiers synodes d’Esztergom et la discipline ecclésiastique en Hongrie au XIIe siècle,” Folia Theologica 12 (2001): 59–63. 35 Gábor Thoroczkay, “Anmerkungen zur Frage der Entstehungszeit der Hartvik-Legende des Stephan des Heiligen,” Specimina Nova. Pars prima. Sectio mediaevalis 1 (2001): 107–31. 31

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The author of the legend is identified with Hartvic (Arduin), bishop of Győr, who was Coloman’s ambassador to Sicily when negotiating the king’s marriage and who was also mentioned in an excerpt from a charter that can be dated to 1103.36 Until recently this bishop of Győr—Sicilian ambassador and supposed legend writer—had also been identified with a certain bishop Chartuirgus, mentioned in a late-eleventh century Agenda pontificalis, kept today in Zagreb, Croatia. However, some well-founded doubts have now been raised about the Agenda’s connections to Győr and to Hartvic’s activities in Hungary.37 In some scholarly literature Bishop Hartvic has also been regarded as of German origin,38 but such claims cannot be substantiated on the basis of our presently available sources.39 There are, on the other hand some certainties as well. For instance, Stephen’s major and minor legends must have been completed when Hartvic started his work, since Hartvic’s Life of St. Stephen is basically the merging of the two previous legends. Moreover, the author wrote his work at the request of King Coloman, and the king’s points of view can best be observed in the passages formulated by the legend-writing bishop himself. In these texts Hartvic tried to counter the popes’ claims of having the right to rule over Ernesto Pontieri, “De rebus gestis Rogerii Calabriae et Siciliae comitis et Roberti Guiscardi ducis fratris eius: auctore Gaufredo Malaterra monacho Benedictino,” in Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, ed. by Giosue Carducci and Vittorio Fiorini, V/12 (Bologna – Città di Castello, 1925–1928), 102–4; DHA, I, 335. 37 Cf. István Miklós Földváry, Egy úzus születése I: A Chartvirgus-pontificale és a magyarországi liturgia megalkotása a XI. században [The birth of a use: The creation of the liturgy of Hungary in the eleventh century and the Pontifical of Chartvirgus] (Budapest: Argumentum, 2017), 75–93. 38 Zoltán Tóth, A Hartvik-legenda kritikájához: A Szent Korona eredetkérdése [To the debate over the Hartvic Legend: The question of origin of the holy crown] (Budapest, 1942), 100–106, 114–22; Lajos J. Csóka, “Hartwik von Hersfeld: Ein Benediktiner-Diplomat im XI. Jh.,” Studien und Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Benediktinerordens und seiner Zweige 77 (1966): 93–101. 39 Josef Deér, “Der Anspruch der Herrscher des 12. Jahrhunderts auf die apostolische Legation,” in Byzanz und das abendländische Herrschertum: Ausgewählte Aufsätze (Thorbecke: Sigmaringen, 1977), 476. The question of the author-candidate is summarized in Thoroczkay, “Anmerkungen,” 107–10. 36

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the church in Hungary and to fabricate stories linking these rights to royal privileges which were (supposedly) in effect as early as Saint Stephen’s reign which originated from the Holy See.40 Yet another of Hartvic’s aims was to underline more markedly the divine election of the state-founder, King Stephen. He also tried to construct anew the earlier history of the church organization in Hungary by discussing the formation of the Kalocsa archdiocese as well as the privileges of the Alba Regia provostship. I address these issues in detail below. The most famous accounts from the Hartvic Legend are the recounting of how the pope sent the royal crown to Stephen and the scene describing Stephen’s canonization. These accounts, however, are not always historically correct. The royal crown, for example, had most probably been sent to Stephen by the Holy Roman Emperor, just as the royal lancet had.41 Similarly, it is unlikely that Pope Gregory VII, a pope known to have been opposed to the sainthood of kings, would have participated in the canonization in 1083.42 The role of Pope Sylvester II (999–1003), whom Hartvic does not even mention by name, probably lay in consenting to the foundation of the autonomous church organization. Other sources for the legend writer included the highly renowned Decretals attributed to Pseudo-Isidore.43 He was certainly familiar with foreign hagiographical works as well, while the preface to his work attests to his classical education. In the thirteenth century the Hartvic Legend Tóth, A Hartvik-legenda, passim; József Gerics, “Über Vorbilder und Quellen der Vita Hartviciana Sancti Stephani regis Hungariae,” Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 29 (1981): 425–44. 41 József Gerics and Erzsébet Ladányi, “A Szent István lándzsájára és koronájára vonatkozó források értelmezése” [Interpretation of the sources concerning Saint Stephen’s lancet and crown], Levéltári Szemle 40, no. 2 (1990): 3–14 (with a rich illustrative material); József Gerics and Erzsébet Ladányi, “Források Szent István királlyá avatásának történetéhez” [Sources for the history of Saint Stephen’s incoronation as king], Magyar Könyvszemle 118 (2002): 213–24. 42 József Gerics, “Szent László uralmának vitás kérdései a legendában és a krónikában” [Debated issues about Saint Ladislaus’ reign in legends and chronicles], in idem, Egyház, állam és gondolkodás, 139–40; Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 123–31. 43 Gerics, “Über Vorbilder,” 440–43. 40

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was used extensively by an interesting source of Eastern-Central European historiography: the so-called Polish-Hungarian Chronicle.44 And yet, it cannot be proven, on the basis of this testimony, that an older, shorter version of the Hartvic legend existed.45 During the entire Middle Ages (especially from 1201)46 this Life was regarded as the official biography of Saint Stephen. In addition, it can be shown that in Hungary it served as a source of law from the fourteenth century onwards. Its textual tradition can be divided into two groups, represented by ten surviving manuscripts.47 The chroniclers and “intellectuals” of the early Arpadian period had been greatly intrigued by the fights for the throne in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, between King Solomon and his cousins, the future kings, Géza and Ladislaus (1074–1083). There are two contemporary opinions that can be unearthed from the Chronica Hungaro-Polonica, I, ed. Béla Karácsonyi, Acta Universitatis Szegediensis de Attila József nominatae: Acta Historica 26 (1969): 3–75. 45 Judit Csákó, “Quelques remarques à propos de la tradition textuelle de la Chronique hungaro-polonaise: La relation de la chronique à la Légende de Hartvic,” Specimina Nova. Pars prima. Sectio mediaevalis 7 (2013): 125–46. 46 Augustinus Theiner, Vetera monumenta Slavorum meridionalium historiam illustrantia, vol. 1 (Rome: 1857), 57. 47 About the Hartvic Legend see also Guoth, “Eszmény,” 324–34; Horváth, Árpád-kori, 149–52; Csóka, A latin nyelvű, 154–99; Pražak, “The Legends,” 170–72; Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 414–15. For a detailed history of research in the nineteenth–twentieth centuries see Gábor Thoroczkay, “A Hartvik-legenda a XIX–XX. századi történetírásban” [The Hartvic legend in nineteenth–twentieth century historiography], in Írások az Árpád-korról: Történeti és historiográfiai tanulmányok [Studies on the Arpadian period: Essays on history and historiography] (Budapest: L’Harmattan, 2009), 171–214. The manuscript tradition can be divided at a different rendering of a passage in the Legenda minor; based on this the first group is formed by the Vienna Codex (14–15th century.), and the Alba Iulia Codex (15th century). To the second group belong: the Codex of Reun (12/13th century), the Codex of Munich (Tegernsee) (15th century), the Viennese (Mondsee) Codex (15th century), the Bruxelles Codex (14th century), the Codex of Paris (Corsendoncki) (15th century), Legende Sanctorum Hungarie (incunabulum, 1486), the most interesting Pest Codex (12th century), and the recently discovered Graz (Seitz) Codex (14th century). There are also some fragments to be taken into consideration, as well as the manuscripts of the Legenda aurea. Its best edition: SRH 2, 401–40. About the manuscript tradition and earlier editions cf. Emma Bartoniek, “Praefatio,” SRH 2, 365–76; Kornél Szovák in SRH 2 2 , 773–75. 44

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analysis of the Hungarian chronicle-conglomerate, texts mostly known today in their fourteenth century form but probably incorporating much earlier material as well. The first argues for the legitimacy of Solomon’s reign, crowned according to the coronation rules (the “legitimist” opinion), while the other argues for Géza and Ladislaus’ suitability for the throne versus Solomon’s unsuitability (the “idoneist” opinion). The chronology, both absolute and relative, of these two opinions is still debated even in today’s historiography. The Hartvic Legend, which can be dated quite precisely, has also been analyzed by scholars to see whether it sided with the legitimist or with the idoneist opinion. There are modern historians who interpret Hartvic’s relevant passages as representative of the idoneist view prevailing at the turn of the eleventh–twelfth centuries: that is, when the guilty Solomon, by then dethroned as king, obtained grace (indulgentia libera) thanks to King Ladislaus’ mercifulness (quante misericordie . . . fuerit).48 Other scholars, however, list several features of the Legend as exhibiting traces of the legitimist opinion of the period, such as the interconnectedness of the crown (corona) and the kingdom (regnum), the protection of the royal power, the emphasis laid on Saint Stephen, and some passages with an anti-German tone. Recent research also suggests that the legitimist opinion could have influenced an important Polish historical work from the beginning of the twelfth century, the Chronicle of Anony­mus Gallus.49 József Gerics, “A korona fogalma Kálmán-kori legendáinkban és krónikáinkban” [The concept of the crown in the legends and chronicles during the reign of Coloman], in idem, Egyház, állam és gondolkodás, 169–71. 49 Gyula Kristó, “Legitimitás és idoneitás: Adalékok Árpád-kori eszme­törté­ne­ tünkhöz” [Legitimity and idoneity: Contributions to the history of ideas in the Arpadian age], Századok 108 (1974): 591–96 (with French summary: “La légitimité et l’aptitude: Supplément à notre histoire des idées d’époque arpadienne”); Daniel Bagi, “Gallus Anonymus und die Hartvik-Legende über den Erwerb der Alleinherrschaft von Bolesław III. bzw. Koloman dem Buchkundigen,” Frühmittelalterliche Studien: Jahrbuch des Instituts für Frühmittelalterforschung der Universität Münster 43 (2009): 453–59; Gesta principum Polonorum / The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles, ed. by János M. Bak, translated and annotated by Paul W. Knoll and Frank Schaer, Central European Medieval Texts 3 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2003). 48

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As I already mentioned above, the Hartvic Legend seems to express its author’s standpoint in two important issues regarding the ruling of the church. At the beginning of the eleventh century, when constructing the structure of the Christian church in Hungary, two archdioceses were created, one at the royal see in the north, at Esztergom, the other in the south, at Kalocsa. This was a rather unusual phenomenon in the history of a newly converted nation. Bishop Hartvic described a strange story in which the archdiocese of Kalocsa originated from Esztergom. The story tells that when Archbishop Sebastian fell ill, he was helped in his duties by As(e)rik, bishop of Kalocsa, and when Aserik returned to Kalocsa, he brought a pallium with himself.50 In today’s historiography there are two explanations for the existence of the two archdioceses. According to the first one, Stephen started to organize two archdioceses but the position of Kalocsa was consolidated slower in Hungary. Hartvic witnessed this process and some of his information in this regard might be historically correct.51 According to the second explanation, the Southern-Hungarian archdiocese did not have a province at the moment of its founding, being merely a nominal, autocephalous archbishopric, and it was only in the middle of the twelfth century that an actual ecclesiastical province was added to it.52 The other church organization unit that the Legend addresses in detail, is the provostship of Alba Regia. This provostship was founded next to the basilica, which also served as the location for royal coronation ceremonies and a burial place for the royal family. This unity of functions probably followed the model of the Aachen royal chapel,53 and at the end SRH 2, 416–17. See below at 132–35. Gábor Thoroczkay, “Az első magyarországi érsekek kérdéséhez” [Contribution to the history of the first archbishops in Hungary], in idem, Írások az Árpád-korról, 9–21; idem, “A kalocsai érsekség első évszázadáról” [The first century of the Kalocsa archbishopric], in ibid., 51–65. 52 László Koszta, A kalocsai érseki tartomány kialakulása [The development of the archbishopric of Kalocsa] (Pécsi Történettudományért Kulturális Egyesület: Pécs, 2013). 53 Josef Deér, “Aachen und die Herrschersitze der Arpaden,” in idem, Byzanz und das abendländische Herrschertum, 372–423. 50 51

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of the twelfth century it received a complete passive exemption privilege from the pope. It is possible that the detailed list of the privileges of the Alba Regia church, indeed too much detailed for the end of the eleventh century,54 is a later interpolation in Bishop Hartvic’s Legend.55 Finally, I would like to address the question of the so-called lost legend of Saint Stephen, which has acquired a rather strange new relevance in today’s scholarship. The hypothesis that there had once been another, now lost but retraceable from other sources, legend of Saint Stephen, which contained information we no longer possess was first raised in the second half of the nineteenth century, by Florian Mátyás, the historian and editor of sources, then by János Karácsonyi, Roman Catholic priest and one of the leading medievalists of his time.56 This hypothesis has had both its supporters and enemies during the last century. Among other such theories, we can mention that it is to such an early hagiographic work that the source-fragments relating how the followers of the chieftain Koppány rebelled against the Grand Duke Vajk-Stephen in the 990s for having been reduced to slavery (and not due to the obligation to pay a tithe as mentioned by other sources) have been attributed.57 There are also scholars who, on the basis of other late medieval sources—such as Osvaldus de Lasko, Jakob Unrest, and the Carthusian Anonymus—see in this lost legend the point of origin for the mention of Stephen’s son called Otto, and attribute to this work a more favorable description of Géza than it can be found in

SRH 2, 418. See below at 136–37. Gergely Kiss, “A székesfehérvári prépostság egyházjogi helyzete a középkorban” [The canonical status of the Provostship of Székesfehérvár in the Middle Ages], Századok 141, no. 2 (2007): 271–97. 56 M[atthias] Florianus, Historiae Hungaricae fontes domestici, Pars I: Scriptores, IV (Quinque-ecclesiis–Lipsiae–Budapestini, 1885), 294; János Karácsonyi, “A Hartvik-vita sarokpontjai” [The cardinal points in the Hartvic debate], Századok 28 (1894): 3, 7. 57 Gerics, Legkorábbi, 19–22. 54 55

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the surviving legends.58 The most recent hypothesis traces back to a lost Stephen-legend a detail mentioned in late medieval sources, that during the strife over the throne it was not only the residents of later Somogy county that sided with Koppány but those of Zala county as well.59 All these suppositions—as I have mentioned— soon found their critics as well.60 I myself would only draw attention to the fact that the information traced back to this supposed Life consists entirely of historical details, not hagiographic topoi; hence, this supposed work must have been far richer in detail than the legends known today. Nevertheless, up to now no one has suggested that this hypothetical source could have been a lost chronicle variant.61 Most recently it has been Gábor Mikó whose research had the most impact on the question of this supposed source. He has Zoltán Tóth, “Szent István-legrégibb életirata nyomán” [Tracing the oldest biography of Saint Stephen], Századok 81 (1947): 23–94; László Veszprémy, “Ransanus krónikája Géza–Szt. István fejezetének forrásproblémája” [The problem of the source of the chapter on Géza and Saint Stephen in Ranzanus’ Chronicle], ­Magyar Könyvszemle 106 (1990): 99–112. 59 Attila Zsoldos, “Somogy megye kialakulásáról” [On the formation of Somogy county], in Szent István és az államalapítás, 433–34; idem, “Somogy megye korai történetének forrásairól” [About the sources on the early history of Somogy county], in ibid., 456–57; idem, “Elveszett források, paraszt urak és Ottó herceg: Somogy (és Zala) megye korai történetének ismeretéhez” [Lost sources, peasant lords and Prince Otto: Contribution to the early history of Somogy and Zala county], Századok 142 (2008): 494–97. 60 The ideas of Zoltán Tóth and József Gerics, respectively, are refuted by Csóka, A  latin nyelvű, 623–46; Zoltán Tóth criticized by László Blazovich, “Ransanus és a ‘legrégibb István-legenda,’” [Ransanus and the “oldest Stephen-legend”], in Válogatás 35 év írásaiból: A 60 éves Blazovich László születésnapjára [Selected writings from 35 years of studies: Festschrift for László Blazovich on his 60th birthday], ed. by Tibor Berta and Lajos Géczi (Csongrád Megyei Levéltár: Szeged, 2003), 23–25; The criticism on László Veszprémy’s related opinion: Péter Kulcsár, “Ransanus Szent István-életrajzáról” [About Ransanus’ Life of Saint Stephen], Magyar Könyvszemle 107 (1991): 307–15; The criticism of Attila Zsoldos’ theories: Balázs Kertész, “Laskai Osvát és a Karthauzi Névtelen magyarországi forrásairól: Feltételezett elbeszélő művek használatának problémája” [About the sources of Osvaldus de Lasko, and the Carthausian Anonymus: The problem of using hypothetical narrative sources], Századok 142 (2008): 474–90. 61 For the historiography of the question about Saint Stephen’s lost legend, cf. Körmendi, “Szent István,” 65–80. 58

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drawn attention to a codex held in the Prince Esterházy family archives which contains mostly legal texts, but also preserves two short chronicles. One of them is similar to the so called Gregoriánczi Chronicle,62 whereas the other is a historical work which shows some connections to the chronicle discovered by Nándor Knauz,63 and is far more interesting for our present enquiry. This work, in a wording most likely from the fifteenth century, preserved the name of King Stephen’s son called Otto as well as gave an explanation why King Andrew I (1046–1060) earned the nickname “White” (albus), stating that he had already turned gray at the time of his coronation. These two details are not mentioned in any other Hungarian chronicle. According to Gábor Mikó’s thorough analysis the original of this chronicle that has come down to us in the Esterházy Codex was known not only to chronicle writers of King Matthias’ reign, but also to the chroniclers of the fourteenth century (e.g., Heinrich von Mügeln and the author of the Pressburg Chronicle).64 Returning from the world of chronicles to the legends of the state-founder king, I would like to formulate the following hypothesis: there was no lost legend of Saint Stephen that would have supplied information to the most varied literary products over the centuries. There is, however, proof for the existence of such chronicle versions that contained material related to King Stephen, which were not known to the later, longer chronicles. It is unlikely that there could have existed a hagiographical work about Saint Stephen with historical material even more detailed than the Major Legend, which is already well-packed with historical information, or the less historically oriented Minor Legend, or even the Hartvic Legend, which was altogether a biography focusing on church-politics and ecclesiastical history. 62 Mathias Belius, Pauli Gregorianczii Zagrabiensis et Jauriensis episcopi Breviarium rerum Hungaricarum historico-geographicum (Posonii, 1746), 85–95. 63 SRH 2, 327–45. 64 Gábor Mikó, “Élt-e valaha Szent István fia, Ottó herceg? Egy ismeretlen 15. századi krónika tanúskodása” [Did Otto, son of saint Stephen, ever live?], Történelmi Szemle 55 (2013): 1–22.

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Such an extensively historical aspect would have undermined the genre-framework of the legend itself, and instead of proving the holiness of the king’s life, its authors, the early clerics of the Arpadian period, most likely Benedictine monks, would have created the genre of a lay ­biography.

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VITA SANCTI STEPHANI REGIS (Legenda Maior)

q

LIFE OF KING SAINT STEPHEN (Major Legend)

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VITA SANCTI STEPHANI REGIS (Legenda Maior)

1. Incipit prologus in Vitam Sancti Stephani regis. Omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a patre luminum.1 Neque enim quippiam boni potest in rebus ęsse existentibus vel fieri absque gratis beneficioa2 venientis miserationis dei. Oculis quidem divine providentie, quibus sibi famulantiumb 3 celestium virtutum statum inconcussum secundum placitum suum intuetur, hisdem etiam hominis perditi restaurationem dignatus est misericorditer contemplari et operari, ut quem imaginis sue dignitate4 creando decoraverat, paterni regni coheredem5 fięri per incarnationis sue sacramentum mirabiliter ęfficeret. Perfectis igitur in redemptore nostro patriarcharum ac prophetarum oraculis, per virginem inęffabiliter nascendo, per crucis passionem ac mortis assumptionem tertia die resurgendo, cum discipulis suis XL dies conversando postquam ipsis cernentibus celorum alta6 penetrans patris dexterec naturaliter et potentialiter est associatus, inde spiritum sanctum paraclitum a patre et a se procedentem in filios adoptionis7 mirabili sonitusd 8 vehementis adventue 9 transfudit, qui linguis in igneis apparens eos omnium linguarum scientia10 divites effecit et miraculorum insigni potentia, virtute beneficio MLH : om. B famulantium ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 402) : famulatum codd. c dextere MH : dextre B d sonitus MLH (cf. cod. B1 legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 402 in apparatu) : sonitu B Bartoniek e adventu codd. (cf. cod. B1 legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 402 in apparatu) : adventus coni. Bartoniek a

b

James 1:27. Beneficio is absent from B and Bartoniek’s edition, but is attested in all the other mss. as well as in B1 of Hartvic’s legend. For the manuscript notations see Note 10 and 33. 1 2

[ 40 ]

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LIFE OF KING SAINT STEPHEN (Major Legend)

1. Here begins the prologue to the Life of King Saint Stephen. Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.1 For no good whatsoever can exist or come into all that exists without the aid2 of God’s mercy, who grants it freely. Indeed, the eye of divine providence, which scrutinizes at will the unmovable order of the celestial powers in its service,3 has deemed it worthy, in His mercy, by the same token to look upon and bring about the restoration of fallen humankind; thus, it wondrously caused those which it had created and adorned with the dignity of its own image4 to become joint heirs5 in the kingdom of the Father through the mystery of its incarnation. Then, once the predictions of the patriarchs and prophets had been fulfilled through our Savior, who was miraculously born out of a virgin, who suffered and died on the cross and rose on the third day, who stayed with His disciples for forty days, and then rose to the high heavens6 under their very eyes, to be seated to the right of His Father and share in His nature and might, poured over the sons of adoption7 His Holy Ghost, by its miraculous and thunderous8 descent,9 the Paraclete, who proceeds from the Father and from Himself and who, appearing to them as fiery flames, enriched them with the knowledge of all languages,10 and distinguished them with the wondrous ability Famulantium instead famulatum given by all mss. See Gen. 1:26. 5 Cf. Rom. 8:17 (coheredes Christi). 6 A liturgical phrase; see, for instance, Sacramentarium Gelasianum 1.63.578 (ed. Mohlberg, 89). 7 Cf. Rom. 8:15 (spiritum adoptionis filiorum). 8 sonitus of mss. M, L, and H instead of sonitu given in B and printed by Bartoniek. 9 adventu instead of Bartoniek’s conjecture adventus. 10 Cf. Acts 2:2–5. 3 4

[ 41 ]

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clarificaa 11 mirificavit.12 Cuius ardore caritatis inflammati, secundum quod eis salvator noster ante preceperat, ęvangelice predicationis functib legatione totum mundum divini semina verbi spargendo perlustrav.13 Quidam eorum regna cum regibus, quidam principatus cum principibus, quidam partes et divisiones provinciarum cum prefectis et prepositis ad christiane religionis cultum perduxerunt et in tantum fervore sancti spiritus exardescente per orbem universalis ecclesie sunt stabilita fundamenta, quo etiam ipsa mundi totius metropolis Roma, cum monarchia dignitatis imperatorie Christi fidei colla14 submittens vanitatum erroribus renunciavit. Non remansit patria neque natio ubi quorundam miserationis Christi non fuisset assumptio. Unde contigit divine pietatis intuitumc 15 in filios perditionis16 et ignorantie, populum rudem et vagum, creaturam dei se nescientem, Ungaros videlicet, Pannonie17 patriam inhabitantes clementi visu de celo prospicere, ut quos ad ulciscendas prevaricationes christianorum18 de sedibus naturalibus in occiduas partes occulto perpętuitatis consilio prius exciverat,d 19 hos, tempore sue predestinationis iam instanti, de via iniquitatis 20 ad iustitie semitam,21 22 ad spem in eternum permanentis perduceret retributionis. clarifica B1 (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 1, 402 in apparatu) : dominica B Bartoniek deifica MLH b functi MLH : functa B c intuitum ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 403 in apparatu) : intuitu codd. d exciverat MLH (cf. exsciverat B1, SRH vol. 2, 403 in apparatu) : destinaverat B Bartoniek e de mesticie nebula suppleui e textu legendae Hartuicianae (cf. SRH vol. 2, 403 in apparatu) : rasura septem litterarum B, deleta et post rasura trium litterarum MLH, nullius post nebula add. ML add. et linea del. H a

clarifica as in ms. B1 of Hartvic’s legend. Cf. Acts 3 and 5. 13 Mark 16:15. 14 Cf. Jerome’s Comm. in Isaiam 17.60, where an identical expression occurs. 15 Intuitum as in ms. B1 of Hartvic’s legend instead of intuitu. 11

12

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to work miracles by His glorifying11 power.12 Ablaze with the fire of His divine love, they [viz., the apostles] traveled all over the world, sowing the seeds of the divine word and fulfilling their mission of preaching the Gospel, which had been entrusted to them by our Savior.13 Some of them led to the Christian faith kings and their kingdoms, others lands and their rulers, some others yet provinces and their districts with their governors and heads; and, as the fire of the Holy Spirit spread so potently all over the earth, the foundation of the universal church was laid down so stable, that even the capital of the entire world, Rome, together with its supreme imperial authority, placed its head under the yoke of the faith of Christ14 and gave up its vain error. No land was left, nor people where at least some had not accepted Christ’s mercy. And so it came to pass that the compassionate eye15 of divine mercy gazed down from the sky upon the sons of perdition16 and ignorance, a people uncouth and unstable that did not acknowledge itself to be God’s creation, namely, the Hungarians, who were living in Pannonia.17 To be a scourge for the faithless Christians18 [God] in His eternal and inscrutable plan had called forth19 these people from their original homeland towards the west; when the preordained time arrived, He led them away from the path of iniquity20 and onto the road of justice,21 out of the cloud of sorrow 22 and to the hope of everlasting rewards. John 17:12, 2 Thess. 2:3. The name of the Roman province that covered most of what is today Western Hungary; in the Middle Ages this name was used for the entire kingdom, whose inhabitants were also referred to as Pannoni or Pannonienses. 18 The barbarians as God’s scourge is a recurring idea in Christian writers; for its application to the Hungarians and the ideological implications of such self-descriptions, see László Veszprémy, “The Birth of Hungarian Identity in the Historiography of the Middle Ages,” in Conquête, acculturation, identité: Des Normands aux Hongrois; les traces de la conquête, ed. Piroska Nagy (Mont-Saint-Aignan: Presses Universitaires de Rouen, 2001), 93–104. 19 Exciverat as in mss. M, L, and H against destinaverat (in B). 20 Ps. 106:17, 118:29, 104. 21 Ps. 22:3, Prov. 12:28. 22 de mesticie nebula as in one of the mss. of Hartvic’s legend. 16 17

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2. Erat tunc princeps quartus23 ab illo, qui ingressionis Hungarorum in Pannoniam dux primus fuit, nomine Gęiza,24 qui severusa quidem et crudelisb 25 olimc potentialiter agens in suos, misericors autem et liberalis in alienos et precipue in Christianos, ritud paganismi26 licete adhucf obvolutus, tamen appropinquante spiritualis fulgore carismatis, cum omnibus circumquaque positarum provinciarum vicinis de pace, cuius nunquam antea fuit amator, cepit attente tractare, ut iam in illo possetg agnosci cuius filius desideraret fieri secundum dictum salvatoris nostri dicentis in ęvangelio: beati pacifici, quoniam filii dei vocabuntur.27 Statuit insuper preceptum cęteris christianis regnum suum intrare volentibus hospitalitatis et securitatis gratiam exhibere, clericis ac monachis potestatem concessit presentiam suam adeundi, quibus voluntarium libenter auditum prebens, orthodoxe fidei semen pectoris in orto satum delectabatur germen ęmittere. Quid plura? Adest tempus celitus dispositum, credidit ipse cum familiaribus suis et baptizatus est,28 omnes ditioni sue subditos se pollicens Christiano nomini mancipaturum. severus LH a. c. : severius MH p. c. crudelis ego : crudelius MLH c severus – olim MLH : et credulus in Ihesum B d ritu B : om. MLH e ritibus post licet add. L : adhuc MH om. B f adhuc MLH : om. B g posset MLH : possit B a

b

Mss. M, L, and H read here intus (a corruption for quintus), making Géza the fifth, not the fourth, leader of the Hungarians since their entry into Pannonia at the end of the ninth century. Modern historians list Álmos, Árpád, Falics, and Taksony as Géza’s predecessors; see Gyula Kristó and Ferenc Makk, Die ersten Könige Ungarns: Die Herrscher der Arpadendynastie (Herne: Verlag Tibor Schäfer, 1999), 8–35. 24 Duke Géza, ruler of the Hungarians from ca. 970 until 997; see Kristó and Makk, Die ersten Könige, 36–43. 25 As in mss. M, L, and H, and in Hartvic’s legend. At this point we should indicate that the text of this English translation of the Major Legend integrates parts of Nora Berend’s English translation of the Hartvic Legend, which has merged into its text 23

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2. At that time there was a certain ruler, fourth23 from the one who had been the first chief at the entry of the Hungarians to Pannonia, by the name of Géza,24 who was initially strict and cruel,25 acting in a domineering way with his own people, but compassionate and generous with strangers, especially with Christians. Although he was still entangled in the rite of paganism,26 at the approach of the light of spiritual grace, he began to discuss peace earnestly with all the neighboring provinces—although he had never been a great peace lover—so that it could already be seen from this whose son he wished to become, according to the word of our Savior who says in the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.27 Moreover, he laid down a rule that the favor of hospitality and security be shown to all other Christians wishing to enter his reign. He gave clerics and monks leave to enter his presence; he offered them a willing hearing, and delighted in the germination of the seed of true faith sown in the garden of his heart. What more is there to say? The divinely appointed time arrived, he along with his household believed and was baptized,28 promising that he would deliver all those subject to his rule into the service of Christianity.

significant parts of the Major and the Minor Legend (cf. Footnote 1 of the Hartvic legend below). The identical parts are underlined both in the Latin and in the English text of the Hartvic legend. 26 Lat. ritu paganismi, an expression that occurs elsewhere in medieval Hungarian historiography; see László Veszprémy, “More paganismo: Reflections on the Pagan and Christian Past in the Gesta Hungarorum of the Hungarian Anonymous Notary,” in Historical Narratives and Christian Identity on a European Periphery: Early History Writing in Northern, East-Central, and Eastern Europe (c. 1070–1200), ed. Ildar H. Garipzanov (Turnhout: Brepols, 2011), 183–201. 27 Matt. 5:9. 28 Géza’s conversion to Christianity and baptism date to 972, when, probably at his request, Emperor Otto I had a certain Bruno, who may be the same person as Prunward, a monk of St. Gallen, consecrated as “bishop of the Hungarians” and sent to Hungary, where the duke spared no efforts to convert his subjects to Christianity, sometimes by ruthless means. It is possible, as some scholars have argued, that upon his baptism Géza received the Christian name Stephen (Stephanus); see Kristó and Makk, Die ersten Könige, 38.

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3. Cumque nimium ęsset sollicitus de rebellibus domandis et ritibus sacrilegis destruendis et episcopatibus29 secundum estimationem suam ad profectum sancte ecclesie statuendis, mirabili visione noctu consolatur eum dominus, fecit adstare sibi iuvenem delectabilem aspectu qui dixit ei: “Pax tibi Christi ęlecte. Iubeo te de sollicitudine tua fore securum. Non tibi concessum est quod meditaris, quia manus pollutas humano sanguine gestas.30 De te filius nasciturus egredietur, cui hec omnia disponenda divine providentie consilio dominus commendabit. Hic unus erit de regibus electis a domino, coronam vite31 secularis commutaturus ęterna. Verumptamen virum spirituali legatione tibi transmittendum honorabiliter suscipito, susceptum honesto timore perditionis ultime perterritus et amore raptus iugiter manentis spei, que non confundit,32 exortationibus eius non fictum cordis fidelis prebeto assensum.” 4. Expergefactus princeps visionem stuporis prius secum, post cum Christi fidelibus et suis pertractans deo gratias pavimento manibus expansis adherens humiliter egit, se principatumque cum filio nascituro custodie illius, qui non dormit neque dormitat 33 lacrimis fusis commendavit. Dum ergo miratur divinitus de viro predicto, nunciatur ei beatus Adalpertus Boemiensis ecclesie pontifex34 ad se venturus propter conversationem ipsius et fidei non ficte35 profectum domino deo hostiam laudis36 oblaturus. Oritur lętitia novis Christi militibus inenarrabilis, dux obviam tyroni Christi cum fidelibus procedit, honorabiliter suscepit et, ut per visum monitus est, propter timorem et amorem dei modis omnibus obedientie filium37 se Géza’s exact role in the establishment of episcopal provinces is unknown. The only bishoprics which might predate Stephen’s crowning as king in 1000/1001 are those of Veszprém and Győr; see Gábor Thoroczkay, “The Dioceses and Bishops of Saint Stephen,” in Zsoldos, Saint Stephen and His Country, 49–68, esp. 52–53. 30 Cf. Isa. 59:3 (manus enim vestrae pollutae sunt sanguine). 31 James 1:12. 32 Cf. Rom. 5:5 (spes autem non confundit). 33 Cf. Ps. 120:4 (non dormitabit neque dormiet). 34 Adalbert (Vojtěch), bishop of Prague (983–898 and 992–994). 29

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3. And, since he was greatly concerned about the subjugation of rebels and destruction of sacrilegious rites and the establishment of bishoprics,29 according to his judgment, for the success of the holy Church, the Lord consoled him through a miraculous vision at night. He made a youth of delightful appearance stand before Géza, who told him: “Peace to you, chosen by Christ. I enjoin you to be free from your cares. What you have in mind has not been granted to you, because your hands are polluted by human blood.30 A son will spring forth and be born of you, to whom the Lord will entrust all these things to settle, according to the purpose of divine providence. He will be one of the kings chosen by the Lord to exchange the crown of secular life31 for an everlasting one. So, you should receive the man sent to you on special legation with respect, and once you have received him, be filled with the noble fear of the final judgement as well as with fervor for the everlasting hope, which does not deceive,32 and listen to his exhortations with a faithful heart, not with feigned assent.” 4. On waking, the ruler, contemplating the awe-inspiring vision, first by himself, then with those faithful to Christ and his family, humbly gave thanks to God, prostrating himself on the ground, stretching out his hands, and shedding tears. He commended himself, his domain, and his son who was to be born to the protection of Him who neither sleeps nor slumbers.33 While he thus wondered about the man divinely prophesied, it was announced to him that the blessed Adalbert, prelate of the Bohemian Church,34 was coming to him for his instruction, and to ensure the progress of his unfeigned faith,35 in order to offer up the sacrifice of praise 36 to the Lord God. Unspeakable joy arose in Christ’s new soldiers; the leader, with all the faithful, went to meet the champion of Christ, received him honorably, and, as he was bidden by the vision, demonstrated in every way that he would be a son of obedience37 to him fearing and 35 36 37

Cf. 2 Tim. 1:5 ( fidei quae est in te non ficta). Ps. 115:17, Heb. 13:15. Cf. 1 Pet. 1:14 ( filii oboedientiae).

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ei fore demonstravit. Igitur, iubente principe, fit ubique congregatio gentis indomite, per sanctum episcopum fiunt exhortationesa 38 continue, convertuntur et baptizantur alumpni patrie, statuuntur multis in locis ecclesie.39 Lux quippe que illuminat omnem hominem,40 tenebris expulsis, cepit in Ungaria ęnitescere et inpleta sunt verba prophete dicentis: Gentium populus, qui ambulabat in tenebris, vidit lucem magnam.41 Lux lucis invisibilis Christus est, quem tunc gentes videre meruerunt, quando, revocati de tenebris, ipsum verum lumen, deum et hominem verum ęsse perfecteb crediderunt. 5. Nascitur interea predictus a domino principis filius, quem secundum prophetam antequam in utero conciperetur novit dominus.42 Hunc deo dilectus Adalbertus episcopus crismali baptismate secundum credulitatis sue veritatem intinxit et susceptor 43 eius fuit. Nomen sibi inpositum est Stęphanus, quod alienum a consilio dei non credimus. Stephanus quippe Grece coronatus sonat Latine.44 Ipsum quippec et in hoc seculo deus voluit ad regni potentiam et in futuro corona beatitudinis semper permanentis redimere decrevit ad percipiendum iugiter d 45 indeficientem gloriam. Crevit infans regali nutritus educatu, qui, transvadata pueritia, postquam primum gradum adolescentie transcendit, convocatis pater suus Ungarie ex(h)ortationes MLH : orationes B perfecte MLH : om. B c quippe MLH : quod B d iugiter ego : vite iugis MLH iugis B a

b

exhortationes as in M, L, H rather than orationes “prayers” (as in B). Although Adalbert visited the court of Duke Géza probably in the early 990s, during the second part of his episcopate, his role in the Christianization of the Hungarians as presented here is certainly exaggerated and was motivated by an attempt to erase the traces of the German missionary activities which had predated his. See László Veszprémy, “Der Heilige Adalbert im wissenschaftlichen Gespräch ungarischer Historiker,” Bohemia 40 (1999): 86–102, esp. 90–91. 40 John 1:9. 41 Isa. 9:2. 42 A reference to Jer. 1:5. 38 39

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loving God. Therefore, at the order of the ruler, the unruly people came together from all parts, the holy bishop made exhortations38 continuously, the people of the land were converted and baptized, and churches were established in many places.39 For the light that enlightens every man,40 chasing away darkness, began to shine in Hungary, and the words of the prophet were fulfilled, which say that a people of the gentiles that walked in darkness have seen a great light.41 The light of the invisible light is Christ, whom the pagans deserved to see when, recalled from darkness, they fully believed him to be the true light, true God, and true man. 5. In the meantime, as foretold by the Lord, the son of the ruler was born, whom, according to the prophet, the Lord had known before he was conceived in the womb.42 Bishop Adalbert, beloved by God, anointed him with the baptismal chrism according to his true faith and was his sponsor.43 The name Stephen was given him, which we do not believe to have been contrary to the purpose of God. Indeed, Stephanus in Greek means crowned in Latin.44 For, indeed, God wanted to crown him in this world to royal power, and determined to redeem him in the future one by the crown of everlasting beatitude, that he might acquire forever 45 unfailing glory. The child grew, nourished by means of an education fit for kings, and with the passage of childhood, as he reached the first stage of adolescence, his father, after having convoked the chief susceptor, lit. “the one who receives the freshly-baptized when they emerge from the baptismal font,” i.e., “godfather,” which, in the original, suggests that St. Adalbert was present at the baptism of Hungary’s first Christian king. This is an unlikely claim, especially if, as the Legenda maior implies, Stephen’s baptism occurred soon after his birth in the 970s. 44 The extant mss. of the Legenda maior differs from the Hartvic legend, where Greek στέφανος (stephanos) is glossed, more accurately, with Latin corona “crown.” Cf. Isidore of Seville, Etym. 7.11.3 (Stephanus enim corona dicitur. Humiliter lapidatus, sed sublimiter coronatus). 45 iugiter instead of iugis (“yokes”) in B and vite iugis (“the yokes of life”) in M, L, H; the phrase thus obtained (iugiter indeficientem gloriam) is the exact counterpart of beatitudinis semper permanentis (“of everlasting beatitude”); Cf. iugiter manentis spei below, Legenda maior in par. 3. 43

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primatibus cum ordine sequenti,46 per communis consilium colloquii filium suum Stephanum post se regnaturum populo prefecit et ad hoc corroborandum a singulis sacramentum exęgit. Post hec plenus dierum47 anno dominice incarnationis DCCCC XC VII seculi nequam erumpnas48 cęlesti mutavit gaudio. Et eodem anno beatus Adalpertus episcopus causa predicandi verbum dei Pruziam ingressus est, et ibidem cum palma martyrii coronatus est.49 6. Regno denique Pannonico beati iuvenis nutuma 50 adtendente, pacem cum exterarum provinciarum51 populis fideliter statutam corroboravit, ut eob securius quod in mente tractabat in novella plantatione52 christianitatis explere sufficeret. Sed adversarius totius bonitatis, invidie plenus et malitiec diabolus, ut sanctum Christi tyronis propositum disturbaret, intestina contra ęum bella commovit, quoniam eius instinctu plebs gentilis christiane fidei iugo53 colla submitere rennuens, cum principibus suis a dominio ipsius se subtrahere moliebatur.54 Quos omnes eum protegente gloriosissime crucis signaculo, patrocinantibus dei genitricis ac perpetue virginis nutum ego : nutu codd. Bartoniek in ante eo add. codd., deleui (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 408) c malitie MLH : malitia B a

b

The phrase “the following order” is taken by most translators and modern historians to refer to the milites, free warriors inferior in wealth and prestige to the highest stratum of the nobility, the ispáns (comites), but superior to the free commoners. An alternative interpretation would render cum ordine sequenti “in the following order (i.e., way),” a reference to the stages of the process that led to Stephen’s nomination and election as ruler; see László Veszprémy, “Középkori forrástanulmányok: A vitézek rendje Szent István Nagyobb Legendájában?” [Studies on medieval sources: The order of the miles in the Legenda maior of St. Stephen?], Hadtörténelmi Köz­ lemények 104, no. 3 (1991): 58–65. 47 A common biblical phrase; see, for instance, Gen. 25:8, 35:29. 48 Cf. Mark 4:19 (aerumnae saeculi). 49 Adalbert was killed on April 23, 997, while trying to convert the pagan Prussians. Significantly, Adalbert’s martyr’s death is taken as the starting point of the Annales Posonienses (ed. Madzsar, SRH 1, 125), the only extant annals produced in medieval Hungary, where it is followed by an entry recording Géza’s death (misdated, how­ ever, to 998). 46

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lords of Hungary, with the following order,46 through the counsel of common deliberation, placed his son Stephen at the head of the people to rule after him; and to confirm this, he exacted an oath from everyone. After this, full of days,47 in the year 997 of the Incarnation of the Lord, he exchanged the worthless cares of the world48 for heavenly joy. And in the same year, the blessed bishop Adalbert entered Prussia in order to preach the word of God, and there he was crowned with the palm of martyrdom.49 6. Then, with the Pannonian kingdom under his rule,50 the blessed young man strengthened the peace concluded faithfully with the people of surrounding provinces,51 so that in this way whatever he pondered in his mind, he would be able to complete more securely in the young implantation52 of Christianity. But the enemy of all good things, the devil, full of envy and malice, stirred up an internal war against him, in order to disturb the holy plan of Christ’s champion, for at his instigation the pagan commoners, refusing to submit their necks to the yoke of the Christian faith,53 tried with their leaders to withdraw themselves from his rule.54 Protected by the standard of the most glorious cross, aided by the intercession of the Mother of God and perpetually virgin Mary, under the bannutum instead of nutu of all mss. The first part of Stephen’s reign was characterized by cooperation rather than conflict with his neighbors; see Ferenc Makk, “On the Foreign Policy of Saint Stephen,” in Zsoldos, Saint Stephen and His Country, 37–48. 52 Cf. Ps. 143:12 (novella plantationis). 53 A metaphorical expression that goes back to Matt. 11:29. 54 According to the Illuminated Chronicle, in the wake of Géza’s death, Stephen’s status as single leader of the Hungarians was challenged by Koppány, a surviving descendant of Árpád and a close kinsman of the prince, who was ruling parts of Transdanubia (Western Hungary) as chieftain of Somogy. In 998, he was defeated by Stephen, with German help, in a crucial battle near Veszprém. See Pál Engel, The Realm of St. Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary 895–1526, tr. Tamás Pálosfalvi (London: I. B. Tauris, 2001), 26–27. The truthful historical existence of Koppány has recently been challenged by Nora Berend, “Koppány és a Szent Jobb: Szent István-legendák nemzetközi keretben” [Koppány and the Holy Right: Saint Stephen Legends in international framework], in Szent Márton és Benedek nyomában: Tanulmányok Koszta László emlékére, ed. Tamás Fedeles and Zsolt Hunyadi (Szeged–Debrecen: Szegedi Tudományegyetem, Debreceni Egyetem, 2019), 98–112. 50 51

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Marie meritis, sub vexillo deo dilecti pontificis Martini 55 sanctique martyris Georgii ducibus eorum interfectis in brevi suo servitio subegit et baptismatis unda lotos unum deum colere, monita salutis 56 per fideles sacerdotes distribuendo compulit. 7. Dęvictis ergo Christi miles hostibus gaudio spirituali repletus totius ingenii consilium evangelici seminis decrevit fore receptaculum, elemosinis et orationibus vacans, frequenter pavimento adherens domus sancte ęcclesie, lacrimis fusis perfectionem propositi sui dei commisit voluntati, ut qui sine ipso nichil agere valeret, opitulante dispositionis ipsius expletione, bonum quod cogitaverat cum inceptione virtutum ad finem perducere posset. Ad hoc igitur incipiendum et consummandum, quoniam fidelium Christi consultum habebat necessarium, nunciis et litteris in omnes partes suum diffamavit desiderium. Inde multi presbiteri et clerici, spiritus paracliti conpuncti, relictis sedibus propriis, ęlegerunt peregrinari. Abbates et monachi nichil proprium habere cupientes sub tam religiosissimi principis patrocinio regulariter vivere desideraverunt. Inter quos vite regularis a 57 Ascricus 58 pater cum suis discipulis advenit, quorum unus, Bonifatius nomine, in loco patris constitutus abbas, dum a beato rege causa predicationis in inferiores Ungarie partes essęt missus, in cervice percussus gladio, licet postea viveret, non est regularis ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 410) : religiosus codd.

a

St. Martin of Tours (316/317–397). Tob. 1:15. 57 Lit. vite regularis (“[leading] a life in accordance with the monastic rule”) instead of vite religiosus given by all the mss. Ascricus is usually regarded as one of the members of St. Adalbert’s entourage and, if he is the same person as the Aschricus abbas mentioned in the eleventh-century Passio sancti Adalperti martiris, before coming to Hungary he may have already been the leader of a monastic community in Poland, at Międzyrzecz (ad Mestris). See Anna Rutkowska-Płachcińska, “Pasje świętych Wojciecha i Brunona z tzw. kodeksu z Tegernsee” [The Martyrdoms of SS. Adalbert and Bruno in the so-called codex of Tegernsee], Studia Źródłoznawcze 40 (2002): 19– 41, at 38; and Tomasz Jurek, “Ad Mestris locum: Where Was the Monastery Founded by Saint Adalbert Situated?,” Acta Poloniae Historica 103 (2011): 5–29. 58 From the many different spellings (Ascricus, As(s)ericus, Astritus, Astricus) I have chosen Ascricus as the closest to the original German form of this proper name 55

56

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ner of the prelate Martin,55 beloved by God, and of the holy martyr George, in a short time he killed their leaders, brought all of them under his rule, cleansed them in the baptismal waters, and forced them to worship one single god, imparting to them wholesome admonitions56 through his faithful priests. 7. Thus the soldier of Christ, having defeated the enemy, filled with spiritual joy, decided by the counsel of his inmost being to become the receptacle of the evangelical seed; giving himself over to almsgiving and prayers, frequently prostrating himself on the pavement of the house of the holy church, shedding tears, he entrusted the completion of his plan to the will of God, so that, unable to do anything without Him, with the help of His providence he could bring to its end with virtuous undertakings the good that he had planned. But it was necessary to consult the faithful of Christ in order to begin and accomplish this, so he made known his wish by letters and messengers in all parts. Thereupon many priests and clerics, urged by the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, leaving their own homeland, chose to undertake the journey. Abbots and monks, not desiring to have anything of their own, wished to live according to their rules under the government of such a religious ruler. Among them came a monk,57 Father Ascricus,58 with his disciples, one of whom, by the name of Boniface, was made abbot in the place of the father; when he was sent to lower Hungary by the blessed king to preach, he was struck by a sword on his neck, and although he (Ask(i)rīch). The traditional form Astric is based on a misspelling due to medieval scribes, while As(e)ric, preferred by many modern scholars, is due to a later phonetic development and may reflect an alternative pronunciation of the name at the time when it was borrowed into Hungarian. A hypothesis put forward by György Györffy (but not universally shared) would put the prelate’s personal name, in its eleventh-century form *Ašrik, at the origin of the Hungarian word for “archbishop” (érsek); see Károly Mollay, Német-magyar nyelvi érintkezések a XVI. század végéig [German-Hungarian linguistic contacts up to the end of the sixteenth century] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1982), 249–52. If so, this would testify to the important role played by this prelate of German origin in the initial organization of the Christian church in Hungary. An alternative explanation (from Old French) has also been suggested; see Etymologisches Wörterbuch des ungarischen, ed. Loránd Benkő, vol. 1 (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1993), 332 s.v.

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privatus martyrio.59 Venerunt et alii duo de terra Polonięnsi heremiticam vitam causa contemplationis ęligentes, quorum unus, Andreas nomine, per confessionis meritum angelicis choris est associatus, testibus miraculorum signis per ipsum a domino factis. Alter, Benedictus, pro Christo sanguine fuso, mirabiliter laureatus.60 Ascricus abbas cum suis honorifice susceptus, ad radicem Montis Ferrei cenobium sub titulo sancti patris Benedicti construxit,61 ubi usque hodie congregatio monasterialis disciplina regulari pollens temporalium sustentatione copiarum superhabundans non est alicuius egens, nisi ut suos et aliorum pedes secundum ęvangelium lavet.62 8. Cum his dei servus, princeps Christianissimus, aliquando communiter cum omnibus, aliquando singillatim cum unoquoque eorum colloquium habens provincias63 in decem partitus est episcopatus,64 Strigoniensem ęcclesiam metropolim et magistram per consensum et subscriptionem Romane sedis apostolici65 ceterarum fore constituens. Cui iam dictum venerabilem Ascricum66 This Boniface is usually identified with St. Bruno of Querfurt, who, according to his own testimony, spent some time in Hungary (probably in 1003–1004) and engaged in missionary work among the enigmatic “Black Hungarians.” But such an identification is problematic if this is the same Boniface who, as stated below, replaced Ascricus as abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Pécsvárad; this was not founded until later in Stephen’s reign (possibly in 1015) and consecrated only in 1037 (according to the Annales Posonienses, ed. Madzsar, SRH 1.), long after Bruno’s death in 1009. The mention of both Ascricus and Boniface as abbots of Pécsvárad may be due to a tradition that linked that location, initially just a heremitic center which would then grow into a Benedictine foundation, with the distorted memory of their missionary activity among the Black Hungarians; see Thoroczkay, “The Dioceses and Bishops,” 57. 60 The life of the two hermits mentioned here, Andrew/Zoerard and Benedict, is told in the earliest preserved hagiographic text written on the territory of medieval Hungary, a legenda composed by Bishop Maurus of Pécs ca. 1064, which may have been known to the author of the Legenda maior. See the English translation of this text by Miladinov in Vitae sanctorum, 317–37. 61 The Benedictine abbey of Pécsvárad in southern Hungary was at the foot of a high hill called Vashegy (“Iron Mountain”) in the Middle Ages and Zengő today. 62 A ritual practice derived from the account of the Last Supper in John 13:5 and known as the mandatum novum, “the new commandment” (John 12:34). 63 Here provincia probably designates the royal counties (comitatus), the administrative, judicial, and military units organized by King Stephen I on the territories under his control. 59

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survived, he was not deprived of martyrdom.59 Two others came as well, from the land of Poland, choosing the eremitical life for the sake of contemplation, one of whom, by the name of Andrew, was taken up into the choir of angels because of the merit of his confession, which is attested by the signs of miracles made by the Lord through him. The other, Benedict, having shed his blood for Christ, was wondrously crowned [as a martyr].60 Abbot Ascricus, having been respectfully received with his disciples, built a monastery dedicated to the holy father Benedict at the foot of the Iron Mountain,61 where to this day a community blooms under monastic discipline, abounding in temporal riches [necessary] for its sustenance, with no other need than that of daily washing the feet of its own [members] and of others according to the Gospel.62 8. The servant of God, the most Christian ruler, taking counsel with them, sometimes together with all, sometimes alone with each one of them, divided his districts63 into ten bishoprics64 and decided, with the consent and the endorsement of the apostolical [father] occupying the Roman See,65 that the church of Esztergom should be the metropolitan and master of the others. By canonical election he placed in that see the above-mentioned venerable abbot Ascricus,66 Only eight bishoprics, namely, those of Veszprém, Esztergom (founded as an archbishopric), Győr, Transylvania, Pécs, Kalocsa (possibly founded as an archbishopric), Eger, and Morisena/Csanád, are securely attested before the time of Stephen’s death (1038). It is probable that the ten bishoprics mentioned by the author of the Legenda maior are those existing at the time of the composition of this text (i.e., before 1091); see Gyula Kristó, “The Bishoprics of Saint Stephen, King of Hungary,” in In honorem Paul Cernovodeanu, ed. Violeta Barbu (Bucharest: Editura Kriterion, 1998), 55–66. See, however, Thoroczkay, “The Dioceses and Bishops,” 63–64 for arguments that two further bishoprics (Vác and Bihar, later moved to Várad) may have been founded in the last years of Stephen’s reign. 65 Pope Sylvester II (999–1003). The papal approval and the document that certified it may have been issued during a council held in Ravenna in April 1001; see Györffy, König Stephan, 123. 66 It is highly unlikely that Ascricus was the first archbishop of Esztergom, as implied here; the names of the first two occupants of that see, Dominicus (1001–1002) and Sebastianus (1002–1007), are known from documentary sources. The identity and ecclesiastical career of Ascricus remain the object of controversy and much un64

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abbatem pontificalis dignitatis infula decoratum, electione canonica prefecit, cuius consilio ceteras sedes patrum curis et provisionibus commisit. Iaciuntur ubique sacrarum fundamenta domorum, surgunt claustra canonicorum, florescunt cenobia regulariter conversantium congregationum.67 Undique fit concursus deo famulantium, quorum desiderium tam liberalis principis excitavit benigne susceptionis solatium. Et quoniam Pannonia beati pontificis Martini nativitate gloriatur,68 cuius etiam patrocinantibus meritis rex Christo fidelis, ut iam dictum est, de hostibus victoriam reportaverat, inito cum theophilis consilio, iuxta fundum sancti presulis in loco qui Sacer Mons dicitur,69 sub titulo ipsius monasterium construens, possessionibus et redditibus cunctisque sufficientiis ditavit et suffragio domitoruma decimationibus simile fecit episcopatibus.

domitorum MLH : domorum et post hoc rasuram quattuor litt. B

a

certainty; see Thoroczkay, “The Dioceses and Bishops,” 56–57 and Koszta, “A kalo­ csai érseki tartomány kialakulása,” 61–69. One key point which is still in dispute is whether Hartvic’s identification of Ascricus with Anastasius, known to have been the third archbishop of Esztergom, is to be regarded as reliable or not. For Thoroczkay, who accepts it, Ascricus/Anastasius was first appointed bishop of Kalocsa (ca. 1002/1003), then substituted for Sebastianus, the temporarily incapacitated archbishop of Esztergom (between 1003/1004 and 1006/1007), returned briefly to Kalocsa as its first archbishop, then became once again archbishop of Esztergom (sometime after 1007), following Sebastianus’ death, a position he retained until his death (ca. 1030). In Koszta’s view, although ordained a “missionary archbishop” (i.e., without a specific diocese) among the Hungarians as early as the year 1000, Ascricus became the first archbishop of Kalocsa upon the foundation of that diocese in 1009 (as a titular archbishopric), and was never archbishop of Esztergom, since he should not be identified with Anastasius.

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decorated by the miter of pontifical dignity; with his counsel he then entrusted the other sees to the care and administration of other prelates. Everywhere foundations of holy temples are laid down, cloisters of canons67 emerge, monasteries with congregations living in accordance with the rule start flourishing. From everywhere the servants of God gather, whose fervor was kindled by the comforting welcome of such a generous ruler. And because Pannonia glories in being the birthplace of the blessed prelate Martin,68 and it was under the protection of his merits that the king faithful to Christ, as I have already said, wrought a victory over the enemy, keeping counsel with those beloved by God, he built a monastery dedicated to him, next to the patrimony of the holy prelate, in the place called the Holy Mountain,69 and he enriched it by lands and revenues and all the necessary things, and made it similar to bishoprics by means of the tithes collected from those he had defeated.

The distinction made here between the cloisters of canons attached to episcopal and other major ecclesiastic centers and the monastic establishments is more likely to reflect the conditions of the late eleventh century, when the Legenda maior was composed, rather than the situation in St. Stephen’s days, when canons and monks were more likely to have shared the same Domkloster. See László Koszta, “Die Domkapitel und ihre Domherren bis Anfang des 12. Jahrhunderts in Ungarn,” in The Man of Many Devices, Who Wandered Full Many Ways: Festschrift in Honor of János M. Bak, ed. Balázs Nagy and Marcell Sebők (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 1999), 478–91. 68 Martin was born in the Roman city of Sabaria (today Szombathely in western Hungary). 69 The Benedictine archabbey of Pannonhalma, founded in fact by Géza ca. 996 and completed by his son as recorded in the interpolated charter of privileges to Pannonhalma, the original parts of which go back to 1002; see Diplomata Hungariae Antiquissima, vol. 1, 25–41 and Imre Takács, “Das Kloster von Martinsberg (Pannonhalma),” in Europas Mitte um 1000: Beiträge zur Geschichte, Kunst und Archäologie, ed. Alfried Wieczorek and Hans-Martin Hinz (Stuttgart: Theiss, 2000), vol. 2, 617–20. 67

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9. Quinto70 post patris obitum anno, divina sic volente clementia, benedictionis apostolice71 litteris allatis, presulibus cum clero, comitibus cum populo laudes congruas acclamantibus, dilectus deo Stephanus rex appellatur et unctione crismali perunctus, diademate regalis dignitatis feliciter coronatur. Post acceptum imperialis72 excellentie signum qualis vite vir et discretionis fuerit cum ępiscopis et primatibus Ungarie statutum a se decretum73 manifestum facit, in quo scilicet uniuscuiusque a 74 contrarium dictavit antidotum. Et, ut pacis, per quam Christus mundum coadunavit, se fore probaret filium,75 quod nullus alium hostiliter invaderet, nemo inimicum sine iudicii examinatione lederet, viduas et orphanos nullus obprimeret, subscriptione federis non pereuntis posteris suis reliquitb stabilitum.76 Ad consortium vero regni, precipue causa sobolis propagande, sororem Romane dignitatis augusti, videlicet Heinrici,77 qui ob mansvetudinem morum pius est apellatus, Gisilamc nomine, sibi in matrimonio sociavit,78 quam unctione crismali perunctam, ­gestamine culpe suppleui e textu legendae Hartuicianae (cf. SRH vol. 2, 415) reliquit MLH : relinquid B c gisilam L : gillam BMH a

b

The date is inaccurate and is probably due to a scribal error; see the corresponding passage of Hartvic’s legend (below, at 126–27), where Stephen’s coronation as king is placed “in the fourth year after his father’s death.” The exact date of Stephen’s coronation is not known from any source; the possible dates proposed by modern historians range from December 25, 1000, to August 15, 1001. 71 It is uncertain whether this papal letter is the same as the one concerning the organization of the Hungarian church mentioned above, in ch. 8. Unlike Hartvic’s account of the same events (see below, at 128–31), the Legenda maior does not identify the messenger that brought the letter of papal benediction and makes no claim concerning the papal origin of the crown used for Stephen’s coronation. 72 Lat. imperialis is somewhat surprising in this context and has been interpreted as an indication that it was Otto III, the Roman Emperor, who sent Stephen his crown, as suggested by the brief and somewhat ambiguous account of Thietmar of Merseburg, Chron. 4.59 (SS rer. Germ. n.s. 9, ed. Holtzmann, 198): “With the favour and urging of the aforementioned emperor, Waik, brother-in-law of Duke Henry of the Bavarians, established bishoprics in his kingdom and received the crown and blessing (coronam et benediccionem)”; tr. David A. Warner, Ottonian Germany: The 70

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9. In the fifth70 year after his father’s death, by the will of divine mercy, after having acquired the letter of apostolic benediction,71 the beloved of God, Stephen was proclaimed king and, anointed by unction with chrism, was propitiously crowned with the diadem of royal dignity while the prelates and the clergy, the counts and the commoners acclaimed him with unanimous praise. After the symbol of imperial72 excellence had been received, it was made manifest what manner of man he was in conduct of life and judgment in the statutes which he decreed73 with the bishops and chief lords of Hungary; in which, namely, he formulated the antidote of each [fault].74 And so that he would show himself to be the son of peace75 by which Christ bound the world together, he left an edict to his successors, endorsed with an everlasting covenant, that no one should invade another in a hostile way, nobody should harm their enemy without the benefit of a trial, no one should oppress widows and orphans.76 He joined himself in matrimony to the sister of Henry77 of Roman imperial dignity—who was called Pious because of the gentleness of his character—named Gisela,78 to be his consort in the kingdom,

Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001), 193 (slightly modified). 73 Two “books” of legal prescriptions have been preserved under Stephen’s name; see DRMH, 1–11 (text) and 77–82 (notes). 74 I have supplied culpe into the text. 75 Luke 10:6 ( filius pacis). 76 Such prescriptions appear, indeed, in the two sets of laws ascribed to Stephen; see 1.14–16, 26, 31, 35 and 2.12–15. 77 Henry II (b. 972–d. 1024) ruled as German King from 1002 and as Roman Emperor between 1014 and 1024. 78 Sometime between 995 and 997 Stephen married Gisela (b. ca. 985–d. ca. 1060), the daughter of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, and sister of the future emperor, Henry II. A later medieval tradition recorded at the Benedictine Abbey of Scheyer (Bavaria) in the so-called Tabula perantiqua Schirensis, identified Scheyer as the place of the wedding and claimed St. Adalbert of Prague as the matchmaker, but this is unlikely; see László Veszprémy, “Königin Gisela von Ungarn,” in Wieczorek and Hinz, Europas Mitte, vol. 2 , 608–12, esp. 608–10.

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corone sociam esse notificavit. Que qualis erga dei cultum ornandum extiterit, quam frequens et benefica circa deo servientium congregationes apparuerit, multarum ęcclesiarum cruces et vasa vel paramenta opere mirifico facta vel contexta usque hodie testantur.79 Pre cunctis tamen domusa 80 episcopatus Besprimiensis, quam ipsa a fundamento ceptam omnibus sufficientiis ad servitium deib 81 in auro vel argento vestimentisque multiplicibus nobiliterc 82 adornavit. Ipse vero rex episcopia nuper incepta simul cum abbatiis, prediis et curiis, famulis et redditibus regaliter disposuit, crucibus et vasis aliisque suppellectilibusd 83 ad ministerium dei pertinentibus secundum quod unicuique opus fuit sufficienter decoravit. Monachorum vitam et conversationem nunc per alios, nunc per semet ipsum explorando diligenter examinabat, torpentes arguens, vigiles sub dilectione constituens, canonicorum ministeriume 84 episcoporum providentie sub testimonio Christi et ęcclesie commendabat85 secundum apostolum omnibus omnia factus, ut omnes lucrifaceret.86 10. Erat vir iste fidelis, in omnibus actibus suis deo perfecte deditus, per votum et oblationem semet cum regno suo sub tutela perpetue virginis dei genitricis Marie precibus assiduis conferens, cuius honor et gloria tam celebris inter Ungaros habetur, quod ętiam festivitas assumptionis ęiusdem virginis sine additamento proprii nominis ipsorum lingua regine dies vociterur. Et, ut maiorem ip om. B dei ML alia manu s. l. B : om. H Bartoniek c nobiliter MLH : om. B d suppellectilibus ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 416) : suppelectionibus B subpectionibus MLH e ministerium MLH : misterium B a

b

One of the very few surviving examples of such royal donations is the embroidered silk chasuble donated in 1031 by King Stephen and his wife to the church of the Virgin Mary in Székesfehérvár and later converted into the coronation mantle of the Hungarian kings; see Éva Kovács and Zsuzsa Lovag, The Hungarian Crown and Other Regalia, 2nd ed. (Budapest: Corvina, 1980), 58–75. 80 I have supplied domus from the other mss. 79

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but above all to bear his offspring. He made it known that, anointed by unction with chrism, she was his companion in wearing the crown of the kingdom. How she stood out in magnifying the worship of God, and how fervent and beneficent she showed herself to be to the congregations serving God is proved to this day by many churches’ crosses, vessels, and ornaments made or woven by marvelous work.79 And above all the church80 of the bishopric of Veszprém [proves this], which she adorned, beginning from the foundations, with every necessary thing for the service of God81 nobly,82 in gold and silver, and a multiplicity of vestments. And the king himself royally endowed the recently established bishoprics, as well as the abbeys, with estates and manor houses, servants and revenues. He sufficiently provided them with crosses and vessels and other furnishings83 pertaining to the service of God, according to their needs. Investigating, he diligently examined, sometimes through others, sometimes by himself, the life and conduct of monks, rebuking the lazy ones and taking the vigilant ones into his love. He commended the service84 of canons to the care of bishops,85 because of the testimony of Christ and the Church, according to the apostle: I have become all things to all men, that I might save all. 86 10. This man was faithful and completely devoted to God in all his acts. He transferred himself together with his kingdom by an oath and offering, with assiduous prayers, to the guardianship of the Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary. Her glory and honor are so famous among Hungarians, that even the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin is called the Day of the Queen in their language, with-

dei present in several mss. nobiliter present only in ms. M, L, and H. 83 suppellectilibus instead of the unattested forms given by all the mss. 84 ministerium as in mss. M, L, H instead of misterium. 85 This organizational feature points rather to the end than the beginning of the eleventh century. 86 1 Cor. 9:22. 81

82

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sius deffensionis misericordiam consequi valeret, in ipsa regalis sedis civitate, que dicitur Alba,87 sub laude et titulo virginis eiusdem perpetue famosam et grandem basilicam opere mirifico, celaturis in chori pariete distinctis, pavimento tabulis marmoreis strato construere cepit.88 Quam qui vidit testimonium veritati verborum nostrorum perhibet innumerabilia palliorum, paramentorum et aliorum ornamentorum ibi esse genera, circa altaria tabulas plures auro purissimo fabricatas, lapidum series preciosissimorum in se continentes, cyborium arte mirabili supra Christi mensam erectum, cameram omni genere vasorum cristallinorum, onichinorum, aureorum, argenteorum pleniter refertam.89 Decrevit iam servusa 90 dei que tunc habebat et adquirere poterat omnia Christo, que ipsius dono fluxerant,b 91 conferre, ut qui eum gloria et honore mundi presentis dignum fecerat, celestis patrie civibus clementer associare dignaretur. 11. Legimus in prophetia de apostolis scriptum quod in omnem terram exivit sonus eorum92 et cętera. Hoc non solum de duodecim, sed de omnibus a deo missis ad ęvangelizandum dictum probatur, quorum fide et verbis et moribus incrementum paritc 93 ecclesia. De quibus iste christianissimus d 94 non minimus fuisse computatur bone voluntatis et operis fama, quam in edificandis ęcclesiis in amplitudine proprii iuris exercuit, e 95 longe positas terras et urbes servus ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 418) : filius codd. Bartoniek fluxerant ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 418) : iunxerant B Bartoniek unxerat MLH c parit ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 419) : pavit B Bartoniek paravit MLH d rex suppleui e textu legendae Hartuicianae (cf. SRH vol. 2, 419) : om. codd. e in suppleui e textu legendae Hartuicianae (cf. SRH vol. 2, 419) : ut B a

b

Today Székesfehérvár; see Minor Legend, footnote 48. The church dedicated to the Holy Virgin was founded ca. 1018 by Stephen as a proprietary church (cappella propria) and his designated burial place; see Piroska Biczó, “The Church of St. Mary’s Provostry in Székesfehérvár (The Royal Basilica),” in Julianna Altmann et al., Medium Regni: Medieval Hungarian Royal Seats (Budapest: Nap Kiadó, 1999), 65–76.

87 88

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out the addition of her proper name. And, in order to be able to win the greater mercy of her protection, he began to build in the city of the royal see itself, which is called Alba,87 a famous and large basilica by wonderful craftsmanship, dedicated to and in praise of that perpetual Virgin,88 with carvings adorning the walls of the choir, and the floor paved with marble tiles. Whoever saw this can offer a testimony to the truth of our words, that there are there innumerable types of palls and vestments and other ornaments, several panels made of the purest gold around the altars, containing rows of the most precious stones, and above Christ’s table a canopy of marvelous craftsmanship was erected, and the treasury was crammed full with all sorts of vessels made of crystal, onyx, gold, and silver.89 Afterward the servant90 of God decided to confer all that he already had and what he could acquire to Christ, by whom they had been generously granted,91 so that He who made him worthy of the glory and honor of this world, would mercifully consider him deserving of being counted among the inhabitants of the celestial city. 11. We read in the prophecy written about the apostles that their voice has gone out to all the earth and the rest.92 This was proved to have been said not only about the twelve, but also about all those sent by God to evangelize, by whose faith, words, and conduct the Church grows.93 Among those, this most Christian [king]94 is acknowledged as not the most insignificant by the fame of his good will and works that he exercised in building churches within the boundaries of his own reign [and] spread to95 far distant lands The endowments and decorations of the royal basilica are also detailed in the Chron. pict. 66, 116–19. 90 Servus dei instead of filius dei . 91 Fluxerant as in the mss. of Hartvic’s legend against all the mss. of the Legenda maior. 92 Rom. 10:5. 93 Parit as in the mss. of Hartvic’s legend against pavit. 94 I have supplied rex as in the mss. of Hartvic’s legend. 95 I have adopted the text in the mss. of Hartvic’s legend. 89

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famosissimas disperserat. Construxit enim in ipsa conversationis Christi secundum humanitatem civitate Ięrusalem monachorum cenobium, prediis ditavit et vineis ad victum cottidianum copiam ministrantibus.96 In capite quoque mundi Roma sub titulo protomartyris Stephani XII canonicorum congregationema 97 cunctis pertinentiis habundantemb statuit et maceriam in circuitu lapide muratam cum domibus et hospitiis Ungarorum orationis causa beati principis apostolorum Petri limina querentium.98 Ipsam quoque regiam urbem Constantinopolim beneficiorum munere non privavit, quam ecclesiac 99 mirifici operisd cum omnibus necessariis suis donavit. Merito igitur infra terminos sue dominationis nomen adeptus est apostoli quoniam, etsi ipse ęvangelizandi non assumpsit officium, predicatorum tamen dux et magister eise 100 tutaminis et sustentationis instituit solatium. 12. Inter omnia superne miserationis beneficia beato regi divinitus concessa pre omnibus sunt illa dinumeranda scriptisque commendanda que locum primum obtinent ad eternae vite gaudia promerenda. In omnibus enim factis suis felicibus illud intendebat ęsse precipuumf 101 quod ex ęvangelio fideli pectoris contemplatus est visu per veritatis ipsius testimonium dicentis: Beati misericordes quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur102 et in alio loco: Date et congregationem ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 419) : congregationes codd. Bartoniek b habundantem ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 419) : habundanter B Bartoniek habundantes MLH c quam ecclesia MLH : qui ecclesiam B d constructam post operis add. B Bartoniek, deleui e eis ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 420) : eius codd. f precipuum ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 420) : principium codd. Bartoniek a

The Jerusalem monastery is also mentioned in the Legenda minor 4 (below, Minor Legend, footnote 55), where it is, however, described as a nunnery. This and the similar foundation in Constantinople, only mentioned in this passage of the Legenda maior and in Hartvic’s legend (below, at 64–65), are discussed by Györffy, István király és műve, 302–3.

96

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and very famous cities. For he constructed a monastery of monks in that city of Jerusalem where Christ lived according to his humanity, and he enriched it with estates and vineyards, to provide abundant daily food.96 And he founded a congregation97 of twelve canons in Rome, the capital of the world, dedicated in honor of the protomartyr Stephen, abounding in all belongings, and he erected a wall all around it, made of stone, with houses and hospices for the Hungarians seeking the threshold of Saint Peter, prince of the apostles, in order to pray.98 He did not deprive even the royal city, Constantinople, of endowing it with benefactions; he presented to it a church of wonderful craftsmanship99 with everything that was necessary. Therefore, he deservedly gained the name of apostle within the boundaries of his dominion, because although he himself did not assume the office of evangelization, nonetheless, leader and master of preachers, he established the comfort of protection and support for them.100 12. Among all the favors of heavenly mercy divinely granted to the blessed king those that play the foremost part in earning the joy of eternal life are above all to be listed and committed to writing. For in all his auspicious deeds he strove particularly to place above all101 that which he had understood by the insight of his devoted heart from the Gospel, which says through the testimony of Truth itself: blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy,102

Reading congregationem as in the mss. of Hartvic’s legends. In fact, Stephen’s role was limited to renovating an already existing church dedicated to St. Stephen (Santo Stefano Minore), built in the eighth century next to the old St. Peter’s. Known as Santo Stefano degli Ungheresi, the church and the adjoining structures were pulled down in 1776. See Florio Banfi, “S. Stefano degli Ungari: La chiesa e l’ospizio della nazione ungherese a Roma,” Capitolium 27 (1952): 27–39 and Györffy, István király és műve, 304–5 with pl. 39. 99 as in the mss. M, L, and H. 100 Reading eis as in several mss. of Hartvic’s legend rather than eius. 101 Reading precipuum as in the mss. of Hartvic’s legend. 102 Matt. 5:7. 97 98

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dabitur vobis.103 Tantis igitur misericordie et pietatis brachiis Christi pauperes, immo Christum in ipsis, amplexabatur, quod nullus umquam hospes et peregrinus ab eo sine benignitatis alicuius solamine tristis abscessit. Ad recreationem egenorum cottidianas expensas indesinenter fieri instituit, nocturnas vigilias in lavandis104 a Christi fidelium pedibus, in abscondendis in sinub pauperum105 elemosinis agiliter et ylariter transigere solebat, egenum Christum in membris suis consolari deliberans temporaliter, ut ipse vite cęlestis cameram cunctis delectamentis refertam inveniens iocundari meruerit eternaliter. Quadam vero nocte spirituali monitu tactus, nemine sciente solus plenum dono dei gerens sacculum, Christi pusillum gregem solito more perrexit visitare statimque pauperes distribuentemc cęlestis thesauri pecuniamd 106 distrahentes unicume 107 viri dei meritis ęvulsione barbe prebuerunt testimonium. Ob hoc gaudio repletus miles Christi maximum confugium fecit ad beatissimam creatoris omnium genitricem prostratusquef terre gratias agens sic exclamavit: “Regina celestis et mea, quem tu regem statuisti milites tui sic honoraverunt. Si ab aliquo adversario mihi hoc illatum fuisset, meas iniurias per tuum ulciscerer adminiculum. Sciens ergo, domina, per hoc eterna meg felicitate dignum, nimis exulto gratias agens salvatoris nostri verbis consolatoriis, quibus discipulos suos consolatus est dicens: Capillus de capite vestro non peribit.”108 His dictis, se vir dei celesti gratia percipiens visitatum et spirituali carismate perfusum, cordis ianuas opem querentibus numquam claudere decrevit et per se deinceps et per alios, sed precipue per Christi servos et familiares,

lavandis MLH : rasura quinque litt. B sinu L : sinum BMH c distribuentem MLH : distribuende B d pecuniam MLH : pecunie B e unicum ego : meritum B p. c. initium MLH f prostratusque ML : prostratoque H prostratus B g me MLH : om. B a

b

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and in another place: give and it will be given to you.103 Therefore he always embraced the poor of Christ, or rather Christ in them, with such merciful and pious arms, that no guest or pilgrim ever left him sadly, without the solace of some benefaction. He arranged for daily payments to be made without fail for the refreshment of the needy; he used to spend the nocturnal Vigils busily and joyously washing104 the feet of Christ’s faithful and in concealing alms in the bosom of the poor,105 deciding to console the needy Christ through his members in the world, so that he would deserve to rejoice eternally, finding the treasury of celestial life filled with all delights. And indeed, one night, inspired by spiritual admonition, he proceeded to visit Christ’s little flock alone, without anyone’s knowledge, as was his habit, carrying a purse filled with the gift of God; and immediately the poor, grabbing and pulling him from all sides as he was distributing the money106 of the celestial storehouse, offered a unique107 testimony to the merits of the man of God by pulling out his beard. Upon which, the soldier of Christ, infused with great joy, turned to the most blessed Mother of the Creator of all, and prostrate on the ground, giving thanks, exclaimed: “Celestial queen, my queen, your soldiers thus honored him whom you made king. If this had been done by an enemy of mine, I would avenge the wrongs [done to me] through your support. But knowing, my Lady, that I am repaid by eternal joy for this, I rejoice exceedingly, giving thanks for the consoling words of our Savior, by which he consoled his disciples, saying: not a hair of your head will perish.”108 Having said these things, the man of God, understanding that he was visited by celestial grace and imbued with spiritual grace, decided never to close the doors of his heart to those seeking help. ­Instead, in turn by himself and others, but especially by the ser Luke 6:38. Added lavandis given by mss. M, L, and H. 105 Eccl. 29:15 (conclude elemosynam in corde pauperis). 106 As in the mss. M, L, and H. 107 Unicum instead of initium. 108 Luke 21:18. 103

104

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clericos sciliceta et monachos, celitus sibi datas facultates in eternis thesauris permanentes per manus pauperum fecit collocari. Huius rei testimonium perhibet in ęternum cum ipso celestis vite particeps monachus ex seculari nobilitate et heręmita, beatus Guntherus,109 qui, liberalitate caritativi principis illectus, solebat eum sepius 110 de terra Boęmorum111 visitare. Quotienscunque enim curiam ipsius adventus sui fulgore perlustravit, camera regis sub manu sua posita peręgrinis, egenis et indigentibus,b 112 viduis et orphanis, cęnobiis et ecclesiis distributa re, quam continebat, in brevi fuit exinanita. Ad nutum etiam ipsius servi dei rex deo devotus monasterium, quod Bęli113 nuncupatur incipiens, omnibus bonis ditavit, ubi monachus Gerardus114 de Venetia veniens vitam contemplativam agere cepit. Qui constitutione superna pontifex ęlectus, post obitum sancti regis, instante disturbatione Christianitatis, lapidatus est et per donum gratie spiritualis dignus est effectus consortio martyrii. 13. Necc hoc preteręundum estimo, quod in viro dei quanti meriti post obitum foret divina virtus in vita sua demonstrare voluit, quippe quotiens alicuius hominis infirmitas auribus suis intimata fuit, missa sibi pro medicina quam tunc in presenti poterat habere particula panis vel pomi vel herbe aromatice, mandatum ut sanus scilicet MLH : om. B indigentibus ego : indigenis codd. c nec MLH : non B a

b

Günther of Niederaltaich (b. ca. 955–d. 1045), member of the noble Thuringian family of the Ehhekardings, who were related to the Liudolfings, the lineage to which Emperor Henry II and Gisela belonged. After 1006, when he converted to a monastic lifestyle, Günther lived first as a monk in Niederaltaich, then (after 1008) as a hermit in several locations in the Bavarian Forest. See Marina Miladinov, Margins of Solitude: Eremitism in Central Europe Between East and West (Zagreb: Leykam International, 2008), 84–90; Petr Kubín, Svatý Vintíř: Poustevník, kolonizátor a diplomat / Der heilige Gunther: Einsiedler, Kolonisator und Diplomat (Prague: Univerzita Karlova, 2016) 110 At least on two occasions (between 1006 and 1008 and then again after ca. 1015) according to Tamás Körmendi, “Remete Günther és Magyarország” [The hermit Günther and Hungary], Magyar egyháztörténeti vázlatok 3–4 (2010): 5–22, at 11–12. 109

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vants and serving-people of Christ (that is, clerics and monks), he had the resources given to him by heaven laid into the eternal treasury through the hands of the poor. Many offer testimony to this, but one of these, participating with him eternally in celestial life, [was] a monk and hermit, converted from the secular nobility, the blessed Günther,109 who, drawn by the generosity of the charitable prince, used to visit him often110 from the land of the Bohemians.111 For whenever he illuminated Stephen’s court by the brightness of his arrival, the treasury of the king, placed at his disposal, was emptied in a short time of the things that it contained through their distribution to pilgrims, the poor, the needy,112 widows and orphans, monasteries and churches. And at the command of this servant of God, the king, devoted to God, founded a monastery that is called Bél,113 endowed it with all goods, where the monk Gerard,114 coming from Venice, began to lead a contemplative life. Elected as bishop by celestial order, he was stoned in the turmoil threatening Christianity after the death of the holy king. He was made worthy of the community of martyrs through the gift of spiritual grace. 13. Nor do I intend to omit that divine power wished to show in his life how many merits the man of God would have after death; indeed, whenever someone’s infirmity was made known to his ears, he sent them as medicine that which he had at hand then, a piece of bread, or fruit, or fragrant herbs, and bid that person to rise Until modern times, when a part of it, now in the Czech Republic, was renamed as Šumava, the low mountain range where Günther lived as a hermit between 1008 and 1045 was known as the Bohemian Forest (Böhmerwald); this explains why the author of the Legenda maior has Günther come from Bohemia. 112 Indigentibus instead of indigenis “to the locals” given by all mss. 113 Today Bakonybél (in Veszprém county, northwestern Hungary). On the site of Günther’s hermitage a Benedictine abbey was established sometime between ca. 1015 and 1023, a daughter-house of the one in Niederaltaich and dedicated to St. Maurice, its patron saint; see Miladinov, Margins of Solitude, 88–89 and Körmendi, “Remete Günther,” 14–17, whose dating I follow here. 114 St. Gerard (b. ca. 977–d. 1046), bishop of Marosvár/Csanád since 1030 (see below, at 221–335); he was killed on September 24, 1046. 111

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surgeret transmisit et, dei propiciatione verbum ipsius comitante, statim sospitatem recepit. Post gloriosam ascensionem ad cęlos et mirabilem patris consessionem salvator noster paucis corporaliter apparuisse perhibetur, per visionem vero multos consolatos futurorum prescios esse docuit, quod et huic beato contigit. Quadam igitur nocte repente per revelationem quandam expergefactus, veredarium quendam infra diem et noctem ad Albam Transsilvanam115 precepit festinare et omnes in rure manentes ad munitionem civitatis a 116 quam citissime posset congregare. Predixit enim superventuros christianorum hostes, videlicet, qui tunc Ungaris imminebant Bessos,117 et possessiones eorum depredaturos. Vix nuncius mandata regis complevit et ęcce Bessorum inopinata calamitas incendiis et rapinis cuncta devastans,118 per revelationem dei meritis beati viri, concessa animabus hominum salute per receptacula munitionum. 14. Accidit post hec, defuncto119 beati regis per sociam cognato, Romane dignitatis augusto Heinrico pio, Cůnradum imperatorie potestatis coronam per Germannorum electionem assumere,120 qui, destructa pacis tranquilitate, totius Teutonie manu coadunata, Pannonie terminos hostiliter conatus est invadere.121 Contra quem civitatis MLH : civitatum B

a

Gyulafehérvár (today Alba Iulia in Romania). In ms B the plural civitatum, while mss. M, L, and H give the singular civitatis; the former would imply that more than one such fortification was available in Transylvania at the beginning of the eleventh-century, while the latter (preferred here) would refer strictly to events in the vicinity of Alba Iulia, where a part of the walls of the Roman legionary castrum seems to have been used for defensive purposes in the tenth and eleventh centuries; see Alexandru Madgearu, The Romanians in the Anonymous Gesta Hungarorum: Truth and Fiction (Cluj-Napoca: Romanian Cultural Institute, 2005), 137 and Gyula Kristó, Early Transylvania (895–1324) (Budapest: Lucidus Kiadó, 2003), 90. 117 A seminomadic Turkic people living in the steppes north of the Black Sea, who, by the tenth century, had brought under their control a vast territory between the Don and the Lower Danube previously inhabited by the Hungarians. At the end of the ninth century their attacks had driven the Hungarians out and forced them to move to Pannonia. On Pechenegs in Medieval Hungary, see András Pálóczi-Horváth, Pechenegs, Cumans, Iasians: Steppe Peoples in Medieval Hungary (Budapest: 115

116

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healthy. The divine assistance having accompanied his words, [the sick] immediately recovered. Our Savior, after gloriously ascending to Heaven and sitting marvelously next to the Father, is held to have appeared to few people physically, but many were consoled in visions, and he revealed them as endowed with foreknowledge of the future, as it also happened to this blessed [king]. For one night suddenly awakened by some revelation, he ordered a courier to hasten in one day and night to Alba in Transylvania,115 and gather all those living in the countryside within the fortifications of the city116 as fast as possible. For he foretold that the enemies of Christians would come upon them, that is, the Pechenegs,117 who were then threatening the Hungarians, in order to plunder their estate. Scarcely had the messenger completed the orders of the king, when behold the unexpected onslaught of the Pechenegs devastated everything by burning and plundering.118 Through the revelation of God, which was granted because of the merits of the blessed man, the souls of everyone were saved by the shelter of the fortifications. 14. After this, it happened that the pious Henry, of Roman imperial dignity, who had become related to the blessed king through his wife, died,119 and Conrad assumed the crown of imperial power through the election of the Germans.120 After he destroyed the tranquility of peace, Conrad brought together the armies of all Teutonia, and tried to invade the borders of Pannonia like an eneCorvina, 1989), 27–38 and Nora Berend, At the Gate of Christendom: Jews, Muslims and “Pagans” in Medieval Hungary c. 1000–c. 1300 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 32–33 and 56–57. 118 According to Györffy, König Stephan, 169, this Pecheneg incursion into Transylvania should be dated to ca. 1015–1017, at a time when Stephen was embroiled in a regional conflict with the Polish duke Bolesław Chrobry. 119 On July 13, 1024. 120 Contrary to what is stated here, Henry’s successor, Conrad II (b. ca. 990–d. 1039), only became King of Germany in 1024; he was crowned Roman Emperor only in 1027. 121 Emperor Conrad II attacked Hungary in the summer of 1030, following a gradual deterioration of German-Hungarian relations possibly made even worse by a Hungarian claim to Bavaria; see Zsoldos, The Legacy, 128–30.

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rex consultum habens episcoporum et principum ad tuendam patriam armatos totius Ungarie contraxit. Prius tamen recolens se nichil posse sine suffragio Christi, manus et cor lęvans ad ęthera, domine sue, perpetue virgini dei genitrici Marie, iniurias commendans, talem erupit in vocem: “Si placet tibi, domina mundi, tue hereditatis vineama 122 ab inimicis devastari et novellam plantationem christianitatis aboleri, non mee, precor, imputetur desidie, sed potius dispositioni voluntatis tue. Si pastoris culpa quod meretur, ipse luat, insontibus parce, precor, ovibus.”123 His dictis quasi consolatus ab ea, fiducialiter adversus hostem iter arripuit. Altera mox die nuncius ad unumquemque ducem Germanorum in castra cęu missus ab imperatore venit, qui eis redęundi mandatum detulit. Regredientibus adversariis, ubi sanctus respectu miserationis dei se visitatum intelligens, Christo sueque genitrici terre prostratus gratias egit, cuius se cum regni provisione tutamini precibus assiduis commendavit. Imperator vero suorum tam repentina perterritus defectione, sciscitans qualiter res facta fuerit, cum nuncium reversionis eorum non suum124 fuisse veraciter sciret, per consilium divinitatis ad corroborandam regis fidelissimi spem factum non dubitavit seque dehinc ab invasione regni eius timore iudicis ęterni detentus abstinuit.125

vineam alia manu mg. B : opusculum MLH

a

122 Vineam, added by a different hand in the margin of that ms. The image of Hungary as the “vineyard of Mary’s inheritance” fits well in the imagery of Stephen’s prayer and echoes biblical usage of the same metaphor to suggest unjust invasion; see, for instance, Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21) and the wild boar which devastates the vineyard of the Lord (Ps. 79:9, 14). 123 Cf. 2 Sam. 24:17.

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my.121 Against him Stephen consulted bishops and chief lords and drew together the armed men of the whole of Hungary for the protection of the country. First, however, recalling that he could do nothing without Christ’s help, lifting his hand and heart to heaven and commending the injustice [he suffered] to his Lady, Mary the ever Virgin Mother of God, he burst out in such a cry: “If it pleases you, Lady of the world, to have the vineyard122 of your inheritance devastated by enemies, and to have the young implantation of Christianity destroyed, I beseech you, let it not be ascribed to my idleness, but rather to the purpose of your will. If the sin of the shepherd would merit anything, let him atone for it. I beg you, spare the innocent sheep.”123 Having said these things, as if consoled by her, he set out confidently on the road against the enemy. Immediately the next day, a messenger came to each one of the German leaders in the camp, as if sent by the emperor, who gave them the order to go back. After the withdrawal of the enemy, the holy man, knowing himself to be visited by God’s mercy, prostrate on the ground, gave thanks to Christ and His mother, to whose protection he entrusted himself and the rule of the kingdom with persistent prayers. In his turn, terrified by this sudden desertion of his soldiers, and inquiring how this had happened, the emperor understood that the messenger which caused their return was indeed not his,124 and that it was done through divine mandate, in order to strengthen the hope of the most faithful king; and from then on, Conrad abstained from attacking the kingdom [of Hungary], kept back by his fear of the eternal judge.125

As in mss. M, L, and H and of the Hartvic legend. The German retreat seems to have been followed by a successful Hungarian counter-attack and territorial expansion in the area between the rivers Fischa and Leitha. 124 125

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15. In beato quoque constat apostolicum illud impletum quod legitur quoniam per multas tribulationes oportet intrare in regnum dei126 et in libro sapientie: quos diligit deus castigat 127 et pater flagellat filium quem recipit.128 Multis enim modis correptioni divine succubuit, tribus annis infirmitate continua laborans. Postquam inde propitiationis dei medicamine convaluit, iterum ęterni per secreti consilii quandam examinationem in filiorum suorum obit sensit imminere verbera quod in ipsis infantie gradibus insontes qui dedit abstulit.129 De quorum morte mestitiam obortama 130 genitor propter amorem filii superstitis, sancte indolis viri Hęinrici, solatio compescuit.131 Quem quasi iam unicum diligens affectu precibus Christo cottidianis et eius genitrici virgini perpetue commendavit. Hunc igitur fore superstitem, hunc regni eius heredemb 132 votis omnibuscc desideravit. Et, ut efficacior fieret ad tenenda tanti regiminis gubernacula, virorum documentis orthodoxorum usu lectionis cottidiane fecit auditum utrumque prebere. Ipse quoque paterne dilectionis ardore conpunctus libellum de institutione morum133 constituit, in quo fideliter et amicabiliter verbis eum admonitionis spiritualis alloquitur, instruens qualiter ante omnia debeat observare fidem catholicam, confirmare statum ęcclęsiasticum, honorem impendere dignitati pontificum, principes et milites diligere, iudicium observare, patientiam in cunctis actibus habere, hospites benigne suscipere, benignius nutrire, sine consilio nichil agere, maiores suos ante oculos semper habere et ad exemplum statuere,

obortam ego (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, SRH vol. 2, 427) : orbatam MLH rasura circa sex litt. B b eius heredem MLH : eiusdem B heredem alia manu mg. B c preesse post omnibus add. B a

Acts 14:22. Cf. Prov. 3:12. 128 Heb. 12:6. 129 On Stephen’s second son see the Preface, footnote 65. 130 Obortam as in ms. R of Hartvic’s legend. 126 127

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15. And it is clear that in this blessed [king] the apostolic prediction was fulfilled, that is, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God,126 and in the book of Wisdom: God chastises whom He loves,127 and the father scourges every son whom he receives.128 For he underwent many kinds of divine correction, being afflicted by continuous infirmity for three years. After he had recovered from that by the medicine of God’s grace, again he felt the scourge to loom over him as if through some test of the eternal [judge’s] hidden plan, in the death of his sons, whom He who gave them, took away innocent right in their infancy.129 The father restrained the grief arising130 over their death by the solace on account of the love of his surviving son, Emeric, a man of saintly disposition.131 As already the only one, loving him dearly, he commended him daily in his prayers to Christ and his ever Virgin Mother. He desired, therefore, with all his wishes that the child outlive him and be the heir to his kingdom.132 And, so that he would be more capable of holding the helm of such government, he made him listen with both [corporal and spiritual] ears to daily readings from the teachings of authors of the true faith. And Stephen himself, prompted by the flame of paternal love, composed for him a little book on the principles of conduct,133 in which he addressed him faithfully and amicably in words of spiritual admonition. He instructed [him] how above all he should observe the Catholic faith, strengthen the condition of the Church, show honor to the dignity of bishops, love the chief lords and soldiers, respect judgment, have patience in all his acts, receive guests liberally, and nourish them even more liberally, do nothing without counsel, always keep his ancestors before his eyes Emeric (b. 1007–d. 1031). The fact that his “saintly disposition” is mentioned here is a possible argument for a late dating of the Legenda maior, i.e., not before his (and his father’s) canonization in 1083, but after that, possibly in the early years of King Coloman’s reign (1095–1116). 132 Eiusdem heredem as in mss. M, L, and H. 133 This Hungarian Fürstenspiegel, ascribed to St. Stephen, was probably the work of an anonymous cleric working at his court, who composed it in the early 1020s; see the recent critical edition, Sancti Stephani regis primi Hungariae: Libellus de institutione morum sive Admonitio spiritualis, ed. László Havas, French tr. by Jean-Pierre Levet (Debrecen: Debreceni Egyetemi Kiadó, 2008), vii. 131

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orationis officium frequentare, pietatem et misericordiam cum cęteris virtutibus possidere.134 Talibus et his similibus disciplinis institutus iuvenis preclarus dispositioni eterne, cui cuncta subiacent, obediendo millesimo XXXI o dominice incarnationis anno vitam hanc exitialem commutavit sempiterna, supernorum civium adiunctus contubernio. O quantus luctus omnium, sed maxime principium, inter quos pater desolatus grave traxit suspirium. Videns enim se solum sine spe posteritatis derelictum, pietatis affectu doluit. Sciens vero scriptum: non est prudentia, non sapientia, non consilium contra dominum135 et illud in canonibus,136 neminem propter obitum carorum nimis debere contristari, deposito merore, se totum contulit ad querendam largitatem misericordie divine. Cenobiorum et ecclesiarum ministros, monachos et clericos, diversis ęlemosinarum donis consolatus, expensas totius sumptus que ad presens habere poterat peregrinis, viduis, orphanis erogavit. Extęrarum etiam monasteria provinciarum munificentie regie donis innumeris per nuncios suos sepe visitavit. 16. Gravedinem morum, quam in iuventute perceperat, usque ad finem vite tenuit. Vix unquam ad risum labia movit, recolens scriptum: risus dolore miscebitur et extrema gaudii luctus occupat,137 semper sic apparens ac si ante tribunal Christi staret,a interioribus oculis eius presentia vultu verendo conspiciens, Christum in ore, Christum in corde, Christum in cunctis actibus se gestare demonstravit. Diem ultimum semper ante oculosb 138 cordis ­

in post staret add. B Bartoniek, deleui oculos L alia manu s. l. B : se M

a

b

Although Bartoniek (SRH 2, 391, n. 3) retained it as a quotation from the Libellus, this sentence is in fact a summary of its various chapters, which reformulates rather than quotes the original. 135 Prov. 21:30. 136 The “canons” here are the Pseudo-Isidorian collection of forgeries, more precisely an alleged letter of Pope Anastasius I (Ep. II ad Nerianum) contained in the third 134

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as an example, resort to the office of prayer often, possess piety and mercy together with the other virtues.134 The noble young man, instructed with this and similar learning, obeying the command of eternal providence, to whom all are subordinate, exchanged this mortal life for an everlasting one in the year 1031 of the Incarnation of the Lord, and joined the communion of heavenly citizens. O,  how great the sorrow of all, but especially of the chief lords, among whom the desolate father heaved deep sighs. For seeing himself alone, left without hope of offspring, he grieved with pious feeling. Yet as he knew that it was written: There is no wisdom, there is no understanding, there is no counsel against the Lord,135 and that in the canons: nobody should be exceedingly saddened by the death of their loved ones,136 casting off his grief, he gave himself wholly to seeking the abundance of divine mercy. Comforting the servants of monasteries and churches, [that is,] monks and clerics, by various gifts of alms, he distributed all the already collected revenues which he had at hand at the moment to pilgrims, widows, and orphans. And through his messengers he often visited the monasteries of foreign provinces with innumerable gifts of royal generosity. 16. He retained to the end of his life the gravity of manner that he had adopted in his youth. His lips hardly ever moved to laughter, recalling the Scripture: laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes hold of the end of joy137; always appearing thus as if he stood before the tribunal of Christ, whose fearsome appearance he contemplated with his mind’s eye, he showed that he carried Christ on his lips, Christ in his heart, Christ in all of his acts. Always keeping the last day before the eyes138 of his heart, with all part of this collection of decretals. This is, in fact, a letter of Gregory the Great (Ep. 9.219), which, in addition to the formula alluded to in the present passage (contristari nimium de obeuntibus non debemus) also contains a scriptural reference (1 Thess. 4:12) of similar tenor. Both texts became part of the canon law and were included in the Decretum of Gratian (pt. 2, c. 13, qu. 2. cap. 27 and 28). 137 Prov. 14:13. 138 Oculos as in ms. L.

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desiderio toto mentis statuens iam inter patrie cęlestis cives quasi quodam angelice conversationis habitu cupiebat habitare. Cunctis deo placitarum virtutum generibus adornatus et in iustitia sanctitatis coram ipso omnibus diebus 139 vite sue conversari decrevit, ut in eo iam quedam future glorificationis species clarescere videretur. Tandem per misericordiam dei dignus centuplicate retributionis bravio, tactus febre, cum sibi transit imminere non ambigeret, accersitis episcopis et primis palatii de Christi nomine gloriantibus, primum cum eis tractavit de substituendo pro se rege, Petro videlicet,140 sororis sue filio, quem, in Venetia genitum, ad se vocatum, iam dudum exercitui suo prefecerat ducem, deinde monuit eos paterne fidem ortodoxam servare.a 141

explicit liber primus add. Alia manu B

a

Luke 1:75. Peter I (b. 1010/1011–d. 1046/ca. 1056), son of Otto Orseolo, Doge of Venice, who had married (ca. 1009) one of St. Stephen’s sisters. Peter left Venice in 1026, when a rebellion instigated by the German Emperor Conrad II forced his father out of power; he came to Hungary, where, after Prince Emeric’s death in 1031, he was chosen by the king to succeed him. He became king and ruled Hungary with German support in two instances (1038–1041 and 1044–1046). 141 In the edition of the SRH, the text of the Legenda maior ends abruptly at this point. Allegedly a more complete version was available in the early twelfth century to Hartvic, who used it when he compiled his own legend. This seems probable, although just how much of the original account of Stephen’s death and burial and in what shape has been preserved in Hartvic’s legend (the end of ch. 22 and what follows) is disputable; cf. Kristó, “A nagyobbik és a Hartvik-féle István legenda.” 139

140

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the desire of his mind he wished to live among the inhabitants of the celestial city, as if in the garb of angelic life. Adorned with every type of virtue pleasing to God, he decided to live in holiness and justice before him in all the days139 of his life, so that the splendor— as though of some future glory—would already appear to shine in him. Finally by the mercy of God, the one worthy of the prize of a hundredfold reward, struck by illness, not doubting that the day of his passing away was approaching, summoned the bishops and the chief lords of his palace who gloried in the name of Christ, and discussed first with them who was to succeed him as king, namely, Peter, his sister’s son, who was born in Venice and whom he had already summoned to himself and, long ago, appointed leader of his army.140 Afterward in a fatherly way he admonished them to keep the orthodox faith.141

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VITA ET ACTUS SANCTI STEPHANI REGIS PANNONIORUM (Legenda Minor)

q

LIFE AND DEEDS OF SAINT STEPHEN, KING OF THE PANNONIANS (Minor Legend)

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VITA ET ACTUS SANCTI STEPHANI REGIS PANNONIORUM1 (Legenda Minor) 1. Cum intelligamus sanctorum merita in libro vite2 asscripta et memoriale eorum coram domino3 in secula, vere saluberrimum asserimus aliquid in exemplum de vita et actibus bonorum ad successorum progeniema scriptis emana.b Ipsi fideliter pro Christo certaverunt et feliciter pro certamine coronati sunt, nos si laboris eorum imitatores efficiamur, sicut Paulus dicit, heredes quidem dei erimus, coheredes autem Christi.4 Martyrum agonibus mater cottidie ęcclesia coronatur, confessorum fidelibus lucris reparatur, tantisque perornata fulgoribus circa volubilem orbis axem5 splendescit. Multa eorum gloriosa certamina mundus olim habuit, que vetustate temporum clausa, fidelium memorie non sunt commendata, quia vate sacro6 caruerunt. Sed de antiquis, que iam comprehendi nequeunt, omittentes—scimus enim quoniam laus eorum ante deum in sempiternum non veterascet—ad ea, quibus sermo texitur,7 veniamus. Sanctissimi confessoris Stephani,8 incliti videlicet Pannoniorum9 regisc vitam actusque, sicut fideli et veraci relatione tunc temporis propaginem B suppl. Bartoniek : emanasse L c regis post stephani transp. B a

b

Transmitted together with and as a continuation of the Legenda maior in the manuscript tradition, the Legenda minor does not have a title; it is simply identified as “the second book” (liber secundus) by a different hand than that of its original scribe in ms. B. The title proposed here is based on the explicit of the text in the same ms.; a similar phrase (Pannoniorum regis vitam actusque) also occurs in the Prologue (see below, at n. 9). 2 Phil. 4:3. 3 Exod. 28:29. 4 Rom. 8:17. 5 This obscure expression circa volubilem orbis axem (lit. “around the revolving axis of the Earth”) has been taken by some as indicative of the author’s knowledge of as1

[ 82 ]

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LIFE AND DEEDS OF SAINT STEPHEN, KING OF THE PANNONIANS1 (Minor Legend) 1. As we acknowledge that the merits of the saints are inscribed in the book of life2 and their memorial is before the Lord3 forever, we indeed consider it most beneficial that something be preserved in writing from the life and deeds of virtuous people as an example for the generation of their descendants. They have fought faithfully for the sake of Christ and in reward for this fight have been blessedly crowned. As for us, provided we imitate their struggle, we shall become, in Paul’s words, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.4 It is through her martyrs’ contests that our mother, the Church, is crowned every day, through the faithful gains made by her confessors that she is being replenished, and, bedecked with so many luminaries, she is resplendent all throughout this transient world.5 Their many glorious exploits the world once knew, which the long lapse of time has since obscured, and which were not entrusted to the memory of the faithful, for they lacked a sacred bard.6 Let us, however, leave aside those things of old that by now are beyond our grasp—for we know that their praise shall remain unwithered with God for all eternity—and let us come to those things of which our discourse will be woven.7 We have deemed it worthy and honorable to transmit to posterity the life and deeds8 of the most holy confessor Stephen, the glorious

tronomy; cf. Emma Bartoniek in SRH 2, 366. Other modern translations are either very literal (so, for instance, Ágnes Kurcz in Árpád-kori legendák és intelmek: Szentek a magyar középkorból [Saints’ lives and admonitions from the Arpadian age: Hungarian medieval saints], vol. 1 (Budapest: Osiris, 2004), 11) or overly simplifying (as Gabriel Silagi in Die heiligen Könige, ed. Thomas von Bogyay, János Bak, and Gabriel Silagi [Graz: Verlag Styria, 1976], 61). 6 Cf. Horace, Carm. 4.9.28 (carent quia uate sacro). 7 Jerome, Comm. in Michaeam 1.3 (prophetalis sermo texitur). 8 For the biography of King Stephen see the Preface, n. 1. [ 83 ]

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viventium accepimus, dignum et honorificum duximus posteritati transmittere. Nec doctas compositasque grammaticorum lineas aut philosophorum interpretationes, seu sophistica acumina imitamur, quia stultum est in altum navigare, si non possit ad portum transmeare.10 Illi ista autumant, qui secundum poeticas fabulas Pegaseo fonte potati sunt, qui se somniasse inter sacra Parnasi gloriantur.11 Horum sapientia ex vanitate in vanitatem evanuit et exa 12 ea nichil fructus ad profectum sui capientes, stulti facti sunt.13 Vos autem intelligentes, quod scriptoris ab ore sonat,14 pusillanimitati eius cędite, quia quod a fidelibus auditu didicit recitat. Certe non equum onus viribus suis considerat, cum prorsus careat lucida facundia15 et bene capaci intellectu. Presertim veretur super ęmulatorum morsibus, qui sua negligenter componentes, aliorum scripta laniant. Ergo licet autenticas librorum scripturas revolvatis,16 tamen hec breviora legite, et siquid abnorme, siquid minus disertum sermonem inveneritis, rusticitati eius parcite.b 2. Itaque cum diu barbarica gens Hungarorum errore infidelitatis sue teneretur et ritu gentilium vanas sacrilegasque superstitiones sequeretur, placuit misericordie salvatoris deic 17 finem eorum peccatis inponere, ut cessante diabolica illusione, saltem reliquie gentis huius salvarentur. Nam quasi lumen de tenebris, beatissimum ex MLH : om. B explicit prologus. incipit liber post parcite add. B c dei MLH : om. B a

b

9 Cf. Major Legend, n. 17 and László Veszprémy, “Pannonia,” in Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9–14. század) [Lexicon of early Hungarian history: ninth to fourteenth centuries], ed. Gyula Kristó (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994), 526. 10 According to Csóka, A latin nyelvű történeti irodalom, 118, this could be a polemical reference to the anonymous author of the Legenda maior of St. Stephen, which, in its extant versions, lacks an ending. 11 Persius, Satirae, Prol. 1–2 (Nec fonte labra prolui caballino / nec in bicipiti somniasse Parnasso / memini). 12 I have inserted ex from mss. M, L, H. 13 Rom. 1:22.

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LIFE AND DEEDS OF SAINT STEPHEN, KING OF THE PANNONIANS 85

king of the Pannonians,9 as we have learnt of them from the trustworthy and truthful account of those who lived in those times. But we shall not imitate the learned and elaborate guidelines of the grammarians or the explanations of the philosophers or yet again the subtleties of the sophists, for it is stupid to try and sail on the open sea when you are not capable to bring your ship into harbor.10 Such things are claimed by those who, according to the fables of the poets, have drunk from the fount of Pegasus, and who boast that they have dreamed amidst the sacred precincts of Parnassus.11 The wisdom of such people vanished from vanity into vanity, and—since they did not draw from12 it any profit for their own improvement— they became fools.13 You, however, who understand the words that come out of your writer’s mouth,14 show indulgence towards his lack of confidence, for he is recounting what he had learned by listening to trustworthy people. Certainly he does not consider his powers equal to the task, as he completely lacks both brilliant eloquence15 and well-endowed intelligence. Most of all, he fears the mordant attacks of those envious people who compose their own writings negligently, yet savage the works of others. Therefore, even if you leaf through the pages of the original writings,16 read these shorter ones as well, and, if you chance upon something that is not quite in agreement with the rules or upon some less felicitous expression, show indulgence to its lack of polish. 2. Now, as the barbarian people of the Hungarians had long been held in the grip of the error of their unbelief and they followed vain and godless superstitions in the manner of pagans, the mercy of God17 our Savior found it pleasing to put an end to their sins, so Martial, Epigr. 8.50 (Palladius tenero lotos ab ore sonat). Ausonius, Commemoratio professorum Burdigalensium 4.15 or possibly inspired by Horace, De arte poetica 40–41 (nec facundia deseret hunc nec lucidus ordo). 16 Reference to the Legenda maior, the first and more extensive hagiographic account of St. Stephen, in opposition to which the present one can be presented as being “shorter” (breviora). 17 I have supplied dei, absent from B, from mss. M, L, H. 14 15

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r­ egem Stephanum suscitavit, quem iuxta catholice fidei18 veritatem eruditum ad preparandum sibi populum acceptabilem19 disposuit. Hic Strigoniensi oppido20 nativitatis exordium habuit et puer adhuc scientia grammatice artis ad plene imbutus est. Pater eius21 rex quidem, sed primum gentilis fuit. Postea illustrante spiritus sancti gratia, vie et vite lumen22 agnovit, evangelicamque institutionem secutus, ad indaginema veritatis23 pervenit. In tantum autem divinis se conspectibus probabilem reddidit, ut omnes militie sue comites ad veri dei culturam converteret.24 Quos vero aliene vie sectatores repperit, minis terroribusque subiugavit. Qui cum iam senesceret, resolutionemque sui corporis imminere sentiret, filio, arce regni25 sublimando, uxorem nobilissimam ex latissima Romanorum imperatorum prosapia dirivatam duxit.26 Interea rex christiani nominis amator debitum solvens nature concessit,27 qui, ut credimus, per confessionem deitatis, gloriam ęterne felicitatis consecutus est. Post cuius obitum Stephanus ad-

indaginem B : imaginem LH ymaginem M

a

On Adalbert’s role in Stephen’s baptism cf. Major Legend, n. 43; It is more likely, however, that Stephen had already been baptized before Adalbert became bishop of Prague (983) by German missionaries active in the 970s at the court of Duke Géza (see below, n. 21). The focus on St. Adalbert as sole Christianizer was meant to erase the unpalatable memory of this German-inspired conversion. See Veszprémy, “Der Heilige Adalbert”; Kristó, Szent István, 30–34, regards Stephen’s baptism by Adalbert as almost certain, but this interpretation rests on his speculative late dating of Stephen’s birth, which is not supported by any source (see below, n. 21). 19 Titus 2:14. 20 The exact date of Stephen’s birth is unknown; Simon of Kéza (Gesta Hungarorum 43) places it in 967, the Chron. pict. 63, in 969, while a Polish source, the Annales Cisterciensium in Heinrichow (MGH SS 19, ed. W. Arndt, 544) gives the year 975. Györffy, István király és műve, 112, accepts a vaguely defined dating, “a few years after 975,” and Kristó, Szent István, 31, one as late as 980 or 981. Thietmar of Merseburg’s Chron. 4.59 (MGH SS rer. Germ. N.S. 9, ed. R. Holtzmann, 198) is the only source to record Stephen’s pre-Christian name, Waic (Hung. Vajk), of probable Turkic origin and meaning “rich, hero, leader.” 21 Stephen’s father was Duke Géza (d. 997), a great-grandson of Árpád, the founder of the first Hungarian dynasty under whose leadership the Hungarians had conquered and settled a large part of the Carpathian Basin in 894. By 972, Géza succeed18

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that, once the devil’s delusion had ceased, at least the remainder of this people may be saved. Accordingly He raised the most blessed King Stephen as a light from amid the darkness and, once he had been instructed in the truth of Catholic faith,18 appointed him to fashion [the Hungarians] into a people acceptable.19 Stephen was born in the town of Esztergom20 and while still a boy he acquired a full knowledge of the craft of grammar. Although his father21 was king, in the beginning he was a pagan. Later, as the grace of the Holy Ghost illuminated him, he came to know the light of the way and of the life,22 and, following the teaching of the gospels, he stepped onto the right path23 in search for the Truth. Moreover, he made himself all the more worthy in the eyes of the Lord in that he converted all those of his retinue to the worship of the true God.24 Those, however, whom he found to be followers of an alien path, he subdued by threats and terror. Then, as he was growing old and felt the approaching demise of his body, he raised his son to the pinnacle of the kingdom25 and brought him a wife, a most noble lady, issued from the most distinguished lineage of the Roman emperors.26 Meanwhile, the king, who was a devotee of Christianity, paid his debt to nature and passed away,27 to obtain, as we believe, the glory of eternal bliss through his acknowledgement of the Divinity. After

ed, through a series of bloody purges, to eliminate almost all of Árpád’s descendants and emerged as the single duke who governed the Hungarians. Cf. Preface, n. 32. 22 Cf. John 14:6. 23 Or, according to mss. L, H, M, “he was brought to see the likeness of the Truth.” 24 On Géza’s conversion cf. Major Legend, n. 28. In spite of what the author of our text says, both Duke Géza and his wife Sarolt seem to have had a rather peculiar understanding of Christianity as implied by both Thietmar, Chron. 8.4 (MGH SS rer. Germ. N.S. 9, ed. R. Holtzmann, 497–98) and Bruno of Querfurt, Vita Adalberti (redactio breuior) 23 (MPH n.s. 4.2, ed. J. Karwasińska, 61) 25 Statius, Theb. 8:21 (media regni infelicis in arce). 26 On the marriage of Stephen and Gisela cf. Major Legend, n. 78. 27 In 997, according to the Legenda maior 5 (SRH 2, 381); the date is mistakenly given as 998 in the Annales Posonienses (SRH 1, 125).

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huc puer a 28 favore principum et plebis in regni solium29 laudabiliter provectus, ardentiori animo veritatis cepit propagator existere, quia quamvis pueritieb 30 annis floreret, non tamen cor in ore, sed os habebat in corde.31 Scripturarum divinarum, quibus adprime flagrabat non inmemor, iudicium et iustitiam ante oculos proponebat iuxta illud Salomonis: Audiens sapiens sapientior erit et intelligens gubernacula possidebit.32 Non proponebat ante oculos suos rem iniustam facientes et consentientes,c 33 sed in omnibus mandatis dei fidelis dispensator 34 existens, aput se cepit meditari, ut si populum iam pridem baptismatis consecratione renatum absque disciplina dimitteret, facile post errorem vanitatis sue iterum converteretur. Hunc secundum ęcclesiasticam doctrinam instituens, iugum et legem discipline subpositis cervicibus adhibuit,35 omnesque inmunditias malorum prorsus destruxit. 3. Quidam vero nobilium, quibus luxus et desidia cordis inerat,36 videntes quod assveta coacti reliquissent, diabolico instinctu iudicia regis contempserunt, et ad priores voluptatis sue usus animum reducentes, contra eum arma movebant. Ceperunt autem urbes eius desolari, predia vastare, possessiones depredari, servos cedere et ut cetera sileam, regi insultare. Cumque declinare nollent a via sua perversa, nec furor eorum satiaretur, rex ipse confidens de eterna virtute, ad superandam hostium rabiem cum multitudine exercitus adolescens Hart. adolescentie Hart. c facientes et consentientes MLH : rasura circiter 22 litt. B a

b

In Hartvic’s version of this passage (Legenda Hartuiciana 5; SRH 2, 407), Stephen is an adolescens “adolescent” rather than a “boy” (puer). Given the various dates proposed for his birth, Géza’s son could have been anywhere between seventeen and twenty-seven years old at this time; the noncommittal translation proposed here is meant to reflect this uncertainty. 29 A common biblical phrase; see, for instance, Gen. 41:40, Deut. 17:18, Esther 15:9. 30 Hartvic’s version of the legend has adolescentie (see above, n. 28). 31 Cf. Sir. 21:29 (et in ore fatuorum cor illorum et in corde sapientium os illorum). 32 Prov. 1:5. 33 I have integrated into the text a phrase given only by mss. M, L, H. 28

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his death, Stephen, while still a youth,28 was raised with honor to the throne of the realm29 with the support of the leading men and of the common people. With an ardent spirit, he began to show himself to be a promoter of the truth, for, even though he was still in the bloom of his youth,30 he did not have his heart in his mouth, but rather his mouth in his heart.31 Mindful of the Holy Scriptures (for he was full of zeal for these above anything else), he kept good judgement and justice before his eyes in accordance with the word of Solomon: A wise man shall hear and shall be wiser; and he who understands shall possess governments.32 He did not keep before his eyes those who practiced injustice or agreed to it,33 but as a faithful steward34 of God’s commandments, he started to consider that the people, who had for some time been reborn through the sacrament of baptism, if left without discipline, would easily revert again to their vain error. He ordered them according to the teachings of the Church, imposed the yoke and the law of discipline upon their bowed necks,35 and thoroughly destroyed all that was unclean and wicked. 3. Now, some of the nobles, whose hearts were steeped in luxury and sloth,36 seeing that they had been forced to give up their customs, were inspired by the devil and despised the king’s ordinances; relapsing into their former pleasure-loving ways, they took up arms against him. Thus, they started to ravage his cities, to lay waste his estates, to plunder his possessions, to murder his servants, and, not to mention other things, to insult the king. As they refused to turn aside from their wicked path and their fury could not be Luke 12:42. The heavy-handed attempt at Christianization described here is mirrored to some extent in Stephen’s surviving legislation, which prescribes punishments such as beating, flogging, and prison for not fulfilling one’s Christian duties; see DRMH, 1–11, esp. 3–4 with notes on p. 78–81. For a recent overview of the process and further bibliography, see Nora Berend, József Laszlovszky, and Béla Zsolt Szakács, “The Kingdom of Hungary,” in Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe, and Rus’ c. 900–1200, ed. Nora Berend (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 319–68. 36 Borrowing from Rufinus’ translation of Eusebius’ Historia ecclesiastica 3.23.9, ed. Mommsen, 241 (quibus luxus et desidia cordi est). 34 35

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sui processit. Illis forte diebus urbem, que vulgo Besprem a 37 nuncupaturb 38 obsederant, hoc ad convicia eius commoventes, scilicet, ut ubi regalis accessus et conversatio habebatur, ibi consederent, quo facilior ingressus ad alia presidia occupanda inveniretur. Rex divina preeunte clementia adversus eos consurrexit, et hi in fide, illi vero tantum in armis confidentes, utrimque decertaverunt. Tandem hostibus victis et ex parte cesis, ex parte captis et alligatis,39 rex victor cum suis victorie signac reportavit. Preterea de possessionibus eorum tam in agris, quam in villis sapienter diiudicavit, non sicut quondam Saul, qui devicto Amalech de spoliis eius domino prohibente40 meliora ęlegit.d Ex omnibus enim nichil ad opus sui reservavit, sed abiens, Sanctoe 41 Martino consecravit, in cuius honore etiam basilicam construxit.42 Illos autem et posteros eorum usque in presentem diem servos ęcclesie instituit. Postea impetratione suorum optimatum consilium cepit, ut tantum decimas ex his que possidebant darent, ne afflicti disperderentur e terra.43 4. Subiugatis persequentium se tumultibus et confirmato in pace regni solio,44 cepit sancte religionis magis ac magis emulator existere, omnesque in Christo pie viventef diligere. Celebritas prudentie Besprem MLH : Bresprem B nuncupatur MLH Hart. : vocatur B c dona Hart. d elegerat MLH Hart. e confessori post sancto add. MLH f suppl. Bartoniek a

b

37 The name of the city here in the Latin text comes from mss. M, L, H rather than B, which has Bresprem. On Koppány, see Major Legend, n. 54. 38 Reading nuncupatur as in mss. M, L, H, and the manuscript used by Hartvic. 39 According to the Chron. pict. 64, 110–3, following his defeat, Koppány was quartered, three parts of his body being pinned to the gates of Esztergom, Veszprém, and Győr, while a fourth was sent to Transylvania. This symbolic distribution probably reflects the geographic extent of Stephen’s actual (northern and western Transdanubia) and claimed (northern Transylvania) authority ca. 998; see Gyula Kristó, “Koppány felnégyelése” [The quartering of Koppány], Századok 116 (1982): 959–68, reprinted in idem, Írások Szent Istvánról és koráról [Writings on St. Stephen and his age] (Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely, 2000), 49–61. On recent controversy about the veracity of this account, see Berend, “Koppány és a Szent Jobb.”

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appeased, the king himself, putting his trust in eternal might, set forth with a great number of his army in order to defeat the mad rage of his enemies. It so happened that in those days they were laying siege to Veszprém37 as it is called 38 in the vernacular with the intention of taunting him; that is, they meant to occupy the place where the king used to enter and stay, so that they might then all the more easily find a way to occupy his other fortresses as well. The king, protected by divine mercy, rose against them and a battle was joined from both parts, with one party putting its trust in its faith, the other only in its weapons. Eventually, the king defeated his enemies, of whom he cut down some, and captured and bound others,39 and together with his men he returned victorious, bearing the signs of his victory. Moreover, he disposed wisely of their possessions, both in lands and in villages—not like Saul in the days of old, who chose for himself the better part of the spoil from the defeated Amalekites, although the Lord had forbidden this.40 For he did not set anything apart from all these for his own use, but went and consecrated everything to St. Martin,41 in whose honor he also built a church.42 And he made those people and their descendants serfs of the Church [as they remain] to this day. Later, at the request of his magnates, he decided that they should only pay a tithe on what they owned, lest they be too severely afflicted and vanish altogether from the face of the earth.43 4. After he had subdued the uprising of his foes and secured the throne of the realm44 in peace, he showed himself more and more as a promoter of the holy faith and as one who cherished all those See 1 Sam. 15:9. Styled “confessor” in mss. M, L, H. 42 On the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma, see Major Legend, n. 69. 43 Biblical phrase, cf. Josh. 23:13, 15 and 1 Macc. 2:40, 7:6. The tithes mentioned are those of Koppány’s former domain in Somogy, which ca. 1002 Stephen took away from the bishop of Veszprém and donated to the abbot of Pannonhalma, thus sparking a long-lasting legal dispute between the two. 44 See above, n. 29. 40 41

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sue aput filios hominum45 in maxima reverentia habebatur. Crescebat cottidie ecclesia fidelium et multi ex diversis mundi partibus audientes de doctrina eius confluebant ad eum. Dum longe lateque sancti dei cultores multiplicarentur, rex, ut erat arcius operibus bonis intentus, statuit atria sancte matrisa 46 ęcclesie amplificare, quod et devotissime implevit. Nam sub titulo Sancte Marie gloriose virginis in Alba civitate,47 que ob specialitatem nobilitatis sue nomen accepit,48 templum instauravit, ubi inter plurima distincto gemmarum colore perornata philacteria ex purissimo auro fabricata in opus sanctuarii intulit.49 Inde ex universis pertinentibus sibi tam in agris, quam in vineis partem in oblationem dedit et officia clericorum illic domino famulantium instituit.50 Percipiensque laboriosum fidelibus ęsse, si illuc ab exterioribus locis ad missarum sollempnia confluerent, iussit ut decem villarum populus ęcclesiam edificaret, ad cuius diocesim pertineret,51 ne tedio affectus minus religionis sue officium curaret. Quibus secundum vite meritum episcopos52 et sacerdotes prefecit, ut auctoritate apostolice traditionis erudirentur. Nec multo postb alias se convertit corroboratus voce domini dicentis: Luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, ut glorificent patrem vestrum, qui in celis est 53 et quosdam familiarium suorum Romam adire delegit commendans facultates multas nimis, ut ibi matris MLH : rasura circiter quattuor litt. B post MLHB p. c. : rasura trium litt. B

a

b

A biblical phrase; see, for instance, Ps. 10:5, 11:9, 13:2. I have supplied matris into the text from mss. M, L, H. 47 On the church dedicated to the Virgin, see Major Legend, n. 89. 48 This statement would have been intelligible only to readers who knew that the full Latin name of Székesfehérvár was Alba Regia, “Royal Alba,” thus called to distinguish it from other cities of the same name, i.e., Hung. fehérvár “white city,” probably a translation of a Slavic bělgradŭ, such as the Transylvanian Gyulafehérvár / [civitas] Bellagradensis, Alba Transsilvana (Rom. Bălgrad, today Alba Iulia) or Nándorfehérvár / Alba Bulgariae (today Belgrade). Both Lat. regia “royal” and Hung. székes lit. “of the [royal] seat” refer to the city’s elevated status as a royal seat and the coronation site of the Hungarian kings (cf. its German name Stuhlweißenburg). 49 See Major Legend, n. 91. 50 An important collegiate chapter was attached to the Church of the Holy Virgin; its privileges are listed in detail in Hartvic’s legend (ch. 12; SRH 2, 418). 45

46

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who lived piously in Christ. His reputation for wisdom was held in the highest regard among the sons of men.45 The Church of the faithful kept increasing day by day, and many people, having heard about his learning, flocked to him from various parts of the world. As the worshippers of Holy God kept growing in numbers far and wide, the king, who was eagerly committed to good deeds, decided to enlarge the edifices of the holy mother46 Church, and this he accomplished most devoutly. For he erected a church dedicated to the glorious and holy Virgin Mary in the city of Székesfehérvár47 (the city took this name from its particular renown).48 In it he placed, among many other things, reliquaries made of the purest gold and decorated most splendidly with precious stones of various colors to be used in the sanctuary.49 Then he gave as an offering a part of all his possessions (from fields as well as from vineyards), and he specified the duties of the clergy who were to serve God in that place.50 And when he realized that the faithful found it laborious to gather there for the celebration of the mass from outlying places, he ordered that the people of ten villages should erect one church and belong to its parish,51 lest they be overcome by weariness and show less care for their religious duties. Over them he appointed bishops52 and priests according to the merits of their lives so that [the people] may be instructed with the authority of the apostolic tradition. Not long after that, he turned his attention elsewhere, strengthened by the word of the Lord which says: So let your light shine before men, that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven.53 And he sent some of his closest to Rome, entrusting to them truly plentiful resources in order that a church may be erected there in honor of Such a stipulation is extant in the law code transmitted under Stephen’s name, bk. 2.1 (DRMH, 9). On the organization of the parish system, see Marie-Madeleine de Cevins, “Les paroisses hongroises au Moyen Âge,” in Les Hongrois et l’Europe: Conquête et intégration, ed. Sándor Csernus and Klára Korompay (Paris and Szeged: Université de Szeged, Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle, Institut Hongrois de Paris, 1999), 341–57. 52 On the debate about the number of bishoprics that certainly go back to Stephen’s reign, see Major Legend, n. 64. 53 Matt. 5:16. 51

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in honore prothomartyris Stephani ecclesia fundari deberet. Quod et ita factum est.54 Preter hec divisit alia, quibus acquirerentur domus, ville, possessiones et cętera talia, que ad sumptus ministrorum ecclesie pertinent. Et singulis annis, quamdiu advixit, munera et oblationes superaugebat, ne aliquid extrinsecus quererent qui officio sanctuarii preerant. Iherosolimis ętiam in monasterio, quod construxerat, monialium conversationem destinavit,55 quibus simili dispositione necessaria preparavit. O, vere felicem Stephanum, qui ut ęternam mansionem edificatam haberet in cęlis, se ipsum domino habitaculum preparabat in terris. 5. Sancta dei ęcclesia in pace collocata et ex Romana auctoritate iuste ordinata,56 gens Byssenorum57 longe a fide aliena et quasi beluina stultitia carens intellectu patrie eius confinia demoliri aggressa est.58 Rex vero illos ante dies in remotis partibus venatui insistebat, ut saltim post multas curas, quibus opprimebatur, aliquantisper infirma membra laxarentur. Cum ergo circa mediam horam diei sopori indulgeret, per voluntatem dei, qui ea que futura sunt, spiritu visionis sue manifesta et cognita fidelibus suis ostendit, videbatur asstantibus presentialiter inimicis patrie loqui et quasi eos terrendo proferre: “Cur vana vestra cohorte claustra sancte ęcclesie irrumpere vultis? Cur gregem pastoris magni et ovilia eius desolari venistis? Recedite, recedite,59 quia impetravi ab imperatore meo virum defensorem et ducem meum, scilicet Martinum, qui non patietur morsibus vestris pascua iustorum lacerari.” Evigilansque alacri vultu, qui sua proferret nuncia, adesse mandavit. Cui assistenti, “non

See Major Legend, n. 100. Cf. Legenda maior 11 (SRH 2, 386), where, however, Stephen’s foundation in Jerusalem is identified as a monachorum cenobium “a monastery for monks”; the Jerusalem monastery and a similar foundation in Constantinople, only mentioned in the Legenda maior, ibid., are discussed by Györffy, István király és műve, 302–3. 56 For an overview of ecclesiastic structures in Hungary in this early period, see László Koszta, “L’organisation de l’église chrétienne en Hongrie,” in Les Hongrois et l’Europe, 293–311. 57 On the Pechenegs, see Major Legend, n. 119. 54 55

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St. Stephen the first martyr. And so it was done.54 Besides this, he also allocated other resources with which houses, villages, estates, and such other things could be acquired as were necessary for the upkeep of the servants of the Church. And he kept increasing the gifts and endowments every year as long as he lived lest those who were entrusted with the care of the holy place should be in need to ask anything from elsewhere. Moreover, in the monastery which he built in Jerusalem he established a community of nuns,55 for whom he provided what was necessary through a similar disposition. O, truly blessed Stephen, who set yourself up as the Lord’s dwelling on earth in order to possess an eternal abode built in heaven! 5. When the holy Church of God was established in peace and justly organized according to the authority given by Rome,56 the nation of the Pechenegs,57 who were quite remote from the faith and deprived of intelligence, being as stupid as the beasts, moved to attack the borders of his country.58 Now, before those days the king was busy hunting in some remote places in order to provide at least a little recreation for his limbs, tired as he was on account of the many concerns that beset him. So, as he was deep asleep around midday, he was granted a vision through the will of God, who, by His spiritual revelations, reveals and makes known to His faithful the things to come. He saw himself standing in the presence of his country’s enemies and speaking to them; he was addressing them in menacing terms as follows: “Why do you seek to break into the fold of the holy Church with your useless band? Why have you come to plunder the flock of the great Shepherd and His sheepfolds? Depart, depart,59 for my Emperor granted me a defender and a leader, namely, Martin, who will not endure that the pastures of the just be ravished by your fangs!” And as he woke up with an animated countenance, he called for someone to come who could deliver his message. When one came, the king told him: “You will not be able Cf. the shorter account of the same events in the Legenda maior 13 (SRH 2, 389) and Major Legend, n. 120. 59 Isa. 52:11. 58

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mee” inquit “legationis causas explere poteris, sed alius, qui fidelior inveniatur, accedat.” Presentatum vero eisdem verbis redire precepit. Ammoto et tertio: “perge” ait “adire, festina properea 60 et mea tollens mandata, dic tribuno plebis in ulterioribus moranti, ut se prevideat, viros ad pugnam eligat et hostium cuneos in me bella moventes61 propellat.” Ascendit ille velociter, ad locum pervolavit, quod acceperat indicavit, idemque diligenter factum est. Iam hostis propius aderat, iam menia urbis vallaverat, cum inopinata incursione tribunus cum copiis suis illum invaderet. Tunc utrimque decertatum est. Isti protectione dei roborati accinguntur, illi amentia sua obligati discinguntur. Postremo terga fuge dederunt,62 plures autem eorum corruerunt, plures in captivitatem ducti sunt. Cede peracta63 his, qui venerat a rege, regreditur, ut nunciaret ei. Rex audito eventu belli, grates habuit omnipotenti, qui victoriam fidelibus suis dedit ex inimicis. Nimirum credimus superna pietate illum visitari, qui, ne circumdaretur ab inimicis, liberatorem de celis habere meruit, ut precederet et custodiret ęum. Sicut enim deus christum suum David quondam a facie Philistinorum64 angelo suo protegente liberavit, ita et hunc de manu persequentium eripuit,65 educens et reducens66 in salvationem.67 6. Fama nominis sui in auribus secularium diffusa et iudiciis oris sui68 celebri laude ubique innotescentibus, sexaginta viri Byssenorum,b 69 propere MLH : properare B Byssenorum MH : Bissenorum L om. B

a

b

Reading propere with mss. M, L, H rather than properare as in B. Virgil, Aen. 6.819, 12.331. 62 Cf. Propertius, Carm. 4.2.53 (turpi terga dedisse fugae), Ovid, Ep. ex Ponto 3.2.7 (terga dedere fugae) 63 Cf. Vergil, Aen. 9.236, Lucan, Phars. 2.201, 2.517, Statius, Theb. 8.570. 64 Cf. Isa. 20:6 (ut liberaret uos a facie regis Assyriorum). 65 Cf. Ps. 30:16 (LXX) (eripe me de manu inimicorum meorum et a persequentibus me). 66 2 Sam. 5:2. 67 See 1 Sam. 17:1ff. and 2 Sam. 5:17ff. 60 61

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to explain the purpose of my embassy, but let another man come who shall be found more trustworthy!” As the second man came, however, he bade him return with the same words. When a third man was brought to him, the king told him: “Be on your way, hasten with all speed,60 and take my orders to the commander of my army who is in the farther regions; tell him to take good care, to choose men fit for battle, and drive back the troops of the enemy which are starting the war 61 against me.” The man immediately jumped onto his horse, rushed to that place, delivered his message, and all was done exactly as ordered. The enemy had already drawn closer, they had already begun to lay siege to the walls of a city, when the commander with his troops, making an unexpected onslaught, fell upon them. Then battle was joined on both sides. On ours, they were girt and strengthened with God’s protection, while on the other side they were disarmed, impeded by their own madness. Eventually, they turned their backs and fled,62 and many of them fell, many were taken prisoners. Once the slaughter was over,63 the man who had been sent by the king went back to bring him the news. When he heard about the outcome of the war, the king offered thanks to the Almighty, who gave to His faithful victory over their enemies. We firmly believe that the king was visited by mercy from on high, since he was found worthy to be granted a liberator from heaven, someone to lead and protect him lest he be surrounded by his enemies. For just as God once delivered David, His anointed, from the Philistines64 through His angel who protected him, in the same way He now rescued [St. Stephen] from the hands of his pursuers,65 leading him out and bringing66 him in to safety.67 6. When the fame of his name spread among lay people and repeated praise made the judgements that issued from his mouth68 known everywhere, sixty men from among the Pechenegs,69 whom I have Inspired by a similar biblical phrase; cf. Ps. 104:5 (LXX) (iudicia oris eius) and Ps. 118:13 (LXX) (iudicia oris tui). 69 I have adopted the reading of mss. M and H over that of B, which omits the word “Pechenegs.” 68

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quorum superius memoriam feci,a cum universo apparatu suo, videlicet auri et argenti copiositate, multaque varietate ornamentorum curribus onustis, b partibus Bulgarorum egressi terminos Pannoniorum appropinquaverant.c 70 At multi servorum, quorum animus cereus d est flecti in vitium,71 malignitatis face succensi obviam illis exierunt, quosdam gladio percusserunt, e 72 quef eorum fuerant auferentes, vacuos et semineces reliquerunt. Illi iudicio regis quid actum, quidve perpessi sint reservantes, iter, quod ceperant peregerunt et ad eum usque properantes genibus g 73 se advolverunt. Quibus visis “que causa,” inquit, “malorum?”74 “Mi domine,” referunt, “nos servi tui nichil mali machinantes ad audiendam iudiciorum tuorum disciplinam veniebamus et quorundam manibus, quam nobiscum ferebamus pecunia absque delicto omnium nostrum ablata est. Insuper apprehensos ceciderunt et vita vix comite75 venimus, ut nunciaremus tibi.” Rex, ut erat prudentioris animi, non vultu, non verbis minatus est, sed sustinens, ut scribitur, prudens spiritum reservat in posterum,76 misit ocius ad illum, sub quo militabant tribunum et die constituto omnes perditionis illorum viros iussit conspectibus suis presentari. Actum est ut imperaverat et ad discutiendum in presentia sui statuti sunt. Quos alloquens, “cur,” inquit, “legem preceptorum dei transgredientes non intellexistis misericordiam et viros innocentie condempnastis? Non enim auditores legis,77 sed transgressores feriendi sunt. Sicut fecistis, ita faciet dominus hodie vobis coram me.” Accepta sententia mentionem habuimus MLH Hart. de suppleui e textu legendae Hartuicianae, cap. 18 : om. BMLH c appropinquaverant Hart. : apprehenderant B apprehendant ML a. c. apprehenderant L p. c. apprehendaverant H d cereus LH : cercior B certum M e omnia suppleui e textu legendae Hartuicianae, cap. 18 : om. BMLH f omnium post que add. BMLH g eius suppleui e textu legendae Hartuicianae, cap. 18 : om. BMLH a

b

70 Reading appropinquaverant with the mss. of the Legenda minor from which Hartvic drew his text; all the other mss. have here a verbal form which is not attested in combination with the noun terminus outside the usage of scholastic philosophy.

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mentioned above, with all their wealth, that is, with carts loaded with an abundance of gold and silver as well as a great variety of ornaments, set out from the lands of the Bulgarians and reached70 the boundaries of the Pannonians. But many of his servants, whose minds, like wax, bent easily towards sin,71 kindled by the torch of their iniquity, went to meet them, and put some of them to the sword, carried off all72 their belongings, and left them despoiled and half-dead. They completed the journey they had started, keeping back for the judgement of the king what happened and what they suffered. They hastened to him and threw themselves at his73 feet. When he saw them, the king asked: “What is the cause of your evils?”74 “My Lord,” they replied, “we, your servants, without any evil intent, were on our way to hear what your judgements would teach us when, with no offense whatsoever on any of our part, the valuables we were bringing with us were carried off by the hands of certain people. What is more, they killed those [of us] whom they caught, and we, barely escaping with our lives,75 have come to report this to you.” The king, being of wise disposition, showed no sign of anger either in his appearance or in his words, but holding back—as it is written: a wise man keeps his mind till afterwards76—, immediately sent [someone] to the commander under whom they were serving and ordered all those men who had killed [the Pechenegs] to be brought to his presence on a day he appointed. It was done as he had ordered, and they were brought to his presence in order to be questioned. Addressing them, he asked: “Why have you trespassed against the law of God’s commandments and punished innocent men with no feeling of mercy? For it is not the hearers of the law 77 that should be punished, but those who trespass against it! Just as Horace, Ars poetica 163. I have supplied omnia from the Hartvic legend instead of omnium. 73 I have supplied eius from the Hartvic legend. 74 Virgil, Aen. 11.360. 75 Gen. 18:10, 14. 76 Prov. 29:11. 77 Rom. 2:13. 71

72

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educti sunt et per omnem regionem in ingressu viarum duo et duo suspendio perierunt. Per hoc denique volens intelligi ut quicunque non acquiesceret iudicio iustitie, quod a domino proposuerat, sic fieret illi. Audierunt habitatores terre78 iudicium, quod iudicasset rex et timuerunt. 7. Post non multum temporis egrotationem incurrit, qua postmodum corpore excessit, longaque langoris molestia ingravescente in pedibus stare nequibat. Videntes autem quatuor nobilissimi palatinorum diu graviterque laborantem, nam ipsi adhuc in perfidia cordis errabant, consilium iniquitatis duxerunt occasumque eius in mortem conati sunt tractare. Iam die advesperascente, antequam in domo lucerna accenderetur, unus eorum audacta sub obscuro ingressus est et ad iugulandumb ensem nudatum sub clamide tegebat. Dum pedem inhiberet ubi rex quiescebat, revera cęlesti inpulsu gladius corruit percussusque in terram tinnitum reddidit. Statim experrectus causam requisivit, et tamen quid fuisset presciverat. Vir ille anxius obruit, consilium furoris sui recognovit, doluit, accessit, procubuit, vestigia regis amplexatus est, se deliquisse fatebatur, sibi indulgere precabatur. Veniam querentem non avertit, facinus facile dimisit, idemque iussus traditionis conscios aperuit. Postera die precepto regis homicide illi inventi adducuntur, et adversus eos iudicia locutus est.79 Vt autem reliquis ęssent in exemplum et discerent

suppl. Bartoniek iugulandum Bartoniek (cf. textum legendae Hartuicianae, cap. 21: ad iugulandum regem) : iugulum B a

b

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you have done, so shall the Lord do to you today in front of me!” After they received their sentence, they were taken away, and throughout every part of the land, at the beginning of the roads, they were put to death on gallows two by two. By this, then, he meant to show that whoever did not comply with the just judgement that he had issued as coming from the Lord would suffer the same fate. And the inhabitants of the country78 heard about the judgement that the king had made and they were filled with fear. 7. Not long afterwards, he fell ill with the disease from which he later died, and, as the prolonged and unpleasant affliction grew worse, he could no longer stand on his feet. Now, when four of the most noble palace officials saw him suffering severely for a long time, they devised a heinous plan and attempted to convert his decline into death; for they were still straying in the faithlessness of their heart. As day was already fading, before the time when they would be lighting lamps in the palace, one of them entered boldly under cover of darkness with a naked sword hidden under his cloak in order to kill the king. He had barely set foot inside the room where the king was sleeping when, truly on an impulse from heaven, the sword fell down and hit the ground with a clattering sound. The king woke up at once and asked what the cause was—yet he had already guessed what had happened. In confusion the man broke down, recognized the madness of his plan, repented, came forward, threw himself to the ground, embraced the feet of the king, confessed his crime, and asked for mercy. The king did not spurn his request for pardon, and readily dismissed his crime; at his order, the man revealed his treasonous accomplices. The following day, by the order of the king, those assassins were found and brought forth, and he pronounced judgement79 on them. In order that they should be an example to others, and that they may learn to revere their

78

Gen. 36:20, 50:11, Joel 1:2. Deut. 4:45, Jer. 39:5, 52:9.

79

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dominos summo honore venerari, visu privavit, manus noxias abscidit80 et qui iniustitia sua insidias iusto sanguini 81 paraverant iudicio iustitie in malum vite sue devenerunt.82 8. Anno dominice incarnationis millesimo XXXo a 83 indictione VI Heinrico84 Romanorum augusto anno autem imperii sui XXXo,85 VIIIo86 kl. Septembresb 87 obiit et in basilica virginis Marie, quam precioso opere consummaverat, honorificec 88 sepultus est.89 Multis igitur annorum curriculis labentibus, seu propter exhabundantem populi malitiam, seu propter aliquam divisionem in ęcclesia,90 thesaurus tante pecunie in terra latuit et mortalium cognitioni occultus, solius oculis domini apparebat. Sed volens eius incomprehensibilis bonitas, quanti ęsset aput deum premii revelare, VIII suppl. Bartoniek Septembres MLH : om. B c honorifice MLH : om. B a

b

Stephen’s legislation threatened those “plotting the king’s death or the betrayal of the kingdom” with capital punishment (DRMH, bk. 2.2; 9); amputation of the hands was the punishment prescribed for perjury (bk. 1.17; ibid., 5). 81 Cf. Matt. 27:4 (sanguinem iustum) and 23:25 (sanguis iustus). The image of the Christian king as a ruthless and legitimate enforcer of justice painted in this passage and emphasized by the use of scriptural language was somewhat toned down in Hartvic’s account (ch. 21; SRH 2, 430), which omitted the gory details of the punishment. On this new model of lay (royal) sainthood and the image of the rex iustus, see Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 134–36. 82 According to the traditional interpretation, for which see Györffy, István király és műve, 376–81, this attempt against Stephen’s life, attributed here to unnamed enemies of the king, must in fact relate to the events triggered by Stephen’s arrangements concerning the succession to the throne. When his son Emeric died in a hunting accident in 1031, the obvious heir became Stephen’s cousin Vazul (Basil), the son of Géza’s brother, Michael. Stephen, however, decided to bypass him and designated as his successor Peter Orseolo, son of Otto, Doge of Venice, who had married one of the king’s sisters. After the failed attempt (ca. 1032), Vazul was blinded, and his three sons fled to Poland. They returned in 1046 and two of them later ruled as kings: Andrew I (1046–1060) and Béla I (1060–1063). The author of the Legenda minor, whose account of the events is by far the most complete as well as the most dramatic of all those which survive, may have been inspired by a similar conflict unfolding at the time when he was writing, which opposed the rebellious Duke Álmos to his brother, King Coloman the Learned (ruled 1095–1116), and ended with the 80

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masters with utmost honor, he deprived them of their eyesight, had their guilty hands cut off,80 and those who in their unrighteousness had plotted against the righteous blood 81 saw their lives come to a wretched end by just judgement.82 8. In the year 103883 of the Lord’s incarnation, during the sixth indiction, when Henry was emperor of the Romans,84 and in the thirtieth year of his reign,85 on the eighth86 day before the kalends of September,87 St. Stephen died and was buried with honor88 in the basilica of the Virgin Mary which he had built with costly workmanship.89 Then, as many years passed, either on account of the excessive malice of the people, or because of some division within the Church,90 a treasure of such riches remained buried in the ground and hidden to mortal knowledge, and it was only visible to the eyes of God. However, as His unfathomable goodness wished to reveal how great St. Stephen’s worth was in the sight of God, it bestowed blinding of both Álmos and his son. Other scholars prefer to see in this passage a reference to a different conspiracy inspired by the pre-Christian tradition of ritually sacrificing an aging ruler; so Péter Váczy, “A Vazul-hagyomány középkori kútfőinkben: Forráskritikai tanulmány” [The Vazul tradition in our medieval sources: A study in source criticism], Levéltári Közlemények 18–19 (1940–1941): 304–38 at 311–12, followed by Kristó, Szent István, 126–27, who dates this incident to the very last years of Stephen’s reign (ca. 1037). 83 All mss. have here 1030; Emma Bartoniek supplied the correct figure. The exact date of Stephen’s death, August 15, 1038, has been preserved only in the Annales Altahenses maiores (SS rer. Germ. 4, ed. W. de Giesebrecht and E. L. B. Oefele, 23). 84 The emperor ruling at the time was not Henry II (ruled 1002–1024), but his successor Conrad II (ruled 1024–1039). 85 Counting from Stephen’s coronation as king in 1000/1001. 86 This incorrect dating formula was probably generated by a scribal error; August 15, should have been the eighteenth day before the kalends of September. 87 On the basis of mss. M, L, H, I have integrated into the text the name of the month, omitted in B. 88 Supplied honorifice into the text from mss. M, L, H. 89 See Ernő Marosi, “Das Grab des heiligen Stephan in Stuhlweißenburg (Székesfehérvár),” in Wieczorek and Hinz, Europas Mitte, 625–27. 90 Most commentators see here an allusion to the troubled times that followed the end of Stephen’s reign, for which see Engel, The Realm, 29–32.

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dedit illi gloriam in conspectu hominum, clarescente miraculorum frequentia et sicut laude et cantico sibi in cęlis assistebat ita eum laude et cantico sue ęcclesie digne memoriterque in terris decoravit. Nam sicut iubar novi luminis sanctitas eius omnem circa regionem resplenduit et tamquam svavitas odoriferi unguentia audientium corda replevit. Fluebant omnes diversi languoris homines, qui, antidoto pietatis sue attacti, curabantur et qui corruptionis plaga pene defecerant in solidum astricti revertebantur. Presidente in regni solio Ladislauo91 pie memorie rege, episcopi et abbates et qui preerantb sancte ęcclesie, animadvertentes92 sanctitatem eius signis testantibus, communi decreto triduani ieiunii indixerunt afflictionem, ipsiquec orationibus vacantes, visitationem superne clementie in plebem expectabant. Postea ad deum corda tollentes, ymnorum vocibus resonaverunt in confessione sui nominis, sicque vęnerunt ad locum, ubi sanctissimum corpus claudebatur. Quem solventes aperuerunt, tantaque odoris diffusio ascendit, quanta numquam circumstantibus apparuit, ac omnium, qui illuc occurrerant, membra languidorum curata sunt. Ceci lumen, claudi plantarum soliditatem, leprosi mundam cutem, paralitici salutem, omnesque quacumque doloris tenebantur obsessione,d 93 curam meruerunt.94 Assumpto inęstimabilis pretii pondere, omnipotenti deo gratias egerunt, deferentesque in thęca argentea signaverunt. Explicit vita et actus Sancti Stephani regis Pannoniorum.e 95

unguenti M : ungenti B in regimine post preerant add. MLH c ipsique MLH : ipsi B d obsessione MLH : confessione B e explicit—Pannoniorum B : om. MLH a

b

Ladislaus I ruled between 1077 and 1095. The canonization procedures described here took place on August 20, 1083. 92 Unlike Hartvic (ch. 24; SRH 2, 433), the anonymous author of the Legenda minor makes no mention of papal involvement in the canonization, which is presented simply as a local initiative. 91

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glory upon him in the eyes of men as his miracles grew in number and in reputation; and just as he was serving Him with hymns of praise in heaven, so He enriched him on earth, in a worthy and memorable manner, through the hymns of praise of His Church. For like a dawn of a new day did his sanctity shine throughout all the land and like the fragrance of a sweet-smelling ointment it filled the hearts of those who heard [about it]. All men afflicted by various diseases flocked there and, touched by the remedy of his compassion, they were cured; those who had almost died by the wasting of their sickness went back sound and well. At the time when King Ladislaus 91 of pious memory was sitting on the throne of the kingdom, the bishops, the abbots, and those who governed the holy church, taking notice of his sanctity as witnessed by such miracles, through a common decision92 imposed the penance of a three-day fast, giving themselves to prayer in the expectation of a visitation of divine clemency upon the people. Then, uplifting their hearts towards God, they made the words of the hymns resound with the confession of His name, and thus they came to the place where the most holy corpse was entombed. When they broke into [the tomb] and opened it, such a profusion of fragrance came up as the onlookers had never experienced before, and the limbs of all the sick people who had hastened to that place were healed. They all received their healing: the blind their sight, the cripple firm feet, the lepers clean skin, the paralytic their health—all those who were in the grip93 of whatever affliction.94 They raised up that inestimably precious burden, giving thanks to Almighty God, and placed and sealed it in a silver casket. Here end the Life and Deeds of St. Stephen, King of the Pannonians.95

Reading obsessione with mss. M, L, H. A list of healing miracles based on biblical models; see Luke 7:22. 95 This explicit formula appears only in ms. B. 93

94

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LEGENDA S. STEPHANI REGIS AB HARTVICO EPISCOPO CONSCRIPTA

q

LIFE OF KING ST. STEPHEN WRITTEN BY BISHOP HARTVIC

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LEGENDA S. STEPHANI REGIS AB HARTVICO EPISCOPO CONSCRIPTA 1 1. Incipit vita Sancti Stephani regis Ungarorum et apostoli eorum.2 Domino suo Colomanno3 regi precellentissimo Hartuicusa 4 episcopus officium spiritualeb per misericordiam dei consecutus, post istius vite terminum felix illud euge sempiternum. Incepturus opus, domine mi rex inclite, quod michi vestro regali precepto de vita beati regis Stephani potentialiter iniunxisti, diu rebellem ingenioli mei perpessus sum inscitiam ob hoc presertim, quod Priscianus5 auctor artis grammatice, medullitus mihi notus olim, longe digressus, faciem suam quasi caligine quadam circumfluam mihi decrepito iam facit obscurissimam. Veruntamen, parte ex alia, dum vestre dignitatis intuitus reverentiam incerta gravarer meditatione, tandem omnium virtutum lux et gemma dubietatem anxie mentis devicit obedientia. Cuius forti presidio deficere volens in me vires inchoandi operis recepit fiducia. Set quoniam sepe fiducialiter acta res invidie fomitem generat, precor genibus flexis vestre triumphalis excellentie sublimitatem, ut manibus regalis defensionis hoc suscipiatis opusculum, ne male sonantium positio dictionum,6 vel confusi ordinis enormitas vestrum cum legeritis offendat oculum. Cui si forsitan aliquod indignum occurrerit offendiculum, malo codicem ut ignis comminuat incendium, quam ad tertium livore plenum hartuicus B1 : cartuicus R carthuitus ACB2 spirituale R : speciale B1 V2 M1

a

b

This translation by Nora Berend was first published in Thomas Head, ed., Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology (New York and London: Garland Publishing, 2000), 379–98. The translation has been slightly modified by Cristian Gaşpar, harmonizing it with the other translations of the other St. Stephen legends prepared by him, and augmented with a much more detailed n. apparatus. We still adopted some n.s from the original publication by Nora Berend, indicated by [NB]. The underlined parts are taken over either from the Major Legend, or from the Minor Legend. 2 This is the title of the text in ms. R used by Bartoniek for her edition. 3 Coloman I the Learned, King of Hungary (1095–1116), cf. the Preface. 1

[ 108 ]

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LIFE OF KING ST. STEPHEN WRITTEN BY BISHOP HARTVIC1 Here begins the Life of St. Stephen, king of the Hungarians and their apostle.2 1. To his lord, the most excellent King Coloman,3 Bishop Hartvic,4 who attained spiritual office by the grace of God, wishes a happy everlasting life after the end of this one. As I was about to begin this work about the life of the blessed King Stephen—which you, my lord, famous king, forcefully enjoined me [to do] by your royal command—I steadfastly bore for a long time the rebellious ignorance of my meager wits, especially because Priscian,5 the master of grammatical art, whom once I knew in my very bones, fled long ago and now makes his face very obscure to me in my old age, as if engulfed by clouds. On the other hand, vexed though I was, considering through wavering meditations the reverence due to your dignity, obedience, the light and gem of all virtues, finally defeated the doubt of an anxious mind. Under its strong protection, self-confidence, wanting to forsake me, regained strength to begin the work. But because something accomplished with confidence often generates tinder for envy, I beg the sublimity of your triumphal magnificence on bended knees, that you take this little work under the protection of your royal hands, lest the use of incongruous words6 or the irregularities generated by confused arrangement offend your eyes when you read it. Because, if perchance any un The Latin form of the author’s name printed here is that of ms. B1 (Hartuicus); his name also appears in the form Chartuirgus in a liturgical manuscript produced in Győr during his episcopate and donated to the bishopric of Zagreb in the 1090s as well as in a contemporary Italian source in the form Arduinus. 5 Priscian was a Latin grammarian of the late fifth century, his Institutiones grammaticae was widely used during the Middle Ages. [NB] 6 Cf. Priscianus, Institutiones grammaticae 17.6: “it is by looking at the agreement of words (in dictionum ordinatione) that we appreciate whether their combination into a sentence is correct or incorrect”; see Priscien, Grammaire, Livre XVII: Syntaxe, 1, ed. Marc Baratin et al. (Paris: Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 2010), 72. 4

[ 109 ]

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perveniat oculum. Igitur quia boni quidquid est, exa conditoris misericordia manat, ex ipsius dono sermo ceptus talia personat. Omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum de sursum est, descendens a patre luminum.b 7 Huius patris datum optimum et donum perfectum in omnes large proveniens, quia nullum spernit, sed omnes homines vult salvos fieri et ad agnitionem veritatis venire,8 ad Ungaros usque, quos Christianorum flagellum quondam fuisse constat, diffusum est.c 9 Quod qualiter et quando factum sit, stili officio10 memorie commendare congruum duximus. 2. Ea siquidem tempestate, qua gens prefata dei ecclesiam depopulabatur, erat in ea princeps quidam quartus ab illo, qui ingressionis Hungarorum in Pannoniam11 dux primus fuit nomine Geysa,12 severus quidem et crudelis, veluti potentialiter agens in suos, misericors autem et liberalis in alienos et precipue in Christianos, ritu paganismi licet adhuc quidem obvolutus, tamen appropinquante spiritualis fulgore carismatis, cum omnibus circumquaque positarum provinciarum vicinis de pace,d 13 cepit attente tractare, ut iam in illo posset agnosci cuius filius desideraret fieri, secundum dictum salvatoris nostri dicentis in evangelio: beati pacifici, quoniam filii dei vocabuntur.14 Statuit insuper preceptum cunctis Christianis, ducatum suum intrare volentibus, hospitalitatis et securitatis gratiam exhiberi, clericis et monachis potestatem concessit presentiam suam adeundi, quibus voluntarium libenter auditum prebens, ex B1 V2 M1 ACB2 : om. R omne – luminum = Leg. maior c. 1 c post diffusum est add. fragmentum (v. supra: neque enim quippiam – perduceret retributionis) Legendae maioris B1 d cuius nunquam antea fuit amator post pace add. B1 a

b

James 1:17. 1 Tim. 2:4. 9 In ms. B1 a longer fragment of the prologue to the Major Legend is reproduced at this point; see above in this volume. 10 An expression (stili officio) going back to Boethius, Philosophiae consolatio 1.1. 7 8

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worthy blunder occurred in it, I would rather have the flame of fire destroy the codex, than that it should come before the envious eyes of a third person. Therefore, because all good that exists originates from the mercy of the creator, the discourse taken up here resounds from His gift. Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.7 The best gift and perfect gift of that Father flows abundantly to all, because it does not scorn anyone, but will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth8; it also poured forth to the Hungarians, who, it is well known, had once been the scourge of Christians.9 We thought it fitting that the service of this pen10 entrust to memory how and when this was done. 2. That is to say, at the time when the said people were destroying the Church of God, they had a certain ruler, fourth from the one who had been the first chief at the entry of the Hungarians to Pannonia,11 by the name of Géza,12 who was strict and cruel, acting in a domineering way, as it were, with his own people, but compassionate and generous with strangers, especially with Christians. Although still entangled in the rite of paganism, at the approach of the light of spiritual grace, he began to discuss peace earnestly with all the neighboring provinces,13 so that it could already be seen from this whose son he wished to become, according to the word of our Savior who says in the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.14 Moreover, he laid down a rule that the favor of hospitality and security be shown to all other Christians wishing to enter his domain. He gave clerics and monks leave to enter his presence; he offered them a willing hearing and On Pannonia, see Major Legend, n. 17. On Géza, duke of the Hungarians from ca. 970 until 997, see Major Legend, n. 24 and 28. 13 Here ms. B1 contains a sentence taken from the Legenda maior 2 (“although he had never been a great peace lover”) which is lacking from all the other mss. of Hartvic’s legend. 14 Matt. 5:9. 11

12

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orthodoxe fidei semen pectoris in orto satum delectabatur germen emittere. Quid plura? Adest tempus celitus dispositum, credidit ipse cum familiaribus suis et baptizatus est, omnes ditioni sue subditos se pollicens christiano nomini mancipaturum.a Cumque nimium esset sollicitus de rebellibus domandis et ritibus sacrilegis destruendis et episcopatibus secundum estimationem suam ad profectum sancte ecclesie statuendis, mirabili visione noctu consolatus eum dominus fecit astare sibi iuvenem delectabilem aspectu, qui dixit ei: “Pax tibi, Christi electe.b Iubeo te de sollicitudine tua fore securum. Non tibi concessum est quod meditaris, quia manus pollutas humano sanguine gestas. De te filius nasciturus egredietur, cui hec omnia disponenda divine providentie consilio commendabit dominus. Hic erit unus ex regibus electis a domino, coronam vite15 secularis commutaturus eterna. Veruntamen virum spiritualic 16 legatione tibi transmittendum honorificabiliter suscipito, susceptum venerabiliter habeto,d 17 exhortationibus eius non fictum cordis fidelis assensum prebeto.e 3. Expergefactus princeps visionem stupidus prius secum, post cum Christi fidelibus et suis pertractans, deo gratias pavimento manibus expansis adherens humiliter egit, se principatumque suum cum filio nascituro custodie illius, qui non dormit neque dormitat18 lacrimis fusis commendavit. Dum miratur ergo de viro divinitus predicto, nunciatur ei beatum Adalbertum,19 Boemiensis ecclesie pontificem, erat – mancipaturum = Leg. maior c. 2 dilecte V2 M1 S c spirituali V1 ACB3 SMLHB : spiritali B1 B2 speciali R d timore perditionis ultime perterritus est amore raptus iugiter manentis spei, quę non confundit post habeto add. B1 e cumque nimium – assensum prebeto = Leg. maior c. 3 a

b

James 1:12. Reading spirituali with the majority of the mss. against Bartoniek’s choice in R (speciali).

15

16

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delighted in the germination of the seed of true faith sown in the garden of his heart. What more is there to say? The divinely appointed time arrived, Géza along with his household believed and was baptized, promising that he would deliver all those subject to his rule into the service of Christianity. [= Legenda maior 2] And, since he was greatly concerned about the subjugation of rebels and destruction of sacrilegious rites and the establishment of bishoprics, according to his judgment, for the success of the holy Church, the Lord consoled him through a miraculous vision at night. He made a youth of delightful appearance stand before Géza, who told him: “Peace to you, chosen by Christ. I enjoin you to be free from your cares. What you have in mind has not been granted to you, because your hands are polluted by human blood. A son will be born of you who will go forth, to whom the Lord will entrust all these things to settle, according to the purpose of divine providence. He will be one of the kings chosen by the Lord to exchange the crown of secular life15 for an everlasting one. So, you should receive the man sent to you on a spiritual16 mission with respect, and once you have received him, keep him with reverence,17 listen to his exhortations with a faithful heart, not with feigned assent.” [= Legenda maior 3] 3. On waking, the dazed ruler contemplating the vision, first by himself, then with those faithful to Christ and with his family, humbly gave thanks to God, prostrating himself on the ground, stretching out his hands, and shedding tears. He commended himself, his domain, and his son who was to be born to the protection of Him who neither sleeps nor slumbers.18 While he thus wondered about the man divinely prophesied, it was announced to him that the blessed Adalbert, prelate of the Bohemian Church,19 was com At this point ms. B1 adds from the Legenda maior 3 the following: “be filled with the noble fear of the final and eternal judgement as well as with fervor for the everlasting hope.” 18 Cf. Ps. 120:4. 19 On Adalbert, bishop of Prague, see Major Legend, n. 39, 43, 49, 58. 17

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ad se venturum esse propter conversionema 20 ipsius et fidei non ficte21 profectum domino deo laudis hostiam22 oblaturum. Oritur letitia novis Christi militibus inenarrabilis, dux obviam tyroni Christi cum fidelibus quibusque procedit, honorabiliter suscipit et ut per visum monitus estb modis omnibus obedientie filium23 ei se fore demonstravit. Igitur, iubente principe, fit ubique congregatio gentis indomite, per sanctum episcopum fiunt et per suos exortationes continue, convertuntur et baptizantur alumni patrie, statuuntur multis in locis ecclesie. Lux quippe que illuminat omnem hominem,24 tenebris expulsis, in Hungaria cepit enitere, et inpleta sunt in ea verba prophetie dicentis: Gentium populus, qui ambulabat in tenebris vidit lucem magnam.25 Lux lucis invisibilis Christus est, quem tunc gentes videre meruerunt, quando revocati de tenebris, ipsum verum deum et hominem esse vere perfecte crediderunt.c Nec hoc silentio pretereundum est, quod ut omnis ambiguitas tolleretur de medio, ne forte predicte visionis solius viri parum videretur inesse fidei, uxorem26 27 eius iam propinquantem partui tali voluit visione divina gratia consolari. Apparuit namque illi beatus levita et prothomartyr Stephanus, levitici habitus ornatus insignibus, qui eam alloqui taliter cepit: “Confide in domino, mulier, et certa esto quia filium paries cui primo in hac gente corona debetur et regnum meumque nomen illi inponas.” Cui cum admirans mulier responderet: “Quis es domine vel quo nomine nuncuparis?” “Ego sum,” inquid, “Stephanus prothomartyr, qui primus pro Christi nomine martyrium pertuli.” Quo dicto, disparuit. conversionem B1 V2 M1 ACB2V1 B3SMLHB : conversationem R propter timorem et amorem dei post est add. B1 c expergefactus – crediderunt = Leg. maior c. 4 a

b

20 Reading conversionem with most mss. rather than conversationem given by R and printed by Bartoniek. 21 2 Tim. 1:5. 22 Heb. 13:15. 23 Cf. 1 Pet. 1:14. 24 John 1:9.

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ing to him for his conversion,20 and to ensure the progress of his unfeigned faith,21 in order to offer up the sacrifice of praise22 to the Lord God. Unspeakable joy arose in Christ’s new soldiers; the leader, with all the faithful, went to meet the champion of Christ, received him honorably, and, as he was bidden by the vision, demonstrated in every way that he would be a son of obedience23 to him. Therefore, at the order of the ruler, the unruly people came together from all parts, the holy bishop and his companions made exhortations continuously, the people of the land were converted and baptized, churches were established in many places. For the light that enlightens every man,24 chasing away darkness, began to shine in Hungary, and in this the words of the prophet were fulfilled, which say that a people of the gentiles that walked in darkness have seen a great light.25 The light of the invisible light is Christ, whom the pagans deserved to see when, recalled from darkness, they truly and wholly believed him to be true God and man. [= Legenda maior 4] Nor should it be passed over in silence that, to dispel all doubt, lest perchance the above-mentioned vision, having appeared only to the husband, should seem to lack credibility, divine grace wished also to console his wife,26 who was near giving birth, by a similar vision. For there appeared to her the blessed Stephen, Levite and protomartyr,27 adorned in the distinctive Levitical habit, who began to talk to her thus: “Woman, trust in the Lord, and be assured, for you will give birth to a son, to whom first from this people a crown and kingdom is due; and give him my name.” To whom the astonished woman responded: “Who are you, my lord, and by what name are you called?” “I am,” he said, “Stephen the protomartyr, who was the first to suffer martyrdom for the name of Christ.” And, having said that, he disappeared. Isa. 9:2. Sarolt (d. ca. 1008), the daughter of the ruler of Transylvania (gyula). 27 Levites (from Levi, son of Jacob) were members of the tribe of priests in ancient Israel. In the New Testament, the word acquired the meaning of deacon. Information concerning St. Stephen survived in the Acts of the Apostles (chapters 6–7); he was a deacon and the first martyr of the Christian Church. His cult was widespread all over Christendom. [NB] 25

26

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4. Nascitur interea predictus a domino filius principi, quem secundum prophetam antequam in utero conciperetur dominus novit28 et cui antequam nasceretur et prothomartyris suia 29 nomen indidit. Hunc deo dilectus Adalbertus episcopus chrismali baptismate secundum credulitatis sue veritatem intinxit.b 30 Nomen inpositum est sibi Stephanus, quod alienum a consilio dei fuisse non credimus. Stephanus quippe Grece corona sonat Latine.31 Ipsum quidem et in hoc seculo coronare deus voluit ad regni potentiam, et in futuro corona beatitudinis semper manentis redimere decrevit ad percipiendam vite iugiter c 32 indeficientem gloriam.d Strigoniensie vero oppido nativitatis exordium habuit et puer adhuc scientia grammatice artis ad plenumf 33 inbutus est.g Crevit infans diligentih nutritus educatu, quem,i transacta pueritia, postquam gradum adolescentie primum ascendit, convocatis pater suus Hungarie primatibus j cum ordine sequenti34, per communis consilium colloquii filium suum Stephanum post se regnaturum populo prefecit et ad hoc corroborandum a singulis sacramentum exegit. Post hoc plenus dierum35 anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCo XCo VIIo seculi nequam erumpnas36 celesti mutavit gaudio. Et eodem anno beatus episcopus Adalbertus causa predicandi verbi dei Prusciam ingressus, ibi palma martyrii coronatus est.k

et prothomartyris sui R : per prothomartyrem suum B1V2 M1V1 ACB2S (per om. B3 ) et susceptor suus ipse fuit post intinxit add. B1 c iugiter ego : iugis R iugis vite V2 M1 d nascitur – gloriam = Leg. maior c. 5 e strigoniensi B1V1 ACB2 B3 SMLHB : strigoniensis R f ad plenum V2 M1 S : ad plene R g strigoniensi – inbutus est = Leg. minor c. 2 h et regali post diligenti add. B1 i quem S : qui codd. j et post primatibus add. R k crevit – coronatus est = Leg. maior c. 5 a

b

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4. In the meantime, as foretold by the Lord, the son of the ruler was born, whom, according to the prophet, the Lord had known before he was conceived in the womb,28 and to whom, before he was born, He had given the name of His protomartyr.29 Bishop Adalbert, beloved by God, anointed him with the baptismal chrism according to the truth of his belief.30 The name Stephen was given him, which we do not believe to have been contrary to the purpose of God. Indeed, Stephanus in Greek means crown in Latin.31 For God wanted to crown him in this world to royal power and determined to redeem him in the future one by the crown of everlasting beatitude, that he might acquire forever32 unfailing glory. [= Legenda maior 5] He was born in the city of Esztergom, and, while still a boy, he acquired a full33 knowledge of the craft of grammar. [= Legenda minor 2] The child grew, nourished by diligent education, and with the passage of childhood, as he reached the first stage of adolescence, his father convoked the chief lords of Hungary, together with the next order,34 and through the counsel of common deliberation, placed his son Stephen at the head of the people to rule after him; and to confirm this, he exacted an oath from everyone. After this, full of days,35 in the year 997 of the Incarnation of the Lord, he exchanged the worthless cares of the world36 for heavenly joy. And in the same year the blessed bishop Adalbert entered Prussia in order to preach the word of God, and there he was crowned with the palm of martyrdom. [= Legenda maior 5] Jer. 1:5. Most mss. present here a variant reading (per prothomartyrem suum), which suggests that Stephen was named “through the intervention of” rather than “after” St. Stephen the first martyr. 30 Here ms. B1 adds from the text of the Legenda maior 5: “and was himself his sponsor.” 31 Greek στέφανος (stephanos) and Latin corona both mean crown. 32 My own conjecture (iugiter). 33 Reading ad plenum as in mss. V2 , M1, and S. 34 The “next order” would mean those of lesser social rank. 35 A common biblical phrase; see, for instance, Gen. 25:8, 35:29. 36 Cf. Mark 4:19. 28 29

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5. Post obitum vero patris Stephanus, adhuc adolescens favore principum et plebis in patris solium laudabiliter provectus, ardentiori animo cepit veritatis propagator a 37 existere, quia quamvis adolescentie annis floreret, non tamen cor in ore, sed os in corde habebat.38 Scripturarum divinarum, quibus adprime flagrabat, non immemor, iudicium et iustitiam in oculis proponebat iuxta illud Salomonis: audiens sapiens disciplinam sapientior erit et intelligens gubernacula possidebit.39 In omnibus itaque mandatis dei fidelis dispensator40 existens, apud se cepit meditarib qualiter subiectum sibi populum unius dei cultui manciparet. Sed quia perpendebat id absque vicinarum gentium confederatione fieri minime posse,c 41 pacem cum exterarum provinciarum populis fideliter institutam roboravit, ut eo securius quod in mente tractabat in novella plantatione42 christianitatis explere sufficeret. 6. Sed adversarius totius bonitatis, invidie plenus et malitie diabolus, ut sanctum Christi tyronis propositum disturbaret, intestina contra eum bella commovit, quoniam eius instinctu plebs gentilis christiane fidei iugo colla submitere renuens, cum princibus suis a dominio ipsius se subtrahere moliebantur.d 43 Ceperunt enim urbes eius desolari, predia vastari, possessiones depredari, servos ecclesie cedere et, ut cetera sileam, ipsi insultare. Cumque declinare de via sua perversa nollent nec furor eorum satiaretur, dux44 ipse, confi propagator B1V1V2 M1 ACB2B3SMLHB s. l. R : propugnator R post obitum – meditari = Leg. minor c. 2 c regnoque pannonico ipsius beati iuvenis nutum attendente post posse add. B1 d pacem – moliebantur = Leg. maior c. 6 a

b

Reading propagator as in most mss. rather than propugnator “defender.” Sir. 21:26. 39 Prov. 1:5. 40 Luke 12:42. 41 Here ms. B1 adds from the text of the Legenda maior 6: “with the Pannonian kingdom under his rule, the blessed young man.” 42 Cf. Ps. 143:12. 37 38

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5. After the death of his father, Stephen, while still a youth, was raised with honor to the throne of his father with the support of the leading men and of the common people. With an ardent spirit, he began to show himself to be a promoter37 of the truth, for, even though he was still in the bloom of his adolescence, he did not have his heart in his mouth, but rather his mouth in his heart.38 Mindful of the Holy Scriptures (for he was full of zeal for these above anything else), he kept good judgment and justice before his eyes, in accordance with the word of Solomon: A wise man shall hear discipline and shall be wiser; and he who understands shall possess governments.39 Thus as a faithful steward40 of God’s commandments he started to consider [= Legenda minor 2] how he could deliver the people subject to him to the worship of the one God. But because he considered that without the alliance of neighboring peoples he could not do this,41 he strengthened the peace concluded faithfully with the people of surrounding provinces, so that whatever he pondered in his mind, he would be able to complete more securely in the young implantation42 of Christianity. 6. But the enemy of all good things, the devil, full of envy and malice, stirred up an internal war against him, in order to disturb the holy plan of Christ’s champion, for at his instigation the pagan commoners, refusing to submit their necks to the yoke of the Christian faith, tried with their leaders to withdraw themselves from his rule.43 [= Legenda maior 6] They started to ravage his cities, to lay waste his estates, to plunder his possessions, to murder the servants of the Church, and, not to mention other things, to insult even him. And as they refused to turn aside from their wicked path, and their fury could not be appeased, the leader44 himself, putting his On Koppány and his revolt see the Preface and Major Legend, n. 54 . Hartvic used a terminology to separate rulers who received unction and those who did not. He reserved rex only for the former, while using princeps or dux for the latter. Hartvic referred to Géza first as princeps then as dux, while to Stephen as dux prior to his receiving unction, and rex afterward. The Polish ruler also appeared as dux in the text. Dux was used in the sense of war leader prior to the development of its meaning as “duke.” [NB] 43

44

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dens de eterna virtute, ad superandam hostium rabiem cum multitudine exercitus suia sub vexillo deo dilecti pontificis Martini45 sanctique martyris Georgiib 46 processit. Illis forte diebus urbem que vulgo Bespremc nuncupatur obsederant, hoc ad convitia eius commoventes, scilicet, ut ubi ducalis accessus conversatio habebatur, ibi consederent, quo facilior ingressus ad alia presidia occupanda inveniretur. Ipse vero, divina preeunte clementia, adversus eos consurrexit et hic in fide, illi vero tantum in armis confidentes, utrimque decertaverunt.d 47 Tandem hostibus devictis, ex parte cesis et ex parte captis et alligatis,e 48 dux victor cum suis victorie dona reportavit. Quapropter de possessionibus eorum tam in agris, quam in villis sapienter diiudicavit, non sicut quondam Saul, qui devicto Agag regef 49 Amalech, de spoliis eius, domino prohibente, meliora elegerat.g h 50 Sed quoniam Pannonia beati pontificis Martini nativitate gloriatur, cuius etiam patrocinantibus meritis, vir Christo fidelis, ut iam dictum est, de hostibus victoriam reportaverat,i nichil ex rebus eorum ad opus sui reservans,j inito cum theophilis consilio, iuxta fundum sancti presulis in loco qui Sacer Mons51 dicitur, ubi sanctus Martinus, ceperunt – exercitus sui = Leg. minor c. 3 sub vexillo – georgii = Leg. maior c. 6 c besprem B1 MLHB : hesprem R vesprem V2 M1 V1 B3 vesprini ACB2 d quos omnes eum protegente victoriosissime crucis signaculo patrocinantibus dei genitricis ac perpetuę virginis Marię meritis sub vexillo deo dilecti pontificis Martini sanctique martyris Georgii ducibus eorum interfectis in brevi suo servitio subegit et baptismatis unda lotos unum deum colere monita salutis per fideles sacerdotes eis distribuendo compulit post decertaverunt add. B1 e et alligatis codd. : om. R f agag rege V1 B3 D1349 D1350a-d : om. cett. g elegerat B1 V1 V2 M1 ACB2 B3 MLH : elegerant R elegit B h illis forte – elegerat = Leg. minor c. 3 i quoniam – reportaverat = Leg. maior c. 8 j nichil – reservans = Leg. minor c. 3 a

b

St. Martin of Tours (ca. 316–397). Born in Pannonia (which became part of medieval Hungary), he was a soldier prior to his conversion. He became bishop of Tours (later part of medieval France) in 372.

45

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trust in eternal might, advanced with a great number of his army [= Legenda minor 3] under the banner of the prelate Martin,45 beloved by God, and of the holy martyr George,46 [= Legenda maior 6] in order to defeat the mad rage of his enemies. It so happened that in those days they were laying siege to the city that in the vernacular is called Veszprém, with the intention of taunting him, that is, they meant to occupy the place where the leader used to enter and stay, so that they might then all the more easily find a way to occupy his other fortresses as well. But he, protected by divine mercy, rose against them, and a battle was joined from both parts, with him putting his trust in his faith, the others only in their weapons.47 Eventually, he defeated his enemies, of whom he cut down some and captured and bound48 others, and together with his men the leader returned victorious bearing the gifts of his victory. And so he disposed wisely of their possessions, both in lands and in villages, not like Saul in the days of old, who chose for himself the better part of the spoil from the defeated Agag, king 49 of the Amalekites, although the Lord had forbidden this.50 [= Legenda minor 3] But because Pannonia glories in being the birthplace of the blessed prelate Martin, and it was under the protection of his merits that the man faithful to Christ, as I have already said, wrought a victory over the enemy, [= Legenda maior 8] he did not set anything apart from their things for his own use, [= Legenda minor 3], keeping counsel with those beloved by God, he built a monastery dedicated to him, next to the patrimony of the holy prelate, in the place called the Holy Mountain,51 which St. Martin, when he still lived St. George of Lydda, a martyr of the third or fourth century, was often represented in the mythical story of St. George and the dragon. He was patron saint of soldiers both in the Byzantine Empire and in medieval Europe. 47 Here ms. B1 adds a longer fragment taken from the Major Legend 6 (see above) anticipating the result of the battle. 48 Reading et alligatis of all mss, omitted by ms. R. 49 Reading Agag rege attested only by mss.V1 and B3 and by the charters which transcribed ch. 5 and 6 of Hartvic’s legend (see the apparatus in Major Legend, above) 50 Cf. 1 Sam. 15:1–9. 51 That is, the monastery of Pannonhalma. (NB) 46

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dum adhuc in Pannonia degeret, orationis sibi locum assignaverat, sub titulo ipsius monasterium construere cepit, possessionibus et redditibus cunctisque sufficientiis ditavit et ipsius suffragio domitorum decimationibus simile fecit episcopiis,a constituens ex omnibus eorum facultatibus tam stricte decimas dari, ut si cui decem liberos habere contingeret, decimam prolem Sancti Martini cenobio daret. 7. Devictis ergo hostibus, Christi miles, gaudio spirituali repletus, totius ingenii consilium evangelici seminis decrevit fore receptaculum; helemosinis et orationibus vacans, frequenter pavimento sancte domus adherens, lacrimis effusis perfectionem propositi sui dei commisit voluntati, ut qui sine ipso nichil agere valeret, opitulante dispensationis ipsius expletione bonum, quod cogitaverat, cum inceptione virtutum ad finem perducere posset. Ad hoc igitur incipiendum et consummandum, quoniam fidelium Christi consultum habebat necessarium, litteris et nunciis in omnes partes suum divulgavit desiderium. Inde multi presbiteri et clerici spiritus paracliti visitatione conpuncti, relictis sedibus propriis, elegerunt pro domino peregrinari. Abbates et monachi nichil proprium habere cupientes sub tam religiosissimi principisb 52moderamine regulariter vivere deliberaverunt. Inter quos vite regularis pater Ascricusc 53 cum suis discipulis advenit, quorum unus, nomine Bonifatius,54 in loco patris abbas deinde constitutus, dum a beato rege causa predicationis in inferiores Hungarie partes esset missus, in verticem percussus gladio, licet postea superviveret, non est privatus martyrio.

inito – episcopiis = Leg. maior c. 8 patrocinio et ante moderamine add. B1 c ascricus B1 V1 : asericus R assericus V2 M1 astricus ACB2 astritus B3 a

b

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in Pannonia, had assigned to himself as a place of prayer; he enriched it by lands and revenues and all the necessary things, and made it similar to bishoprics by his own judgment by means of the tithes from those he had defeated, [= Legenda maior 8] ordering that tithes be given from all their means in such a strict way that if someone should have happened to have ten children, he was to give the tenth offspring to the monastery of Saint Martin. 7. Thus the soldier of Christ, having defeated the enemy, filled with spiritual joy, decided by the counsel of his inmost being to become the receptacle of the evangelical seed; occupying himself by almsgiving and prayers, frequently prostrating himself on the pavement of the house of the holy church, shedding tears, he entrusted the completion of his plan to the will of God, so that, unable to do anything without Him, with the help of His dispensation he bring to its end with virtuous undertakings the good that he had planned. But it was necessary to consult the faithful of Christ in order to begin and accomplish this, so he made known his wish by letters and messengers in all parts. Thereupon many priests and clerics, urged by the visitation of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, leaving their own homeland, chose to undertake the journey for the Lord’s sake. Abbots and monks, not desiring to have anything of their own, decided to live according to their rules under52 the government of such a religious ruler. Among them came Father Ascricus, who was a monk,53 with his disciples, one of whom, by the name of Boniface,54 was made abbot in the place of the father; when he was sent to lower Hungary by the blessed king to preach, he was struck by a sword on his neck, and although he survived, he was not deprived of martyrdom.

Here ms. B1 adds the words patrocinio et “the patronage and,” taken from the text of the Major Legend, 7. 53 On Ascricus, see above Major Legend, n. 57. 54 On Boniface, see above Major Legend, n. 59. 52

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Venerunt et alii duo de terra Poloniensi heremiticam vitam causa contemplationis eligentes, quorum unus, Andreas nomine, per confessionis meritum angelicis choris est associatus, testibus miraculorum signis per ipsum a domino factis. Alter Benedictus, pro Christo sanguine fuso, misericorditer esta 55 laureatus.56 Ascricus abbas cum suis honorifice susceptus ad radicem Montis ferrei57 precepto sanctissimi ducis cenobium sub titulo sancti patris Benedicti construxit, ubi usque hodie congregatio monasterialis disciplina regulari pollens, temporalium sustentatione copiarum ex donativis sancti ducis superhabundans, non est alicuius egens, nisi ut suos et aliorum pedes secundum evangelium cotidianis precibus et lacrimis lavet.b 8. Cum his dei servus, princeps christianissimus, aliquando communiter cum omnibus, aliquando singillatim cum unoquoque eorum colloquium habens,c in tantum divinis conspectibus se probabilem reddidit, ut omnes militie sue comites ad veri dei culturam converteret. Quos vero aliene vie sectatores repperit minis terroribusque subiugavit.58 Ipsosque secundum ecclesiasticam doctrinam instituens, iugum et legem discipline subpositis cervicibus adhibuit omnesque inmunditias malorum prorsus destruxit.d

est V2 M1 : om. cett. devictis – lavet = Leg. maior c. 7 c cum his – habens = Leg. maior c. 8 d in tantum – subiugavit = Leg. minor c. 2 a

b

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Two others came as well, from the land of Poland, choosing the eremitical life for the sake of contemplation, one of whom, by the name of Andrew, was taken up into the choir of angels because of the merit of his confession, which is attested by the signs of miracles made by the Lord through him. The other, Benedict, having shed his blood for Christ, was 55 wondrously crowned [as a martyr].56 Abbot Ascricus, having been respectfully received with his disciples, following the order of the most holy ruler, built a monastery dedicated to the holy father Benedict at the foot of the Iron Mountain,57 where to this day a community blooms under monastic discipline, abounding in temporal riches [necessary] for its sustenance from the donations of the holy leader, with no other need than that of daily washing the feet of its own [members] and of others, amidst prayers and tears according to the Gospel. [= Legenda maior 7] 8. The servant of God, the most Christian ruler, taking counsel with them, sometimes together with all, sometimes alone with each one of them, [= Legenda maior 8] made himself all the more worthy in the eyes of the Lord in that he converted all those of his retinue to the worship of the true God. Those, however, whom he found to be followers of an alien path, he subdued by threats and terror.58 He ordered them, according to the teachings of the Church, imposed the yoke and the law of discipline upon their bent necks, and thoroughly destroyed all that was unclean and wicked. [= Legenda minor 2]

I have added est (attested in mss. V2 and M1) to the text printed by Bartoniek. On Andrew-Zoerard and Benedict, see above Major Legend, n. 60. 57 That is, the Benedictine abbey of Pécsvárad. 58 In the Minor Legend 2, this entire paragraph described Géza’s behavior, not that of his son. 55

56

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Post hec provincias in decem partitus episcopatus, Strigoniensem ecclesiam metropolim et magistrama ceterarum fore constituit.b 59 Cognoscens vero prudens dux predicti Ascrici religionem, pontificalis ipsum dignitatis infula decoratum electione canonicace sublimavit et ei Colocensis episcopatus dignitatem obtulit.60 9. Quarto post patris obitum anno, divina commonente clementiad eundem Ascricum presulem, qui alio nomine Anastasius61 dictus est, ad limina sanctorum apostolorum62 misit, ut a successore sancti Petri principis apostolorum63 postularet, quo novelle christianitati exorte in partibus Pannonie largam benedictionem porrigeret, Strigoniensem ecclesiam in metropolim sue subscriptionis auctoritate sanciret et reliquos episcopatus sua benedictione muniret. Regio etiam dignaretur ipsum diademate roborare, ut eo fultus honore cepta per dei gratiam posset solidius stabilire. Eodem forte tempore Mischa,64 Poloniorum dux, christianam cum suis amplexus fidem, missis ad Romane sedis antistitem nunciis, apostolica fulciri benedictione ac regio postulaverat diademate redimiri. Cuius petitioni annuens, papa coronam egregii operis parari

per consensum et subscriptionem romane sedis apostolici post magistram add. B1 predictum vero venerabilem abbatem ascricum pontificalis dignitatis infula decoratum electione canonica sublimavit, cuius consilio cęteras sedes patrum curis et provisionibus commisit. iaciuntur ubique sacrarum fundamenta domorum, surgunt claustra canonicorum, cenobia florescunt regulariter conversantium congregationum. undique fit concursus deo famulantium, quorum omnium desiderium tam liberalis principis excitavit benigne susceptionis solatium. et quoniam pannonia beati pontificis martini nativitate gloriatur, cuius ętiam patrocinantibus meritis rex christo fidelis, ut iam dictum est, de hostibus victoriam reportaverat, inito cum thęophilis consilio, iuxta fundum sancti presulis in loco qui sacer mons dicitur, sub tytulo ipsius monasterium construere cepit, possessionibus et redditibus cunctisque sufficientiis ditavit et ipsius suffragio domitorum decimationibus simile fecit ępiscopiis post constituit add. B1 cancellatis postea uerbis pannonia – ępiscopiis c secundum ecclesiasticam – canonica = Leg. maior c. 8 d post patris – clementia = Leg. maior c. 9 a

b

Here ms. B1 adds from the text of the Major Legend 8: “with the consent and the endorsement of the apostolical occupying the Roman See.”

59

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After this, he divided his territories into ten bishoprics and he made the church of Esztergom the metropolitan and master of the others.59 The prudent leader, recognizing the piety of the said Ascricus, elevated him, decorated by the miter of pontifical dignity by canonical election, [= Legenda maior 8] and bestowed on him the dignity of the bishop of Kalocsa.60 9. In the fourth year after his father’s death, prompted by divine mercy, [= Legenda maior 9] he sent the same prelate Ascricus, who by another name is also called Anastasius,61 to the threshold of the holy apostles,62 in order to ask from the successor of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles,63 that he extend his abundant blessing to the young Christianity rising in the parts of Pannonia, that he confirm the church of Esztergom as head by the authority of his signature, and that he fortify the rest of the bishoprics by his blessing. Also, that he would deign to strengthen him [Stephen] by a royal diadem, so that, supported by that office, what he had begun by the grace of God he could stabilize more solidly. As it happened, at this time, Mieszko, leader of the Poles,64 having embraced the Christian faith with his people, sent envoys to the pontiff of the Roman See, and asked to be strengthened by apostolic benediction and to be crowned with a royal diadem. The pope, assenting to his petition, already had had a crown made, decorated The exact year of the establishment of the episcopal see of Kalocsa is still a disputed question; see Koszta, A kalocsai érseki tartomány, who argued that the see of Kalocsa was established in 1009 as a titular archbishopric. In Koszta’s view, Hartvic refers in this passage to Kalocsa as a bishopric on purpose as part of his tendentious attempt to reassert the supremacy of the archbishop of Esztergom over his rival in Kalocsa (see ibid., 15–20, 76–77). 61 Hartvic’s legend is unique among the surviving sources for this period in identifying Ascricus with Anastasius; this identification, although accepted by some modern scholars, is extremely problematic (see above, in the Major Legend). 62 That is, to the papal court in Rome. [NB] 63 Pope Sylvester II (999–1003). 64 Mieszko I ruled from before 963 until 992; at the time of Ascricus’ embassy the Polish ruler was Bolesław I Chrobry, who ruled from 992 until 1025. [NB] 60

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iam fecerat, quam illi cum benedictione et regni gloria mittere decreverat.65 Sed quia novit dominus qui sunt eius, qui duobus per apostolos in apostolici ordinis sortem electis Mathiam pretulit et apostolicum fecit supplere numerum,66 ille nimirum potius electum suum Stephanum hac temporali statuerat feliciter insignire corona, ipse postmodum eundem felicius decoraturusa eterna. Prefixa itaque die qua parata iam corona predicto Poloniorum duci mittenda fuerat, nocte que precedebat pape per visum domini nuncius astitit, cui et dixit: “Crastina die prima diei hora ignote gentis nuncios ad te venturos esse cognoveris, qui suo duci coronam a te regiam cum benedictionis apostolice munere flagitabunt. Coronam ergo quam preparari fecisti eorum duci prout petent cures sine cunctatione largiri. Sibi enim eam cum regni gloria pro vite sue meritis scito deberi.” Iuxta igitur huius visionis modum prescripta sequentis diei hora presul Ascricus ad papam pervenit,67 qui officium iniunctum sibi prudenter exequens et sancti ducis gesta referens ordine, ab apostolica sede que premisimus insignia postulavit, indicans eum dignum fore tali honore et dignitate qui plures gentes per dei adiutorium sibi subiugasset et multos infideles per suam potentiam ad dominum convertisset. Quibus auditis, valde gavisus Romanus pontifex, cuncta prout fuerant postulata benigne concessit. Crucem insuper ferendamb 68 regi velut in signum apostolatus misit, “ego,” iniquiens, “sum apostolicus, ille vero merito Christi apostolus, per quem tantum sibi populum Christus convertit. Quapropter dispositioni eiusdem prout divina ipsum gratia instruit ecclesias simul cum populis

coronaturus S anteferendam B1V2 M1 ACB2 B3 S

a

b

On this crown, see László Veszprémy, “The Holy Crown of St. Stephen,” in Zsoldos, Saint Stephen and His Country, 95–109. 66 Cf. Acts 1:23–26. 65

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with extraordinary craftsmanship, which he decided to send to him with a blessing and the glory of sovereignty.65 But because the Lord knows those who are His, who preferred Matthew out of the two chosen by the apostles to share the apostolic order and complete the apostolic number,66 determined instead to distinguish favorably his chosen, Stephen, by this temporal crown, who afterward was also to be adorned more favorably by the eternal one. Thus during the night preceding the appointed day on which the completed crown would be sent to the above-mentioned leader of the Poles, the emissary of the Lord appeared to the pope in a vision and said to him: “You should know that tomorrow, in the first hour of the day the envoys of an unknown people will come to you, who will urge you to bestow on their leader a royal crown together with apostolic benediction. Therefore, make sure to give the crown that you have had prepared to their leader without hesitation just as they ask. Know that this is due to him together with the glory of sovereignty for the merits of his life.” And in accordance with that vision, at the prescribed hour of the following day, the prelate Ascricus reached the pope,67 judiciously executing the office enjoined on him, and expounding the deeds of the holy leader in order, he requested the token that we mentioned from the apostolic see, showing him to be worthy of such honor and dignity, as one who had subjugated several peoples with the help of God and by His power had converted many infidels to the Lord. Upon hearing this, the Roman pontiff, rejoicing, kindly granted all, just as they had been requested. Moreover, he sent the king a cross to be worn68 as a sign of apostleship, saying: “I am apostolic, but he is by his own merit Christ’s apostle, through whom Christ converted so many people. Therefore, we relinquish to his disposition as the divine grace instructs him the churches together with the people, to be governed according to both laws [utroque The date of the embassy is unknown with certainty; while older scholarship preferred 1000, more recently a date sometime in early 1001 has been proposed. 68 Or according to a variant reading present in several mss., “to be carried in front [of him]” (anteferendam). 67

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utroque iurea 69 ordinandas reliquimus.” Inpetratis ergo omnibus, prout petiit, presul Ascricus letus ad propria remeavit secum ferens propter que inceptum iter peregerat. 10. Benedictionis ergo apostolice litteris cum corona et cruce simul allatis, presulibus cum clero, comitibus cum populo laudes congruas adclamantibus, dilectus deo Stephanus rex appellatur,b 70 unctione crismali perunctus, diademate regalis dignitatis feliciter coronatur.71 Post acceptum regalis excellentie signum qualis vite vir et discretionis fuerit cum episcopis et primatibus Hungarie statutum a se decretum manifestum facit, in quo scilicet uniuscuiusque culpe contrarium dictavit antidotum. Et, ut pacis, per quam Christus orbem coadunavit, sec fore probaret filium,d quod nullus alium hostiliter invaderet, nemo vicinum sine iudicii examinatione lederet, viduas et orphanos nullus opprimeret, subscriptione federis non pereuntis posteris suis reliquid stabilitum. Ad consortium vero regni, precipue causa sobolis propagande, sororem Romane dignitatis augusti, videlicet Henrici, qui ob mansvetudinem morum pius est apellatus, Gislam nomine, sibi in matrimonio sociavit,72 quam unctione crismali perunctam, gestamine om. V2 M1 viteque iure AC vice nostra simul B2 appellatur MLHB : appellatus B1 om. R c concordem post se add. S d om. S a

b

69 The phrase utroque iure implies both temporal and spiritual (or ecclesiastical) law. The idea of two types of power became important during the late eleventh-century ecclesiastical reform (“Gregorian reform”) and Investiture Contest. Pope Gelasius I (492–96) stated that the sacred authority of popes and secular imperial power, dependent on each other, governed Christians. From the 1070s, contrary views developed concerning papal and imperial rights and power and their relationship to each other. Hartvic affirmed Stephen’s sovereignty in the context of this debate, attributing to him the legitimate use of both powers. This assertion reflected the controversies at the time Hartvic was writing, and not those of the epoch of King Stephen. Pope Innocent III, while approving the Life, objected to the use of this phrase, which was omitted from subsequent manuscripts: Theiner, Vetera Monumenta Slavorum Meridionalium, vol. 1, 57, n. 77; SRH 2, 369. [NB]

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iure].” 69 Having obtained everything just as he had requested, the prelate Ascricus returned with joy to his people, taking with him that for which he had completed the journey he had undertaken. 10. Thus having acquired the letter of apostolic benediction together with the crown and the cross, the beloved of God, Stephen was proclaimed70 king and, anointed by unction with chrism, was propitiously crowned with the diadem of royal dignity while the prelates and the clergy, the counts and the commoners acclaimed him with unanimous praise.71 After the symbol of royal excellence had been received, it was made manifest what manner of man he was in conduct of life and judgment in the statutes which he decreed with the bishops and chief lords of Hungary; in which, namely, he formulated the antidote of each sin. And so that he would show himself to be the son of peace by which Christ bound the world together, he left an edict to his successors, endorsed with an everlasting covenant, that no one should invade another in a hostile way, nobody should harm a neighbor without the benefit of a trial, no one should oppress widows and orphans. And he joined himself in matrimony to the sister of Henry of Roman imperial dignity—who was called Pious because of the gentleness of his character—named Gisela, to be his consort in the kingdom, but above all to bear his offspring.72 He made her, anointed by unction with chrism, his companion in wearing the crown of the

I have added and translated here the word appelatur attested by mss. of the Legenda maior but absent from all the mss. of Hartvic’s legend and from Bartoniek’s ed. (C. G.) 71 Hartvic described here the ecclesiastical rite of anointing kings at the time of their coronation. The model for this unction was provided by the Hebrew Bible (Samuel anointed Saul and David) and represented a consecration to God and an endowment with God’s gifts. From this point in the text Hartvic starts to call Stephen king (rex). [NB] 72 Gisela was the sister of Emperor Henry II, who ruled from 1002 until 1024, cf. Major Legend, n. 78. 70

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corone regni sociam esse constituit. Que qualis erga dei cultum ornandum extiterit, quam frequens et benefica circa deo servientium congregationes apparuerit, multarum ecclesiarum cruces et vasa vel paramenta opere mirifico facta vel contexta usque hodie testantur. Pre cunctis tamen domus episcopatus Bezprimiensis, quam ipsa a fundamento ceptam omnibus sufficientiis ad servitium dei in auro vel argento vestimentisque multiplicibus nobiliter adornavit. Ipse vero rex episcopia nuper incepta, tam videlicet ipsam archiepiscopalem, quam omnes ecclesias episcopales, amplissimam singulis assignans diocesim et unicuique semper preficiens idoneum presulem, simul et abbatias prediis et curiis, familiis et redditibus regaliter disposuit, crucibus et vasis aliisque subpellectilibus ad ministerium dei pertinentibus secundum quod unicuique opus fuit sufficienter decoravita et singulis annis quamdiu advixitb munera et oblationes superaugebat,c 73 ne aliquid extrinsecus quererent qui officio sanctuarii preerant.d Monachorum vitam et conversationem nunc per alios, nunc per seipsum explorando diligenter examinabat, torpentes arguens, vigiles sub dilectione constituens, canonicorum ministerium episcoporum providentie sub testimonio Christi et ecclesie conmedabat secundum apostolum omnibus omnia factus, ut omnes lucrifaceret.e 74 11. Eodem tempore in monasterio Sancti Martinif 75 erat monachus quidam, Sebastianus nomine, cuius probabilis vita et devota in dei servitio religio habebatur. Hunc rex venerabilis miro cepit amore diligere quia quanto quis religiosior, tanto ei erat acceptior. benedictionis – decoravit = Leg. maior c. 9 quoad vixit CB2 S q. vitrix A c semper augebat V1 ACB2 B3SMH d et singulis – preerant = Leg. minor c. 4 e monachorum – lucrifaceret = Leg. maior c. 9 f eo tempore in monasterio sancti martini B1 V1 B3 : eodem t. i. m. s. m. ACB2 eodem i. m. s. m. V2 M1 om. R a

b

73 Or, according to an alternative reading (semper augebat) present in many mss., “he always kept increasing.”

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kingdom. How she stood out in magnifying the worship of God, and how fervent and beneficent she showed herself to be to the congregations serving God is proved to this day by many churches’ crosses, vessels, and ornaments made or woven by marvelous work. And above all the church of the bishopric of Veszprém [proves this] which she adorned nobly, beginning from the foundations, with every necessary thing for the service of God in gold and silver, and a multiplicity of vestments. And the king himself, having assigned ample dioceses to each of the recently founded bishoprics, that is, both to the archiepiscopal and to all the episcopal churches, and always appointing as head a suitable prelate for each one, royally endowed them, as well as the abbeys, with estates and manor houses, servants and revenues. He sufficiently provided them with crosses and vessels and other furnishings pertaining to the service of God, according to their needs. [= Legenda maior 9] And he kept increasing73 the gifts and endowments every year as long as he lived lest those who were entrusted with the care of the holy place should be in need to ask anything from elsewhere. [= Legenda minor 4] Investigating, he diligently examined, sometimes through others, sometimes by himself, the life and conduct of monks, rebuking the lazy ones and taking the vigilant ones into his love. He commended the service of canons to the care of bishops, because of the testimony of Christ and the Church, according to the apostle: I have become all things to all men, that I might save74 all. [= Legenda maior 9] 11. In those days, in the monastery of St. Martin75 there was a certain monk, by the name of Sebastian, whose life was held to be commendable, and whose piety devoted to the service of God. The venerable king began to esteem him with remarkable affection, be 1 Cor. 9:22. I have integrated into the Latin text a short phrase (eo tempore in monasterio Sancti Martini) given by many mss., but absent from Bartoniek’s ed., which is based on ms. R, where these words are only present as an addition which was later canceled. I believe this phrase, which identifies Sebastian as a former monk of Pannonhalma, was part of Hartvic’s original text. 74

75

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Illum ergo ob vite merita pontificali honore dignum iudicans, regendo Strigoniensi archiepiscopatui eum prefecit.76 At quoniam flagellat deus omnem filium quem recipit,77 predictum Sebastianum, ad probandam ipsius patientiam, corporalium oculorum lumine ad tempus privavit. Set ne novellus in fide grex absque pastoris regimine a recti tramitis proposito deviaret, per consensum Romani pontificis sepe dictum Ascricum Colocensem episcopum in illius locum substituit.78 Evolutis deinde trium annorum circulis, Sebastianus, ex dei misericordia recepto lumine, rursum per apostolici consilium sue sedi restitutus est et Ascricus ad suam ecclesiam, videlicet Colocensem, cum pallio rediit.79 12. Erat interea rex idem fidelis, in omnibus actibus suis deo perfecte deditus, per votum et oblationem semet cum regno suo sub tutela perpetue virginis dei genitricis Marie precibus assiduis conferens, cuius gloria et honor tam celebris inter Hungaros habetur, quod etiam festivitas assumptionis eiusdem virginis sine additamento proprii nominis ipsorum lingua dies dominea 80 vocitetur. Et, ut maiorem ipsius defensionis misericordiam consequi valeret, in ipsa regalis sedis civitate, que dicitur Alba,81 sub laude et titulo virginis eiusdem perpetue famosam et grandem basilicam opere mirifico, celaturis in chori pariete distinctis, pavimento tabulis marmoreis strato construere cepit. Quam qui vidit testimonium veritati perhibet verborum nostrorum innumerabilia palliorum,

dies domine R : reginę dies B1 B dies domine magne V2 M1

a

Probably ca. 1002 for a tenure that lasted until ca. 1007. It is doubtful whether he should be identified with Radla, the tutor of St. Adalbert of Prague, and even less with Rasina, the abbot of Pannonhalma mentioned in the Legenda maior of St. Gerard, as proposed by Györffy, König Stephan, 125. 77 Heb. 12:6. 78 It has been pointed out that such a translation from one see to another, let alone as the head of a different ecclesiastical province, is not attested in eleventh-century Hungary, where it became common only in the next century; see, Koszta, A kalocsai érseki tartomány, 16. 76

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cause the more pious someone was, the more welcome that person was to him. Therefore, judging him to be worthy of episcopal office because of his meritorious life, he appointed him to govern the archbishopric of Esztergom.76 But, because God scourges every son whom He receives,77 He deprived the said Sebastian of the light of his corporal eyes for a while to test his patience. But, so that the flock, new in the faith, would not deviate from the intended right path without the guidance of its shepherd, with the consent of the Roman pontiff he substituted in his place the above-mentioned Ascricus, bishop of Kalocsa.78 After the passing of three years, Sebastian recovered his sight through the mercy of God, and through apostolic counsel his see was restored to him, and Ascricus returned with the pallium to his own church, namely that of Kalocsa.79 12. In the meantime the king was faithful and completely devoted to God in all his acts. He transferred himself together with his kingdom by an oath and offering, with assiduous prayers, to the guardianship of the Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary. Her glory and honor are so famous among Hungarians, that even the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin is called the Day of the Lady80 in their language, without the addition of her proper name. And, in order to be able to win the greater mercy of her protection, he began to build a famous and large basilica by wonderful craftsmanship, dedicated to and in praise of that perpetual Virgin, in the city of the royal see itself, which is called Alba,81 with carvings adorning the walls of the choir, and the floor paved with marble tiles. Whoever saw this can offer a testimony to the truth of our words, that there are there innumerable types of palls and Physical disabilities such as blindness disqualified a man from the priesthood. The story is an attempt to explain the creation of a second archbishopric, that of Kalocsa, in Hungary. 80 The variant readings in the other mss., i.e., reginę dies “the day of the Queen” (B1 B) and dies domine magne “the day of the Great Lady” (V2 M1) reflect the vernacular names of this feast, Hung. (Nagy)asszony napja. 81 Székesfehérvár in modern Hungary. 79

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paramentorum et aliorum ornamentorum ibi esse genera, thabulas circa altaria plures auro purissimo fabricatas, lapidum series preciosissimorum in se continentes, ciborium arte mirabili supra Christi mensam erectum, cameram omni genere vasorum cristalinorum, onichinorum, aureorum, argenteorum pleniter refertam.a Tanta predicta venustate supradescriptam ecclesiam in propriam capellam rex sibi b 82 retinens, tali eam libertate dotavit, ut nullus episcoporum in ea cuiusvis iuris quidquam haberet. Ne tamen a regulari disciplina eiusdem loci fratres existerent alieni,83 ad communem solius archiepiscopi84 sinodum ecclesiastici dogmatis institutione imbuendi convenire deberent. In die etiam absolutionis et consecrationis crismatis cuicunque episcopo iniungeret rex ibi presens vel illuc mitteret absens penitentes in ea absolveret et crisma consecraret. Divina quoque missarum sollempnia, si regem ibi presentem esse contingeret, ille tantum celebraret episcopus, cui rex, consentiente cum fratribus preposito, celebrare iuberet. In regis autem absentia absque prepositi et fratrum consensu nullus episcopus vel missam celebrandi vel cuiuslibet episcopalis officii exercendi sibi licentiam usurparet. Preterea eiusdem ecclesie populum instituit esse tam liberum, ut nichil decimarum cuiquam episcopo dare deberet, sed preposito soli et fratribus prout ab eo institutum est, servitium exhiberet.85 Deinde servus dei que tunc habebat et adquirere poterat omnia Christo, que ex ipsius dono fluxerant, conferre studuit, ut qui eum gloria et honore mundi presentis dignum fecerat, celestis patrie civibus clementer associare dignaretur.c erat – refertam = Leg. maior c. 10 sibi B1V2 M1 ACB2V1 B3S : om. R c dei – dignaretur = Leg. maior c. 10 a

b

I have integrated into the text the reading of most mss. (sibi), absent from R and Bartoniek’s ed. 83 That is, the canons belonging to the collegiate chapter attached to the church of the Holy Virgin. 84 The archbishop of Esztergom. 82

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vestments and other ornaments; several panels made of the purest gold around the altars, containing rows of the most precious stones, and above Christ’s table a canopy of marvelous craftsmanship was erected, and the treasury was crammed full with all sorts of vessels made of crystal, onyx, gold, and silver. [= Legenda maior 10] Keeping for himself 82 the above-mentioned church of such beauty as his own chapel, the king endowed it with such independence that none of the bishops could have any rights whatever over it. Nonetheless, so that the brothers83 of that place be no strangers to the discipline of the rule, they had to gather at the communal synod of the archbishop,84 in order to be trained by the education of ecclesiastical teachings. And, on the day of absolution and the consecration of chrism, the king, if present, would enjoin any bishop, or, if absent, would send him, and he would absolve the penitents there and consecrate the chrism. And only that bishop would celebrate the solemn divine Mass if the king happened to be present there, whom the king—with the consent of the brothers and the provost—would ask to celebrate it. But in the absence of the king no bishop would usurp the license to celebrate Mass or exercise any episcopal office without the consent of the provost and the brothers. Moreover, he decreed that the people of that church should be so free that they would not have to give any tithe to any bishop, but only to serve the provost and the brothers in the way he had ordered.85 Afterward the servant of God strove to confer all that he already had and what he could acquire to Christ, from whose gift those things had flowed, so that He who had made him worthy of the glory and honor of this world, would mercifully consider him deserving of being counted among the inhabitants of the celestial city. [= Legenda maior 10]

On the privileged status of the royal basilica and the collegiate chapter associated with it, see Gergely Kiss, “A székesfehérvári prépostság egyházjogi helyzete a középkorban” [The canonical status of the provostship of Székesfehérvár in the Middle Ages], Századok 141, no. 2 (2007): 271–97. 85

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13. Legimus in prophetia de apostolis scriptum quod in omnem terram exivit sonus eorum et in fines orbis terre verba eorum.86 Hoc non solum de duodecim, set de omnibus a deo missis ad evangelizandum dictum esse probatur, quorum fide, verbis et moribus incrementum parit ecclesia. De quibus iste christianissimus rex non minimus fuisse comprobatur, qui bone voluntatis et operis famam, quam in edificandis ecclesiis in amplitudine proprii iuris exercuerat, in longe positas terras et urbes famosissimas disperserat. Construxit enim in ipsa conversationis Christi secundum humanitatema civitate Hierusalem monachorum cenobium, quodb prediis ditavit et vineis ad victum cottidianum copiam ministrantibus. In capite quoque mundi Roma, sub titulo prothomartyris Stephani duodecim canonicorum congregationem cunctis pertinentiis habundantem statuit et maceriam in circuitu lapide muratam cum domibus et hospitiis Hungarorum orationis causa beati principis apostolorum Petri limina querentium condidit. Ipsam quoque regiam urbem Constantinopolim beneficiorum munere non privavit, quam ecclesia mirifici operis cum omnibus necessariis suis donavit. Merito igitur infra terminos sue dominationis nomen adeptus est apostoli quoniam, etsi ipse evangelizandi non assumpsit officium, predicatorum tamen dux et magister eis tutaminis et sustentationis instituit solatium.c 14. Inter omnia superne miserationis beneficia beato regi divinitus concessa pre omnibus sunt illa dinumeranda et scriptis commendanda, que locum primum obtinent ad eterne vite gaudia promerenda, misericordia scilicet et veritas. In omnibus enim factis suis felicibus illud intendebat esse precipuum quod evangelio fideli pectoris contemplatus est visu per veritatis ipsius testimonium dicentis:

humilitatem R quod V2 M1 ACB2S : om. R c legimus – solatium = Leg. maior c. 11 a

b

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13. We read in the prophecy written about the apostles that their voice has gone out to all the earth and their words to the ends of the world.86 This was proved to be said not only about the twelve, but also about all those sent by God to evangelize, by whose faith, words, and conduct the Church grows. Among those, this most Christian king is acknowledged as not the most insignificant, by the fame of his good will and works that he had shown in building churches within the boundaries of his own reign and had spread to far distant lands and very famous cities. For he constructed a monastery of monks in that city of Jerusalem where Christ lived according to His humanity, and he enriched it with estates and vineyards, to provide abundant daily food. And he founded a congregation of twelve canons in Rome, the capital of the world, dedicated in honor of the protomartyr Stephen, abounding in all belongings, and he erected a wall all around it, made of stone, with houses and hospices for the Hungarians seeking the threshold of Saint Peter, prince of the apostles, in order to pray. He did not deprive even the royal city, Constantinople, of endowing it with benefactions; he donated a church of wonderful craftsmanship with everything that was necessary. Therefore, he deservedly gained the name of apostle within the boundaries of his dominion, because although he himself did not assume the office of evangelization, nonetheless, leader and master of preachers, he established the comfort of protection and support for them. [= Legenda maior 11] 14. Among all the favors of heavenly mercy divinely granted to the blessed king, those that play the foremost part in earning the joy of eternal life, that is, mercy and truth, are above all to be listed and committed to writing. For in all his auspicious deeds he strove particularly to place above all that which he had understood by the insight of his devoted heart from the Gospel, which says through the testimony of Truth itself: blessed are the merciful, for they shall Rom. 10:5.

86

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Beati misericordes quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur87 et in alio loco: Date et dabitur vobis.88 Tantis igitur misericordie et pietatis brachiis Christi pauperes, immo Christum in ipsis, amplexatus est, quod nullus unquam hospes et peregrinus ab eo sine benignitatisaa alicuius solamine tristis abscessit. Ad recreationem egenorum cottidianas expensas indeficienter fieri constituit, nocturnas vigilias in lavandis Christi fidelium pedibus et in abscondendis in sinu pauperum elemosinis agiliter et ilariter transigere solebat, egenum Christum in membris suis consolari deliberans temporaliter, ut ipse vite celestis cameram cunctis delectamentis refertam inveniens iocundari mereretur eternaliter. Quadam vero nocte spirituali monitu tactus, nemine sciente, solus plenum sacculum dono dei gerens, Christi pusillum gregem solito more perrexit visitare statimque pauperes distribuende celestis thesauri pecunie disturbantes unicumb 89 viri dei meritis evulsione barbe prebuerunt testimonium. Ob hoc gaudio perfusus maximo, miles Christi se contulit ad beatissimam creatoris omnium genitricem, prostratus terre, gratias agens sic exclamavit: “Regina celestis et mea, quem tu regem statuisti milites tui sic honoraverunt. Si ab aliquo adversario michi fuisset hoc illatum, meas iniurias per tuum ulciscerer adminiculum. Sciens ergo, domina, hec eterna michi retribui felicitate, nimis exulto gratias agens salvatoris nostri verbis consolatoriis, quibus discipulos suos consolatus est dicens: Capillus de capite vestro non peribit.”90 His dictis, se vir dei celesti gratia perspiciens visitatum et spirituali carismate perfusum, cordis ianuas opem querentibus nunquam claudere decrevit, sed per se deinceps et per alios, sed precipue per Christi servos et familiares, clericos scilicet et monachos, celitus sibi datas facultates in eternis thesauris per manus pauperum fecit collocari.

benignitatis B1V2 M1 ACB2V1 B3 MLHB : benignitate aut R unicus ego : unctum R initium B1V1CB2B3 M1 LHS in unum V2 M1 inicum A om. B

a

b

Matt. 5:7. Luke 6:38.

87 88

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obtain mercy,87 and in another place give and it will be given to you.88 Therefore he embraced the poor of Christ, or rather Christ in them, with such merciful and pious arms, that no guest or pilgrim ever left him sadly without some [receiving] the solace of some benefaction. He arranged for daily payments to be made without fail for the refreshment of the needy; he used to spend the nocturnal Vigils busily and joyously washing the feet of Christ’s faithful and in concealing alms in the bosom of the poor, deciding to console the needy Christ through His members in the world, so that he would deserve to rejoice eternally, finding the treasury of celestial life filled with all delights. And one night, inspired by spiritual admonition, he proceeded to visit Christ’s little flock alone, without anyone’s knowledge, as was his habit, carrying a purse filled with the gift of God; and immediately the poor, grabbing and pulling him from all sides as he was distributing the money of the celestial storehouse, offered a unique89 testimony to the merits of the man of God by pulling out his beard. Upon which, the soldier of Christ, infused with great joy, turned to the most blessed Mother of the Creator of all, and prostrate on the ground, giving thanks, exclaimed: “Celestial queen, my queen, your soldiers thus honored him whom you made king. If this had been done by an enemy of mine, I would avenge the wrong [done to me] through your support. But knowing, my Lady, that I am repaid by eternal joy for this, I rejoice exceedingly, giving thanks for the consoling words of our Savior, by which he consoled his disciples, saying: not a hair of your head will perish.” 90 Having said these things, the man of God, understanding that he was visited by celestial grace and imbued with spiritual charisma, decided never to close the doors of his heart to those seeking help. Instead, in turn by himself and others, but especially by the servants and serving-people of Christ (that is, clerics and monks), he had the resources given to him by heaven laid into the eternal treasury through the hands of the poor. Reading here: unicum (my own conjecture). Luke 21:18.

89

90

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Huius rei testimonium quamplures exhibent, sed ex his unus, in eternum cum ipso celestis vite particeps monachus ex seculari nobilitate conversus et eremita, beatus Gunterius, qui liberalitate caritativi principis illectus, solebat eum sepius de terra Bohemicorum visitare. Quotiens enim curiam ipsius adventus sui fulgore perlustravit, camera regis sub manu sua posita peregrinis, egenis et indigentibus,a viduis et orphanis, cenobiis et ecclesiis re distributa, quam continebat, in brevi fuit exinanita. Ad nutum etiam eiusdem servi dei rex deo devotus monasterium, quod Bel nuncupatur, incipiens, omnibus bonis ditavit, ubi monachus Girardus de Venetia veniens vitam contemplativam agere cepit, qui constitutione superna pontifex electus, post obitum sancti regis, instante disturbatione christianitatis, lapidatus est etb 91 per donum gratie spiritualis dignus est effectus consortio martyrum.c 15. Nec hoc pretereundum estimo, quod in viro dei quanti meriti post obitum foret divina virtus in vita sua demonstrare voluit, quippe quotiens alicuius hominis infirmitas auribus suis intimata fuit, missa sibi pro medicina quam tunc in presenti poterat habere particula panis, pomi vel herbe redolentis, mandatum ut sanus surgeret transmisit et, dei propiciatione verbum ipsius comitante, statim sospitatem recepit. Post gloriosam ad celos ascensionem et mirabiliter patris consessionem salvator noster paucis corporaliter aparuisse perhibetur, per visionem vero multos consolatos futurorum eos prescios esse docuit, quod et huic beato regi contigit. Quadam igitur nocte repente per revelationem quandam expergefactus, veredarium quendam infra diem et noctem ad Albam Transsilvanam92 precepit festinare et omnes rure manentes ad munitiones civitatum quam citissime posset congregare. Predixit enim superventuros Christianorum hostes, videlicet, qui tunc Hungaris indigentibus ego : indigenis codd. et V1 B3 : om. cett. c inter omnia – martyrum = Leg. maior c. 12 a

b

I have integrated into the text an et omitted in most mss., but present in V1 and B3 .

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Many offer testimony to this, but one of these, participating with him eternally in celestial life, a monk and hermit, converted from the secular nobility, the blessed Günther, who, drawn by the generosity of the charitable prince, used to visit him often from the land of the Bohemians. For whenever he illuminated Stephen’s court by the brightness of his arrival, the treasury of the king, placed at his disposal, was emptied in a short time of the things that it contained through their distribution to pilgrims, the poor, the needy, widows and orphans, monasteries and churches. And at the command of the same servant of God, the king, devoted to God, founded a monastery that is called Bél, endowed it with all goods, where the monk Gerard, coming from Venice, began to lead a contemplative life. Elected as bishop by celestial order, he was stoned in the turmoil threatening Christianity after the death of the holy king and91 he was made worthy of the community of martyrs through the gift of spiritual grace. [= Legenda maior 12] 15. Nor do I intend to omit that divine power wished to show in his life how many merits the man of God would have after death; indeed, whenever someone’s infirmity was made known to his ears, he sent him as medicine that which he had at hand then, a piece of bread, or fruit, or fragrant herbs, and sent over his command that the person rise healthy. The divine assistance having accompanied his words, [the sick] immediately recovered. Our Savior, after gloriously ascending to Heaven and sitting marvelously next to the Father, is held to have appeared to few people physically, but many were consoled in visions, and he revealed them as endowed with foreknowledge of the future, as it also happened to this blessed king. For one night suddenly awakened by some revelation, he ordered a courier to hasten in one day and night to Alba in Transylvania,92 and gather all those living in the country within the fortifications of the cities as fast as possible. For he foretold that the enemies of

This medieval town named Alba in the region of Transylvania is Alba Iulia in modern Romania.

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inminebant Bessos,93 et possessiones eorum depredaturos. Vix nuncius mandata regis complevit et ecce Bessorum inopinata calamitas incendiis et rapinis cuncta devastavit, per revelationem dei meritis beati viri concessam animabus omnium salvatis per receptacula munitionum.a 16. Accidit post hec, defuncto beati regis amico, Romane dignitatis augusto Henrico pio, Conradum inperatorie potestatis coronam per Germanorum electionem assumere, qui, destructa pacis tranquilitate, totius Teothonie94 manu coadunata, Pannonie terminos hostiliter conatus est invadere.95 Contra quem rex, consultum habens episcoporum et principum, ad tuendam patriam armatos totius Hungarie contraxit. Prius tatem recolens se nichil posse sine suffragio Christi, manus et cor levans ad ethera, domine sue, perpetue virgini dei genitrici Marie, suas iniurias commendans, talem erupit in vocem: “Si placet tibi, domina mundi, tue partem hereditatis ab inimicis devastari et novellam plantationem christianitatis aboleri, non mee, precor, inputetur desidie, sed potius dispositionib 96 voluntatis tue. Si pastoris culpa quid meretur, ipse luat, insontibus parce, precor, ovibus.”97 His dictis, quasi consolatus ab ipsa, fiducialiter adversus hostem iter arripuit. Altera mox die nuncius ad unumquemque ducem Germanorum in castra ceu missus ab inperatore venit, qui eis redeundi mandatum detulit. Regredientibus adversariis, vir sanctus respectu miserationis dei se visitatum intelligens, Christo sueque genitrici terre prostratus gratias egit, cuius se cum regni provisione tutamini precibus assiduis commendavit. Inperator vero suorum tam repentina perterritus defectione, scis nec hoc – munitionum = Leg. maior c. 13 dispositioni B1V2 M1 ACB2V1 MSLHB : dispensationi R

a

b

On the Pechenegs, see Major Legend, n. 119. That is, the German Empire. 95 Emperor Conrad II attacked Hungary in 1030. 96 Reading dispositioni as most mss. rather than dispensationi as in R and Bartoniek’s ed. 97 Cf. 2 Sam. 24:17. 93 94

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Christians would come upon them, that is, the Pechenegs, who were then threatening the Hungarians, in order to plunder their estate.93 Scarcely had the messenger completed the orders of the king, when behold the unexpected onslaught of the Pechenegs devastated everything by burning and plundering. Through the revelation of God, which was granted because of the merits of the blessed man, the souls of everyone were saved by the shelter of the fortifications. [= Legenda maior 13] 16. After this, it happened that the pious Henry, of Roman imperial dignity, friend of the blessed king, died, and Conrad assumed the crown of imperial power through the election of the Germans. After he destroyed the tranquility of peace, Conrad brought together the armies of all Teutonia,94 and tried to invade the borders of Pannonia like an enemy.95 Against him Stephen consulted bishops and chief lords and drew together the armed men of the whole of Hungary for the protection of the country. First, however, recalling that he could do nothing without Christ’s help, lifting his hands and heart to heaven and commending the injustice [he suffered] to his Lady, Mary the ever Virgin Mother of God, he burst out in such a cry: “If it pleases you, Lady of the world, to have a part of your inheritance devastated by enemies, and to have the young implantation of Christianity destroyed, I beseech you, let it not be ascribed to my idleness, but rather to the purpose96 of your will. If the sin of the shepherd would merit anything, let him atone for it. I beg you, spare the innocent sheep.”97 Having said these things, as if consoled by her, he set out confidently on the road against the enemy. Immediately the next day, a messenger came to each one of the German leaders in the camp, as if sent by the emperor, who gave them the order to go back. After the withdrawal of the enemy, the holy man, knowing himself to be visited by God’s mercy, prostrate on the ground, gave thanks to Christ and His mother, to whose protection he entrusted himself and the rule of the kingdom through persistent prayers. In his turn, terrified by the sudden desertion of his soldiers, and inquiring how this had happened, the emperor, when he understood that the messenger which caused their return

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citans qualiter res facta fuerit, cum nuncium reversionis eorum non suum fuisse veraciter sciret, per consilium divinitatis ad corroborandam regis fidelissimi spem factum non dubitavit seque dehinc ab invasione regni eius timore iudicis eterni retentus abstinuit.a 17. Idem quoque rex beatus sollicitudine regalium dispositionum occupatus, tempus diurnum colloquiis et consiliis transiens, per noctis silentium vigiliis et orationibus instare, contemplationi vacare, lacrimas fundere, deum alloqui precibus operam dabat iustique iudicis moderationem super cottidianas iudiciorum discussiones misericorditer descendere flagitabat. Quod cum sedulo spirituali desiderii frequentaret officio, nocte quadam, templo dei longe remoto, descenderat quippe cum illo suo magno et nobili comitatu, fixis tentoriis in campestris amplitudinis loco, ceteris sopore depressis, surgens a lecto, cubiculum cordis ingressus, genibus flexis solo labiorum motub 98 eterne miserationis ianuam gemitibus et lacrimis pulsabat. Cumque diutius deprecationibus insisteret, domini sui regis eterni ministris ad suscipiendas preces eius convenientibus, papilio super eum extensus a terra levatus tamdiu pendere cepit in aere donec vir dei in se reversus a contemplatione spiritum relaxavit ab oratione. Quod licet invisibiliter illi soli qui res novit antequam fiant suique secreti consciis angelis fuisset cognitum, cuidam tamen magne simplicitatis et innocentie viro, qui tunc simili forsitan instabat operi, visibiliter est manifestatum. Quem rex sanctus archani sui conscium esse per spiritum sanctum edoctus, ad se vocatum blandis prius sermonibus, quid vidisset sciscitabatur; post, regiis donis ei ditato, ne cui patefaceret quoadusque ipse viveret interminatus est.

accidit – abstinuit = Leg. maior c. 14 solo labiorum motu codd. : clauso oris hostio B1

a

b

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was indeed not his, did not doubt that it was done through divine mandate, in order to strengthen the hope of the most faithful king; and from then on, Conrad abstained from attacking the kingdom [of Hungary], kept back by his fear of the eternal judge. [= Legenda maior 14] 17. And that blessed king, occupied by the cares of royal administration, passing the time by day with discussions and counsels, exerted himself in the silence of the night to be zealous in vigils and prayers, to devote his time to contemplation, to pour out tears, to address God by supplications, asking that the guidance of the just judge mercifully descend upon the judgment sessions which he conducted daily. He frequently did this duty with diligent spiritual longing; a certain night, being very far away from a church of God, he in fact stayed with his great and noble retinue, setting up tents in a large field. The others having been weighed down by deep sleep, Stephen, getting up from his bed and entering the bedchamber of his heart, on his knees, kept knocking on the door of eternal mercy amidst sighs and tears, with only the movement of his lips.98 And after he had remained in supplication for a long time, when the servants of his Lord, the eternal king, had assembled to take up his prayers, the tent spread out over him was lifted up from the earth and was suspended in the air until the man of God, coming back to himself from contemplation, released his soul from prayer. Although this was known secretly only to Him alone who knows about things before they occur, and to the angels privy to His secrets, it was, nevertheless, visibly revealed to a certain man of great simplicity and innocence, who was perhaps engaged in a similar pursuit at the same time. The holy king, informed by the Holy Spirit that this man was privy to his secret, called him to himself and first inquired by coaxing speech about what he had seen, then enriching him by royal gifts, forbade him to disclose it to anyone while he was alive. 98 Ms. B1 has in this passage a significantly different reading: “having closed the gate of his mouth.”

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18. Fama nominis sui in auribus multarum gentium secularium difusa et iudiciis oris sui celebri laude ubique innotescentibus, sexaginta viri Bessorum, quorum superius mentionem habuimus, cum universo apparatu suo, videlicet auri et argenti copiositate multaque varietate ornamentorum curribus onustis, de partibus Bulgarorum egressi, ad regem venire volentes, terminis Pannoniorum99 appropinquaverant. At multi servorum, quorum cereus est animus flecti in vitium, malignitatis face succensi, obviam illis exierunt, quosdam gladio percusserunt, omnia que eorum fuerant auferentes, vacuos et semineces reliquerunt. Illi, iudicio regis quid actum quidve perpessi sunt reservantes, iter quod ceperant peregerunt et, ad eum usque properantes, genibus eius se advolverunt. Quibus visis, “que causa,” inquid, “malorum?”100 “Mi domine,” referunt, “nos, servi tui, nichil mali machinantes ad audiendam iudiciorum tuorum veniebamus disciplinam et quorundam manibus quam nobiscum ferebamus pecunia absque delicto omnium nostrum ablata est. Insuper apprehensos aliquosa 101 ceciderunt et, vita vix comite,102 venimus, ut nunciaremus tibi.” Rex, ut erat prudentioris animi, non vultu, non verbis minatus est eos, sed sustinens, ut scribitur, prudens spiritum reservet in posterum,103 misit ocius ad illum sub quo militabant tribunum104 et die constituto omnes perditionis illorum viros iussit conspectibus suis presentari. Actum est ut inperaverat et ad discutiendum in presentia sui statuti sunt. Quos alloquens, “cur,” inquid, “legem preceptorum dei transgredientes, non intellexistis misericordiam et viros innocentie condemnastis?

aliquos ACB2 : illos R nos B1

a

That is, the inhabitants of Pannonia, used here a synonym for Hungary. Virgil, Aen. 11.360. 101 Reading alios with mss. A, C, and B2 . 99

100

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18. When the fame of his name spread among many lay people, repeated praise made the judgements that issued from his mouth known everywhere, sixty men from among the Pechenegs, whom I have mentioned above, with all their wealth, that is, with carts loaded with an abundance of gold and silver as well as a great variety of ornaments, set out from the lands of the Bulgarians, wanting to come to the king, and reached the boundaries of the Pannonians.99 But many of his servants, whose minds are like wax, bending towards sin, kindled by the torch of their iniquity, went to meet them, and put some of them to the sword, carried off all their belongings, and left them despoiled and half-dead. They completed the journey they had started, keeping back for the judgment of the king what happened and what they suffered. They hastened to him and threw themselves at his feet. When he saw them, the king asked: “What is the cause of your evils?”100 “My lord,” they replied, “we, your servants, without any evil intent, were on our way to hear what your judgments would teach us, when, with no offense whatsoever on any of our part, the valuables we were bringing with us were carried off by the hands of certain people. What is more, they killed some101 of [us] whom they caught, and we, barely escaping with our lives,102 have come to report this to you.” The king, being of wise disposition, showed no sign of anger either in his appearance or in his words, but holding back—as it is written, a wise man keeps his mind till afterwards103—immediately sent [someone] to that commander 104 under whom they were serving and ordered all those men who had killed [the Pechenegs] to be brought in his presence on a day he appointed It was done as he had ordered, and they were brought to his presence in order to be questioned. Addressing them, he asked: “Why have you trespassed against the law of God’s commandments and punished innocent men with no feeling of mercy? Just as you

Gen. 18:10, 14. Prov. 29:11. 104 Lat. tribunus, referring either to the head of a military unit or to the local count (ispán). 102 103

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Sicut fecistis ita faciet dominus vobis coram me hodie. Transgressores enim legis feriendi sunt.” Accepta sententia, educti sunt et per omnem regionem in ingressu viarum duo et duo suspendio perierunt.a Quod ob terrorem incutiendum reliquis zelo eum iustitie fecisse credendum est, ut qui b 105 regnum suum omnium hospitumc 106 patens asilum esse volebat, sic liber omnibus introitus esset, ut nullus ingredientem quemlibet in aliquo ledere vel molestare presumeret. Quod et factum est. Nam, quoad vixit, nullus cuivis hospiti quisquam molestie inferre presumpsit. 19. In beato quoqe rege constat apostolicum illud adinpletum quod legitur quoniam per multas tribulationes oportet intrare in regnum dei107 et in libro sapientie: quos diligit deus castigat 108 et pater flagellat omnem filium quem recipit.109 Multis enim modis correctioni divine subcubuit, tribus annis infirmitate continua laborans. Postquam inde propiciationis dei medicamine convaluit, iterum iudicis eterni per secreti consilii quandam examinationem in filiorum suorum obitu sibi sensit inminere verbera, quos in ipsis infantie gradibus insontes qui dedit abstulit. De quorum morte mestitiam obortam genitor propter amorem filii superstitis, boned 110 indolis pueri Henrici, solatio conpescuit. Quem quasi iam unicum caro diligens affectu precibus Christo cottidianis et eius genitrici virgini perpetue commendavit. Hunc sibi fore superstitem, hunc regni heredem votis omnibus desideravit. Et, ut efficatior fieret ad tenenda tanti regiminis gubernacula, virorum documentis orthodoxorum usu lectionis cottidiane fecit auditum utrumque prebere. fama – perierunt = Leg. minor c. 6 qui ego : quia codd. c omnium hospitum B1 V1 : o. hospitium R omni hospiti V2 M1 omnibus hospitibus ACB2 d sanctę B1 sancte MLHB a

b

I have emended the text to read qui instead of the quia given by all mss. More precisely, foreigners who came to Hungary as “guests” (hospites), invited by the king to settle on the lands under his authority. 107 Acts 14:22. 105 106

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have done, so shall the Lord do to you today in front of me! For those who trespass against the law must be punished.” After they received their sentence, they were taken away, and throughout every part of the land, at the beginning of the roads, they were put to death on gallows two by two. [= Legenda minor 6] One should think that Stephen did this because of his zealous care for justice so as to inspire fear in the others, as one who105 wanted his kingdom to be a refuge open to all foreigners,106 entry unrestricted for all, so that no one would dare harm or trouble in anything anyone who entered. And this was done. For as long as he lived, nobody dared cause any foreigner any harm. 19. And it is clear that in this blessed king the apostolic prediction was fulfilled, that is, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God,107 and in the book of Wisdom: God chastises whom He loves,108 and the father scourges every son whom He receives.109 For he underwent many kinds of divine correction, being afflicted by continuous infirmity for three years. After he had recovered from that by the medicine of God’s grace, again he felt the scourge to loom over him as if through some test of the eternal judge’s hidden plan, in the death of his children, whom He who gave them, took away innocent in their infancy. The father restrained the grief arising over their death by the solace on account of the love of his surviving son, the child Emeric of good110 natural disposition. As already the only one, loving him dearly, he commended him daily in his prayers to Christ and his ever Virgin Mother. He desired, therefore, with all his wishes that the child outlive him and be the heir to the kingdom. And, so that he would be more capable of holding the helm of such government, he made him listen with both [corporal and spiritual] ears to daily readings from the teaching of authors of the true faith. And Stephen himself, prompted by the flame of paternal love, com Cf. Prov. 3:12. Heb. 12:6. 110 Or, according to the reading preserved in B1 and the mss. of the Legenda maior “of saintly (sancte) disposition.” 108 109

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Ipse quoque paterne dilectionis ardore conpunctus libellum sibi de institutione morum conposuit, in quo fideliter et diligenter verbis eum ammonitionis spiritalis alloquitur, instruens qualiter ante omnia debeat observare fidem catholicam, confirmare statum ecclesiasticum, honorem impendere dignitati pontificum, principes et milites diligere, iudicium observare, patientiam in cunctis actibus habere, hospites benigne recipere, benignius nutrire, sine consilio nichil agere, maiores suos ante oculos semper ad exemplum statuere, orationis officium frequentare, pietatem et misericordiam cum ceteris virtutibus possidere. Talibus et his similibus disciplinis institutus, iuvenis preclarus ad nutum dispositionis eterne, cui cuncta subiacent, obediendo millesimo XXXo Io dominice incarnationis anno vitam hanc exitialem commutavit sempiterna, supernorum civium adiunctus contubernio.a Cuius animam ipsa transitus sui hora cuidam episcopo Grecorum, sancte conversationis viro, revelatum est deferri per angelos ad celi palatia.111 Verum quia pro sanctitatis sue meritis summo ab omnibus diligebatur affectu, ortus est ingens luctus omnium, set maxime principium, inter quos pater desolatus grave traxit suspirium. Videns enim se solum sine spe posteritatis derelictum, pietatis affectu doluit, sciens vero scriptum non est sapientia, non est prudentia, non est consilium contra dominum112 et illud in canonibus, neminem propter obitum carorum nimium debere contristari,113 deposito merore, se totum contulit ad querendam largitatem misericordie divine. Cenobiorum et ecclesiarum ministros, monachos et clericos diversis elemosinarum donis consolatus, expensas totius sumptus quemb 114

in beato – contubernio = Leg. maior c. 15 quem B1 : quam R quas V2 M1 que MLHB

a

b

A more detailed version of this miracle is found in the Legend of Saint Emeric (see below at 210–11), which led to important debates concerning the dating of the two legends—was it the Legend of Emeric which amplified the mention of Hartvic (which we find more probable) or was it vice versa? The motif of the lifting of the soul itself is probably taken over from the hagiography of Henry II, uncle of Saint Emeric and himself also canonized in 1146. 111

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posed for him a little book on the principles of conduct, in which he addressed him faithfully and amicably in words of spiritual admonition. He instructed [him] how above all he should observe the Catholic faith, strengthen the condition of the Church, show honor to the dignity of bishops, love the chief lords and soldiers, respect judgment, have patience in all his acts, receive guests liberally, and nourish them even more liberally, do nothing without counsel, always keep his ancestors before his eyes as an example, resort to the office of prayer often, possess piety and mercy together with the other virtues. The noble young man, instructed with this and similar learning, obeying the command of eternal providence, to whom all are subordinate, exchanged this mortal life for an everlasting one, in the year 1031 of the Incarnation of the Lord, and joined the communion of heavenly citizens. [= Legenda maior 15] His soul was shown being carried by angels to the palace of heaven in the very hour of his passing, as revealed to a certain bishop of the Greeks, a man of holy conduct.111 But because he was loved with the greatest feeling by everyone for the merits of his holiness, all began to mourn greatly, but especially the chief lords, among whom the desolate father heaved deep sighs. For seeing himself alone, left without hope of offspring, he grieved with pious feeling. Yet as he knew that it was written: There is no wisdom, there is no understanding, there is no counsel against the Lord,112 and that in the canons: nobody should be exceedingly saddened by the death of their loved ones,113 casting off his grief, he gave himself wholly to seeking the abundance of divine mercy. Comforting the servants of monasteries and churches, that is, monks and clerics, by various gifts of alms, he distributed all the already collected revenues which114 he had at hand at the moment

Prov. 21:30. This is a reference to canon law, probably to an alleged letter of Pope Anastasius I included among the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals. A similar scriptural passage (1 Thess. 4:12–13) was also incorporated into canon law. Eventually both texts were included in the Decretum of Gratian (C. 13, q. 2. c. 27 and c. 28). [NB] 114 Reading quem with ms. B1. 112 113

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ad presens habere poterat peregrinis, viduis et orphanis erogavit. Exterarum etiam monasteria provinciarum munificentie regie donis innumeris per nuncios suos sepe visitavit.a 20. Gravedinem morum, quam in iuventute receperat, usque ad finem vite tenuit. Vix unquam ad risum labia movit, recolens scriptum risus dolore miscebitur et extrema gaudii luctus occupat,115 semper sic apparens ac si ante tribunal Christi staret, interrioribus oculis eius presentiam vultu ferendo conspiciens, Christum in ore, Christum in corde, Christum in cunctis actibus se gestare demonstravit. Diem ultimum semper ante oculos cordis statuens, toto mentis desiderio inter patrie celestis cives quasi quodam angelice conversationis habitu cupiebat habitare. Cunctis deo placitarum virtutum generibus adornatus in sanctitate et iustitia coram ipso diebus116 vite sue conversari decrevit, ut in eo iam ceu quedam future glorificationis species clarescere videretur.b 21. Post non multum temporis egrotationem incurrit, qua postmodum corpore excessit longaque langoris molestia ingravescente in pedibus stare nequibat. Videntes autem quatuor nobilissimi palatinorum diu graviterque laborantem, nam ipsi adhuc in perfidia cordis errabant, consilium iniquitatis duxerunt occasumque eius in mortem conati sunt tractare. Iam die advesperascente, antequam in domo lucerna accenderetur, unus eorum audacter sub obscuroc ingressus est et ad iugulandum regem ensem nudatum sub clamide tegebat. Dum pedem inhiberet ubi rex quiscebat, revera celesti inpulsu gladius corruit percussusque in terram tinnitum reddidit. Statimque rex audiens, causam requisivit et tamen quid fuisset d presciverat. Vir ille anxius corruit, consilium furoris sui recognovit, doluit, accessit, procubuit, vestigia regis amplexatus est, se luctus – visitavit = Leg. maior c. 15 gravedinem – videretur = Leg. maior c. 16 c obscuro B1V2 M1 ACB2V1 B3 : securo R d fuisset B1 V2 M1 : fuissed V1 MLHB fuisse R a

b

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to pilgrims, widows, and orphans. And through his messengers he often visited the monasteries of foreign provinces with innumerable gifts of royal generosity. [= Legenda maior 15] 20. He retained to the end of his life the gravity of manner that he adopted in his youth. His lips hardly ever moved to laughter, recalling the Scripture: laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes hold of the end of joy115; always appearing thus as if he stood before the tribunal of Christ, whose fearsome appearance he contemplated with his mind’s eye, he showed that he carried Christ on his lips, Christ in his heart, Christ in all of his acts. Always keeping the last day before the eyes of his heart, with all the desire of his mind he wished to live among the inhabitants of the celestial city, as if in the garb of angelic life. Adorned with every type of virtue pleasing to God, he decided to live in holiness and justice before him in all the days116 of his life, so that the splendor— as though of some future glory—would already appear to shine in him. [= Legenda maior 16] 21. Not long afterwards, he fell ill with the disease from which he later died, and, as the prolonged and unpleasant affliction grew worse, he could no longer stand on his feet. Now, when four of the most noble palace officials saw him suffering severely for a long time, they devised a heinous plan and attempted to convert his decline into death; for they were still straying in the faithlessness of their heart. As day was already fading, before the time when they would be lighting lamps in the palace, one of them entered boldly under cover of darkness with a naked sword hidden under his cloak in order to kill the king. He had barely set foot inside the room where the king was sleeping when, truly on an impulse from heaven, the sword fell down and hit the ground with a clattering sound. The king, hearing it at once, asked what the cause was—yet he had already guessed what had happened. In confusion the man broke Prov. 14:13. Luke 1:75.

115

116

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deliquisse confessus, sibi indulgeri precatus est. Veniam querentem non avertit, facinus facile dimisit idemque iussu regis traditionis conscios aperuit. Postera die precepto regisa 117 homicide illi inventi adducti sunt et, adversus eos iudicio locutus,118 digna eos multavit sententia.b 22. Tandem per misericordiam dei dignus centuplicate retributionis bravio, tactus febri, cum sibi diem transitus imminere non ambigeret, accersitis episcopis et primis palatii de Christi nomine gloriantibus, primum cum eis tractavit de substituendo pro se rege, Petro videlicet, sororis sue filio, quem, in Venetia genitum, ad se vocatum, iam dudum exercitui suo prefecerat ducem.c 119 Deinde paterne monuit illos fidem ortodoxamd 120 servaree quam acceperant, amare iustitiam, vincula superne caritatis diligere et caritati operam dare, humilitatis studio invigilare, pre omnibus vero novelle christianitatis plantationi custodiam adhibere. His dictis, manus et oculos levans ad sidera, sic exclamavit: “Regina celi, reparatrix inclita mundi,121 tuo patrocinio sanctam ecclesiam cum episcopis et clero, regnum cum primatibus et populo supremis precibus committo, quibus ultimum vale dicens manibus tuis animam meam commendo.”122 traditionis – regis V1 B3 : om. cett. post non multum – sententia = Leg. minor c. 7 c petro – ducem B1 : om. cett. d ortodoxam R : orthodoxam B1 V3 catholicam V2 M1 ACB2 katholicam S e tandem – servare = Leg. maior c. 16 a

b

I have integrated into the text a passage preserved only in mss. V1 and B3 , which all the other mss. accidentally omitted (see the apparatus ad loc.). 118 Deut. 4:45, Jer. 39:5, 52:9. 119 Contrary to previous editions and translations of Hartvic’s legend, I have integrated into the text the passage which identifies Stephen’s heir to the throne; this is only preserved in ms. B1 and, in my view, may have been part of the original text of Hartvic’s legend rather than an addition to the text due to the compiler of the later version preserved in ms. B1. Until further studies will establish the exact nature of the relationship of B1 with the rest of the tradition, it would be unwise to claim that Hartvic purposefully omitted the name of St. Stephen’s designated heir. 117

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down, recognized the madness of his plan, repented, came forward, threw himself to the ground, embraced the feet of the king, confessed his crime, and asked for mercy. The king did not spurn his request for pardon, and readily dismissed his crime; at his order, the man revealed his treasonous accomplices. The following day, by the order of the king117 those assassins were found and brought forth, and he pronounced judgement 118 on them [= Legenda minor 7] and punished them by a worthy sentence. 22. Finally by the mercy of God, the one worthy of the prize of a hundredfold reward, struck by illness, not doubting that the day of his death was approaching, summoned the bishops and the chief lords of his palace who gloried in the name of Christ, and discussed first with them who was to succeed him as king, namely, Peter, his sister’s son, who was born in Venice and whom he had already summoned to himself and, long ago, appointed leader of his army.119 Afterward in a fatherly way he admonished them to keep the orthodox120 faith [= Legenda maior 16] which they had accepted, to love justice, to cherish the chains of heavenly charity and dedicate themselves to charity, to be vigilant and zealous in humility, but above all to guard the young implantation of Christianity. After having said this, lifting his hands and eyes to the stars, he exclaimed thus: “Queen of heaven, illustrious restorer of the world,121 I commit the holy Church with its bishops and clergy, the kingdom with its chief lords and people to your protection in my last prayers, and saying my final farewell to them, into your hands I commend my spirit.”122

120 In a move that reflects later ideological concerns, several mss. have replaced fidem orthodoxam of Hartvic’s original with fidem catholicam; both mean the same thing, i.e., “the right faith.” 121 This Marian epithet goes back to a hymn attributed to Hartmann of St. Gall (d. 884), which found its way in the liturgy; see Le Pontifical Romano-Germanique du dixième siècle, vol. 2, ed. Cyrille Vogel and Reinhard Elze (Rome: Bibliotheca apostolica Vaticana, 1963), 123. 122 This phrase recalls the last words of Jesus; see Luke 23:46.

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23. Instabat tunc sollempnitas precipua, celebris angelis et hominibus dies assumptionis eiusdem perpetue virginis Marie, in cuius gaudio uta 123 dissolutio sui corporis fieret, maioris spem misericordie se sperans habiturum, precibus hoc specialibus postulavit, suspiriis et lacrimis obtinuit. Aderat igitur felix illa dies, per eius obitum felicior mox futura, circumstabat cum clero paternitas episcoporum, cum manub 124 ministrorum principalis chorus comitum, ubi rex deo dilectus in medio iacens, accepto unctionis spiritualis sacramento, sanctam animam corporis et sanguinis domini nostri Ihesu Christi viatico recreatam anno dominice incarnationis millesimo XXXIII c 125 in manus perpetue virginis et sanctorum angelorum eterne celestis quieti beatitudinis inferendam tradidit. Factus est planctus magnus suorum, gaudium angelorum, sed hic planctus postea versus est in letitiam sempiternam tam nascentium, quam et viventium populorum.d 126 Ad exequias funeris eius ex omnibus Pannonie plagis concurritur, corpus ad sedem regalem, Albam127 videlicet civitatem,e deducitur et, quoniam ecclesia ab ipso constructa in honore beatissime virginis nondum erat dedicata, inito consilio, statuunt pontifices prius basilicam sanctificare, deinde corpus terre commendare. Perfecta dedicationis solempnitate, corpus sanctum in medio domus sarcofago candidi marmoris imponitur,128 ubi per annos plures dominus per ipsius merita multis incommoda

ut V1 B3S : si B1 om. R manu B1 V2 M1 ACB2V1B3S : magno R c XXXIII R : octavo B1 quarto V2 M1 ACB2 IIIIo S septimo V1 d populorum ACB2 : om. cett. e civitatem B1 V2 M1 ACB2S : om. R a

b

Reading ut as in mss. V1, B3 , and S. Reading manu as in most mss. instead of magno, given by R and printed by Bartoniek. 125 None of the mss. used by Bartoniek for her edition give the correct figure for the year of St. Stephen’s death (1038); B1 alone has preserved the correct last digit (octavo). 123 124

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23. The solemn feast was then approaching, famous to angels and men, the day of the Assumption of the perpetually Virgin Mary, and, wishing to have a hope of greater mercy, he asked by special prayers and by sighs and tears obtained that123 the dissolution of his body take place on that joyful [occasion]. Thus that auspicious day arrived, very soon made more auspicious by his death, and the congregation of bishops and clergy, the main gathering of the counts with a troop124 of stewards stood encircling the place where the king, beloved by God, lying in their midst, having accepted the sacrament of spiritual unction, restored his holy soul by the viaticum of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the year 1033125 of the Incarnation of the Lord, and gave it into the hands of the perpetual Virgin and the holy angels, to be brought to the peace of eternal celestial beatitude. There was great lamentation among his people, and joy among the angels, but this lamentation later turned into everlasting rejoicing both for those people126 yet to be born, and those already alive. People assembled for his funeral procession from every region of Pannonia, the body was taken to the royal seat, that is, the city of Alba,127 and because the church, built by him to the honor of the blessed Virgin, had not been consecrated yet, the prelates, having deliberated, decided first to consecrate the basilica, and then to commit his body to the earth. Having accomplished the ceremony of consecration, the holy body was placed in a sarcophagus of white marble in the middle of the building,128 where for several years the Lord exhibited countless favors for his merits to many who suffered I have integrated into the text a word (populorum) attested only in mss. A, C, and B2 . This Alba is the one located in Pannonia, that is Székesfehérvár in modern Hungary. 128 A Roman sarcophagus (partially reworked in the eleventh century), which was discovered at the beginning of the nineteenth century at an uncertain location in the vicinity of the royal basilica in Székesfehérvár, has been identified since 1930 with the one mentioned here by Hartvic as St. Stephen’s initial resting place. This identification has been questioned and more recent research places the reuse of the extant sarcophagus in the context of St. Stephen’s canonization in 1083, when it was probably used as a reliquary after the elevation of his remains and was placed above the crypt-like structure where they had been buried before 1083. See Marosi, “Das Grab des heiligen Stephan,” 25–27. 126

127

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patientibus aca febricitantibus, afflictionem et miseriam suam proclamantibus, iudiciumque portantibus beneficia prestitit innumera. Sepe per noctem melodia cantus angelici a multis audiebatur, frequenter odoris svavissimi dulcedo per latera templi dispergebatur. 24. Quievit itaque corpus beatum eodem in loco non apertis declaratum signorum inditiisb 129 annis XLta Vque miro dispositionis ipsius secreto, qui in sanctis suis predicatur et est mirabilis,130 ut quot annos131 spiritus, mole carnis indutus, terreni coronam imperii per donum gratię spiritualis gestare merebatur tot corpus,c 132 humi gravedine pressum et in pulvere redactum, et hic tempore predestinato declarari dignius et in resurrectionis die gloriosius revocari mereretur. Hoc quorsum respiciat, quid designet oculis spiritualibus delectat intendere, quod sine preordinationis affectu divine factum non estimamus. Forsitan quedam in ipso terreni pulveris aspersio igne divine examinationis purificanda remanserat, sine qua regnantes quasi quodam iure potentiali vitam presentem vix aut nullatenus ducere queunt. Interiectis itaque XLV annis, cum ad prestanda per eum mortalibus misericordie sue beneficia sancti sui vellet deus iam merita declarare, ex Romane sedis133 institutione apostolicis litteris sancitum est ut eorum corpora elevari deberent, qui in Pannonia Christiane fidei semina iacientes, sua eam pred ac S : om. cett. non apertis – inditiis B1 : om. cett. c quot annos – tot corpus B1 : om. cett. a

b

I have integrated into the text a phrase (non apertis declaratum signorum initiis) present only in ms. B1. 130 Ps. 67:36. 131 This counting is more rhetorical than accurate; if the forty-five year period between the king’s death in 1038 and his canonization in 1083 is attested in other sources as well, his reign lasted only forty one years (997–1038). 132 I have restored into the text (from ms. B1, the only one to have preserved it) an entire sentence concerning the duration of the earthly reign of Stephen, which is equated here, in a carefully balanced rhetorical structure, to that of his uneventful post-mortem destiny until the time of his canonization in 1083. Since ms. B1 preserves several other passages not attested in the rest of the mss. tradition of Hartvic’s legend, all clearly 129

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troubles and illness, who cried out their affliction and misery, and endured judgment. Often at night the melody of the song of angels was heard by many, and even more often the sweetness of the most pleasant scent would spread to all corners of the church. 24. And thus the blessed body rested in the same place for forty-five years not revealed by the clear signs of miracles,129 by the wondrous secret of His will, who is praised in His saints and is wonderful,130 so that his body would spend just as many years131 pressed by the weight of the ground and reduced to dust as his spirit, clothed in the flesh of his body, had been found worthy by the gift of spiritual grace to wear the crown of authority on earth,132 only to be revealed even worthier at the appointed time, and to merit to be resurrected even more gloriously on the day of resurrection. It is pleasing to spiritual eyes to seek out what the purpose of this might be, and what it might mean, since we do not think that it could have happened without the workings of divine preordination. Perhaps a sprinkling of earthly dust had remained in him to be purified by the fire of divine testing, without which those who rule as if by the right of some authority are hardly or not at all able to lead this present life. And thus forty-five years having passed, when God finally wished to reveal the merits of his saint in order to show the mortals the favors of His mercy through him, it was decreed by apostolic letter, by order of the Roman See,133 that the bodies of those who sowed the seeds of the Christian faith in Pannonia and had been converting it to God by preaching or teaching should be elevated. When the time came for his revelation and for the spreading of the copied from the Legenda maior, the addition mentioned above is also quite likely, in my opinion, to come from a fuller version of the Legenda maior (now no longer extant) and would offer strong proof that the original version of that text had contained information about the death and the canonization of St. Stephen, as argued by some scholars (see above, at 78 footnote 141.). 133 In spite of Hartvic’s tendentious statement, it is doubtful that such papal endorsement existed. In a letter (Ep. 8.21) sent to Hermann, bishop of Metz on March 15, 1081, Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085) explicitly denied the claims to sanctity of earthly rulers; see MGH Epp. Sel. 2.2, ed. Caspar, 558–59.

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icatione vel institutione ad deum convertissent. Adveniente vero tempore declarationis eius et laudabilis gratie eius, quam per ipsum gens Hungarica promeruit in mundo divulgande, rex Ladizlaus, qui tunc rempublicam aministrabat, universa morum honestate preclarus habitus et virtutum fulgore conspicuus, laudibus et servitio dei perfecte deditus, spiritus paracliti perlustratione tactus, habito colloquioa 134 cum episcopis et primatibus et totius Pannonie sapientibus, triduanum cunctis indixit ieiunium, ut quod communi catholicorum utilitati spiritus sancti donis animarum et corporum salutem operantibus videretur fore proficuum, communi cunctorum deprecatione ieiuniis et helemosinis fundata, per manifestationem signorum a Christo deberet esse querendum. Set, ut hostenderet dominus quante misericordieb 135 rex sanctus fuerit adhuc mortali vivens in corpore, quam iam cum Christo regnans se demonstrabat adhuc pre ceteris operibus aprobare, cum triduo sanctum eius corpus totis viribus elevare satagerent, nulla de loco suo potuit arte moveri. Eo namque tempore, exigentibus culpis, inter predictum regem Ladizlaum et fratrem136 eius Salomonem gravis orta seditio fuerat, ob quam Salomon captus in carcere tenebatur.137 Cum ergo pro elevando corpore frustra conarentur, quedam inclusa iuxta ecclesiam Sancti Salvatoris in Bucan Sumliu, nomine Karitas,138 cuius vite percelebris tunc temporis opinio ferebatur, revelatione sibi celi consilio V2 M1 ACB2 S sanctitatis S

a

b

Several mss. attest a variant reading (consilio), which may suggest a more formal consultation—such as a council—than the reading (colloquio) printed by Bartoniek in her ed. This meeting took place on August 15, 1083. 135 Ms. S has here a significant variant reading, sanctitatis “sanctity” instead of misericordie “mercy.” 136 The text has frater which could be brother or cousin; in fact, Solomon was Ladislaus’ cousin. 137 Solomon, son of King Andrew I (who reigned from 1046 until 1060), attacked King Béla I (who reigned from 1060 until 1063) with the help of Emperor Henry IV. Béla died before the battle and Solomon became king in 1063. In 1074, war broke out between Solomon and Béla I’s two sons. Solomon was defeated and King Géza ruled from 1074 until 1077. After his death his younger brother, Ladislaus (László) I, became 134

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praiseworthy grace, which the Hungarian people had earned in the world through Stephen, King Ladislaus, who was then governing the realm—[a man] regarded as illustrious on account of his perfectly noble character and remarkable on account of the splendor of his virtues, and who was completely dedicated to the praise and service of God—was moved by the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, and, after having consulted134 with the bishops, chief lords, and wise men of all Pannonia, declared for all a fast of three days, so that whatever course of action would seem appropriate for the benefit of the community of Catholics through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which work for the salvation of souls and bodies, should be sought from Christ by common prayer, secured by the alms and fasting of all, so as to be granted a clear revelation by means of miracles. But in order to show how much mercy135 the holy king had shown [to others] while living in a mortal body, [a virtue] that he kept displaying above all others already when he was reigning with Christ, the Lord [made it] so that for three days they struggled with all their might to raise his holy body, yet it could not be moved from its place by any means. For at that time, because of the sins, a grave discord had arisen between the said king Ladislaus and his cousin136 Solomon, because of which Solomon, captured, was being held in prison.137 Therefore, when they tried in vain to raise the body, a certain recluse at the church of the Holy Savior in Bökénysomlyó, by the name of Caritas,138 whose famous life at the time was held in esteem, sent word to the king following a revelation made to her from heaven that they exerted themselves in vain and that it would be impossible to transfer the relics of the holy king and reigned until 1095. Solomon, who had fled after his defeat, tried to regain the throne. Ladislaus recalled him to Hungary, and then imprisoned him. After being released, Solomon left the kingdom and joined the Pechenegs; after an unsuccessful attempt to regain his crown, he died in a war against Byzantium. [NB] 138 Probably the monastery of the Bökény clan located on the Somlyó hill south-west of Székesfehérvár, near the modern-day settlement of Polgárdi (Fejér county). Caritas is not known from any other source, but her name (“charity, compassionate love”) looks suspiciously suitable in a passage meant to praise St. Stephen and, by proxy, King Ladislaus as endowed with the virtue of misericordia “mercy.”

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tus facta, regi mandavit eos incassum niti eta non posse sancti regis transferri pignora donec Salomoni, a carcerali absoluto custodia,139 libera indulgentia preberetur. Illo itaque e carcere producto et triduano iterato ieiunio, cum ad transferendas reliquias sacras tertia die ventum fuisset, lapis ingens superpositus tumbe tanta facilitateb 140 sublatus est ac si nichil ante ponderis habuisset. Completo igitur tertiec diei ieiunio et vespertinali officio, cunctis divine miserationis beneficia per beati viri meritum prestolantibus, subito plebem suam Christo visitante, miraculorum insignia per amplitudinem domus sancte funduntur celitus, quorum pluralitas quoniam ipsa nocte numerum excesserat illud evangelicum hic libet introducere quod mundi Salvator Iohanni per nuncios sciscitanti an ipse sit qui venturus est per responsum mandaverat: ceci vident, claudi ambulant, surdi audiunt, leprosi mundantur, manci corriguntur, paralitici curantur,141 quorum tamen aliqua, quia cuncta non possumus, innotescere satagimus. 25. Iuvenis quidam omnibus membris dissolutus, annis duodecim paralisim passus, manuum et pedum carebat officio, qui, parentum adiumento vectus illuc, recepta totius corporis sospitate, signorum142 fecit initium atque ad altare haut segniter currens, omnium Christo laudes clamantium augmentavit gaudium. Alius quoque puer septennis, a nativitate contractis nervis, genibus et manibus reptabat, quem parentes fide pleni beati viri suffragio conferentes, ipsi prostrati iuxta sepulcrum secum posuerunt gratiam petituri. Quam mox consecuti, contractionem nervorum in filio distendi mirabantur et, consolidatis genibus et plantis, omnes eum incedentem videntes Christi nomen in beati viri meritis laudabili et ACB2S : om. cett. velocitate B1S c tertie B1 ACB2 V1 S : tertia R a

b

Solomon was imprisoned in Visegrád. Or, according to a variant reading in mss. B1 and S, “with such speed” (velocitate). 141 Matt. 11:5. 139 140

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king until unconditional pardon was offered to Solomon, setting him free from the confinement of prison. And thus, bringing him forth from the prison,139 and repeating the three-day fast, when, on the third day, they went to transfer the holy remains, the stone lying over the grave was lifted up with such ease140 as if it had been of no weight before. Thus having completed the fast and the office of Vespers on the third day, everyone expected the favors of divine mercy through the merit of the blessed man; suddenly, as Christ visited his people, the signs of miracles poured forth from heaven throughout the whole of the holy church. Their multitude—that night were too many to count—brings to mind the answer from the Gospel which the Savior of the world sent to John, who asked through messengers whether He was the one who was to come: the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the lepers are cleansed,141 the crippled are set straight, the paralyzed are cured; of which, however, we endeavor to make known a few, because we cannot [do so] with all [of them]. 25. A certain youth with all his limbs weakened, having suffered from paralysis for twelve years, was without the use of his hands and feet; he was carried there with the aid of his parents, [and] after having all his body restored to health, marked the beginning of the [miraculous] signs.142 Running to the altar far from sluggishly, he increased the joy of all those shouting praises to Christ. And another seven-year-old boy, who had crawled on his hands and knees from birth because of contracted sinews, was brought by his parents, full of faith, to be helped by the blessed man; they prostrated themselves next to the tomb and laid him down with them, to ask for grace. They immediately obtained it; they marveled that the contraction of the sinews of their son was loosened, and everyone who saw him walking once his knees and soles had become firm, glorified the name of Christ through the merits of the blessed man by acclamation of praises. The king, devoted to God, crying in That is, miracle. Hartvic uses both signa and miracula to describe the miracles. [NB]

142

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clamore glorificaverunt. Quem rex deo devotus, pre nimio gaudio lacrimatus, manibus a terra levatum ad altare portavit, ubi, ymno laudis prolato, gratias pro beneficiis prestitis in sanitate pueri cum omnibus qui aderant favorabiliter egit. Sic totam noctem deus per famuli sui venerationem multorum fulgoribus signorum mirabiliter perlustravit, populus vero vigiliis et orationibus intentus miraculum unumquodque laudum clamoribus manifestum facere non cessabat. His inserendum videtur et illud, quod non solum ibi presentes, set longe quoque positi, suffragantibus eius meritis, celebrem consecuti sunt salutis effectum. Nam cum elevationis ipsius undique cepisset fama crebrescere, variis obsessi langoribus ex omnibus Hungarie finibus ad sanctum eius tumulum quo quisque poterat modo festinare ceperunt. Set cum aliis precedentibus alii graviori debilitate prohibiti simul pervenire nequirent, simili tamen misericordia in via innumeri sanati sunt. Vnde permansuram beneficiorum sancti regis memoriam quamplures per eum sanitati redditi, in eodem ubi sanati sunt itineris loco grandes aggregaverunt acervos lapidum, qui longo ibi tempore postmodum fuerunt. Set et mulier quedam, cum inter hec filius eius exalasset spiritum, qui sibi fuerat unicus, exanime nati corpus iuxta sancti regis tumulum deposuit, dei et sancti eius super eo inploratura solamen. Mira quidem res et nostris obstupenda temporibus, non prius orare mulier destitit quam filium, quem defunctum collocaverat, viventem accepit. 26. Mane facto die post assumptionem sanctissime dei genitricis Marie quinto,143 convenientibus in ecclesiam cum rege principibus, cum clero pontificibus, primum missa pro defunctis est celebrata, deinde, sublata tabula marmorea que pavimento preminebat, postquam perventum est ad tumbam,144 tanta flagrantia svave redolentis odoris in apertione ipsius omnes qui aderant circumdedit, August 20, 1038. This probably refers to the underground crypt-like structure located in the middle of the central nave of the royal basilica in Székesfehérvár, where St. Stephen’s body may have been buried by the canons of the collegiate chapter ca. 1061 during a “pagan” uprising to preserve it from desecration; see Györffy, István király és műve, 385, who dates this hypothetical burial to ca. 1061. 143

144

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his great joy, lifted him with his own hands from the ground and carried him to the altar, where, uttering hymns of praise, he gave enthusiastic thanks, together with everyone present, for the favors shown in the curing of the boy. Thus God wondrously illuminated the whole night through the veneration of his servant by the splendor of many signs, and the people in its turn, earnest in vigils and prayers, did not cease to make each miracle clear by shouts of praise. It should be added here that not only those present, but even those situated far away experienced the well-known consequences of cure through the intercession of his merits. For when the report of his elevation began to spread everywhere, those afflicted by various illnesses immediately started to hasten to his holy tomb from the very borders of Hungary, each as best they could. But while some went forward and others, handicapped by more serious disease, were unable to arrive at the same time, through the same mercy many were nevertheless cured on the way. Hence, in order to preserve the memory of the favors given by the holy king, very many whose health was restored by him gathered large mounds of stones in the same place on the road where they were cured, which were there for a long time afterward. And even a certain woman, whose son, her only one, had given up the ghost at that time, placed the lifeless body of her offspring on the holy king’s tomb, in order to implore the solace of God and His saint for him. A wonderful and in our times astounding thing occurred; the woman had not even stopped praying when she received back alive her son, whom she had laid out dead. 26. The morning of the fifth day after the Assumption of the most holy Mother of God, Mary,143 having come, the chief lords, with the clergy and prelates, gathered in the church with the king; first the Mass for the dead was celebrated, then the marble slab that projected above the pavement was lifted, and they came to the sepulcher.144 And at its opening such a powerful, sweet-smelling fragrance enveloped everyone who was there, that they thought they had been carried away into the midst of the delights of the Lord’s paradise. And the sepulcher itself was full of water, a little crimson

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quod in medium paradisi deliciarum domini se raptos opinarentur. Ipsa quoque tumba plena fuit aqua parum rubenti quasi oleo permixta, in qua velud in balsamo liquefacto quieverunt ossa pretiosa, quibus in mundissimo linteamine collectis, in ipso liquore diutissime quesitus est anulus qui beati viri dextere fuerat impositus.145 Quo non invento, ceperunt quidam iussu regis aquam in caldarias argenteas et dolia effundere, ut, evacuato sarcophago, certior fieret anuli inventio. Set mirum in modum quanto magis liquor effundebatur, tanto plus, eo crescente, tumba replebatur. Quo viso miraculo, haustam aquam loco suo restituerunt nec tamen,a 146 ea refusa, magis ob hoc tumba repleta fuit. Tunc, cooperto sepulchro, laudes et gratiasb divine pietati proclamantes, cum invento thesauro beatissime dei genitricis Marie et perpetue virginis altare repetierunt. Interim deus, qui est mirabilis in sanctis suis,147 effusis sue largitatis beneficiis, tam extra, quam infra basilicam salutem petentibus miraculorum suorum signis se presentem esse notificavit in tantum, ut tempus illud dominice conversationis inter homines videretur revolutum, de quo legitur omnes, qui habebant infirmos variis langoribus obsessos, ducebant illos148 ad Ihesum et curabantur. Hec omnia divina virtus non solum ipsa die, set post tempore multo per merita famuli sui dignatac est operari, quod etiam de aliis regionibus, audita beneficiorum dei fama, pro recuperanda sanitate diversarum invalitudinum morbis laborantes ad suffragium viri beati cum magno desiderio convolarent. Comitissa vero quedam, nobilitatis

tamen B1V2 M1 ACB2 : tam S om. R gratias B1V2 M1 ACB2S : grates R c dignata B1V2 M1 ACB2 : dignatus R a

b

The mummified right forearm of St. Stephen, known as the “Holy Right” (Hung. Szent Jobb), today kept (without the ring) and worshiped as a relic in St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest, may have been detached from his body at the time when this was transferred from its initial burial place; see the previous note and, for a more skeptical view, Kristó, Szent István, 133. 145

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as if mixed with oil, in which rested, as in some liquefied balm, the precious bones; having collected these in the finest linen cloth, they searched for a long time in that liquid for the ring that had been put on the right hand of the blessed man.145 When this could not be found, some people began to pour the water into silver cauldrons and large jars at the order of the king, so that having emptied the sarcophagus, the discovery of the ring would be made more certain. But, miraculously, the greater the quantity of liquid that was poured out, that much more of it kept welling up and filling the sepulcher again. Seeing this miracle, they restored the water they had drawn off to its place, and yet,146 although they poured it back, the grave did not overflow. Then after covering the sepulcher, rendering praises and thanks to the divine mercy, they returned to the altar of the most blessed Mother of God Mary with the treasure they had found. In the meantime God, who is wonderful in his saints147 pouring forth the favors of his bounty, made his presence known to those asking for health both outside and inside the basilica by the signs of his miracles to such an extent that that famous time of the Lord’s presence among men seemed to have returned, of which we read that all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them148 to Jesus and were cured. The divine power graciously worked all this not only that day, but for a long time afterward because of the merits of its servant. So hearing the fame of God’s favors, those suffering from the affliction of various infirmities flocked with great desire from other regions for the intercession of the blessed man in order to regain their health. And the wife of a certain count, a noble

I have integrated into the text a word (tamen) attested in most mss. but omitted by R and Bartoniek’s ed. 147 Ps. 67:36. 148 Luke 4:40. 146

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eximie matrona, comitis albi Udalrici socia, regis Wladizlai sororis fi ­ lia,a  149 nomine Machitildis, tribus continuis annis dolore viscerum gravata, iam morti proxima fuit. Que a suis in feretro delata, mox ipsa die qua beati viri tumulum attigit paulatim se meliorari sensit ac, in brevi vite prioris sospitate recepta, magnalia dei150 per famuli sui merita in se remunerata divulgavit. Cetera vero miraculorum dei prodigia pro dilectione famuli sui celitus ostensa, non ideo quod fastidirem non scripta dereliqui, set quia non soli mihi pluit dominus, qui super bonos et malos solem suum clarescere facit,151 beneficiorum ipsius multiplicitatem cunctorum proficuo consulentem innumeris sapientibus quos Hungaria fovet et amplecitur stilo declarandum commendavi. Illud tantum in fine codicis addere decrevi quam miro pietatis dei munere diu quesitus et non inventus anulus cum ipsa beati viri dextera post translationis eius trienium est manifestatus.152 27. Monachus quidam, nomine Mercurius, qui in ordine clericatus thesauri perpetue Virginis custos fuerat,153 etiam per amorem celestis patrie renunciaverat seculo, ipsa hora qua tumulus fuit apertus, ne quid sanctarum reliquiarum raperet, redargutione regali procul est inde remotus. Cui tristi vultu in choro residenti iuvenis quidam comitis – filia B1 : om. cett.

a

This precise identification of Mathilda’s family connections is extant only in ms. B1; since, in my opinion, this may preserve material from the original form of Hartvic’s legend, I have integrated it into the text. It has been pointed out, however, that the identification of Mathilda (d. 1138) rests on a series of confusions: she was not the daughter, but the granddaughter of King Ladislaus’ sister Sophia (d. 1095), and count Ulrich “the White” (d. ca. 1070), margrave of Istria and Carniola, was not hers, but her grandmother Sophia’s first husband (from ca. 1062/1063). What probably made this confusion possible was the resemblance between Mathilda’s name (Machtildis) and that of her mother, Wulfhilde (Wlfhildis, Wifhildis) (1072–1126), Sophia’s eldest daughter from her second marriage to Magnus Billung, Duke of Saxony. 150 2 Macc. 3:34. 151 Cf. Matt. 5:45. 152 In 1086, according to this reckoning; modern scholars, however, believe that knowledge about the whereabouts of the relic came to the ears of King Ladislaus already in 1084; see Györffy, István király és műve, 389–90. A charter associated with the Bene149

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lady of exceptional renown, the wife of count Ulrich the White and the daughter of King Ladislaus’ sister,149 by the name of Mathilda, burdened for three continuous years by a pain of the intestines, was already close to death. Carried by her own people on a bier, immediately that same day when she touched the tomb of the blessed man, she felt herself to be somewhat better, and having regained in a short time the health of her previous life, she revealed the majestic power of God 150 that recompensed her on account of the merits of His servant. Now I do not leave in writing the other wonderful signs of God’s miracles that were revealed by heaven for the sake of His servant, not because I scorn them, but because the Lord rains not only on me, He who makes His sun shine over the good and the bad,151 as the great extent of his kindness works for the benefit of all; I have entrusted to the innumerable wise men whom Hungary fosters and embraces to declare [the other miracles] by [their] pen. I have decided only to add at the end of the codex how, by a wonderful gift of God’s mercy, the ring they searched for so long, but did not find, was revealed together with the right hand of the blessed man, three years after his translation.152 27. A certain monk, by the name of Mercurius, who, in the clerical order had been the guardian of the treasury of the perpetual Virgin,153 and for the love of the heavenly homeland had renounced the world, was sent away far from there by royal order in that hour when the tomb was opened, lest he carry off something from the holy relics. As he was sitting in the choir with a sad face, a certain dictine monastery of Szentjobb, where the relic was kept until the fifteenth century, and datable to ca. 1163–1173, places the discovery in the seventh year of King Ladislaus’ reign (1083), mistakenly identified as 1078. This document survives only as a transcript in the Liber viridis (today Cod. Lat. 115 of the ELTE University Library, Budapest), a chartulary of the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit composed ca. 1521–1522 by Gregorius Gyöngyösi, the prior general of the order. The text was published by Simon Máté (Mathaeus Simon) in Supplementum ad Dissertationem historico-criticam clar. Georgii Pray de Dextra S. Stephani . . . (Vác: Typis Antonii Gottlieb, 1797), 93–98, here 93. 153 As a member of the collegiate chapter associated with the royal basilica in Székesfehérvár. According to the charter of 1163–1173, Mercurius was the father of Catapan, provost of the collegiate chapter of the Holy Virgin in Székesfehérvár.

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albis vestibus vestitus pannum involutum tradidit dicens: “Hec tibi committo servanda, cum tempus fuerit, manifestanda.” Post completionem officii sacri monachus in angulo domus pannum expandit integramque viri dei manum cum anulo mirifici operis cernens, expavit atque, secum nemine sciente, ad monasterium quod suo regimini fuerat commendatum tempus a iuvene sibi predictum a Christo prestolaturus deportavit.154 Ibi diu solus absconditi in agro thesauri custodiam et excubias decrevit, post fundatores ipsius cenobii conscios fecit, ad ultimum, appropinquante tempore rei declarande, regis ad notitiam perduxit. Qui, mox coadunatis episcopis et Hungarie primis, multis a Christo miraculorum ibi beneficiis erogatis, elevande viri dei dextere diem statuit celebritatis.155 Quid est, frates, quod, ceteris membris dissolutis et, in pulverem carne redacta, penitus disiunctis, sola dextera manus, ossibus cute cum nervis adherente, sue servavit decus integritatis? Non aliud arbitror divini consilii profunditatem in huius excellentia facti voluisse declarare, nisi dilectionis opus et elemosine cunctis virtutum gradibus ascendere. Unde veritas 156 dicit in evangelio: beati misericordes quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur 157 et item: date et dabitur vobis,158 item in alio loco: “sicut aqua extinguit ignem, ita elemosina extinguit peccatum.”159 Merito beati viri dextera fuit aliena putredinis, que semper pietatis flore revirescens in alendis pauperibus numquam vacua fuit donis erogationis. Subvenit quidem in necessitate positis, liberavit oppressos a iugo captivitatis, vestes et hospitalitatem prebuit peregrinis, viduarum et orphanorum

Mercurius probably hid the relic, which he may have stolen from the treasury of the collegiate chapter even before the canonization of 1083, at a church located on his family estate in Berettyó (Bihar county; today Sâniob, Romania); according to the charter of 1163–1173, King Ladislaus built a wooden church on that location and established a Benedictine monastery whose first abbot Mercurius became. The monastery and the settlement that developed around it came to be known as Szentjobb (“the Holy Right”) after the precious relic which it housed. 155 Györffy, István király és műve, 390 dates the visit of King Ladislaus to Berettyó to May 30, 1084; the earliest preserved liturgical calendar in Hungary, contained in the so-called Codex Prayanus, places the “translation of the right hand of St. Stephen the King” on May 30. 154

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young man dressed in white clothes gave him a rolled up piece of cloth, saying: “I entrust this to you to preserve, and when the time comes to reveal.” After the completion of the office, the monk unfolded the cloth in some corner of the building and seeing the intact hand of the man of God with the ring of marvelous craftsmanship, he got frightened; and without anyone’s knowledge, he brought it with him to the monastery which had been entrusted to his governing,154 awaiting the time foretold to him from Christ by the youth. Here for a long time he alone undertook the guarding and watching of the treasure buried in the field, afterward he made the founders of that monastery aware of it, finally at the approach of the time when it had to be declared, he brought it to the notice of the king. The king immediately gathered the bishops and the chief lords of Hungary, obtained there many favors of miracles from Christ, appointed the day of celebration for elevating the right hand of the man of God.155 Why is it, brothers, that after his other limbs had become disjointed and wholly separated, once his flesh had been reduced to dust, only the right hand, its skin and sinews adhering to the bones, preserved the beauty of its wholeness? I surmise that the inscrutability of divine judgment sought to proclaim by the extraordinary nature of this fact nothing less than that the work of love and alms surpasses the measure of all other virtues. Whence the Truth156 says in the Gospel: blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.157 And also give and it shall be given to you.158 Also in another place: “as the water extinguishes fire, so alms extinguish sin.”159 The right hand of the blessed man was deservedly exempt from putrefaction, because, always flourishing with the flower of kindness, it never remains empty when giving gifts to nourish the poor. Because he helped those who found themselves in need, freed those burdened by the yoke of captivity, offered clothes and hospitality to pilgrims, That is, Christ. [CG] Matt. 5:7. 158 Luke 6:38. 159 Cf. Sir. 3:33. 156 157

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miserias et indigentias suas esse computavit, cenam et mandatum dominicum in lavandis egenorum pedibus cottidie renovavit, elemosinas non de rapina vel aliorum dampno, sed de propriiaa sumptus saculis effluere fecit, ut domos dei divites efficeret, sibi voluntatem habendi subtraxit sicque cunctis ad nutum divinitatis proficiens, carnem suam cum vitiis et concupiscentiis crucifixit. Inde sibi est corporis et dextere delectabilis et miranda veneratio, inde dulcis et felix eterne vite retributio, inde desiderabilis supernorum civium cohabitatio, ubi ipsum irradiat semper lucens et indeficiens splendor unius summeque deitatis, patris et filii et spiritus sancti, per infinita secula seculorum. Amen. Explicit. Explicit vita Sancti Stephani regis.

proprii B1V2 M1 S : propriis R

a

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reckoned the misery and need of widows and orphans to be his own, daily repeated the Lord’s supper and [new] mandate in washing the feet of the poor, made the alms flow not from plunder or the damage of others, but at the cost of his own purses; renounced, in order to make the houses of God rich, the will to possess, and thus advancing in everything according to the will of the divinity, he crucified his body together with its vices and desires. Hence the delightful and wonderful reverence enjoyed by his body and right hand, hence the sweet and happy reward of life eternal, hence the desirable cohabitation with the citizens on high, where the shining and unfailing splendor of the one and most high deity, Father and Son and the Holy Spirit, always shines on him forever and ever. Amen. The end. Here ends the Life of St. Stephen the king.

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SAINT EMERIC

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PREFACE Gábor Bradács and Dorottya Uhrin The life of Saint Emeric of Hungary (1007–†1031)1 is presented in a short, yet colorful legend, titled Vita S. Emerici ducis, which recounts the life of the first Hungarian prince canonized in 1083, together with his father, King Saint Stephen of Hungary (997/1001– 1038), Saint Gerard (980–1046), Bishop of Csanád (present-day Cenad, Romania), and two hermit saints: Andrew-Zoerard (†1010 or 1030) and Saint Benedict of Szkalka (†1012, 1033 or 1037). The legend was written by an anonymous author.2 The text of the legend has been preserved in several manuscripts and incunabula, as follows:3 Recent historical studies on him: János Bollók, “Szent Imre alakja középkori krónikáinkban” [The person of St. Emeric in the medieval Hungarian chronicles], in Művelődéstörténeti tanulmányok a magyar középkorról [Studies on the Hungarian culture of the Middle Ages], ed. by Erik Fügedi (Budapest: Gondolat, 1986), 61–75; Zoltán Magyar, A liliomos herceg: Szent Imre a magyar kultúrtörténetben [The prince with lily: St. Emeric in Hungarian cultural history] (Budapest: Európa, 2000); Terézia Kerny, ed., Szent Imre 1000 éve: Tanulmányok Szent Imre tiszteletére születésének ezredik évfordulója alkalmából / 1000 Jahre heiliger Emmerich: Beiträge zu Ehren des heiligen Emmerich anläßlich seines 1000. Geburtstages (Székesfehérvár: Egyházmegyi Múzeum, 2007). 2 Legenda Sancti Emerici ducis, ed. by Emma Bartoniek: SRH 2, 441–60; De S. Emerico sive Henrico; cf. Imre Madzsar, “Szent Imre herceg legendája” [The legend of St. Emeric], Századok 65 (1931): 35–61; 133–52; Sarolta Tóth, “Magyar és lengyel Imre-legendák” [The Hungarian and Polish legends of St. Emeric], Acta Universitatis Szegediensis: Acta Historica 11 (1962): 1–71; János Bollók, “A Szent Imre-legenda” [The legend of St. Emeric], in Mons Sacer 996–1996: Pannonhalma 1000 éve [Mons Sacer 996–1996. The 1000 years of Pannonhalma], vol. 1, ed. by Imre Takács (Pannonhalma: Pannonhalmai Főapátság, 1996), 341–55; Gábor Klaniczay and Edit Madas, “La Hongrie,” in Hagiographies: Histoire internationale de la littérature hagiographique latine et vernaculaire en Occident des origines a 1550, vol. 2, ed. by Guy Philippart (Turnhout: Brepols, 1996), 114–17. 3 Kornél Szovák, “Legenda Sancti Emerici ducis,” in SRH 22 , 777–78; Edit Madas, “A Legenda aurea a középkori Magyarországon (Kódexek és ősnyomtatványok, kiegészítések; a Legenda aurea mint forrás)” [The Legenda aurea in medieval Hungary: Codices, incunabula, additamenta; the Legenda aurea as historical source], Magyar Könyvszemle 108 (1992): 93–99. 1

[ 179 ]

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1.

2.

3.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

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Rein Codex, late twelfth–early thirteenth century, Rein Abbey (also known as Reun), OCist (Austria), Stiftsbibliothek, cod. 69, 38r–41r: the earliest manuscript containing the text of the vita and used by many other transcriptions. The first half of the codex (with the text of the Vita Emerici ducis) originated from Hungary.4 (Ru) Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia) Codex nr. 1, fifteenth century, Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia, Romania), Batthyaneum, I. 76, 402r–404r, Bibliotheca Hungarica: Kódexek és nyomtatott könyvek Magyarországon 1526 előtt [Codices and incunabula in Hungary before 1526], ed. Csaba Csapodi and Klára Gárdonyi, tom. I (A-J). (Budapest: MTA, 1988) (hereafter cited as Bibliotheca Hungarica), 401–402 (nr. 1625) (B1) Legende sanctorum regni Hungariae in Lombardica Historia non contentae. Strasbourg: Johann Prüss, c. 1484–87 and Venice: [Johann Hamann], 1498 (incunabulum), 25r–26r, Catalogus incunabulorum quae in bibliothecis publici Hungariae asservantur, ed. Géza Sajó and Erzsébet Soltész, tom. I. (Budapest: MTA, 1970) (hereafter cited as Cat. incun.), 615–616 (nr. 2044 and 2045) (A) Paris /Corsendonk Codex, fifteenth century, Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarin 1733, 414v–416v (C) Paris Codex, between 1521 and 1524, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de la France, Cod. Lat. 8879, 451r–452v (P) Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia) Codex nr. 2, fifteenth – sixteenth century, Batthyaneum, II. 70, Bibliotheca Hungarica I, 413 (nr. 1668) (B2) Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia) Codex, fifteenth century supplement of the incunabulum Batthyaneum VIII.38, Bibliotheca Hungarica I, 434 (nr. 1761) Vienna (Mondsee) Codex nr. 1, fifteenth century, Austrian National Library, Cod. 3662, 93v–95v, Bibliotheca Hungarica I, 76 (nr. 159) (V)

Menyhért Zalán, “Árpád-kori magyar vonatkozású kéziratok az osztrák kolostorok kézirattáraiban” [Manuscripts related to Árpádian Hungary held in the archives of Austrian monasteries], Pannonhalmi Szemle 1 (1926): 60–62.

4

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9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

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Vienna Codex nr. 2, fourteenth century, Austrian National Library, Cod. Lat. 14.600, Bibliotheca Hungarica I, 95 (nr. 219) Vienna Codex, fifteenth century, Austrian National Library, Cod. Lat. 326 Munich Codex, fifteenth century, Bavarian State Library, Clm 18624, 26r–31r (M)5 Lviv Codex, fifteenth century, Wroclaw, Ossolineum, 1944/ II, 375r- 377v (L)6 Graz (Seitz) Codex nr. 1, fourteenth century, University Library, cod. 1239, 25v–27v, Bibliotheca Hungarica I, 358 (nr. 1328) Graz Codex nr. 2, 1461, University Library, MS I. 977, 335r336r 7 Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda aurea sanctorum. Venice: Christoph Arnold, 1478 and Nürnberg: Anton Koberger, 1478, Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia), Batthyaneum, XI. 1 (B3) Breviarium Strigoniense. Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 1480, Budapest, National Széchényi Library, 799, 15,9v–15,12v, Cat. incun. I, 267 (nr. 825)

Concerning the authorship, there are several theories on the identity of the writer. With reference to the mention of the early monastic centers of medieval Hungary (Pannonhalma, Veszprém and Esztergom), and the special place dedicated to the first one named “mount of Saint Martin” (mons sancti Martini), the Benedictine connection of the author is without any doubt. Imre Madzsar proposed that the Vita Emerici had been written by a Available online: https://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0001/bsb00018811/ images/index.html 6 Tóth, “Magyar és lengyel Imre-legendák,” 5. The manuscript was originally kept in Ossolineum in Lviv/Lemberg. Part of its collection was relocated after the Second World War to Wroclaw. The manuscript today is kept in Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, also available online: https://www.dbc.wroc.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=6942&from=publication 7 SRH refers to it, incorrectly, as Cod. Lat. 997. 5

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monk of the archabbey of Pannonhalma.8 Damján Vargha suggested that Maurus, Bishop of Pécs (between 1036 and 1075), a former Benedictine monk from Pannonhalma, could have been the writer of the legend; however, due to chronological reasons, the authorship of Maurus can be rejected.9 Another suggestion on the authorship was elaborated by László Erdélyi, related to the passage in chapter six of the Vita Emerici mentioning the visit of Duke Álmos, the younger brother of King Coloman the Learned (1096–1116), to Constantinople. Since the author of the legend refers to Duke Álmos as his “lord,” Erdélyi proposed that the author could have been identical with Fulco hospes, a secular cleric who was in the service of Duke Álmos.10 However, we also know that Fulco left Duke Álmos’ service and joined Archbishop Serafin of Esztergom (†1104), and later stood in the service of the bishops of Veszprém. He subsequently retired to the monastery of Pannonhalma, where he died in 1146. Most probably he left Álmos around 1101–1102, thus he could not have accompanied him in 1107/8 on his journey to the Holy Land,11 the first occasion when he could have visited Constantinople.12 We have to conclude that the author of the legend remains unknown. The date of the composition of the Vita Emerici is strongly connected to the problem of the authorship. The terminus post quem of the creation of the legend is based on the visit of Álmos Madzsar, Szent Imre-legenda, 57. Damján Vargha, Szent Imre-problémák [Problems concerning St. Emeric] (Budapest: Szent István Akadémia, 1931). 10 László Erdélyi, Szent Imre legendája [The legend of Saint Emeric] (Budapest: Athe­naeum, 1930), 45–46; László Mezey, Deákság és Európa: Irodalmi műveltségünk alapvetésének vázlata [Latinity and Europe: An outline of the basis of our literary culture] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1979), 112–13. 11 In addition, the Latin text is ambiguous here. It can indicate that either the author stayed in Constantinople with Álmos or his source. See Bollók, “A Szent-Imre legenda,” 342. 12 Attila Zsoldos, “Otázky zrušenia kniežatstva” [Questions on the elimination of duchy], in Ingenii laus: Zbornik štúdií venovaný jubilujúcemu prof. PhDr. Jánovi Lukačkovi, CSc, edited by Eva Benková, Marek Pučik (Bratislava: Univerzite Komen­ ského v Bratislave 2017) 81–91. 8 9

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to Constantinople.13 We have to take into consideration, however, that after his first, presumed, visit to the Byzantine capital, Álmos returned there a second time. After his failed conspiracy against his nephew, Stephen II, son of Coloman (1116–1131), he fled to Constantinople and lived there from 1125 to his death in 1127.14 Based on his two stays in Constantinople, scholars have dated the legend to either between 1107–1113 or after 1131. The political climate in Hungary between 1113 and 1131 was not the best for mentioning Álmos in a legend concerning a dynastic saint. Because of Álmos’ continuous revolts, King Coloman blinded both him and his son Béla around 1113. An author writing a legend during the last years of the reign of Coloman and during the reign of the latter’s son, Stephen II, would not have mentioned that he had been a servant of Álmos. Then, after the death of Stephen II, Álmos’ son, Béla II the Blind, became king; thus the political climate for the birth of this legend changed for the better.15 As for the terminus ante quem, there was another long debate among Hungarian historians, intertwined with the controversy around the dating of the Hartvic legend of Saint Stephen.16 Some scholars argued that either the entire text or some chapters could have been known and used by Bishop Hartvic in his Vita Stephani regis.17 The identical sentences served as an argument for dating the 13 SRH 2, 456; Madzsar, “Szent Imre herceg legendája,” 56; János Horváth, Árpádkori latinnyelvű irodalmunk stílusproblémái [The problems of style in the Latin literature of Árpádian Hungary] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1954), 153; Bollók, “A Szent Imre legenda,” 349; Szovák, “Legenda S. Emerici,” 777. 14 Gyula Kristó, ed., Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9–14. század) [Lexicon of early Hungarian history] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994), 40. 15 Bartoniek, “Praefatio” to the Legenda S. Emerici, SRH 2, 444; Tóth, “Magyar és lengyel Imre-legendák,” 12–15; Lajos Csóka, A latin nyelvű történeti irodalom kialakulása Magyarországon a XI-XIV. században [The development of the Latin language historical literature in Hungary between the eleventh and fifteenth century]. (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó–MTA Irodalomtudományi Intézete, 1967), 199–225, 16 Cf. footnotes 33–35 of the “Preface to the Legends of St. Stephen” by Gábor Thoroczkay, and his “Anmerkungen zur Frage der Entstehungszeit der Hartvik-Legende des Stephan des Heiligen,” Specimina Nova: Pars prima; Sectio mediaevalis 1 (2001): 107–31. 17 Madzsar, “Szent Imre herceg legendája,” 42–43; Bartoniek, “Praefatio” to the

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legend of Emeric before 1112, and thus dating the Hartvic legend to the last days of Coloman’s reign, who died in 1116. Another group of scholars have argued the reverse, that the author of the Emeric legend borrowed from the Hartvic text, and while they date the latter to around 1100, they leave the date of the former open.18 Recently a new proposal has been added to this discussion: the list of miracles at the end of the legend could have been composed at around the time of the canonization as a separate collection of miracles, while the vita itself was written in a later period.19 Another interesting detail of the vita may help us in reconstructing the chronology of its composition. In chapter six, the author describes the vision of St. Eusebius, in which a contest takes place between angels and demons for Emeric’s soul, with the angels lifting it up to heaven, while the demons make an attempt to suppress the salvation of the holy prince. Almost the same legend was written by Leo Marsicanus (ca. 1050–1115/17) in his Chronica monasterii Casinensis on Emperor Henry II (1002–1024), the uncle of St. Emeric,20 and the only canonized Holy Roman Emperor. Sensing that death was near, Emperor Henry saw a crowd of demons, who were intent on seizing his soul and bringing it down Legenda S. Emerici, SRH 2, 444. The sentence Puer quoque nutritus sub diligenti custodia, primo omni scientia grammatice artis imbutus est (SRH 2, 449, c. 11–17) was in the Vita Sancti Stephani of Hartvic, relating to the description of the education of Emeric as follows: Crevit infans diligenti nutritus educatu, qui transacta pueritia postquam gradum adolescentie primum ascendit; Bollók, “A Szent Imre legenda,” 349–50. 18 Carlile Aylmer Macartney, The Medieval Hungarian Historians: A Critical and Analytical Guide (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953), 170–71; Tóth, “Magyar és lengyel Imre-legendák,” 29–35; Thoroczkay, “Anmerkungen zur Frage der Entstehungszeit der Hartvik-Legende,” 123–29. 19 Dorottya Uhrin, “A szűz uralkodó képe és a Szent Imre-legenda datálása” [The image of the virgin ruler and the dating of Saint Emeric’s legend] (forthcoming). 20 The Bavarian humanist historian Johannes Turmair, also known as Aventinus (1477–1534), added to his Bayerische Chronik, that St. Emeric was named after his maternal uncle, stating: Der ungerisch künig sant Steffan und sein gemahel frau Geisl, sant Heinrich swester, hetten einen sun miteinander elich erworben, nenten in nach seiem veter, sant Hainrich dem kaiser, a u ch H a i n r i ch , den die Ungern sant E m r i ch ir sprach nach haissen. (Bayerische Chronik, lib. V., c. 20, ed. by Matthias von Lexer (Munich: Christian Kaiser, 1886), vol. 2, 287.

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to hell, but suddenly, through the voice of God and the intervention of St. Lawrence, the patron saint of the Diocese of Merseburg (which had been previously restored by Emperor Henry II), a swarm of angels was sent in order to protect him from the demons and the emperor’s soul was saved.21 This chronicle of Monte Cassino was written by Leo in the first decade of the twelfth century, and was continued after his death by Guido of Monte Cassino and Peter the Deacon. Whether the author of the Vita Emerici ducis knew the text of the Chronica monasterii Casinensis, or whether this is a case of a hagiographical Wandermotiv regarding the struggle between the angels and demons over the soul (or the body) of the saints, having its earliest allusions in the Bible,22 this is not the only connection between the cult of Prince Emeric and his uncle, Emperor Henry II.23 The propagandistic promotion of celibacy in the legend could also contribute to the dating discussion.24 It is obvious from the legislation of Saint Ladislaus (1077–1095) that the legend could not have been written during his reign, because the decrees issued by him tolerated married priests.25 The so-called First Synod of Esztergom (dated between 1104 and 1113) was still relatively tolerant of married priests; thus, the legend should be dated even after this synod. On the other hand, the decrees of the so-called Second Synod Leo Marsicanus, Chronica monasterii Casinensis, ed. Hartmut Hoffmann (Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 1980) (MGH SS 34), 255 (II, 47). 22 Jude 1:9: Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. An earlier reference to this contest for the souls, being the Satan as “accuser” see Zechariah 3:1–2: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” 23 See: Gábor Bradács, “Der Heilige Emmerich von Ungarn und die Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen in der deutschen Geschichtsschreibung des Mittelalters (11–15. Jh.),” in Classica, mediaevalia, neolatina, vol. 3, ed. by. László Havas, László Takács, and Imre Tegyey (Debrecen–Budapest: Societas Neolatina Hungarica Sectio Debreceniensis–Collegium de Iosepho Eötvös nominatum, 2009), 153–55. 24 Tóth, “Magyar és lengyel Imre-legendák,” 33. 25 DRMH, I, 118. 21

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of Esztergom, issued in the last years of the reign of King Coloman (1096–1116), do resemble the ideology found in the Emeric legend; consequently, one could argue that the legend could have been born around or after this synod.26 The sources of the legend are manifold. The prologue, being preserved in the manuscripts V and M, clearly indicates that the author (or the epigon) knew and cited the Admonitions or the Libellus de institutione morum (1020s), a mirror for princes,27 inspired by King Stephen I, and dedicated to Prince Emeric himself. The prologue of the vita registers the chapters of the Admonitions, referring to it as a “book of moral instruction” (Liber de institutione morum), mentioning that the Prince should “keep the Catholic faith, support the ecclesiastic order, treat with reverence the office of high priest, esteem his nobles, etc.,” for these are the principal virtues for a just, Christian ruler, and should be kept in mind. Other sources of the Vita Emerici can be traced back to the local traditions of the important monastic centers of Hungary, with special attention to the archabbey of Pannonhalma, an important lieu de mémoire of the cult of St. Emeric, and the scene of chapter two. The possible connection with the legends of Saint Stephen was discussed above; chapter two indicates a link between Ferenc Makk and Gábor Thoroczkay, Írott források az 1050–1116 közötti magyar történelemről, Szegedi Középkortörténeti Könyvtár 22. (Szeged: JATE, 2006), 248– 51; Dorottya Uhrin, “Az ún. I. és II. esztergomi zsinat és a Pray-kódex” [The so-called First and Second Synod of Esztergom and the Codex Pray], in Írások a Pray-kódexről, ed. Balázs Horváth and Zsófia Ágnes Bartók (Budapest: Argumentum Kiadó, ELTE BTK Vallástudományi Központ, Liturgiatörténeti Kutatócsoport, 2019), 19–28. 27 Libellus de institutione morum, ed. Josephus Balogh, SRH 2, 619–27; Sancti Stephani regis primi hungariae: Libellus de institutione morum sive admonitio spiritualis, ed. László Havas (Debrecen: Universitas Scientiarum Debreceniensis), 2004; József Balogh, “Szent István ‘Intelmei’-nek forrásai” [Sources of the Admonitions of Saint Stephen], in Emlékkönyv Szent István király halálának kilencszázadik évfordulóján, ed. Jusztinián Serédi (Budapest: MTA, 1938), vol. 2, 235–65; idem, “‘…unius linguae uniusque moris regnum imbecille et fragile est’: Riflessioni sugli ammonimenti di Santo Stefano, primo re d’Ungheria.” Corvina, N. S. 7 (1944): 46–64; Csóka, A latin nyelvű történeti irodalom, 11–98; Jenő Szűcs, “Szent István Intelmei: Az első magyarországi államelméleti mű” [The Admonitions of St. Stephen: The first work on the theory of statehood in Hungary], in Szent István és kora [St. Stephen and his age] (Budapest: MTA Történettudományi Intézet, 1988), 32–53. 26

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the Vita Emerici ducis and the Legenda maior of King Stephen, alluding to the frequent visitations of monasteries.28 The same chapter of the legend may also imply another connection with the early historiographic traditions of medieval Hungary, preserved in the fourteenth-century chronicle compilations edited in the Illuminated Chronicle, as the anonymous compiler described the joint visit of King Stephen and Prince Emeric to the church of Saint Peter and Paul in Óbuda (chapter 67).29 Nonetheless, the narrative of the legend is mostly based on well-known and widespread hagiographical topoi, like the struggle for the soul of the prince, mentioned above, or the brightness in the church of Saint George in Veszprém during the prayer of Emeric, related in chapter 4. The legend consists of three prologues in the different manuscript traditions (prologue nr. 1: Ru, B1, B2, A, C, P, S; nr. 2: L; nr. 3: V, M), six chapters on the life of Saint Emeric, and a seventh chapter, which is actually the description of the miracles that occurred after the death of the Hungarian prince. The first prologue is actually a summary of the apostolic achievement of Saint Stephen, based on the Legenda maior; the third prologue is almost identical with the first, with supplementary (and incorrect) information about the life of King Stephen; the second prologue, preserved in mss. V and M, describes the origins, early childhood and education of Prince Emeric, including chapters of the Admonitions, as the ideological basis and program of his instruction. The first chapter informs the reader of the piety, religiousness, and spiritual progress of the young prince. The second chapter describes the visitation of monasteries, with special focus on Pannonhalma, where the young prince kissed the monks unequally, focusing on their individual merits and virtues, with chastity (continentia) playing the uppermost role. Chapter three is the continuation of these events, as Saint Stephen went back to Pannonhalma, observing the vigil of the monks in secret. There he met the pious friar Legenda maior S. Stephani, SRH 2, 385; see above at 60–61. Alexander Domanovszky, ed., Chronici Hungarici compositio saeculi XIV, SRH 1, 316–18.; Cf. Chron. pict. 120–23. 28 29

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Maurus, who had been earlier distinguished by Emeric with seven kisses, as a clear sign of his devout life. The king accused Maurus of breaking the rules of the monastic life; Maurus, however, did not respond to these accusations in order not to break the rule of silence after the compline. Therefore, King Stephen could also confirm that the decision of his son was proper as he had chosen the most humble and devout monk of the archabbey; hence the key virtue of this chapter is humility. The fourth chapter narrates the young prince offering his virginity to Saint George, the knight-saint and martyr of Christ, in his church built in Veszprém, another lieu de mémoire of Saint Emeric. The importance of virginity and chastity, as the chief virtues in the life of the prince, becomes more crucial, and the entire fifth chapter renders an account of the chaste marriage between Emeric and an unknown princess. This chapter also includes several paragraphs from a short treatise praising Emeric, which ultimately derives from the late fourth-century author Pelagius.30 In chapter six we are informed of the vision of Saint Eusebius, analyzed above. At the same time, this chapter also introduces us to the epilogue of the legends, which is an account of a miracle which occurred after the death of Saint Emeric: Conrad, a German is left confined with five chains by Pope Gregory VII (called Hildebrand in the text, the original name of the pope), as a sign of being bound by his many sins. Making many pilgrimages (even to Jerusalem, to no avail), Conrad finally arrives at Székesfehérvár (inspired by a dream where Saint Stephen appeared to him). There he prays to Saint Emeric and through the intervention of the prince, Conrad is set free of the chains and breastplates.31 The legend finally ends with the canonization of Saint Emeric, initiated by King Saint Ladislaus (1077–1095), on November 5, 1083.32 Epistula ad Claudiam sororem de virginitate, Ad Mauritii filiam laus virginitatis, or Exhortatio ad sponsam Christi, see footnotes 64 and 66 of the legend below. 31 Dániel Bácsatyai, “Az Imre-legenda Konrád-csodájának hagiográfiai forrásai” [The hagiographic sources of the Konrad miracle of the Emeric legend], Magyar Könyvszemle (2014): 141–62. 32 For the canonizations of the year 1083 see: Gábor Klaniczay, Holy Rulers and 30

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The legend is highly pervaded by the glorification of virginity and chastity, as well celibacy and monastic reforms, suggesting the growing importance of the Gregorian reforms in Hungary at the end of the eleventh century and the first half of the twelfth century.33 The short text of the legend and its exemplary tendencies, focusing on the virtues of virginity, may also stipulate that the text and its different manuscript versions were used as pious and contemplative readings in monastic communities (let us recall that the earliest known manuscript of the Vita Emerici was preserved in the Cistercian abbey of Rein, Austria). The legend highly influenced the image of Saint Emeric throughout medieval Europe: he became the “hero” of the devout, chaste life, dedicating himself to pious self-restraint as the confessor of the faith.34 The legend of Saint Emeric is congruous with the parallel emergence of the milites Christi and the chaste prince in the early twelfth century.35 The image of Emeric in medieval historiography is completely based on and defined by this legendary view of his life, without any reference to the “historical” Emeric whatsoever.36 The Vita Emerici ducis was first published by the French scholar Jacques Bongars (1554–1612) in his Rerum Hungaricarum scriptores varii (1600),37 then by Johann Georg Schwandtner in the Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 123–33. 33 On the relation between the Gregorian reform movement and the virginity, see Herbert Edward John Cowdrey, “Pope Gregory VII and the Chastity of the Clergy,” in Medieval Purity and Piety: Essays on Medieval Clerical Celibacy and Religious Reform, ed. Michael Frasetto (New York: Garland, 1998), 269–302. 34 Robert Folz, Les saints rois du Moyen Âge en Occident (Bruxelles: Société des Bollandistes, 1984), 69–71, 83–84. 35 Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 155–60. 36 Bradács, Der Heilige Emmerich, 153–55; idem, “‘Heinricus filius Stephani, qui tantis miraculis claruit’: Szent Imre herceg a középkori európai történetírásban” [Prince Saint Emeric in the medieval historical writing]. Történeti tanulmányok: a  Kossuth Lajos Tudományegyetem Történelmi Intézetének kiadványa 16 (2008): 51–72. 37 Jacques Bongars, Rerum Hungaricarum scriptores varii (Frankfurt: Wechel, 1600), 281–83.

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eighteenth century.38 The legend of St. Emeric became an inevitable part of nineteenth century source editions as well: the source collection concerning the age of the Árpád dynasty edited by Stefan Ladislaus Endlicher (basing on manuscript V),39 the Acta Sanctorum edition by Albert Poncelet,40 and the first attempt at a critical edition using a wide range of manuscripts by Flórián Mátyás.41 The first critical edition of the Vita Emerici ducis was prepared by Emma Bartoniek in 1938, our edition is based on this latter.

38 Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum, ed. Johann Georg Schwandtner (Vienna: Johann Thomas von Trattnern, 1768), vol. II, 23–27. 39 Rerum Hungaricarum Monumenta Arpadiana (St. Gallen: Scheitlin & Zollikofer, 1849), 193–201. 40 AA SS 4. Novembris II/1 (vol. 63) (Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1894), 477–91. 41 Vita Sanctorum Stephani regis et Emerici ducis (Leipzig: Brockhard, 1881), 129–39.

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VITA SANCTI EMERICI DUCIS

q

LIFE OF DUKE SAINT EMERIC

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LEGENDA SANCTI EMERICI DUCIS Incipit vita beati Henrici filii eiusdem.a 1 Incipit 1.b 2 Postquam unigenitus omnipotentisc 3 dei filius post ascensionem suam per apostolice predicationis verba cunctis gentibus solatium sue visitationis inpendens eas a tenebris ad fidei lumen revocaverat, novissimis, ut ita dicam, temporibus, per mellifluam beati Stephani primi regis nostri4 prudentiam …

Incipit 3.d 5 Gloriosus rex primus Stephanus6 ducatum Ungarie tenuit annis octo.7 Regnavit autem triginta tribus annis, mensibus septem, diebus XIIII. Migravit autem ad dominum anno incarnationis domini MCCCIIII,8 decimo octavo Kal. Septembres, feria quinta,9 cuius venerabile corpus Albe reconditum est. Per huius mellifluam providentiam novissimis, ut ita dicam temporibus …10

incipit — eiusdem Ru : incipit vita s. emerici confessoris filii s. stephani regis C de sancto hemerico filio sancti stephani regis ungarie VM henrici regis ungarie legenda L de sancto emerico B1 b postquam — prudentiam RuB1B2 ACPS c omnipotentis B1 B2 ACS : omnipotens Ru d gloriosus — temporibus L a

This incipit formula is that of Ru and refers to the vita of St. Stephen, which, in this manuscript, precedes that of St. Emeric. 2 In most of the witnesses on which Bartoniek’s edition was based, the text of the vita is preceded by the following prologue; in her opinion, this was the original prologue—a mere summary of the similar prologue of the Legenda maior of St. Stephen, composed ca. 1080 (see SRH 2, 443). While the content of the two prologues is somewhat similar, there are no exact verbal parallels to prove such dependence. 3 Reading omnipotentis with B1 B2 ACS against omnipotens printed by Bartoniek. 4 The Latin is ambiguous and might also be rendered as “St. Stephen the First, our king.” 1

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LIFE OF DUKE SAINT EMERIC Here begins the life of St. Emeric, his son1 Prologue 12 Once the only-begotten Son of almighty3 God, after his ascension, had bestowed upon all nations the comfort of His visitation through the words preached by the apostles, and brought them out of darkness into the light of faith, in the most recent times (if I may put it this way), it was through the mellifluous wisdom of St. Stephen our first king4 that . . .

Prologue 35 Our glorious first king Stephen6 was duke of Hungary for eight years.7 And then he reigned for thirty-three years, seven months, and fourteen days. And he departed to the Lord in the year of the incarnation of the Lord one thousand, three hundred and four,8 eighteen days before the kalends of September, on a Thursday9; his venerable corpse was interred at Székesfehérvár. It was through his mellifluous wisdom that in the most recent times (if I may put it this way) . . .10

According to Bartoniek’s terminology (SRH 2, 444), this is the third prologue, derived from the first and contained in a single fifteenth-century manuscript (L). It may have been the work of this manuscript’s scribe, whose knowledge of Hungarian history was limited and often faulty. 6 Or “the glorious King Stephen the First.” 7 In fact, Stephen ruled as duke for only three or four years between the death of his father Géza (997) and his coronation as king (1000/1001). 8 Both the duration of Stephen’s reign and the year of his death (1304, probably a scribal error for 1034) are inaccurate as given here; he reigned as King of Hungary between 1000/1001 and 1038. 9 The various elements of this dating formula correspond to the year 1034, when September 15 fell on a Thursday; in fact, Stephen died on Tuesday ( feria tertia), September 15, 1038. 10 From this point onwards the text in L is identical with that of the first prologue. 5

[ 193 ]

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totius Pannonie regnum lumen veritatis agnovit. Ipse enim noster est rex et apostolus, ipse quoque de iure diabolice potestatis ereptos ad veri dei cognitionem perduxit. Et quia eius gesta sunt inenarrabilia, nec nostri ingenii congruit parvitati,a utilius11 visum est, quatinus filii eius, beati Henrici,12 pro modulo nostre possibilitatis edisseramus insignia.b Incipit 2.c 13 Inclitus dux Hemericus14 ex illustri prosapia, sicud cedrus ex Lybano,15 a beato Stephano, primo rege Ungarie exortus, virtutibus admodum exornatus, clarissime effulsit. Puer quoque nutritus sub diligenti custodia, primo omni scientia grammatice artis imbutus est.16 Beatus itaque rex Stephanus paterne dilectionisd ardore compunctus, filio suo, beato Hemerico librum de institutione morum composuit, in quo fideliter et amicabiliter verbis eum ammonens spiritalibus alloquitur instruens eum, qualiter ante omnia debeat observare fidem catholicam, confirmare statum ecclesiasticum, honorem impendere dignitati pontificum, principes et milites diligere, iustum iudicium observare, patientiam in cunctis actibus suis habere, hospites benigne recipere, benignius attractare, sine consilio nichil agere, maiores suos ante oculos semper ad exemplum statuere, orationis officium frequentare, pietatem et misericordiam cum ceteris virtutibus ad profectum pervigili cura possidere.17 iustius et post parvitati add. AC totius — insignia RuB1 B2 ACPSL c inclitus — possidere VM d dilectionis Bartoniek : dilectione VM a

b

“More appropriate and more useful” according to the reading in AC. All throughout this translation the form Emeric—traditional in English—will be used; in the Latin text, however, the form Henricus, which is that of the earliest mss., has been retained. Until the end of the thirteenth century the only form attested in various Latin sources, both Hungarian and foreign, is Henricus (with its variant Heinricus), which corresponds to the original German form of the prince’s name. Forms influenced by the vernacular, such as Hemericus, Emericus, Emiricus, Emricus (from which modern Hung. Imre originates), are only attested from the thirteenth century onwards. For all this, see Gyula Kristó, “Imre herceg (és király) nevéről” [About the name of duke (and king) Emeric], Magyar Nyelv 96, no. 3 (2000): 355–57. 11

12

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the entire kingdom of Pannonia came to know the light of truth. For he is our king and apostle; it was he who brought those whom he wrested from the dominion of the Devil’s power to the knowledge of the true God. And, since his deeds are impossible to recount, and outmatch the paucity of our skill, it has seemed more useful11 to narrate in detail the worthy deeds of his son, St. Emeric,12 according to the small measure of our ability. Prologue 213 The illustrious duke Emeric,14 born like a cedar from Lebanon15 of a noble lineage, from Saint Stephen the first king of Hungary, was adorned with many virtues and shone forth most brilliantly. From his childhood, he was raised up with diligent care and he first took in all the knowledge of the art of grammar.16 Therefore, the holy King Stephen, moved by the zeal of paternal love, composed for his son, St. Emeric, a book of moral instruction. In this, he addresses him loyally and friendly, instructs him in words filled with spirit, and teaches him how he should, above all, keep the Catholic faith, support the ecclesiastic order, treat with reverence the office of high priest, esteem his nobles and his soldiers, always show justice in his judgements, have patience in all that he does, generously receive guests and care for them even more generously, do nothing without taking council, always set the example of his forebears before his eyes, regularly discharge his duty to pray, and, in order to make good progress, with steadfast care preserve his piety and mercy together with all other virtues.17 The second prologue, preserved in the fifteenth-century ms. V (and its direct copy M), may have been composed by the scribe of ms. V, who put it together using material from the Legend of St. Stephen composed by Hartvic between 1097 and 1099; see Bartoniek, SRH 2, 444. 14 Stephen named his second born son He(i)nricus after his brother-in-law, the Roman Emperor Henry II (1002–1024), just as he had named his firstborn Otto after Emperor Otto III (983–1002). 15 Cf. Ps. 91:13 (LXX) (ut cedrus Libani). 16 Quoting verbatim from Hartvic’s Legend of St. Stephen 4 (SRH 2, 407, translated in this volume, at 107–75), where these words were used to describe Stephen’s childhood. 17 A second quote, with a few changes in the text, from Hartvic’s Legend of St. Stephen 19 (SRH 2, 428, translated in this volume, see above). 13

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1.a Beatus itaque Henricusb modico contentus sopore,c 18 per singulas noctes cunctis se in lecto collocantibus et, ut regiam decet sobolem, duobus candelabris ante se lucentibus in psalmisd deo decantandis vigilabat et in unuscuiusque psalmi finem veniam cum cordis contritione a deoe 19 postulabat. Quod pater eius caute immo et occulte per rimam parietis sepe prospiciebat, nulli tamen suorum manifestare volebat. In his omnibus considerandum nobis est, quam pie, quam misericorditer nostre imbecillitati a deo consultum est, cumf non solum iustitieg regula nobis verbotenus instituitur, set et sanctorum virorum vita ad imitationem tamquam via directa proponitur.20 Nemini ergo sit onerosa paupertas, quoniam elegit pauperes dominus, de quibus ait: Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum celorum.21 Nemo etiam divites a regno dei excludendos contendat, eos videlicet, qui sine cupiditate possident divitias. Unde preclare in laudem et decorem sui sancta ecclesia terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata22 describitur, que tanta virtutum fulget eminentia, tantaque credentium varietate circumdata est, quod neque barbaris nationibus divina visitatio desit, quoniam verbum, quod mandavit dominus in mille generationes,23 iam totus orbis suscepit. Pannonia autem nostris fere temporibus ad fidem venit, que eatenus fedis paganismih 24 ritibus fedata erat, set exortatione et eximiis meritis christianissimi regis sui Stephani in virtute fidei et incremento divini cultus profecit. inc. B3 henricus Ru ut plerumque : emericus B1 B2 B3 ACPS ut semper hemericus VML ut semper c sopore B1 B2 B3 ACPSVML : sapore Ru d corr. Bartoniek : spalmis Ru e a deo B1 B2 ACPSVM : om. Ru, post veniam transp. B3 L f cum B1 ACPSVML : quod Ru g militie AC h paganismi B1 ACVML : paganismis Ru a

b

Reading sopore with most mss. against the text in Ru. I have supplied a deo from B1 B2 ACPSVM into the text printed by Bartoniek.

18 19

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1. And thus St. Emeric was content with little sleep,18 and every night while all others lay in bed, with two candles lit in front of him, as it befits a royal scion, he would keep vigil singing psalms and at the end of every psalm, with heart contrite, he would ask God19 for forgiveness. His father often watched this cautiously (and even secretly) through a crack in the wall, but did not want to reveal it to anyone of the family. In all this we have to observe how piously, how mercifully has God seen to our weakness; not only is the rule of righteousness set for us in words, but also the life of holy men is offered to us (as a straightforward way) for imitation.20 Therefore, let no one regard poverty as difficult, for the Lord has chosen the poor, about whom He says: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!21 Let no one, however, claim that the rich should be excluded from the Kingdom of God, I mean those rich people who enjoy their riches without greed. Because of this, to His praise and honor, the holy church is most famously described as terrible as an army set in array.22 This shines forth with such a high degree of virtues, and is fortified with such a great variety of believers, that not even the barbarian nations remain deprived of the divine revelation, since the word which the Lord commanded for a thousand generations23 has by now been accepted throughout the entire world. Pannonia also came to the faith almost in our times; until then it had been defiled by the foul rites of paganism,24 but through the exhortation and the remarkable merits of its most Christian King Stephen, it has progressed on the virtuous path of the faith and in the strengthening of the worship of God. The ideas and some of the language in this sentence were clearly inspired by the closing chapter (73.1–4) of the Benedictine Regula; see The Rule of Saint Benedict, ed. and trans. Bruce L. Venarde (Cambridge MA and London: Harvard University Press, 2011), 228–29. 21 Matt. 5:3. 22 Song of Sol. 6:3. 23 Ps. 104:8. 24 Reading paganismi with most mss. as suggested by Bartoniek. However, the adjectival use of paganismus is not unknown in Hungarian Latin, so the reading paganismis ritibus given in Ru may also have some justification; see, for instance, the expression ritu paganismo used in the anonymous Gesta Hungarorum 7.69 and the Chron. pict. 86. 20

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2. Quodam tempore, cum beatus rex Stephanus ad ecclesiam beati Martini, quam ipse in Sancto Monte Pannonie25 inchoaverat et egregia monachorum congregatione decoraverat, una cum filio causa orationis advenit, sed rex sciens pueri precellens meritum, onorem, quiaa eum decuit, impendit filio. Nam cum predicti fratres, peracta processione, salutaturi regem accessissent, propter reverentiam filium suum premisit ad salutandum.26 Puer autem Henricus spiritu sancto repletus, prout divina revelante sibi gratia singulorum merita noverat, singulis inequaliter oscula distribuit. Alii siquidem unum, alii tria, alii vero quinque, postremo uni VII oscula continuavit. Quam rem, ceteris intuentibus, beatus rex Stephanus tacite admirabatur familiarique colloquio, finita missa, cur illis inequaliter oscula27 distribuisset diligenter ab eo sciscitatus est. Beatus itaque Henricus singulorum merita coram patre pertractans, videlicet quanto temporis spatio singuli in virtute continentie perstitissent sub ea consideratione se plura aliis et pauciora aliis oscula dedisse edocuit eumque cui septena28 multiplicaverat oscula virginalem vitam perduxisse asseruit. O excitatrix omnium virtutum gratia, que nostre angustias nature habundanter excedis, que profunda misteria revelas parvulis,29 tu beato Henrico magistra affuisti, tu ei qui B1 B2 B3 ACPSVML : quem Ru

a

The archabbey of Pannonhalma, the oldest Benedictine foundation in Hungary, was founded by Stephen’s father, Duke Géza ca. 996. It rises on top of a hill (282 m.), which is referred to in medieval sources as “the holy mountain of Pannonia” (mons sacer Pannoniae) or “the mount of Saint Martin” (mons sancti Martini). This latter name refers to a medieval local tradition that placed the birthplace of St. Martin near the hill on which the abbey would later be built. In fact, this association is unhistorical—Martin was born in ancient Savaria (modern-day Szombathely)—and is due to an attempt to motivate the dedication of the church in Pannonhalma to St. Martin. Recently, this choice of patrocinium has been explained as a politically-motivated attempt on Duke Géza’s part to emancipate his rule from German influence by promoting the cult of a saint with local and military connections; see László Koszta, “Fejezetek a korai magyar egyházszervezet történetéből” [Chapters from the early history of the organization of the Hungarian church] (PhD dissertation, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, 2012), 361–66. 26 As prescribed in the Benedictine Regula 53.1–4. Canon 35 of the synod of Sza­ bolcs (held on May 20, 1092) specified that, upon his arrival at a monastery, the king and his retinue are not to be greeted inside the church, but in the cloister; see the text and translation in DRMH, 58. 25

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2. Once, when the holy King Stephen arrived together with his son in order to pray at the church of St. Martin that he had founded on the Holy Mountain of Pannonia25 and had decorated with a distinguished congregation of monks, the king, however, knowing the superior merits of his son, bestowed upon him the honor that was due to himself. For when the procession was over and the above-mentioned friars approached with the intention of greeting the king,26 as a sign of reverence, he sent forth his son to be greeted first. And Emeric the child, filled with divine spirit, distributed his kisses27 unequally to every single one of them, according to what he had learned about their individual merits through the revelation of the divine grace. To some, then, he gave one, to another three, to yet another five, while finally to one of them he gave seven kisses one after the other.28 As the others noticed this, the holy King Stephen kept wondering in silence and, once the mass was over, in private conversation, he questioned him persistently why he had distributed his kisses among them in such unequal fashion. St. Emeric then revealed before his father the merits of every one of them, namely, for how long they had abided in the virtue of chastity, and explained that it was because of this that he had given more kisses to some and less to others, while that one to whom he had given seven kisses one after the other had led, he declared, a life of [unspoiled] virginity. O, grace, arousing us towards all the virtues, surpassing the shortcomings of our nature through your abundance, what deep mysteries you reveal to the little ones!29 You were St. Emeric’s teacher, you

A reference to the “kiss of peace” (pacis osculum), a form of salutation prescribed in the Benedictine Regula 53.5, which here the author of the vita turns into a narrative device for exalting the virtue of chastity (continentia). 28 The numerical symbolism present in this passage has been interpreted in terms of the monastic author’s preference for “male” (i.e., odd) numbers over “female” (i.e., even) numbers as appropriate in a text which praises young Emeric for his ascetic behavior, similar to that of the monks, and exalts his avoidance of sexual intercourse with his wife. See Bollók, “A Szent-Imre legenda,” 346. 29 A reference to the Bible; cf. Matt. 11:25 and Luke 10:21 (reuelasti ea paruulis). 27

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liberam de ocultis aliorum intelligentiam contulisti. Huius autem interne revelationis veritas hoc modo est comperta in eo. 3. Paucis enim diebus interpositis ex quo de sancto monte abscesserat, beatus Stephanus, duobus tantum ministris adhibitis, eodema  30 regressus, vigilias fratrum et orationes secreto explorabat. Iamque expleto matutinarum officio,31 ceteris se in lecto collocantibus,32 illi soli, quibus beatus Henricus hoscula multiplicaverat, in ecclesia persistebant, divisique in angulis ecclesie secretioribus,33 in psalmis decantandis b vigilabant. Cumque ad singulos sanctus rex divisim accederet, faciem suam eis manifestavit, et in verba benedictionis 34 eos salutavit. Singulis autem regiam maiestatem rupto silentio venerantibus,35 ipse novissime ad fratrem Maurum36 nomine veniens, quem in septenis osculis beatus Heinricus commendaverat, nec blanditiis salutationis, nec verbis regie comminationis responsionem ab illo extorquere potuit.37 Mane autem facto, cum fratres conventumc 38 celebrarent, rex ipse affuit et ut animum fratris Mauri de virtute humilitatis temptaret, in communi audientia 39 eodem VM : eo die Ru decantandis B3 ACVML : decantabant add. postea del. Ru c alias capitulum add. V marg. a

b

Reading eodem with mss. VM instead of the illogical eo die “that day” given by Ru and printed as such by Bartoniek. 31 Matins (matutini) was the part of the office celebrated at dawn; for a description of its liturgical content, see the Benedictine Regula 12–13. 32 The possibility of monks going back to sleep at the end of the office is contemplated and provided against in the Benedictine Regula 43.8, but with reference to the night vigils, not Matins; a clear prohibition of sleep after the early-morning prayers is formulated, however, in John Cassian’s De institutiones coenobiorum 3.5.1 (ed. Guy, 106) and canonized in Benedict of Aniane’s Concordia regularum 23.1-3 (ed. Bonnerue, 177). 33 This type of private prayer, outside of the prescribed hours of the office, is permitted in the Benedictine Regula 52.4; trans. Venarde, 171: “If someone perhaps wants to pray privately (secretius orare) at other times, he should simply go and pray, not in a loud voice but in tears and the heart’s devotion.” 34 Josh. 8:34. 35 Breaking silence after Compline (completorium) is regarded as an infringement of monastic discipline in the Benedictine Regula 42.8–9 and severely punished “except if care for guests is necessary” (ibid., 42.10) as in the present case. 30

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gave him the unhindered comprehension of other people’s secrets! And the truth of this inner revelation was thus disclosed in him. 3. After a few days had passed from the day when he left the Holy Mountain, St. Stephen returned there30 in the company of only two servants and started to examine secretly the way the friars kept their vigils and prayed. As soon as the office of Matins was completed,31 while the others went back to bed,32 only those to whom St. Emeric had given many kisses remained in church, and, scattered into the more secluded corners of the church,33 they kept vigils and sang psalms. When the holy king went to meet every single one of them in turn, he showed them his face and greeted them with words of blessing.34 And while all the others broke their silence to pay homage to his royal majesty,35 when he at last came to the brother called Maurus,36 whom St. Emeric had distinguished with seven kisses, neither kind greetings, nor words of royal threat could pull an answer out of his mouth.37 When morning came, as the brothers were holding their chapter meeting,38 the king was present and, in order to tempt the soul of brother Maurus in regards to the virtue of humility, with all listening,39 he reproached him for many things con-

Maurus (Hung. Mór, b. ca. 1000–d. ca. 1075) must have spent many years at Pannonhalma, first as a schoolboy (puer scholasticus), then as a monk, and later as its abbot before becoming bishop of Pécs (see below, n. 46). The most recent overview of his career can be found in Tamás Fedeles and László Koszta, Pécs (Fünfkirchen): Das Bistum und die Bischofsstadt im Mittelalter (Vienna: Institut für Ungarische Geschichtsforschung, 2011), 46–49. 37 As János Bollók has noted, Maurus’ behavior in this respect is exceptional, to be construed as a proof of his accomplishment as an ascetic; see Bollók, “A Szent-Imre legenda,” 343. 38 Conventum (or, as explained in a marginal gloss in V, capitulum) refers to a daily assembly of monks held after Prime, which started with the reading of a section from the rule (capitulum); this practice is a later development (known at least since the mid-eighth century), not envisaged in the original Regula. See James G. Clark, The Benedictines in the Middle Ages (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2011), 117. 39 I have rendered in this generic way Lat. in communi audientia; this probably refers to a type of public confession which was sometimes part of the daily chapter meeting (see Clark, The Benedictines, ibid.). 36

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plurima ei religioni40 contraria obiecit. Cuius assertioni Maurus nullam contradictionem fecit, set humiliter perstans,41 ad deum qui humane mentis inspector est42,43 sperando confugit. Tunc vero beatus Stephanus filii sui verba rata esse cognovit, et, re ordine a 44 narrata, Maurum laudibus extulit et, ut locus pontificalis45 per eum decoraretur, paulo post in episcopatum eum Quinqueecclessiis46 sublimavit. 4. Post hec autem beatus Henricus etate proficiens,47 per virtutum merita gloriosa sua semper augmentabat insignia, que quamquam vobis per omnia explicare non possumus, pauca tamen, que de gestis eius audivimus, ut non negligentie deputetur, diligenter referamus. Contigit autem, ut dum nocte quadam orationis causa secreto, uno tantumb 48 contentus famulo, venustissimamc 49 et antiquissimam, que in Besprimiensi d civitate ad honorem pretiosissimi martyrise 50 Christi Georgii fabricata est,51 intraret ecclesiam, ibique orationi et re ordine VM : ordine et re Ru et rei ordine B1 B3 ACL tantum B1 B2 B3 ACVML : totum Ru c venustissimam AC : vetustissimam Ru d vesprimiensi LB1 B2 B3 : besprimiensi Ru wesprimiensi AC vesprimie VM e martyris AC : om. Ru post christi transp. VMLB2 a

b

I have interpreted religio in this context as referring to the rules of monastic behavior, rather than to faith in general; so also Gáspár J. Csóka in his Hungarian translation of the text, “Szent Imre herceg legendája,” in Árpád-kori legendák és intelmek: Szentek a magyar középkorból I [Legends and institutions from the Arpadian age: Hungarian medieval saints], ed. Géza Érszegi (Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, 2004), 56–62 at 58. 41 A perfect illustration of the ideal of monastic humility as prescribed in the Benedictine Regula 7.35: “The fourth step of humility is if, when obedience involves difficulty, adversity, and even the affliction of certain injustices, one silently embraces suffering in his heart” (trans. Venarde, 49). 42 Cf. Prov. 24:12 (qui inspector est cordis). 43 Rata uerba, a poetic expression (cf. Ovid, Metamorph. 4.380 and Seneca, Oedipus 571), means “valid words,” “words that have turned into fact.” 44 I have adopted here the reading of mss. MV against all the other witnesses and Bartoniek’s edition. 45 Or, possibly, “the episcopal residence” (locus pontificalis), meaning the city of Pécs. 40

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trary to the monastic profession.40 To this accusation Maurus made no reply, but humbly endured41 and, full of hope, took his refuge with God, who sees deep into the minds of men.42 Then St. Stephen truly understood that his son’s words were well grounded,43 and telling the whole story truthfully,44 he showered Maurus with praise, and a little after that he raised him—so that through him the office45 of high priest may be honored—to the bishopric in Pécs.46 4. And after this, as he advanced in age,47 St. Emeric kept increasing his exceptional achievements through the glorious merits of his virtues, which, although we are not able to recount all to you in detail, nevertheless, we shall carefully tell of a few we have heard from among his deeds, so that we should not be accused of neglecting them. It happened one night that, content with the company of a single48 servant, he secretly went to pray in that most beautiful49 and most ancient church which was built in the city of Veszprém in the honor of the most beloved martyr50 of Christ, George.51 Maurus was made bishop of Pécs in 1036 according to the Annales Posonienses (SRH 1, 125), which means that the expression “a little after” (paulo post) in this passage should not be taken literally; Stephen and Emeric’s visit to Pannonhalma happened, according to our text, when the prince was still a boy, so, presumably, in the 1020s or even before. 47 Cf. Luke 2:52 (Iesus proficiebat sapientia, aetate et gratia). 48 I have adopted the reading of most mss. against that of Ru. 49 Reading venustissimam with AC against Ru and Bartoniek’s edition. 50 I have integrated into Bartoniek’s text the reading martyris found in AC. 51 The chapel dedicated to St. George, a Romanesque rotunda whose remains were discovered in 1957 on the northern side of the modern Roman-Catholic cathedral, was probably the earliest church to be built in Veszprém in the last decades of the tenth or, less likely, at the beginning of the eleventh century. See Katalin H. Gyürky, “Die St. Georg-kapelle in der Burg von Veszprém,” Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 15 (1963): 341–408 and the more recent overview by László Solymosi, “Veszprém korai történetének néhány kérdése” [A few questions regarding the early history of Veszprém], in Válaszúton: Pogányság–kereszténység; Kelet– nyugat; Konferencia a X-XI. század kérdéseiről, Veszprém, 2000. május 8–10 [At the crossroads: Paganism–Christianity; East–West; A conference on tenth-eleventh century issues], ed. László Kredics (Veszprém: MTA Veszprém Területi Bizottsága, 2000), 129–57, esp. 133–37. 46

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vacando, quid acceptabilius offerret deo penes se tractaret,a 52 subito lumen cum ingenti claritate totum ecclesie circumfulsit edificium, in quo vox divina in supernis sic insonuit: “Preclara est virginitas, virginitatem mentis et corporis a te exigo. Hanc offer, in hoc persta proposito.” Ille autem non in se presumens, set ad gratiam tamquam ad veram medicinam confugiens, ait: “Domine deus, universitatis inspector et humane inbecillitatis adiutor, qui aufers spiritum principum, qui terribilis es aput reges terre,53 beneplacitum tuum in me perfice et noxios motus, qui contra animam militant rore tue misericordie extingue.” Itaque beatus Henricus eadem hora in verbo divine consolationis confortatus, secretum hoc aput se conservabat et ministro illi, qui huic divino colloquio et aliis plerumque solus aderat, neb cuiquam rem huiusmodi usque ad obitum suum aperiret, obsecrando interdicebat. Hecc et quamplura virtutum signa, tanquam in secreto mentis cubiculo conclusa, penes Sanctum Henricum tenebantur et usque dum fracta est ampulla et odor unguentorum diffusus est, neminid detegebantur. 5. Interea, cum ex paterna dispositione virgo nobilis, utpote orta de regali prosapia,54 beato Henrico desponsata esset et adducta, ute ex

tractaret B1 B3 ACVML : retractaret Ru tractans B2 ne B1 B2 B3 ACVML : nec Ru c hec B1 B3 ACVML : he Ru d nemini B1 B3 ACL : nemine Ru absconditaque VM e ut B1 VML : et Ru et ut AC a

b

52 Reading tractaret with most witnesses instead of retractaret given in Ru and printed by Bartoniek. 53 Cf. Ps. 75:13 (LXX) (qui aufert spiritum principum terribili apud reges terrae). 54 The identity of St. Emeric’s wife is unknown; three different traditions about her origin were preserved in medieval sources, none of which mentions her name. According to the most plausible version, that found in ch. 12 of the Legenda vetus of St. Margaret of Hungary composed around 1273–74, probably by her confessor Marcellus, Emeric’s wife was “a daughter of the Emperor of the Romans” (utpote filiam imperatoris Romanorum); see Legenda vetus, Acta processus canonizationis et Miracula Sanctae Margaritae de Hungaria / The Oldest Legend, Acts of the Canoniza-

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While he was there engaged in prayer and kept meditating52 what he could offer God that would be particularly well received, all of a sudden, a powerfully bright light illuminated the entire building of the church. Within it a divine voice from above spoke as follows: “A most glorious thing is virginity; it is virginity of mind and body that I ask from you! Offer Me this, stay firm in this vow!” Yet he dared not put any trust in himself, but sought refuge in the divine grace as the only true remedy, and said: “Lord God, overseer of all the world and helper of human helplessness, you who shall cut off the spirit of princes, who are awesome to the kings of the earth,53 fulfill in me what is best-pleasing to you, and extinguish with the dew of your mercy the harmful impulses which fight against my soul!” Thus St. Emeric, having found comfort at that time in the word of divine consolation, kept this a secret between himself and that servant who alone was present at this divine conversation and at many others, and, pleading with him, repeatedly forbade him to reveal such things to anyone until the time of his death. These and many other signs of his virtues remained hidden deep within St. Emeric, as if treasured in a secret chamber of his mind, and, until the vial broke and the scent of the ointments was released, they were revealed to no one. 5. In the meantime, on his father’s order, a noble virgin, who was also issued from a royal lineage,54 was betrothed to St. Emeric and

tion Process and Miracles of Saint Margaret of Hungary, ed. Ildikó Csepregi, Gábor Klaniczay and Bence Péterfi (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2018). The early-fifteenth century Hungarian vernacular legend of Margaret, preserved in a copy by the nun Lea Ráskai, interpreted this as “the daughter of the Greek Emperor,” i.e., a Byzantine princess or, at least, a lady of noble status; see the text in Szent Margit élete 1510 [The 1510 life of St. Margaret], ed. Adrienne Dömötör, Katalin Pólya, and Vilmos Farkas (Budapest: Magyar Nyelvtudományi Társaság, 1990), 129. A second tradition, preserved by an (allegedly) mid-fourteenth century chronicle writer, John the Archdeacon of Gorica, identified Emeric’s intended wife as the daughter of the Croatian King Krešimir III (1000–1030); see the fragment of his chronicle published by Baltazar Adam Krčelić, De regno Dalmatiae, Croatiae, Sclavoniae notitiae praeliminares (Zagreb: Typis demum Antonii Jandera, 1775), 101–2. Finally, a third source, the fourteenth-century Annales Sanctae Crucis Polonici claimed that Emeric married a daughter of Mieszko II Lambert, King of Poland (1025–1031).

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utraque regali linea regia posteritasa 55 in posterum succederet,b ipse carnalem generationem, que corruptibilis est, spirituali proposito virginitatis postponens, ieiuniis corpus maceravit, animam autem pane verbi dei 56 saturavit, ne qua carnis titillatio eic dominaretur, et intacte sue coniugis incorruptam servavit virginitatem. O miranda iuvenis continentia, qued fonte lacrimarum restinxit e 57 amoris incendia, flammamque portans in gremio, non urebatur eius incendio. Grande est enim et pene ultra mortalem naturam corpoream sopire luxuriam et concupiscentie flammam adolescentie facibus accensam animi virtute restingueref 58 et spirituali conatu vim genuine g 59 oblectationis excludere, vivere contra humani generis morem, despicere solatia coniugii,h 60 dulcedinem contempnere liberorum, et quecunque presentis vitae esse commoda possunt, pro nichilo spe future beatitudinis conputare. Magna hec, ut dixi, et ammirabilis virtus est et non immerito pro magnitudine laboris sui ingenti premio destinata. Magnus quidem est pudicitie labor, sed maius premium, temporalis ij custodia, sed j 61 remuneratio eterna. De quibus Iohannes in apocalipsi ait: Hi secuntur agnum quocunque ierit.62 Quod ita

posteritas B1 AC : potestas Ru in posterum succederet B1CVML (cf. imposterum s. A) : s. i. p. Ru c carnis titillatio ei B1 ACVML : ei carnis titillatio Ru d que VML : quam Ru e restinxit ego (cf. Pelagius, Epistula ad Claudiam sororem de virginitate 2, ed. Halm, 226: animi uirtute restinguere): restrinxit Ru extinxit AC strinxit L f restinguere ego : extinguere Ru restringere B1 ACVML g genuine Ru a. c. : gemine Ru p. c. om. VM h coniugii ego (cf. Pelagius, Epistula ad Claudiam sororem de virginitate 2, ed. Halm, 226: solacia coniugii et adn.: coniugum Ru coniugis coni. Bartoniek i temporalis B1 ACVML : temporali Ru j sed B1 ACVML : om. Ru a

b

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brought [to Hungary] so that from both royal lineages royal offspring55 should be born for the future. He, however, thought less of carnal procreation, which is perishable, than of the spiritual vow of virginity, mortified his body with fasting while sating his soul with the bread of God’s word,56 lest any titillation of the flesh might overpower him, and preserved intact the virginity of his untouched wife. O, admirable continence of this youth, which put out57 the flames of love with the spring of tears, and bore a fire in his chest, yet was not consumed in its flames! For it is a great thing and almost beyond the reach of a mortal nature to lay luxury to rest and to extinguish58 by strength of mind the flame of concupiscence that is kindled by the torches of adolescence, to shut out by spiritual effort the forces of natural59 delight, to live contrary to the custom of the human race, to despise the comforts provided by marriage,60 to reject the pleasure of having children, and to reckon as nothing the possible advantages of our present life when compared with the hope of a future state of blessedness. Great and wonderful is this virtue, as I have said, and destined for a deserved and remarkable reward commensurate with the extent of the labor involved in attaining it. Great indeed is the labor of chastity but greater the reward, for the restraint demanded is temporal but 61 the reward gained is eternal. About these John says in the Revelation: “they follow the lamb wherever he goes.” 62 I consider

Reading posteritas as in B1 AC. Probably inspired by Luke 4:4 (non in pane solo uiuet homo, sed in omni uerbo dei). 57 I have emended the text to read restinxit based on the verbal form restinguere found in the original source quoted here (for which, see the next footnote). 58 Restinguere is my emendation based on the variant reading restringere in B1 ACVML, a corruption of the original source quoted here by our author. 59 Reading genuine, the form given initially in Ru, then changed into gemine; genuine is the reading of the original source quoted here. 60 Reading coniugii as in the source quoted by our author instead of coniugum given by Ru, which Bartoniek emended to coniugis. 61 I have supplied sed into Bartoniek’s text from B1 ACVML. 62 Rev. 14:4. 55

56

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intelligendum puto, locum nullum eis in celesti aula claudendum et cuncta eis divinarum mansionum habitacula reseranda.63 Set, ut illustrius virginitatis meritum clareat, et quam deo dignaa sit, manifestius possit intelligi, illud recogitetur, quod dominus et salvator noster, cum propter humani generis salutem carnem dignaretur assumere, non alium, quam virginalem elegerit uterum, ut virtutem huiusmodi plurimum sibi complacere monstraret, et b 64 ut pudicitie bonum utrique sexui intimaret, virginem habuit matrem, virgo ipse mansurus, in se viris, et in matre feminis prebuit virginitatis exemplum, quo demonstraretur in utroque sexu beatam et integram divinitatis habitare plenitudinem meruisse, dum totum in matre fuit, quidquid habitaret in filio.65 Verum ubi, corpore dissoluto in etate adhuc iuvenili, data est ei hereditas in terra viventium,66 sponsa sua testimonium virginalis vite eic perhibuit familiarisque ille minister que viderat frequenter aut audierat ultra non abscondit. 6. Nec hoc pretereundum esse puto quod aliquando Constantinopoli cum domino Almod 67 duce commoranti68 quidam religiosus canonicus69 Cesariensis ecclesie ad Grecorum imperatorem missus deo digna B1 ACVM : transp. Ru et B1 ACVML : om. Ru c ei B1 ACVML : post sua transp. Ru d almo B1 ACVM : alme Ru alio L a

b

This entire passage was borrowed by the author of the vita of St. Emeric from a text variously known as Epistula ad Claudiam sororem de virginitate, Ad Mauritii filiam laus virginitatis, or Exhortatio ad sponsam Christi [CPL 741], which was ascribed to authors such as Athanasius, Hilary of Poitiers, Jerome, and Sulpicius Severus. In fact, it is probably the work of the late-fourth-century author Pelagius; see Brinley Roderick Rees, ed., Pelagius: Life and Letters (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1998), 71–74, esp. 72–73 for the English translation of Epistula ad Claudiam sororem de virginitate 2, which I have borrowed here in a slightly adapted form. For the Latin text, see Sulpicius Severus, Libri qui supersunt, ed. Karl Halm, vol. 1 (Vienna: apud C. Geroldi filium bibliopolam Academiae, 1866), 226–27. 64 I have supplied et into Bartoniek’s text from B1 ACVML. 65 Another lengthy quote from Pelagius’ Epistula ad Claudiam sororem de virginitate 3 (ed. Halm, 227; trans. Rees, Pelagius, 73). 63

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that this should be understood to this effect, that there is no place in the court of heaven which is to be closed to them and that all the dwelling-places in the divine mansions will be unlocked for them.63 But in order that the merit of virginity may shine forth with a brighter light and that it may be possible to understand more clearly how worthy it is of God, we must bear in mind that God, our Lord and Savior, when he thought fit to take manhood upon himself for the sake of the salvation of the human race, chose no other womb than that of a virgin. And that we may know that virtue of this kind was most pleasing to him and 64 reveal the good of chastity to both sexes, he had a virgin mother and was to remain a virgin himself: he showed an example of virginity for men in himself and for women in his mother, so that it might be demonstrated that the blessed and perfect fullness of divinity was worthy to reside in either sex, since whatever resided in the son was also completely manifested in the mother.65 However, when he [viz. Emeric] was separated from his body while still in his young years, and received his inheritance in the land of the living,66 his wife brought testimony about his life lived in virginity, and that servant of his who was close to him did not conceal any longer the things which he had frequently seen or heard before. 6. And I think I should not omit the following fact either. Once, when—together with lord Álmos,67 the duke—staying68 in Constantinople a certain canon69 of the church of Caesarea, a religious Ps. 26:13 (LXX), 141:6 (LXX). Duke Álmos, son of King Géza I (1074–1077) and younger brother of King Coloman “the Learned” (1095–1116), traveled to Constantinople on two occasions, first in 1108, on his way to the Holy Land, and then, as a refugee, between 1125 and 1127; it is not clear to which of these two journeys the text of the vita refers. 68 Traditionally, the participle commoranti has been taken to refer to the author of the vita, i.e., “when I was staying”; János Bollók (“A Szent-Imre legenda,” 342 with n. 11) has rightly pointed out that the Latin text is ambiguous and can also refer to a third person “while someone was staying,” that is to say to the source of our author’s account. The present translation is meant to suggest this ambiguity. 69 If not a fictional character, this canon must have been a member of the ecclesiastical organization of the Latin archbishopric of Caesarea established in 1101. 66 67

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narravit se in gestis Sancti Eusebii70 legisse quia eadem hora, qua beatus Henricus dissolutus est, Sanctus Eusebius Cesaree Palestine metropolitanus, cum in processione una cum clero et populo incederet, sonum angelice dulcedinis in excelso audivita apertisque oculis cordis,71 animam beati Henrici, filii Sancti Stephani primi Pannonie sursum transferri prospexit. Aderat autem et demonum multitudo, tamquam si quid in illo deprehenderet, unde offendiculum tanto confessori intenderet. Cumque Sanctus Eusebius in hac visione obstupesceret, desursum audivit eadem hora hanc ipsam animam beati Henrici in iubilo ad supernam sedem transferri.72 Eadem quoque visio et melodie dulcedo cuidam archidiacono per orationem Sancti Eusebii revelata est. Et quoniam necessaria sunt miracula ubi humana inbecillitas ad credendum est tarda,73 tot b 74 tantisque virtutum signis dies obitus sui tricesima coruscavit,75 ut omnibus in regia urbe, ubi sanctum corpus eius humatum est,76

in excelso audivit B1VML : a. i. e. Ru i. excelsis a. AC tot B1 ACVML : om. Ru

a

b

If the Eusebius our author had in mind was the bishop of Caesarea who died in 338, this passage contains a “shocking anachronism” (Bollók, “A Szent-Imre legenda,” 350), which has puzzled modern scholars and is likely to remain an unsolved mystery. The bishop of Caesarea was never counted among the saints and the “deeds of St. Eusebius” mentioned here are equally unidentifiable. Hartvic’s Legend of St. Stephen 19 (translated in this volume) contains a briefer, yet clearly related account of this vision in connection with Emeric’s death, which is there attributed to an unnamed “bishop of the Greeks, a man who lived a holy life” (SRH 2, 428). 71 A Pauline expression; cf. Eph. 1:18 (inluminatos oculos cordis vestris). 72 This miracle, probably taken over from the hagiography of Henry II, Holy Roman emperor, is also present in the legend of Harttvic on Saint Stephen (see above, note 111). For the precedence of Hartvic to the more ample version of the Emeric legend, see Tóth, “Magyar és lengyel Imre-legendák,” 52–54. 73 Inspired by Jesus’ rebuking words in Luke 24:25 (o stulti et tardi corde ad credendum). 74 I have supplied tot, the reading of B1 ACVML, in Bartoniek’s text. 70

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man, who had been sent to the Emperor of the Greeks, told how he had read in the deeds of St. Eusebius70 that at the same moment when St. Emeric passed away, St. Eusebius, the metropolitan of Caesarea in Palestine, as he was conducting a procession with his clergy and his faithful, heard a delightful, angelic voice on high. And when the eyes of his heart 71 were opened, he saw the soul of St. Emeric, the son of St. Stephen the First of Pannonia, as it was being uplifted. A crowd of demons was also there hoping to discover something in him which they could lay as a stumbling stone in the path of such a great confessor of the faith. As St. Eusebius stood astonished at this vision, from above he heard [a voice saying] that at the same moment the soul of St. Emeric was being uplifted in exultation to the celestial abode.72 The very same vision and delightful singing were also revealed to a certain archdeacon through the prayer of St. Eusebius. And, since miracles are also required when human weakness is slow in believing,73 the thirtieth day after his death shone forth with so many74 and so great signs of his virtues75 that all the people who happened to be in the royal city where his body was buried 76 thought of it not as a day of mourning, but of joy,

Although some sources give as the date of Emeric’s death the years 1032 and 1033, it seems that the exact date has been preserved only in the Annales Posonienses (SRH 1, 125), Hartvic’s Legend of St. Stephen 19 (SRH 2, 428), and the Annales Hildesheimenses (MGH Script. rer. Germ. 8, ed. G. Waitz, 36), which place it in 1031. According to György Györffy, István király és műve [King Stephen and his achievement] (Budapest: Gondolat, 1977), 375, Emeric died on September 2; this rests on a conjectural interpretation of the date of one of the feasts of St. Emeric entered in a Hungarian ms. copied ca. 1192–1195, the codex Prayanus (fol. 5v: deposicio s. Henrici cf.). 76 Emeric was buried in the church of the Holy Virgin that his father had founded in Székesfehérvár ca. 1018; see Zoltán Szabó, “Szent Imre sírja és kultuszhelye a székesfehérvári prépostság Nagyboldogasszony templomában a 11–12. Században” [St. Emeric’s tomb and cult site in the collegiate church of the Virgin in Székesfehérvár during the eleventh and twelfth centuries], in Az ezeréves ifjú: Tanulmányok Szent Imre herceg 1000 évéről [The millenarian youth: Studies on the millennium of St. Emeric the duke], ed. Tamás Lőrincz (Székesfehérvár: Szent Imre-Templom, 2007), 45–67. 75

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commorantibus non dies meroris, sed gaudii esset, cum nec ipsum patrem meror ob mortem filii angeret, sed eum ob coronam vite eterne filio indubitanter collatam letitia plena perfunderet.77 7. Unum autem de egregiis miraculis, quod postmodum in diebus nostris pro confessore suo deus revelare dignatus est, nostre narrationi assumimus, quamquam in hoc et in ceteris adeo famosa sine scripto sunt omnia,78 quod et filii, qui nascentur et exurgent, cognoscent hec et narrabunt filiis suis.79 Erat igitur vir quidama 80 Chonradus nomine idemque Theotonicus natione, adeo abominabilib peccatorum pressura sarcinatus tantaque ignominia affectus, ut quasi quatriduanus in monumento feteret.81 Sed quoniam ipse qui Lazarum suscitavit in corpore cottidie peccatores resuscitat in mente nec peccatorem predictum in profundo peccatorum reliquit, sed, ut agnosceret quantis esset circumdatus miseriis, oculosc 82 mentis eius per conpunctionem apperuit. Ille itaque ad vicarium beati Petri, Hildebrandum,d 83 qui Romanee 84 sedi tunc prefuit veniens, vulnera sui commissi detexit et postulata satisfactionis iniunctione medicinam anime expetiit. Papa vero quantitatem peccatorum illius tanquam anteaf 85 inauditorum obstupescens,

vir quidam B1 ACVML : om. Ru abominabili A : abominabile Ru abhominabilis B1 abhominabili CVML c oculos VML : oculis Ru oculus A d om. VM e romane ACVML : roma Ru romani B1 f antea ACVM : ante hac Ru om. B1 a

b

This statement, to be expected from a theologically conscious and ascetically minded author, is contradicted, for instance, by the Legenda maior of St. Stephen (ch. 15, SRH 2, 391, see above in this volume, at 74–75), and the Chron. pict. 69, which speak of the father’s grief, the latter source directly linking it to the king’s long-lasting illness and ultimately to his death. 78 In spite of such claims, no other miracles of St. Emeric are attested, which probably reflects the lack of a spontaneous cult prior to his official canonization, a feature he shares with other Hungarian saints of the early period; see Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 126–29. 77

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especially since the father himself was not overtaken by grief at the death of his son,77 but was overwhelmed with perfect joy, knowing without a doubt that his son had earned the crown of eternal life. 7. We include in our narrative one among the outstanding miracles which later, in our days, God has deemed it worthy to reveal for the glory of his confessor, although even without being written down everything regarding this miracle and others is so famous78 that even children that should be born and should rise up will learn about them and declare them to their children.79 Thus there was a man80 called Conrad, a German by birth, who was burdened with such an abominable load of sins, and afflicted with such disgrace, that he gave out a stench as great as that of a corpse that had been in the grave for four days.81 However, since He who resurrected Lazarus in his body also brings about every day the resurrection of sinners in their mind, He did not abandon the above-mentioned sinner in the pit of his sins, but opened the eyes82 of his mind through compunction, that he might see what distress beleaguered him. This man, then, came to the vicar of St. Peter, Hildebrand,83 who at the time occupied the Roman See,84 revealed his wounds caused by the sins he had committed, and seeking a cure for his soul, begged for a penance to be imposed. The pope, however, was astonished at the number of that man’s sins, the like of which he had never heard of before,85 and, after deliberation, he

Ps. 77:6 (LXX). I have supplied vir quidam in Bartoniek’s text from mss. B1 ACVML. 81 A reference to the biblical account of the resurrection of Lazarus (cf. John 11:1–44) as the continuation makes clear. 82 Reading oculos with VML. 83 Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085); his name as a layman, Hildebrand, is omitted in mss. VM. 84 Reading Romane with ACVML as suggested by Bartoniek in her critical ed. 85 I have altered Bartoniek’s text to read antea as in ACVM. 79

80

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deliberatione habita, vulnera per iniunctam penitentiam non curavit, ne tamen desperans fluctuaret, consilio peccatorem confirmavit. Itaque lorica illum circumdedit et eam, ut corpori firmius adhereat, V catenis ferreis ad modum quinque plagarum Christi a 86 circumcinxit, cartamque confessione illius inscriptam et cera circumdatam proprioque anulo sigillatam illi porrexit, monens et exhortansb quatinus omnia loca in quibus sancti dormierunt lustraret, sicubic 87 divina gratia sanctorum intercessione illum visitaret, hoc autem visitationis divine signum foret, si quando lorica fractis cathenis in partes prosiliret et carta nichil inscriptum contineret. Abiens ergo ille plurimorum loca sanctorum peragravit, novissime Iherusalem ad sepulchrum domini veniens ibique misericordiam expectavit ab eo qui sanat contritos corde et alligat contritiones eorum.88 Set dominus non ostendit in illo misericordiamd 89 suam in civitate munita,90 quatinus ad laudem et gloriam beati Henrici reservaretur. Interea fama beati Stephani regis Pannonie, ad cuius sepulchrum cottidiana fiebant miracula, insignis habebatur. Consumatoque itinere, vir supramemoratus Albam pervenit, ubi corpus beati Stephani reconditum venerabatur. Cumque in aliis virtus dei et intercessio regis eximii crebrise miraculis revelaretur, ille tamen vir vinculis lorice arcius angeretur, penes se cum iuramentof 91 confirmavit, quod de loco ecclesie92 se non amoveret,g quousque dominus in eo ostenderet quanti meriti beatus Stephanus apud ipsum ad modum — christi ACVM : om. Ru exhortans B1 ACVML : exortans Ru c sicubi ego : sic ubi Ru d misericordiam AC : virtutem Ru ceterique codd. e celebris AC f cum iuramento ACVML : coniuramento Ru g amoveret B1CV : ammoveret Ru a

b

I have integrated into the text the expression ad modum quinque plagarum Christi absent from Ru, but found in ACVM. 87 I have emended the text to read sicubi against the reading (sic ubi) printed by Bartoniek. 88 Ps. 146:3 (LXX). 86

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declined to cure his wounds through the imposition of a penance. Nevertheless, lest he give up hope and waiver, he fortified the sinner with his counsel. Thereupon he had him clad in a breastplate and had this bound on all sides with five iron chains in imitation of Christ’s five wounds,86 so that it may cling quite firmly to the body, and gave the man a piece of parchment on which his confession was written and had it sealed with wax and signed it with the impression of his own ring. He further instructed him and urged him to visit all the places where saints were resting, and if somewhere87 divine grace should descend upon him through the intercession of the saints, he would recognize this divine visitation if the chains should break, the breastplate burst-apart, and the letter have nothing written on it. So, the man took to the road and made pilgrimages to the places of very many saints. He at last came to Jerusalem, to the tomb of our Lord, and there hoped for mercy from Him who heals the broken of heart and binds up their bruises.88 The Lord, however, did now reveal His mercy89 to him in a fortified city,90 for He was keeping it for the praise and glory of St. Emeric. In the meantime, the fame of St. Stephen the King of Pannonia, at whose grave miracles kept happening every day, became widely known. At the end of his journey, the above-mentioned man finally came to Székesfehérvár, where the body of St. Stephen was buried and venerated. Now, while God’s power and the intercession of that illustrious king were being revealed in the case of others by frequent miracles, that man, however, felt the grip of the chains of his breastplate become ever stronger, and he vowed 91 to himself that he would not move from the site of that church,92 until the Lord would show in him how great was St. Stephen’s merit with In accordance with the text of the biblical passage quoted here (see the following note), I have adopted the reading misericordiam given by AC instead of the majority reading virtutem “[his] strength” printed by Bartoniek in her ed. 90 Ps. 30:22 (LXX) (Benedictus dominus quoniam mirificavit misericordiam suam mihi in civitate munita). 91 Reading cum iuramento with ACVML against the text printed by Bartoniek. 92 The church dedicated to the Holy Virgin (see above, n. 76). 89

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esset. Factum est autem, cum esset hora diei quasi VI 93 ex nimia corporis fatigatione et cordis contritione in ecclesia ille obdormivit. Affuit autem illi in sompnisa 94 beatus Stephanus ad hunc modum dicens: “Surge, nec in meritis meis presume aput deum, quoniam non sufficio prob 95 te intercedere. Vade ergo ad sepulcrum filii mei beati Henrici, ipsum intercessorem habe, ipse est qui in virginali vita deo complacuit, cuius vestimenta non sunt coinquinata et sequitur agnum, quocunque ierit.96 Ipse est etiam ex eorum numero qui ante tronum dei cantant canticum novum, quod nemo potest canere,97 nisi is qui virgo est.” Eadem itaque hora ille de somno surgens, ad sepulchrum beati Henrici in eadem ecclesia situm festinavit et cum ibidem provolutus horaret, repente lorica, fractis cathenis, per plurimas partes divisa in terram prosiluit, multis in ecclesia ammirantibus unde tanta ferri concussio sonum dedisset. Re autem declarata, convenientibus clero et populo a Fabiano cancellario,98 eiusdem ecclesie rectore, sigillum pape, quod diu vir ille integrumc 99 tulerat, confractum est et carta interius soluta est, sed nec in ea litterarum vestigia aparuerunt. Tunc vero omnes qui affuerunt in laudem dei et beati Henrici proruperunt, et, ut tantum beneficium memoriale esset, regi Ladislao,d  100 qui tunc temporis sompnis B1 CL (cf. somnis A ) : supernis Ru B1CL pro B1 ACVML : propter Ru c integrum B1 ACVML : om. Ru d ladislao B1 ACVML : ladisclavo Ru a

b

Probably at noon, according to the ancient reckoning, which started counting the hours of the day with the sunrise (i.e., around six in the morning); this interpretation is reflected in the later mss. VM which read “twelfth” in this passage instead of “sixth.” 94 Reading in sompnis with B1CL. 95 I have modified Bartoniek’s text to read pro (given by B1 ACVML) instead of propter as in Ru. 96 The author conflates Rev. 3:4 (qui non inquinaverunt vestimenta sua) and 13:4 (qui cum mulieribus non sunt coinquinati, virgines enim sunt. hii sequuntur agnum quocumque ierit). 97 Rev. 13:3 (cantabant quasi canticum novum . . . et nemo poterat dicere canticum). 93

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Him. And it so happened that, around the sixth hour of the day,93 he fell asleep in church because of the great exhaustion of his body and because of his heart’s contrition. Then St. Stephen appeared to him in a dream94 and spoke to him as follows: “Rise! But do not be overconfident in my merits with God, for I am not adequate to intercede on your behalf.95 Go, therefore, to the grave of my son, St. Emeric, and have him as your intercessor. He is the one who was pleasing to God by his life of virginity, and who has not defiled his garments and he follows the Lamb wherever He goes!96 It is he, too, who is counted among those who, before the throne of God, sing a new song, which no one can sing,97 unless he be a virgin.” Right away that man arose from his sleep and hurried to the tomb of St. Emeric, which was located in the same church, and, while he lay there prostrated in prayer, all of a sudden the chains snapped and his breastplate broke into numerous pieces and fell to the ground so that many people in church wondered where such a loud sound of iron clashing could have come from. And when the thing was explained and the clergy and the people had gathered together, Fabian the chancellor, the overseer of that church,98 broke the seal of the Pope, which that man had carried untouched99 for such a long time, and opened up the letter, but there were no traces of writing to be found in it. Then all those present broke out in praise of God and St. Emeric, and, in order that such a great benefaction should be remembered, they sent notice about the things they had seen and heard to King Ladislaus,100 who ruled Pannonia at that time, Fabian, the provost (rector) of the collegiate chapter of the church of the Holy Virgin in Székesfehérvár, is not known from other sources; his mention here as chancellor (cancellarius), i.e., head of the royal chancery, at the end of the eleventh century is anachronistic and was regarded by Csóka, A latin nyelvű történeti irodalom, 201–2 as an indication that the vita of St. Emeric could not have been composed before the second half of the twelfth century, when the office of chancellor is first attested in medieval Hungary. In fact, the first provost of Székesfehérvár known to have been appointed chancellor is Catapan (1192–1198); see Attila Zsoldos, Magyarország világi archontológiája 1000–1301 [A secular archontology of Hungary: 1000–1301] (Budapest: História, MTA Történettudományi Intézete, 2011), 107, which omits Fabian. 99 I have supplied integrum into Bartoniek’s text from B1ACVML. 100 St. Ladislaus, King of Hungary (1077–1095). 98

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Pannonie prefuit, universisque episcopis et principibus regni que viderant et audierant super hac re notificaverunt. Rex itaque Ladislaus,a utpote divine religionis cultor, convocato concilio et indicto triduano ieiunio, Nonisb 101 Novembris corpus beati Henrici cum honore elevavit, qua die et c 102 postmodum in multis miraculorum virtutibus confessoris sui merita declarat Ihesus Christus dominus noster. Qui cum deo patre et spiritu sanctod  103 vivit et regnat in secula seculorum. Amen. Explicit vita beati Henrici, filii beati Stephani regis Ungarorum.e 104

ladislaus B1 ACVML : ladislavus Ru nonis VM : in nonis Ru in nonas B1 ACVML c et B1 ACML : om. Ru d et spiritu sancto B1ACML : om. Ru e explicit — ungarorum om. B1 ACML a

b

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and to all the bishops and leading men of the realm. And King Ladislaus, as befitted a devotee of the holy faith, convoked a council and decreed a three-day fast, and on the nones of November101 he elevated with honor the body of St. Emeric. And on this day, and102 afterwards, through many accomplishments of miracles, the merits of His confessor are manifested by our Lord Jesus Christ, who, together with God the Father and with the Holy Ghost103 lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Here ends the Life of St. Emeric, the son of St. Stephen, King of the Hungarians.104

101 November 5, 1083. I read simply Nonis with VM; the text of the other witnesses would suggest that the decreed fast was scheduled to end on the Nones. 102 I have supplied et into Bartoniek’s text from B1 ACML. 103 I follow here B1 ACML which have a fuller formula of the doxology, one that includes the Holy Ghost. 104 This explicit is only present in Ru.

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PREFACE Cristian Gașpar and Gábor Klaniczay* St. Gerard (c. 977–1046), of Venetian origin, was one of the clerics who accepted St. Stephen’s invitation to assist in building up the Christian Church in the recently converted Hungarian Kingdom. Arriving as a pilgrim, he spent some time in the hermitage of Bakonybél before being nominated as bishop of the newly founded bishopric of Marosvár (Morisena) – Csanád (Cenad), on the southeastern edge of the kingdom.1 The tradition that he was commissioned to be the tutor of St. Stephen’s son, Emeric, and that he could have participated in writing the text of the Libellus de institutione morum, the Admonitions of King Stephen to his son Emeric,2 cannot be documented, but he was certainly one of the leading intellectuals in the Hungarian Church, as shown by his long exegetical treatise, Deliberatio supra hymnum trium puerorum.3 After St. Stephen’s death he became involved in the power struggles between Peter I Orseolo (1038–1041 and 1044–1046) and Samuel Aba (1041–1044), and fell victim in the pagan uprising in 1046. He was canonized in 1083, part of a series that enriched the Hungarian Church with five new saints: two dynastic saints—Sts. Ste* The two textological parts were written by Cristian Gașpar, the introductory and the concluding parts by Gábor Klaniczay 1 On the reconstructed biography of St. Gerard, see Florio Banfi, “Vita di San Gerardo da Venezia nel codice 1622 della Biblioteca Universitaria di Padova,” Benedictina 2 (1948), 262–74; László Szegfü, “La missione politica ed ideologica di San Gerardo in Ungheria,” in Venezia ed Ungheria nel Rinascimento, ed. Vittore Branca (Firenze: Olschki, 1973), 23–36; Șerban Turcuș, Saint Gerard of Cenad: The Destiny of a Venetian around the Year One Thousand (Cluj-Napoca: Romanian Cultural Institute–Center for Transylvanian Studies, 2006). 2 See footnote 27 in the Preface to the legend of St. Emeric, in this volume. 3 Gerardi Morosenae aecclesiae sev Csanadiensis episcopi, Deliberatio supra hymnum trium puerorum, ed. Gabriel Silagi, Corpus Christanorum Continuatio Mediaevalis 69 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1978); Előd Nemerkényi, Latin Classics in Medieval Hungary: Eleventh Century (Debrecen–Budapest: CEU Medievalia, 2004), 73–156. [ 223 ]

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phen and Emeric—and two saintly hermits—Zoerard-Andrew and Benedict.4 Two legends of St. Gerard have been preserved, a shorter and a longer one. The relations of these two hagiographic texts to each other and to medieval chronicles have been amply debated in Hungarian historiography. The Legenda minor, preserved in a thirteenth-century manuscript, is dated by a significant number of philologists to the end of the eleventh or first half of the twelfth century.5 Lajos Csóka formulated the most passionate argument for this early dating and the priority of the text of the Legenda minor, proposing that this text was written by a Benedictine monk at Pannonhalma, perhaps even the same one who wrote the Legenda minor of St. Stephen, since both legends have a narrative style similar to chronicles and devote no attention to hagiographic topoi and miracles.6 The Legenda maior was held by these researchers to be a fourteenth-century amplified version of the Minor Legend, filled with anachronisms. Yet, through a careful investigation of the text of the Major Legend, the Latin philologist János Horváth jun. proposed an opposing thesis. He suggested that the Legenda maior, despite numerous interpolations, preserves valuable fragments of an archaic legend, the “original” one, now lost, and that the Legenda minor is also an abbreviated version of this lost text, prepared for liturgical purposes. He argued for the existence of this archaic version by showing that the overlapping parts of the Minor and the Major Legends cannot be deduced from each other, that they Gábor Klaniczay, Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 123–33. 5 Emericus Madzsar, “Praefatio: Legenda Sancti Gerhardi episcopi,” in SRH 2, 463–70; György Györffy, István király és műve [King Stephen and his achievement] (Budapest: Gondolat, 1977), 295–96. Edith Pásztor, “Problemi di datazione della ‘Legenda maior S. Gerhardi episcopi,’” Bollettino dell’Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo 73 (1961): 113–40. 6 Csóka, A latin nyelvű történeti irodalom, 113–54, 263–328, 404–5, 503–4; idem, “Szent Gellért kisebb és nagyobb legendájának keletkezés-története” [The history of the making of the minor and major legends of St. Gerard], in Középkori kútfőink kritikus kérdései, ed. by János Horváth and György Székely (Budapest: Akadémiai, 1974), 137–46. 4

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must have drawn in different manners on an original text. In addition, he pointed out that the Legenda maior has several paragraphs in “rhymed prose” (a style in vogue around the turn of the eleventh century that later went out of use), while this feature is absent from the Legenda minor. Based on this observation, he proposed dating the Legenda minor to the early thirteenth century. 7 Except for this very late dating of the Minor Legend, the present consensus accepts the hypothesis that an archaic version existed which provided significant parts of both the Minor Legend and the Major Legend, although each in a different manner.8 The Legenda minor The Legenda minor has been preserved in a variety of manuscript and printed sources, which can be divided into two main groups, corresponding to the two areas where a cult of St. Gerard developed in the Middle Ages, i.e., Venice and the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. The earliest source (V)9 is associated with Venice; this is a three-volume manuscript Passionarium, i.e., a compilation of hagiographic material which was used for liturgical purposes in the János Horváth, jun., Árpád-kori latinnyelvű irodalmunk stílusproblémái [The stylistic problems of Latin literature of Hungary in the Arpadian period] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1954), 158–87; idem, “Quellenzusammenhänge der beiden Gerhard-Legenden,” Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 8 (1960): 439–54; idem, “La Légende Majeure de l’évêque Gérard et les débuts de notre historiographie médiévale,” Annales Universitatis Scientiarum Budapestiensis de Rolando Eötvös nominatae: Sectio philologica (1961): 3–20; idem, “A Gellért-legendák keletkezése és kora” [The formation and the age of the Gerard legends], in Horváth and Székely, Középkori kútfőink kritikus kérdései, 147–65; 8 Géza Érszegi, ed. Árpád-kori legendák és intelmek [Legends and Admonitions of the Arpadian Age], 208–9; Kornél Szovák, “Legenda Sancti Gerhardi episcopi,” in SRH 22 , 779–82. 9 Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale di San Marco, Cod. Lat. 28 cl. IX (2798), ff. 192– 200. In keeping with modern editorial practice, which prefers one-letter sigla for referring to manuscripts and multi-letter abbreviations for early printed editions, I have changed Madzsar’s siglum Ven. to V; in the present edition, Ven. refers to the edition of the Legende sanctorum printed in Venice in 1489. 7

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Cathedral of San Marco in Venice. According to recent research, the part which contains the Legenda minor of Saint Gerard should be dated to the first decades of the thirteenth, rather than the twelfth century as previously believed.10 The inclusion of a Passio of St. Gerard in this legendary indicates that his cult had obtained official recognition in Venice at some point during the second half of the twelfth or, more likely, in the early thirteenth century.11 Such a conclusion is warranted by the production of a state-sponsored iconographic depiction of the saint—a mosaic commissioned ca. 1240 as part of a program of saints’ images for the arches of the side aisles of the ducal chapel of San Marco.12 Furthermore, a fourteenth-century manuscript associated with San Marco preserves a liturgical office which was composed for Gerard’s feast based on the version of the Legenda minor contained in V.13 It is unclear what the ultimate source of the text preserved in the Venice manuscript was; its confused account of Gerard’s movements preceding his 10 For the dating of V, see Paolo Chiesa, “Recuperi agiografici veneziani dai codici Milano, Braidense, Gerli ms. 26 e Firenze, Nazionale, Conv. Soppr. G.5.1212,” Hagiographica 5 (1998): 220, n3. The most recent edition of the Venice text of the Legenda minor is contained in an unpublished dissertation by Paolo Mancin, “Gerardo vescovo di Csanad fra Venezia e Ungheria,” Università degli studi di Venezia Ca’ Foscari, Facolta di Lettere e Filosofia, Corso di laurea di storia, Tesi di laurea, 1989–1990. I would like to express my gratitude to Claudiu Călin for his invaluable help in locating a copy of this otherwise inaccessible text in the archive of the Roman-Catholic Diocese of Timișoara. 11 That this could have happened only after ca. 1150 is suggested by the absence of Gerard’s feast from the earliest known calendar of Venetian origin, compiled sometime between 1126 and 1150; see Chiesa, “Recuperi,” 259–62 for a discussion of this source and its date. 12 On this see George Kaftal, Saints in Italian Art: Iconography of the Saints in the Painting of North East Italy (Florence: Sansoni, 1978), 376, no. 114 and the recent discussion by Karen McCluskey, “Official Sanctity alla Veneziana: Gerardo, Pietro Orseolo and Giacomo Salomani,” Conserveries mémorielles 14 (2013), published online July 1, 2013. http://cm.revues.org/1718. 13 The text was published by Guido Maria Dreves in Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi, vol. 45 a, Historiae Rhytmicae: Liturgische Reimofficien des Mittelalters (Leipzig: O. R. Reisland, 1904), 95–97. See now Giulio Cattin, Musica e liturgia a San Marco: testi e melodie per la liturgia delle ore dal XII al XVII secolo: dal graduale tropato del duecento ai graduali cinquecenteschi, vol. 3 (Venice: Fondazione Levi, 1990), 294–98 and 160*–172*.

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death14 suggests that, even if it was copied from a model of Hungarian provenance, it must have been later reshaped in a milieu which was not familiar with the topographic details of medieval Hungary. The Venetian version of the Legenda minor contains several episodes absent from the Hungarian versions.15 Directly dependent on the Venice manuscript are several other sources, such as the excerpts of the Legenda minor contained in a liturgical office for February 23, the date of the feast of St. Gerard in the Venetian tradition.16 The office was first published from a lost manuscript of uncertain date belonging to the church of SS. Maria e Donato in Murano.17 This was the place where Gerard’s relics were first housed after their translation to Venice presumably in the second half of the fourteenth century.18 The Dominican Pietro Calò (d. 1348) transcribed almost verbatim the Legenda minor from V into his own hagiographic compilation, a multi-volume Legendary he compiled before 1340.19 The brief entry dedicated to Gerard in a similar hagiographic encyclopedia by Pietro Na­dal

For which, see below. See below. 16 This date, initially unknown in the Hungarian tradition, where Gerard’s feast was celebrated on September 24, may refer to the day on which Gerard’s relics were translated to Murano. 17 “Lectiones officii antiqui ecclesiae Muranae,” ed. Flaminio Corner, Ecclesiae Torcellanae antiquis monumentis nunc etiam primum editis, vol. 2 (Venice: Typis Jo. Baptistae Pasquali, 1749), 74–78. 18 The date and the circumstances of this translation cannot be established with any certainty; the first, somewhat puzzling mention of the relics at SS. Maria e Donato in Murano occurs in an entry in the earliest catalogue of relics kept and venerated in Venice and the surrounding area. This was compiled between 1369 and 1372 by Pietro Nadal, bishop of Jessolo, and, according to its latest editor, may go back to official lists kept in Venice. The text has now been published by Chiesa, “Recuperi,” 267–71: “in the same church is laid to rest the body of Saint Gerard the bishop and martyr, in the main altar of this church; he was a Roman by birth and was martyred by heretics on account of his faith in Dalmatia, from where [his relics] were translated.” 19 Calò’s version of the Legenda minor was published by Florio Banfi, “Vita di S. Gerardo da Venezia, vescovo di Csanád nel Leggendario di Pietro Calò,” Janus Pannonius 1 (1947): 224–42. 14 15

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(b. ca. 1330–d. ca. 1406) probably goes back to the same source.20 A recently discovered fifteenth-century manuscript in Milan (M), which contains the Legenda minor, is probably derived from the San Marco Passionarium.21 The Hungarian tradition of the text can be divided in two branches. The first consists of a late-fifteenth century manuscript known as the Corsendonk codex (C)22 and three early printed editions of a Central-European supplement to the popular hagiographic compilation by Jacobus de Voragine known as the Golden Legend. Of these, two bear the same title, Legende sanctorum regni Hungarie in Lombardica Historia non contente, and reflect Hungarian interests,23 while a third was modified to include Czech and Polish saints.24 Contrary to what Imre Madzsar assumed, the relationship between C and the early prints, on one hand, and the relation of the three printed editions to each other is less than straightforward.25 Catalogus sanctorum et gestorum eorum ex diversis voluminibus collectus. . . (Vicenza: Enrico di Ca’ Zeno, 1493), ch. 145. 21 Milan, Biblioteca Braidense, Gerli ms. 26, ff. 180–182v; for a detailed description, see Chiesa, “Recuperi,” 223–44, esp. 233. 22 Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine, Ms. 1733 (olim 1329), ff. 417–418v. This manuscript, copied in 1498 in Corsendonk, was assigned different sigla by Imre Madzsar (P) and Emma Bartoniek (C) in the same volume of the SRH; for the sake of consistency, I have retained the latter designation. 23 A first edition (A in the present edition; L in Madzsar’s) was printed probably in Strasbourg sometime between 1484 and 1487, the second (Ven.), in Venice in 1498. On these Hungarian supplements to the Golden Legend, see Edit Madas, “La Légende dorée—‘Historia Lombardica’—en Hongrie,” in Spiritualità e lettere nella cultura italiana e ungherese del basso medioevo, ed. Sante Graciotti and Cesare Vasoli (Florence: Leo S. Olschki Editore, 1995), 53–61. 24 Vita beatissimi Stanislai Cracouiensis episcopi: nec non legende sanctorum Polonie, Hungarie, Bohemie, Morauie, Prussie et Slesie patronorum in Lombardica historia non contente (Cracow: Johannes Haller, 1511); siglum Crac. 25 Without having actually seen the Corsendonk manuscript, Madzsar dismissed it as a copy of the early printed edition simply on the basis of their identical table of contents and did not use it in his critical edition of the Legenda minor. In the same volume of the SRH, however, Emma Bartoniek, who compared in detail the readings of C with that of the early prints, provided irrefutable proof that these two are not derived from each other and have independent value; for examples, see SRH 2, 374, n. 2, 445, and 514, n. 1. I follow Bartoniek in this respect. 20

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The texts of the Legenda minor they contain are closely related and may go back to a distant common archetype that was clearly different from the Venice text. It was a text of Hungarian type that served as a basis for the vita of St. Gerard compiled by the Carthusian Laurentius Surius.26 The second branch of the Hungarian tradition is composed of various manuscript and printed breviaries, compiled both for ecclesiastic and private use between the fourteenth and the sixteenth century in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary.27 Although they have not been used by any of the previous editors of the Legenda minor, these breviaries constitute, in my opinion, an invaluable source for recovering much of the text of the lost original. Especially important are those which draw on the liturgical traditions of the archdiocese of Kalocsa-Bács, to which the bishopric of Csanád, i.e., the main center of Gerard’s cult in Hungary, belonged in the Middle Ages. Taking into account the available evidence in all its diversity, the present translation of the Legenda minor is based on what amounts to a new, albeit provisional, critical edition of the Latin text rather than on the edition published by Imre Madzsar in the SRH. This course of action represents a departure from the normal practice of the CEMT series and requires some explanation. Editing the text anew was made necessary, on one hand, by the practical impossibility to reprint the SRH Latin text without its extensive critical apparatus, and, on the other, by the demonstrably inferior quality of that text. Both factors were the result of a series of what I regard as questionable editorial choices. Madzsar’s editorial approach was heavily influenced by the doctrine of Joseph Bédier and his followers, which was fashionable at the time when the editions published in the SRH were produced. In contrast to previous editorial practice, this method rejected attempts at recon De probatis sanctorum historiis..., vol. 5 (Cologne: Apud Geruinum Calenium & haeredes Quentelios, 1574), 348–51. In spite of Surius’ stylistic alterations, which were meant to upgrade the Latin of his source, the original wording of the text is often recoverable. 27 For a detailed list of these breviaries and the sigla assigned to them, see the Appendix to Gerard’s hagiography at 651–54 in this volume. 26

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structing an original text by comparing and emending surviving manuscripts, and, instead, advocated relying on a single, so-called “best” manuscript (codex optimus), to be chosen from among surviving witnesses and printed with no or minimal editorial intervention. For his edition of the Legenda minor, Madzsar chose the Venice manuscript (V), which he reproduced unchanged as his main text, down to all its orthographic peculiarities and non-sensical readings. A three-layered critical apparatus accompanies this text. Its first layer (apparatus 1) contains the editor’s own corrections and conjectures in those places where V makes little or no sense; such corrections make sparing use of the variant readings offered by the other surviving witnesses. A second layer (apparatus 2), in smaller print, includes the variant readings rejected by Madzsar. Finally, a third layer provides historical and philological annotations. As a result of this complex construction, the SRH contains no editor’s text, but rather a challenge to the potential reader(s) and translator(s), who have to constitute the text themselves by constantly navigating between the main text (that of V), Madzsar’s suggested changes (apparatus 1), and the variant readings (apparatus 2), which often make more sense than the previous two layers. The editor’s text is born from the combination of these three elements. None of them, printed separately, would make much sense. It was impossible to reproduce in this volume the complex structure described above. Furthermore, the “best manuscript” method used by Madzsar no longer enjoys a privileged and uncontroversial status as the preferred editorial approach to medieval Latin texts.28 Therefore, I have chosen to constitute a new Latin text, which could then serve as a basis for the English translation proposed here and be printed next to it.29 The present Lat As rightly pointed out by Kornél Szovák and László Veszprémy in their “Utószó” [Afterword] to the reprint edition of the SRH (Budapest: Nap Kiadó, 1999), 724– 25; I share both their reservations and their appeal for a return to a more reconstruction-based editorial approach. 29 This is, in fact, what most of the modern translators of the Legenda minor have done, most of the times without fair warning to their readers that the Latin text they translated was not identical with that published in the SRH. 28

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in text retains as a basis that of the earliest manuscript (V), but it departs from it much more often than Madzsar’s. My edition integrates tacitly all Madzsar’s corrections to the text of V (his apparatus 1) which I regarded as plausible. In addition to this, I introduced into the text a significant number of variant readings from other textual witnesses such as the Corsendonk ms. (C) and all the three known versions of the text printed in the Legende sanctorum regni Hungarie (A, Ven., Crac.); in my opinion, Madzsar severely underestimated the value of all these. Last, but not least, the new Latin text also draws on a group of textual witnesses ignored by Madzsar, several breviaries of Hungarian origin,30 which contain significant excerpts from the text of the Legenda minor that may go back to the lost original version. The Latin text proposed here is, unlike Madzsar’s, the result of a reconstructive approach; in selecting the variants to be printed, I have attempted both to make sense of the transmitted text(s) as best as possible, and, at the same time, to recover its earliest possible shape. All departures from Madzsar’s edition other than the tacit integration of his apparatus 1 have been duly noted in the critical apparatus which accompanies the Latin text proposed here. As noted above, for the sake of consistency, it has also become necessary to change some of the sigla used by Madzsar; such changes are indicated in the footnotes to the section of the Introduction which deals with the textual tradition of the two Legendae.31 No attempt has been made to standardize the Latin spelling, which remains that of the various original sources. In preparing this first English translation of the Legenda minor of St. Gerard and the notes that accompany it, I have systematically consulted the German translation by Gabriel Silagi,32 the

For a list of these, see the Appendix mentioned in footnote 27, above. See above. 32 “Legenda minor,” in Die heiligen Könige, ed. trans. Thomas von Bogyay, János Bak, Gabriel Silagi (Graz: Verlag Styria, 1976), 77–85 with notes on p. 177–78. 30 31

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Hungarian by Flóris Szabó,33 and the partial Czech translation by Jana Nechutová,34 most of the time with great profit. The Legenda maior The textual tradition of the Legenda maior is considerably simpler than that of its earlier counterpart. Its text survives in three fifteenth-century codices: a first manuscript (V) now kept in Vienna, but originally from the Benedictine abbey in Mondsee,35 a second manuscript (M) descended from V, originally from Tegernsee, but now kept in Munich36, and a third (P)—ignored by Madzsar’s edition—now housed in the Library of the University in Padua.37 Other than the manuscripts mentioned above, a source of special importance for the reconstruction of the text of the Legenda maior is the composite Vita published by Arnold Wion in 1597.38 One of the sources of this hagiographic compilation was a manu “Szent Gellért püspök kis legendája” [The minor legend of St. Gerard the bishop], in Árpád-kori legendák és intelmek: Szentek a magyar középkorból I [Legends and admonitions from the Arpadian age: Hungarian medieval saints], ed. Géza Érszegi (Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, 2004), 63–68 with notes on p. 195–97. 34 “Menší legenda svatého biskupa Gerarda” [The minor legend of St. Gerard the bishop], in Legendy a kroniky Koruny uherské, ed. Richard Pražák (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1988), 118–31. 35 Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 3662, 95v–102v. Madzsar’s edition of the Legenda maior (SRH 2, 480–506) reproduces the text of this ms. (there identified with the siglum Vind.). Two copies of V made in the eighteenth century are also extant. 36 Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clmae 18.624, ff. 31–49; in Madzsar’s ed. it has the siglum Mon. 37 Biblioteca Universitaria di Padova, Cod. Lat. 1622, ff. 121v–126v. First identified in 1934, the Latin text of the Legenda maior contained in P was published by Banfi, “Vita di San Gerardo,” 288–318. In addition to publishing the text of P, Banfi also reproduced the variant readings from V, M, and Wion’s text; in this way, his publication can be read as a new critical edition of sorts. 38 Sancti Gerardi Sagredo, patricii veneti, ex monacho et abbate S. Georgii Majoris Venetiarum, ordinis S. Benedicti, episcopi Canadiensis primi ac Hungarorum, protomartyris apostoli vita, ex antiquissimis authenticis manuscriptis, tum etiam excusis codicibus optima fide collecta, et annotationibus illustrata, per D. Arnoldum Wion... (Venice: apud J. B. et J. B. Sessa fratres, 1597). 33

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script of the Legenda maior copied in 142139; much of its text can still be recovered in spite of Wion’s linguistic and stylistic “upgrading.” The value of this manuscript’s readings is confirmed by a comparison with those contained in the Padua ms. (P)40; together, the two preserve in many places a much better—probably because earlier—text than the Mondsee codex (V), which Madzsar took as a basis for his edition. Finally, one can only regret the loss of what would have been a very authoritative manuscript of the Legenda maior, the only one among those attested so far to originate in late-medieval Hungary,41 more precisely in Csanád, the place where the text was originally composed. In 1519, this manuscript was sent by Clement of Gyula, canon of Csanád and bishop of Szörény/Severin (after 1508), to Giulio Simone (Iulius Simon Siculus), a Humanist scholar of Sicilian origin, who, at the time, was teaching in Rome. Simone was asked to “improve” the substandard Latinity of the original vita of Gerard contained in the manuscript in view of publication. The result,42 printed the same year, is a fas The date, according to Wion’s testimony, was inscribed in the manuscript; this may have been the “very ancient codex” (libricciuolo antichissimo) attested in possession of Nicolò Sagredo (1548–1615) at the end of the sixteenth century or a copy thereof; see L’Ungheria spiegata da Gio.Nicolò Doglioni,ove chiaramente si leggono tutte le cose successe in quel regno da che prima fu così nominato sino all’anno corrente 1595 (Venice: Damian Zenaro, 1595), 32–33. 40 This was recognized by Banfi, “Vita di San Gerardo,” 236, n. 85 (a list of preferable textual variants). 41 One such manuscript was used at the end of the fifteenth century by the Franciscan Pelbartus of Temesvár when composing a sermon for the feast of St. Gerard, in fact, an abridgment of the Legenda maior. See Sermones pomerii de sanctis (Hagenau: Heinrich Gran for Johannes Rymann, 1499), Sermo LXVI, De sancto Gerardo episcopo et martyre. 42 Iulii Simonis Siculi, Divus Gerardus episcopus et martyr (Rome: Marcello Silber, 1519). On this rare text, which has received very little scholarly attention to date, see Gedeon Borsa, “Az 1519. évben nyomtatott Gellért-legenda” [The legend of Gerard published in 1519], in Könyvtörténeti írások [Writings on book history], vol. 2, A külföldi nyomdászat 15–16. század [Foreign printing: Fifteenth and sixteenth centuries] (Budapest: Országos Széchényi Könyvtár, 1997), 329–35 with notes at 450–51 (originally published in 1980). 39

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cinating piece of Humanist re-writing of medieval hagiography.43 However, Simone’s extensive and overly creative re-writing and expansion have almost obliterated the original text; contrary to some scholars’ expectations, very little can be recovered from this vita in terms of original manuscript readings or historical information on the life and times of Gerard. The present translation of the Legenda maior, although based mainly on the Latin text published by Imre Madzsar in the SRH, has considered the variant readings of the Padua manuscript (P) whenever they seemed to yield a better text, and especially when confirmed by Wion’s version. All such departures from Madzsar’s text have been indicated in the textual notes that accompany the printed Latin text. The Gerard legends and contemporary religious culture The Legenda minor offers a rather schematic image of the charitable bishop organizing a new bishopric, being concerned about liturgy, and promoting the cult of the Virgin Mary. One part of the legend merits special attention: his confrontation with Samuel Aba. The religious culture of the eleventh and twelfth century was, among other features, characterized by a sharp confrontation of ecclesiastical and secular power. Ambitious bishops also played a significant role in these conflicts against the backdrop of the universal conflict between the papacy and the empire. A posteriori, the “Becket-model” gave a sense of the conflict between King Boleslaus II of Poland and St. Stanislaus of Cracow and the latter’s martyrdom.44 Similar conflicts also occurred in twelfth-century Hungary: Archbishop Lucas was not only a personal acquain43 Of the type studied by Alison Knowles Frazier in Possible Lives: Authors and Saints in Renaissance Italy (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005). 44 Stanislava Kuzmová, “Preaching on Martyr-Bishops in The Later Middle Ages: Saint Stanislaus of Kraków and Saint Thomas Becket,” in Britain and Poland-Lithuania: Contact and Comparison from the Middle Ages to 1795, ed. Richard Unger. (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 67–85.

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tance of Thomas Becket, but engaged in similar conflicts during the strife around the Hungarian throne among pretenders from various branches of the Árpádian dynasty in the 1160s.45 One can imagine that Gerard’s courageous confrontation with a ruler called usurper and tyrant, denying him a ceremonial coronation at the Easter festivities, could have acquired an actualized meaning in twelfth-century Hungary. In connection with this episode, József Gerics has lengthily discussed a particular point, suggesting that the legend distorted the true political issue. The ruler who Gerard opposed was in fact not Samuel Aba, but Peter I Orseolo, who the Hungarian clergy considered a foreigner put back on the throne by his father-in-law, Henry III, the Holy Roman Emperor.46 While these scenes found places in the Legenda maior, this fourteenth-century text adds some conspicuously anachronistic complements to each biographical episode. The pilgrimage to the Holy Land that Gerard planned is enlarged with the history of his patrician father, who participated in the crusades.47 Gerard’s studies of “the sciences of grammar, philosophy, music, canon law, and all other liberal arts” were conducted at Bologna, one of the greatest medieval universities.48 The canon-training school he allegedly founded in Marosvár would have been a rarity even in the late fourteenth century.49 Hints at Gerard’s spirituality are also permeated by anachronisms. His sermons, described in the Legenda maior, recall the

György Györffy, “Thomas à Becket and Hungary,” Angol Filológiai Tanulmányok—Hungarian Studies in English 4 (1969): 45–52. 46 József Gerics, “Die Kirchenpolitik des Königs Peter und deren Folgen,” Annales Universitatis Scientiarum Budapestinensis de Rolando Eötvös nominatae: Sectio historica 24 (1985): 269–76; idem, “Auslegung der Nacherzählung mittelalterlicher Quellen in unserer Zeit (Bischof Sankt Gerhard von Tschanad über König Aba),” Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 32, nos 3–4 (1986): 335–48. 47 Cf. below at 270–71. 48 Cf. below at 272–73. 49 Cf. below at 302–5. 45

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formal elements and contents of scholastic sermons.50 The theme of the Mulier amicta sole did not become popular until the fourteenth century, above all in the preaching of the friars.51 The Legenda maior also added a more detailed description of the martyrdom of Gerard to the original version of his stoning by the pagans. The spectacular story of him being put into a cart (biga) and thrown down from the rocks of the mount which now bears his name is probably a legend that originated in the thirteenth century.52 It first appeared in the Gesta Hungarorum, written by Simon of Kéza between 1282 and 1285: “Bishop Gerard of Csanád won the crown of martyrdom in Pest when he was pushed off the mountain in a cart by Hungarians.”53 The same description, somewhat enlarged, appears in the Hungarian Chronicle-compilation preserved from the fourteenth century, which subsequently became the basis of the representative Illuminated Chronicle (Chronicon pictum) (c. 1360) prepared at the court of Louis I (the Great). The description here contains precisely the same wording and sequence as the passage in the Legenda maior, ending with Gerard’s skull being crushed on a rock. 54 Whether the Chronicle was the source of the Legenda maior or vice versa is hard to ascertain.55 Cf. below at 282–83; on scholastic sermons in Hungary see Edit Madas, Középkori prédikációirodalmunk történetéből: a kezdetektől a XIV. század elejéig [On the history of sermon literature in Hungary: From the beginnings until the beginning of the fourteenth century] (Debrecen: Kossuth Egyetemi Kiadó, 2002). 51 Cf. below at 286–87. This theme is also present in the so-called Sermones Quinqueecclesienses. Cf. Edit Madas, “A Dominican Sermon Collection,” Budapest Review of Books 6 (1996): 193–99. 52 Cf. below at 322–23. 53 “Gerardus . . . de monte submissus in biga martyrio coronatur,” Simonis de Kéza Gesta Hungarorum / Simon of Kéza, The Deeds of the Hungarians, ed. László Veszprémy and Frank Schaer, Central European Medieval Texts 1 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 1999), 124–26. 54 Chronici hungarici compositio saeculi XIV, ed. Alexander Domanovszky, SRH 1, 341; now see Chron. pict., cap. 83, 157–61; cf. Gábor Klaniczay, “Sacred Sites in Medieval Buda,” in Medieval Buda in Context, ed. Balázs Nagy, Martyn Rady, Katalin Szende and András Vadas (Leyden–New York: Brill, 2016), 229–54. 55 László Szegfű, “Gellért püspök halála” [The death of bishop Gerard], Acta Universitatis Szegediensis de Attila József nominatae: Acta Historica 66 (1979): 22–24. 50

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Finally, the description in the Major Legend of the transfer of St. Gerard’s relics to Csanád seven years after his death, accompanied by spectacular miracles along the way—not documented in other historical sources—may echo the experience of the festive translation of the relics of St. Paul the Hermit from Venice to Buda in 1381.56 Since the last date mentioned in the Major Legend is the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1381, the impact of this recent sacred event on its text is quite probable. In conclusion, one could lament of the historical inaccuracies discovered in the Legenda maior. We should appreciate, however, the numerous hints at the spirituality and historical memory of the age when it received its final shape even though some parts may have been derived from the text of the archaic version of the legend of St. Gerard.

Cf. below at 324–29; Matthias Fuhrmann, Anonymi Hungarici Historia de translatione S. Pauli Thebaei (Pest, 1799).

56

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q

PASSION OF THE MOST BLESSED GERARD (Minor Legend)

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PASSIO BEATISSIMI GERARDI (Legenda Minor) 1. Gaudia, que Christi participibus dies hodierna contulit, ex beati patris nostri Christique martirisa Gerardi meritisb fluxere. Hic enim huius lucis1 lumencper Venetos parentesd 2 sortitus, Dei gratia preveniente, a pueritia cepit Domino nostro Iesu Christo devotus existere et evangelicis documentis per omnia parere. Nam religionis habitum puer accepit3 sinistramque primi parentis viam declinans, novi hominis secundum Deum creati callem incedens, regionis per inobedientiam derelicte, scilicet paradisi gaudia, iam adholescens studuit amare. 2. Igitur dum animi sinceritate sanctam vitam duceret, placuit eie Dominicum visitare sepulchrum, quatinus Christum propter nos egenum factum4 pauper et inopsf 5 sequeretur. Egressus itaque de terra et g de cognatione6 sua tendebat ad orientem, ubi Habraam dives ac pater multarum gentium7 factus est, quatinus et ipse in Habrahe semine, id est in Christo8 datam benedictionem peregrinationis

martiris C A Br132 s BrLV : meritis V meritis C A Br132 s BrLV : om. V c lumen C A Br132 s BrLV BrBen : limen V d add. Sagredae prosapiae post parentes BrMU Wion e ei C A Br132 : om.V BrZG BrDK BrZagr Br132 s BrLV BrBen f pauper et inops V BrDK BrZagr Br132 s BrLV BrBen : inops et pauper C A BrZG Surius g et C A z BrZagr Br132 s BrLV BrBen Surius : om. V Ven. a

b

The date cannot be established with any certainty but was probably sometime after 977. 2 Possibly the Morosini family, although Gerard’s association with them may have arisen simply because of the dubious tradition recorded in the Legenda maior (see the following note) that linked him to a Benedictine monastery founded in 982 by Giovanni Morosini (d. 1012). A later tradition that associates him with another Venetian noble family, the Sagredo, is a pious invention first circulated in the sixteenth 1

[ 240 ]

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PASSION OF THE MOST BLESSED GERARD (Minor Legend) 1. The joys that today has brought to the followers of Christ originated in the merits of our holy father and martyr of Christ, Gerard. Born into this world1 of Venetian parents,2 with the assistance of God’s grace from his childhood he began to devote himself to our Lord Jesus Christ and to obey in all respects the teachings of the Gospels. Indeed, as a child, he received the monastic habit3 and, avoiding the erroneous way of our first ancestor, he walked upon the path of the new man, the one created in God’s likeness; even as a young man he strove to desire the joys of that land lost on account of disobedience, namely, paradise. 2. Therefore, while he was leading a life of sanctity with sincere heart, he decided to visit the Lord’s sepulcher, in order, poor and needy,4 to follow Christ, who for our sakes became poor.5 Going forth, then, from his country and from his kindred,6 he set off for the East, where Abraham had been made rich and a father of many nations,7 in order that he too, like Abraham who believed,8 might obtain by

century to legitimize their acquisition of Gerard’s relics; see Luigi Canetti, “Gerardo di Csanád,” in Dizionario biografico degli Italiani, vol. 53 (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1999), 359. 3 According to the Legenda maior 1 (SRH 2, 481, see below at 268–71), Gerard was given as an oblate to the monastery of St. George on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore and even became its abbot. However, Jean Leclercq has expressed strong doubts concerning Gerard’s monastic status; see his “Saint Gerard de Csanád et le monachisme,” Studia monastica 13, no. 1 (1971): 13–30. 4 Ps. 73:21. 5 2 Cor. 8:9. 6 Gen. 12:1. 7 Gen. 17:4. 8 Cf. Gen. 15:6 (credidit Abraam Deo). [ 241 ]

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sue labore ut credulusa 9 Habraam possideret. Pervenit deniqueb ad partes Pannonie,10 quarum habenam tunc christianissimus rex Stephanus11 gubernabat, quem vir Deic humilis atque supplexd adiit causamque sui itineris aperiens ampliori dilectione est ab eo receptus. Quem ubi rex moribus atque disciplinarum documentis bonum Christi odorem12 fragraree intellexit, clam dimissis itineris suif comitibus hunc solum invitum retinuit custodiamque adhibuit. Postquam servus Domini13 se solum merensg repperit, tumultum populi devitans in eadem regione heremum, que vulgo Bel14 vocitatur,h petiit, ubi per VII annos ieiuniis orationumi 15 exercitiis deditus excepto Mauro monacho solus habitavit.16

credulus C A Br132 s BrLV (cf. fidelis Surius) : incredulus V denique C A z Br132 s BrLV : itaque V om. BrZagr c dei C A Surius : domini V s BrLV d supplex V C s (cf. suplex A) : simplex BrLV Surius e fragrare intellexit C Ven. Crac. BrBen (cf. fragare A spirare Surius) : fore intellexit Vs BrLV intellexit fore BrDK intellexit BrZG BrZagr emittentem intellexisset BrMU f itineris sui V BrZG BrDK BrZagr s BrLV BrBen : suis itineris C A sui itineris Ven. g merens V z BrZagr BrLV BrBen : inh(a)erens C A s h vocitatur V BrZG BrDK s : vocatur C A BrSN BrBen vocatum BrLV dicitur BrZagr i orationumque s : orationum C A et orationibus BrZG BrDK BrZagr orationibus BrLV dictaminumque V BrBen a

b

Cf. Gal. 3:16 (et semini tuo, qui est Christus). The name of the Roman province that covered most of what is today Western Hungary; in the Middle Ages this name was used for the entire kingdom, whose inhabitants were also referred to as Pannonienses. 11 St. Stephen I (997–1038), crowned King of Hungary in 1000/1001. In the afterword to his collection of homilies, Gerard qualified the king with the same expression (a rege Christianissimo Stephano) as the one used here; Latin text in Edit Madas, Középkori prédikációirodalmunk történetéből: a kezdetektől a XIV. század elejéig [On the history of sermon literature in Hungary: From the beginnings until the beginning of the fourteenth century] (Debrecen: Kossuth Egyetemi Kiadó, 2002), 21. 12 Cf. 2 Cor. 2:15 (quia Christi bonus odor sumus). 13 Deut. 34:5. 9

10

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the toil of his pilgrimage the blessing given to the seed of Abraham, that is, in Christ.9 And he eventually arrived in the region of Pannonia,10 which the most Christian King Stephen11 was then ruling; the man of God approached him in humility and supplication, and revealing to him the purpose of his journey, he was received by the king with great and heartfelt affection. When the king perceived from his ways and from the testimony of his learning that this was a man who was fragrant with the sweet savor of Christ,12 he secretly sent away the companions of his journey, retaining him alone and unwilling and placing him under guard. After the servant of the Lord13 discovered that he remained alone and desolate, shunning the tumult of the crowds he made for a desert place in that land called Bél14 in the vernacular, where he lived for seven years—with Mór15 the monk as his sole companion—, devoting himself to fasting and prayer.16

Today Bakonybél (in Veszprém county, NW Hungary). The site is associated with another famous eleventh-century hermit, St. Günther of Niederaltaich (ca. 955–1045), who established a hermitage there; in connection with this a Benedictine abbey was established in 1018, a daughter-house of the one in Niederaltaich and dedicated to St. Maurice, its patron saint. On this, see Marina Miladinov, Margins of Solitude: Eremitism in Central Europe between East and West (Zagreb: Leykam International, 2008), 88–89; Petr Kubín, Der heilige Gunther: Einsiedler, Kolonisator und Diplomat (Prague, 2015). Gerard’s stay at Bakonybél was known to the author of the Legenda maior of St. Stephen (ch. 12, SRH 2, 388). 15 Mór (Maurus) is attested as bishop of Csanád in 1053, at the time of the translation of Gerard’s relics from Pest to Csanád; the relevant passage of the Legenda maior does not mention him as Gerard’s companion at Bakonybél. Judging by his name—that of St. Benedict’s faithful companion, Maurus—he must have been a monk. 16 With most modern translators, I have preferred here the reading orationum “prayers” given by C, A, and the breviary texts over dictaminum “literary compositions” in V; the combination of fasting and prayer is standard in portrayals of ascetic activity, while that of fasting and literary activity is less so. The version of the same events found in the Legenda maior 6 (SRH 2, 488–89) reads: “for seven years without a break he devoted himself to fasting and prayer and vigils (ieiuniis et orationibus et vigiliarum exercitiis), he stayed in one place and built himself a cell, where he used to compose books (dictabat libros), which he wrote down with his own hand;” this suggests that the lost original may have contained some reference to Gerard’s intellectual pastimes in his hermitage in Bakonybél. 14

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3. Interim prefatus rex ut robustissimus Iosue17 impietatem gentium delevit18 crudelesque paganorum mores superavit ac plurimorum corda ad recipienda sancte fidei semina preparavit. Videns autem rex regnum suum pacis tranquilitatem adeptum servum Domini19 ab eremo convocata pontificalique infula decoratum populo suo predicare destinavit.20 Cui superna pietas tantam gratiam contulit, ut eum omnes loci illius incoleb vnicecamarent et ut patrem colerent ac iam pater multorum21 tamquam patriarcha Abraham haberetur. Crescente vero fidelium numero ecclesias Deod per singulas urbes fabricavit, principalem autem ecclesiam in honorem Sancti Georgii preciosissimi Christi martyris ad litus Morisii22 fluminis fundavit, unde et Morisenam sedem appellavit, quam beatus rex Stephanus dotalibus muneribus nobiliter ditavit. In qua ecclesia ad honorem matris nostri Salvatoris venerabilem aram erexit, ante quam turibulum argenteum fixit. Cuius ministerio duos provecte etatis homines adhibuit, qui iugiter ibie vigilarent,f quatenus nec g ad unam horam odor thimiamatis deesset. 4. Singulis quoque sabbatis ibidem cum novem lectionibus sicut in die Assumptionis matris Domini magnisque laudum preconiis devotionis sue officium complebat, plus etiam misericordie operam dabat. Ceteris autem diebus matutinis atque vesperis peractis bis cum processione ad eandem venire consueverat, que consuetudo adhuc perseverat. Porro laudibus sancte Dei genitricis se subdere tante humilitatis obsequio noverat, ut qualiscunque reus clam a sancti viri familiaribus edoctus indulgentiam per nomen Christi matris h precabatur, audito nomine matris misericordie pater sanc convocat V z BrZagr s : reuocavit C A Surius loci illius incole C A BrZG BrDK s Surius : incole l. i. BrZagr homines l. i. V c vnice C A s BrZagr Surius : invicem V om. BrZG BrDK d deo C A BrZG BrDK BrZagr s Surius : dei V domino BrSN e ibi C A (cf. illic Surius) : om. V s f iugiter ... vigilarent C A s : vigilarent iugiter V g ne C A s BrMU : nec V h christi matris A BrStrig 1484 BrZagr : matris christi V christi om. C a

b

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3. Meanwhile, the said king, like Joshua the most valiant,17 destroyed the impiety of the gentiles,18 overcame the cruel customs of the pagans, and prepared the hearts of a great many people to receive the seeds of the holy faith. And when the king saw his kingdom secure in tranquility and peace he summoned the servant of the Lord 19 from the wilderness and conferring on him the insignia of priesthood, appointed him to preach to his people.20 And heavenly mercy bestowed upon him such grace that all the inhabitants of that place showed exceptional love for him and revered him as a father, and he was already considered, like Abraham the patriarch, the father of many.21 Now, as the number of the faithful grew, he had churches built to God in every city, but the main church he founded in honor of St. George, the most precious martyr of Christ, on the bank of the river Maros,22 after which he called his see Marosvár, and this the Holy King Stephen nobly endowed with donations and gifts. In this church he erected a venerable altar in the honor of the mother of our Savior, and he placed before it a silver censer. He appointed two men who were well advanced in years for its service to keep vigil at that place uninterruptedly so that the fragrance of incense should never cease, not even for an hour. 4. Moreover, on every Saturday he would perform the office of his devotion there with nine readings just as on the day of the Assumption of the Mother of the Lord, and with many hymns of praise; but even more he would apply himself to works of charity. On the other days, however, after completing the offices of matins and vespers, he would twice lead a procession to that altar, a custom which is still preserved today. What is more, he dedicated himself to glorifying the Holy Mother of God with such humble devotion that whenever Cf. Josh. 1:7 (esto robustus ualde). See Eccles. 46:1–8. 19 Deut. 34:5. 20 The breviaries of the Kalocsa-Bács tradition specify at this point that Gerard was appointed in ecclesia Chanadiensi “to the church of Csanád.” 21 Cf. Gen. 17:4 (pater multarum gentium). 22 Lat. Morisius, Rom. Mureș. 17

18

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tus mox lacrimis perfundebatur et velud ipse esset reus, a reo veniam postulabat filiumque suum illum fore affirmabat, si eam recte Dei genitricem crederet. Ipsius arbitrio ab Ungarica generatione nomen matris Christi non auditur, tantum domina23 resonat sia vero auditur statim flexis genibus et demissis in terra capitibus se inclinant,24 nam et Panonia a suo sancto rege Stephano familia sancte Marie appellata est.25 O laudanda virorum prudentia,26 qui hanc maris stellam27 adtendendo cursum vite sue dirigebant, quatenus respectu exempli illius possent inter huius seculi fluctus remigantes tamquamb scilleam voraginem voluptatum desideriac 28 declinare portumque eterne quietis d 29 attingere. Circa ecclesiastica ministeria curam nimium sollicitee agebat. Nam estivo tempore vascula in domo Domini glacie plena ponebantur, in quibus laguncule vinum quod poterat optimum inveniri ad dominici sanguinis confectionem si vero — se inclinant C A Surius : om. V BrStrig 1484 tamquam C A BrStrig 1484 : om. V c desideria C A BrStrig 1484 : om. V d quietis V : salutis C A BrStrig 1484 e sollicite BrStrig 1484 : solicitus C A om. V sollicitam indefesse BrZG BrDK a

b

23 In Hungarian, asszony, a word of Alan origin, whose primary meaning was “queen, ruling lady”; see A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára [A historical and etymological dictionary of Hungarian], ed. Loránd Benkő, vol. 1 (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1967), 189, s.v. Following their conversion to Christianity, the term was used by the Hungarians to refer to the Virgin either alone or in compounds such as nagyasszony “the great Lady” or nagyboldogasszony “the blessed great Lady.” In a similar vein, the author of the Legenda maior of St. Stephen (ch. 10, SRH 2, 385; see above at 60–61) noted that the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin “in their language is called, without any mention of her proper name, ‘the day of the Queen’ (regine dies).” 24 This manifestation of piety is absent from V. 25 The dedication of Hungary to the Virgin by its first Christian king is first mentioned in the Legenda maior of St. Stephen (ch. 10, SRH 2, 385; see above at 60–63). The idea of such a donation, which several modern historians have regarded as an anachronism or doubted altogether, was probably conceived in the early part of the reign of King Coloman the Learned, i.e., in the late 1090s. It probably came as an ideological response to papal claims of supremacy expressed in a letter of Pope Urban II addressed on July 27, 1096, to the king, whom he reminded to “obey the pinnacles of divine power, Peter and Paul,” and pay the due honor and obedience (subiectionem et honorem) to their Church just as Stephen had done. See DHA 317–8.

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some offender, instructed in secret by those closest to the holy man, would ask for mercy in the name of the Mother of Christ, as soon as he would hear the name of the Mother of Mercy our holy father would at once burst into tears and, as if he himself had been the guilty one, would ask pardon from the offender, and he would even call the man his son if he truly acknowledged her as the Mother of God. It is due to his influence that one does not really hear among the Hungarian people the name of the Mother of Christ, but one only hears “(our) Lady,” 23 and if they hear this, they immediately kneel and bow their heads to the ground24; for Pannonia, too, was called by its Holy King Stephen “the household of Saint Mary.”25 O, worthy of praise is the wisdom of those men who26 would steer the course of their life with the guidance of this Star of the Sea,27 so that following her example they might row through the billows of this world and, avoiding the craving 28 for pleasures as a Scylla-like maelstrom, attain the haven of eternal peace.29 As for the church services, of these he took particular care. Thus, in summertime, containers filled with ice would be placed in the house of the Lord, and in these small flasks would preserve the best wine that could be found for transfiguration into the blood of the

This entire passage is inspired by a sermon of Fulbert of Chartres (b. ca. 960– d.1028), which it quotes verbatim (Sermo IV de Nativitate Beatae Mariae Virginis in PL vol. 141, col. 322A). The textual dependence was discovered and discussed by István Jelenits, “Adalékok legendáink dogma- és liturgiatörténeti vizsgálatához” [Contributions to the doctrinal and liturgical aspects of research on our legends], in Eszmetörténeti tanulmányok a magyar középkorról [Studies on the intellectual history of the Hungarian Middle Ages], ed. György Székely (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1984), 227–34, esp. 227–31. 27 “Star of the Sea” (stella maris) as a Marian epithet goes back to Jerome’s Liber interpretationis Hebraicorum nominum (ed. P. de Lagarde, 14); see also Isidore of Seville, Etym. 7.10.1. 28 I translate here the text as given in C and A; this includes a word desideria “desires,” absent from V. 29 Instead of the reading quietis “peace,” given by V, C and the early printed versions of the legend, read salutis “salvation”; this textual variant is also attested in a letter of Peter of Blois (c. 1135–c.1211), who in his Ep. 57.3 quoted the same passage of Fulbert’s homily. 26

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r­ eservabant.a Dicebat enim: “Hoc, quod per fidem intus accipitur, suave inveniatur.” b Nocturno denique tempore leprosum in proprio lectulo requiescere faciens accepta securi silvam solus petebat fasciculisque lignorum propriis humeris pro castigatione sui corporis allatis servorum sibi servientium labores sepe relevabat.30 Quando autemc homo Dei de loco ad locum proficiscebatur, non quolibet iumento, sed modico utebatur vehiculo,31 in quo sedens libros quos ex Spiritus Sancti gratia composuerat, relegebat. Vestimentis autem cilicinisd hyspidisquee arietum pellibus32 sepius induebatur.f Sicut sepe sanctis hominibus contigit, aliquando negligentia sui aurige seu qualibet iniuria lesus levem iram incurrebat ac protinus hominem sibi culpabilem flagellis aggravari ac duris vinculis precipiebat. Cuius iussioni ministri obtemperantes,g sed paternitatis eius dulcedinem non obliviscentes, secus viam, qua sanctus pater erat transiturus, hominem reum ad stipitem alligabant ac signa plagarum in nudo dorso eius galline seu cuiuslibet animalis cruore depingebant. At33 ubi perveniens vir Deih aspiciebat, immemori crudelitatis sue saltum ilico de plaustro dans ad ligatum properabat, modo stipitem, brachia, manus ac vincula, modo pedes osculabatur, munera pollicebatur, si veniam et misericordiam ab homine iam absoluto reservabant V C : reservabantur A BrStrig 1484 conseruabantur Crac. inveniatur V BrStrig 1484 : invenitur C A c autem BrZG BrDK : enim V C A BrStrig 1484 d cilicinis C A Surius : cilicio V om. BrZG BrDK e hyspidisque V : ispidis BrZG BrDK atque ex pilis C A (cf. et ex arietum pellibus confectis Surius) f add. cilicio semper tectus post induebatur BrZG BrDK g obtemperantes C A : contemperantes V h dei C A Surius : domini V i immemor C A (cf. oblitus Surius) : memor V a

b

Engaging in hard manual labor at night as an expression of humility and a special form of self-mortification is a hagiographic commonplace; see Walter Berschin, Bio­ graphie und Epochenstil im lateinischen Mittelalter, vol. 4.1, Ottonische Biographie: Das hohe Mittelalter 920–1220 n. Chr. (Stuttgart: A. Hiersemann, 1999), 88–89 with n. 301. 30

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Lord. For he used to say: “Let this, which by faith we receive inside us, also taste delicious!” Finally, at night, having put a leper to rest in his own bed, he would take an axe and make for the woods alone, from where he brought bundles of sticks on his own shoulders so as to mortify his body, thus lightening the hard work of the servants who served him.30 Then, when the man of God would travel from one place to another, he used no beast of burden, but a modest cart,31 where he would sit and go once again through the books that he had composed by the grace of the Holy Ghost. As far as clothing goes, most of the time he wore things made of haircloth and rough sheepskins.32 As it often happens with holy men, sometimes, when he got upset either because of his driver’s negligence or because of some other offense, he would be swiftly moved to anger and immediately order that the man he held guilty be flogged and restrained with harsh bonds. His servants would obey this order, but keeping also in mind his paternal gentleness, they would tie the guilty man to a post by the side of the road where the holy father would be traveling and would paint on his naked back the marks of lashes with blood taken from a chicken or from some other animal. And33 when the man of God drove by and saw [this], he would put aside his severity, immediately jump off his cart, rush to the tied man and kiss now the post [to which he was tied], his arms, his hands, and his bonds, now his feet, and promise gifts if he should be found worthy to obtain pardon and mercy from the man, who,

31 The Hungarian Chronicle, in the narrative of Gerard’s death (ch. 83), gives a different reason for his choice of transportation: “he was short in stature (cum esset brevis statura) and had used up all his strength in the service of God.” Chron. pict. at 158–59. 32 The text is uncertain in this passage; I have tried to make sense of it by combining the readings of C and the early printed editions, which, together with the breviaries of the Kalocsa-Bács tradition, mention the cilicium “hair shirt,” and those of the Venice ms., which refer to the sheepskin; both would have been traditional monastic wear. 33 The following passage, which recounts Gerard’s reaction to the sight of the punished man, appears at the beginning of chapter 5 in Madzsar’s edition rather than at the end of chapter 4, where it belongs as the logical conclusion of the story. I have altered Madzsar’s paragraph division to follow the logic of the narrative.

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consequi mereretur. Si tunc homo adstaret,a hunc Dei virum pro tanta humilitate et simplicitate conversum atque effectumb illum puerum diceret,c quem Salvator in medio discipulorum ad imitandum statuit.34 5. Quamvis episcopalem dignitatem nimia prudentiad gubernaret, tamen heremum nusquam deseruit, verum iuxta urbes, ad quas e predicare veniebat, cellulam sibi silvarum secretiori loco construxerat, in qua †ligatus†f 35 pernoctasse multasque passiones, que soli Deo sunt cognite,g sustinuisse memoratur. Pretereah extrinsecus pro comisso grege maxima sollicitudo inerat ei, nam quotiens filiorum suorum quos Christo genuerat, rex Stephanus virga equitatis 36 perurgebat, hic pater zelo pietatis ac misericordie lacrimis defendebat, sic iustitia pietati conexa eorumi 37 iudicium Deo fiebat.38 Tempore quodam dum pro cuiusdam defensione ad eundem regem properaret, in eius regionis sabulosa j 39 parte que aptak usui pecudum astaret C A : adstares V effectum C A : add. fore post effectum V c diceret C A : diceres V d prudentia C A : providentia V e ad quas C A : quos V f ligatus C A Surius : legatus V legitur Calò ( fortasse recte) g cognite Ven. Crac. : cognita Madzsar h praeterea —fiebat om. C A Surius i eorum scripsi : earum Madzsar j sabulosa Calò, nuper coni. Silagi : fabulosa V sablorosa C A sablonosa uel sabulonosa coni. Madzsar k apta C A Surius : om. V a

b

34 See Matt. 18:2. The version translated here is that of C and the early printed versions; ms. V has a slightly different formulation, which addresses the reader directly: “If you had been there at the time, . . . you would have said . . .” 35 The text seems to be corrupted here; ligatus, the reading of C and the early printed editions translated here might refer to the well-known ascetic practice of wearing chains. In the fourteenth century Pietro Calò emended V to read legitur “[as] one can read.” Although appealing, this emendation would imply that the author of the original vita of St. Gerard had relied on a written source, which is far from certain.

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by this time, had already been released. Should anyone have been there at that time, seeing such humility and simplicity, they would have said that this man of God was transformed and made like that child whom the Savior, surrounded by His disciples, offered as an example.34 5. Even though he was fulfilling his episcopal office with great wisdom, he never abandoned the wilderness, but next to every city to which he came to preach he had built for himself a cell in one of the more remote corners of the woods where, so it is recalled, he spent many nights in bonds35 and endured many mortifications, which are known to God alone. Besides this, however, when he came out, he took the greatest care of the flock entrusted to him, for whenever King Stephen would chastise with the rod of justice36 one of the sons whom he had fathered in Christ, our father would defend him with kind-hearted vehemence and compassionate tears, and in this way, with justice joined by piety, their37 judgement would be done by God.38 Once, as he was making haste to the king in order to defend someone, the man of God was put up in a sandy part of the country that was good for keeping cattle.39 Here, around midnight, Heb. 1:8. I have emended the text to read eorum instead of Madzsar’s earum; I understand “their” judgement to refer to Gerard’s spiritual sons ( filiorum) rather than to justice and piety. 38 The whole passage that deals with Gerard’s intercession on behalf of the accused is absent from C and the early printed editions. While such omission may be accidental, it may also reflect a critical attitude towards episcopal interference with royal justice. 39 This passage is corrupt in the extant manuscript tradition. I have printed and translated here sabulosa “sandy,” an emendation suggested by Gabriel Silagi in his German translation of the Legenda minor; see Bogyay, Bak and Silagi, Die heiligen Könige, 177–78. In the fourteenth century Pietro Calò had already read the text in this way; see Banfi, “Vita di S. Gerardo.” The sandy part of the country mentioned here is probably the area between the rivers Tisza and Danube, which the anonymous notary of King Bela III (Gesta Hungarorum 50) referred to as sabulum “the sand.” Two mss. of the Legenda maior read in the corresponding passage, in eiusdem regionis parte silvosa, que usui porcorum erat apta “in a wooded part of the land, which was good for keeping pigs” (SRH 2, 497, cf. below at 310–11). 36 37

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exstat, vir Dei hospitatus est. Ubi circa mediam noctem ancilla quedam dum manibus molam circumferens triticum contereret, duritiam sui laboris cantilena demulcebat,40 ad quama sanctus pater expergefactus accersito ministro, quid sit, inquirit. Cui famulus, ut res erat, insinuat. Confestim pastor pius lacrimis perfunditur: ­“Felix,” inquid, “homo sub alterius potestate constituta, queb sic dulce debitum servitium absque murmuratione letans impendit.” Cui non minimum pondus pecunie portare iussit.c Postquam beatus rex Stephanus totam Pannoniam ad veram lucem Christi convertit, eam sub patrocinio sancte Dei genitricis semperque virginis Maried titulavit ipseque in die Assumptionis matris Domini41 microchosmum42 solvens ad eternam requiem assumptuse 43 est. Rex Petrus44 successit. Cui cum omnes Panonie principes fidem ac dilectionem coniurassent, unus ex eis deiectof rege regalem cathedram iniurioseg usurpavit.45 Quo regnante, sicut propheta ait, quam C A : quem V constituta que C A : constitutus qui V c iussit C A Surius : fecit V d Marie C A : om. V e assumptus C A Surius : sumptus V f deiecto C A : de post quem nonnullas litteras in V extinctas meminit Madzsar g iniuriose C A : iniuria sua V

a

b

40 The song is described in the corresponding passage of the Legenda maior (SRH 2, 498, and see below at 310–11) as symphonia Ungarorum “the Hungarian melody.” This brief and uninformative mention has generated a surprising amount of speculation (scholarly or otherwise) discussed in Gábor Klaniczay, “‘Popular Culture’ in Medieval Hagiography and in Recent Historiography,” in Agiografia e culture popolari: Hagiography and Popular Cultures: Atti del Convegno internazionale di Verona (28–30 ottobre 2010) in ricordo di Pietro Boglioni, ed. Paolo Golinelli (Bologna: CLUEB, 2012), 17–43, esp. 17–21. 41 August 15, 1038. 42 In the original the term microc(h)osmus “world in miniature” is used; this refers to the human being as a minor mundus, a small-scale replica of the world (cosmus) composed, just like it, of four elements. For the history of the term, see Ruth Finckh, Minor mundus homo: Studien zur Mikrokosmos-Idee in der mittelalterlichen Literatur (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1999).

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one of the women servants, while she was turning the mill by hand to grind some wheat, started to sing a song 40 in order to lighten her hard work; at this, the holy father woke up and, calling his servant, asked him what that was. The servant explained it to him. Immediately, the kind-hearted father burst into tears: “Blessed,” said he, “is the person who, although set under someone else’s authority, discharges the duty required of her so sweetly, gladly and, without complaint!” And he asked that a good deal of money should be given to her. After the Holy King Stephen converted the whole of Pannonia to the true light of Christ and placed it under the protection of the Holy and ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, on the day of the Assumption of the Mother of God,41 released from the small world42 [of his body], he, too, was taken up43 to eternal rest. King Peter44 succeeded him. But even though the main nobles of Pannonia had sworn him loyalty and affection, one of them deposed the king and unjustly usurped the throne.45 In his reign,

I have translated here the reading of C and the early printed versions (assumptus), which seems to be a pointed reference to the coincidence between Stephen’s own “transition” to eternity and that of the Virgin (assumptio). This was also emphasized in ch. 23 of Hartvic’s vita of St. Stephen (SRH 2, 431, see above at 156–57). 44 Peter, son of Otto Orseolo, the doge of Venice (ruled 1009–1026), and one of Stephen’s sisters. Before his death, Stephen chose Peter as his successor at the expense of the obvious heir to the throne, his cousin Vazul (Basil). King Peter I ruled Hungary with German support in two instances (1038–1041 and 1041–1046). 45 The unnamed nobleman is Samuel (d. July 5, 1044), head of the Aba kindred and possibly a nephew of Stephen (sororius) through his mother. After Peter I Orseolo was driven out of the country in 1041 by the Hungarian nobility, Samuel Aba was elected king (ruled 1041–1044), but his violent and ruthless rule soon alienated most of his supporters. 43

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sanguis sanguinem tetigit,46 peccato peccatum adauctum est.47 Heu quadragesime sanctis diebus honestissimos sui consilii viros sudibus ac palis velud inmunda animalia interficere ausus est.48 Deinde ad Morisenam sedem videliceta ad locum beati pontificis pascalia sacramenta celebraturus advenit. Die vero dominice resurrectionis, ut pater 49 eiusdem loci regio capiti diadema impositurus adveniat,50 ab episcopis et principibus per honestissimos viros invitatur. Quo renuente reliqui pontifices coronam imponunt, magno cleri populique comitatu rex decoratus ecclesiam ingreditur. At vero plenus Spiritu Sancto sanctus pontifex stola candida cohopertus pulpitum ascendit regemque his verbis per interpretem intrepidus alloquitur: “Observatio sancte quadragessime peccatoribus pro venia, iustis autem pro premio constituta est. Sed quia tu rex eam in occissione tui gladii51 poluisti michique nomen patris tulisti eo, quod meis dulcissimis natis caream, nil hodie indulgentie mereris. Verum quia pro Christo meo hodie mori paratus sum, ventura tibi prenunciabo. Anno tertio gladius ultionis excitabitur in te, qui tibi regnum fraude nequam per uimb adquisitum auferet et vitam.”52 sedem videlicet C A : videlicet sedem V per uim C A : periurii V

a

b

Hosea 4:2. This negative assessment of Samuel Aba’s reign is in line with the generally dark profile of that king in the medieval Hungarian historiographic tradition. However, in a series of articles József Gerics has sought to argue against this established perception; most notably, he suggested that Gerard’s opposition to King Samuel was mostly an invention of his hagiographer(s), and that the bishop aimed his criticism mostly at the policies of King Peter, who is the unnamed tyrant criticized as an oppressor of the Church in Gerard’s Deliberatio 4.46 (ed. Karácsonyi-Szegfű, 182–84). See József Gerics, “Die Kirchenpolitik des Königs Peter und deren Folgen,” Annales Universitatis Scientiarum Budapestinensis de Rolando Eötvös nominatae: Sectio historica 24 (1985): 269–76, and “Auslegung der Nacherzählung mittelalterlicher Quellen in unserer Zeit (Bischof Sankt Gerhard von Tschanad über König Aba),” Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 32, nos 3–4 (1986): 335–48 (both originally published in Hungarian). This view was sharply and, in my opinion, rightly criticized by Gyula Kristó; see, for instance his “Források kritikája és kritikus források az 1040-es évek magyar történetére vonatkozóan” [Source criticism and critical sources regarding the events of the 1040s in Hungarian history], Magyar Könyvszemle 100 (1984): 159–75 and 285–99. 46 47

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blood touched blood,46 as the prophet says, and sin was piled upon sin47; alas, during the holy days of Lent he dared to slaughter the most honorable members of his council with stakes and pales like some foul beasts.48 Then, he came to the see of Marosvár, that is, to the place of the holy bishop, wishing to take part in the Easter celebrations. Now, on the day of the Lord’s Resurrection, Gerard was invited by the bishops and by the nobles through some very honorable men to come as the bishop49 of the place and place a crown on the head of the king.50 When he refused, the other bishops placed the crown, and the king entered the church with great pomp, surrounded by a large retinue of clergy and people. Then, however, the holy bishop, filled with the Holy Spirit and clad in a white stole, mounted the pulpit and, fearless, addressed the king through an interpreter as follows: “The observance of Holy Lent was set to sinners for the purpose of imploring forgiveness, but to the righteous as a reward. Yet you, O king, have defiled it by the killing of your sword 51 and stripped me of my appellation of ‘father,’ for I am now deprived of my most beloved sons. And so you deserve no clemency today. But since I am ready to die for my Christ today, I will predict what lies in store for you: in the third year the sword of vengeance shall be raised against you, which shall take away from you the reign that you acquired by violence, through vile deceit, and your life with it!”52 The prophecy mentioned at the end of this chapter suggests a probable date for this massacre and for the subsequent confrontation between Gerard and the king before the Easter (April 11) of the year 1042. This chronology stands in contradiction with that of the Hungarian Chronicle (Chron. pict. 75), which mentions the conspiracy and places the subsequent execution of fifty noblemen at Csanád, in a context which can only refer to the year 1044, when Easter fell on April 22; for this “the blessed Gerard, Bishop of Csanád, with the authority of his office sternly rebuked the King and foretold that great peril threatened him.” 49 Lit. “as father.” 50 A reference to festal coronation (Festkrönung), the ritual commemoration of a king’s coronation on significant feast days of the liturgical year. 51 Heb. 11:37. 52 King Samuel Aba was killed after being defeated in the battle of Ménfő (July 5, 1044) by the invading army of Emperor Henry III. 48

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6. Cumque talia regis amici liberalibus litteris imbuti attoniti mirarentur, innuebant interpreti tacerea  53 episcopum ab ira et indignatione regis defendentes, quibus interpres timens consensit. At verus pastor inobedientem sibi interpretem perurgere atque compellere cepit dicens: “Deum time, regem honora,54 paterna verba prode.” Tandem interpres coactus pastoris declaravit sententiam, queb regi c metum haud levem intulit.d 55 Que omnia postquam completa sunt, cunctis Pannoniensibus experimento cognitum est servum Dei spiritum prophetie habuisse.56 Nam et eidem genti maximam seditionem venire precinuit,e in qua et martyrii sui coronam minime tacuit.57 Nolif signo catholice fidei insignite humana prudentia a me discere, utrum iste sanctus corporalia miracula, que sunt communia cum reprobis,58 in vita sua gesserit, aut cecis visum, seu surdis auditum prestiterit, quamvis et hec illi spiritualiter non defuissent. Nichil horum a te requirit Deus, labora per gratiam Spiritus Sancti huius

innuebant interpreti tacere C A Surius : inveniebant interpretationes V que V : om. C A c regi V : regisque C A Surius d intulit V : tulit C A (cf. regis iram reformidans Surius) e precinuit C A : post cecinit V f noli V (cf. nolim Surius) : nouo C A a

b

53 So in the version given by C and the early printed editions of the legend (translated here). In the less likely reading of ms. V, Gerard’s well-wishers in the royal entourage inveniebant interpretationes “started making up translations,” trying to tone down what he had said. 54 Cf. 1 Pet. 2:17 (Deum timete, regem honorificate). 55 At least in the version of the text given by V (translated here). In C and the early printed versions of the legend, the whole scene is seen in a slightly different light, which takes the edge off the bishop’s sharp denunciation: when the interpreter is finally compelled to translate Gerard’s words, regisque metum haud levem tulit “he felt no little fear of the king.” This passage offers a valuable (because rare) insight into the details of linguistic interaction in Latin and the vernacular(s) in Medieval Hungary, explored by János M. Bak in “‘Linguistic Pluralism’ in Medieval Hungary,” in The Culture of Christendom: Essays in Medieval History in Commemoration of Denis L. T. Bethell, ed. Marc Anthony Meyer (London: The Hambledon Press, 1994), 269–79.

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6. And as those friends of the king who were instructed in the letters watched all this in astonishment, they beckoned the interpreter to keep silent,53 trying to protect the bishop from the anger and the indignation of the king; and the interpreter, frightened, agreed. The true shepherd, however, started to urge and compel his disobedient interpreter, saying: “Fear God, honor the king,54 convey the words of your father!” At last, the interpreter was forced to explain what the bishop had said, which struck no small fear into the king.55 When all this had come about, all the Pannonians learned by experience that the servant of God had possessed the spirit of prophecy.56 For he both predicted that a great uprising would break out among that nation, and he did not pass under silence that during this he would also earn the crown of his martyrdom.57 You, who were marked with the sign of the catholic faith, seek not to learn from me with human understanding whether this saint in his life performed any corporal miracles, for these are also given to the unworthy,58 or whether he restored eyesight to the blind or hearing to the dumb, although, spiritually, he did not lack these either! God does not require any of these from you; strive to possess, by the grace

Rev. 19:10. Unless Gerard displayed his spirit of prophecy on two distinct occasions in connection with two distinct events, there is some (perhaps intended) confusion in this passage, which seems to refer back to the prediction of King Samuel Aba’s demise in 1044 and establishes a link between this and Gerard’s own death in 1046 during an uprising (seditio). The conflation of the two events may be intended to obscure the fact that at the time of his death Gerard was active in an uprising against King Peter I, who only appears in the Legenda minor as a legitimate ruler. 58 Cf. Gregory the Great, Hom. in evangelia 2.29.4 (signa quae possunt cum reprobis haberi communia). 56 57

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viri humilitatem atque pietatem possidere et haberea partem in regno deib patris et Christi eius.59 Uno lustro evoluto secundoque inchoante predicta seditio exorta est,60 in qua dum ad Albam Regiam61 urbemc vir Dei remearetd ad ecclesiam sante Sabinee virginis et martiris hospitatus est,62 ubi cenantibus fratribus aitf: “Fratres et amici, cras ad cenam agni 63 Dei vocamur, et ideog absque excusatione64 properemus, ethpro Christo moriamur.” Altera vero inlucescente die pater sanctus missam celebravit menseque Christi multitudinem sibi coadherentiumi participem fecit 65 ac letus ad martyrium properabat.j Qui ubi ad

habere V A : habebis C Ven. Crac. (cf. habiturum Surius) dei C A : om. V c ad albam regiam urbem C A (cf. ad albam regalem Surius) : in alba regia urbe V de alba urbe regia z BrZagr BrGS BrStrig 1558 d vir ... remearet C A : remearet vir V vir ... egressus z BrZagr ante de alba urbe transt. BrGS BrStrig 1558 e sabine z BrZagr BrGS BrStrig 1558 : savine V sabiniane C A f ait V C A : clara voce dixit z BrZagr BrGS BrStrig 1558 g et ideo z BrZagr BrGS BrStrig 1558 : om. V C A h et z BrZagr BrGS BrStrig 1558 : om. V C A i sibi coadherentium scripsi: s. coadherentem C A s. adherencium BrDK adherencium BrSN coadherentium V j properabat BrDK BrSN BrZagr BrGS BrStrig 1558 : pergebat V perrexit C A Surius a

b

Such a doctrinal statement, which privileges a virtuous life over miracles as a sign of sanctity, is in tune with much of the hagiographic writing of the tenth and eleventh centuries, especially that authored by monks. See Giulia Barone, “Une hagiographie sans miracles: Observations en marge de quelques vies du Xe siècle,” in Les fonctions des saints dans le monde occidental (IIIe-XIIIe siècle): Actes du colloque de Rome (27–29 octobre 1988) (Rome: École française de Rome, 1991), 435–66. 60 This event, known as the “pagan” uprising of 1046, resulted in the overthrow and (probably) the death of King Peter I. The version of events presented in the Hungarian Chronicle (Chron. pict. 81) implies that the bishop of Csanád was, if not a major party to the conspiracy against King Peter, at least its abettor; at a meeting held in Csanád the conspiring nobles decided to invite Andrew and Levente, the exiled sons of Vazul, to return to Hungary as leaders of an uprising against Peter. 59

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of the Holy Ghost, the humility and the piety of this man and to have a part in the Kingdom of his Father and of his Christ!59 After a five-year period had passed, at the beginning of the following one, the uprising he predicted broke out.60 At that time, the man of God was on his way back to Székesfehérvár,61 and he was put up at the church of St. Sabina the virgin and martyr.62 There he told the brothers gathered at dinner: “Brothers and friends, tomorrow we are called to the supper of the Lamb63 of God and so, without seeking any excuse,64 let us make haste and die for Christ!” Next day at dawn, the holy father celebrated mass and made the multitude of those gathered around him partakers of Christ’s table,65 and

There are significant problems in this passage with the text as transmitted by both the Venice ms. and the Hungarian tradition behind both C and the early printed versions of the Legenda minor. These would all have Gerard travel to Székesfehérvár, apparently on his return from an unspecified direction. This stands in contrast with the unanimous tradition of the breviaries (both the Kalocsa-Bács and the Esztergom traditions), the Legenda maior (ch. 15), and the Hungarian Chronicle (Chron. pict. 83); these indicate that Gerard found his death while traveling from Székesfehérvár to Pest on his way to meet Andrew and Levente. As the original vita and its version of the events are lost beyond recovery, I have reluctantly retained the text given by C and A insofar as they agree with the earliest extant ms. (V). This may reflect a misreading of the original by a compiler of the Legenda minor working outside Hungary whose acquaintance with Hungarian geography and understanding of the events were faulty. At a later time, the text of the breviaries was probably revised against that of the Legenda maior taken over from a common source, i.e., a form of the Hungarian Chronicle, the relevant part of which is presumably earlier than both. 62 The Legenda maior (SRH 2, 502, see below at 320–21) places this episode in Diód (modern-day Diósd, Pest county), near Budapest; see György Györffy, Az Árpád-kori Magyarország történeti földrajza [The historical geography of Arpadian-age Hungary], vol. 4 (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1998), 568–69. The parish church of St. Sabina was still extant in 1417; see Elemér Mályusz and Gyula Kristó’s commentary in Johannes de Thurocz, Chronica Hungarorum, vol. 2, Commentarii, pt. 1 (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1988), 315–16. Diósd lies on the Buda side of the Danube; if Gerard was, indeed, returning to Székesfehérvár, as claimed in this text, he had already crossed the river, and would have needed to return to it, to be martyred on its banks. This course of events is unlikely. 63 Rev. 19:9. 64 Possibly a reference to Luke 14:18–19. 65 Cf. 1 Cor. 10:21 (mensae Domini participes). 61

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flumen Danubii pervenit,66 ecce malignaa 67 turba populorum circumfunditur lapidesque super patrem in plaustro sedentem proiciunt, que tuncb eum Deo protegente non tetigere. At contrac pater benedictionem ac signum sancte crucis opponebat.68 Acd demum collis equorum retortis plaustrum subvertunt e 69 patremque humi proiciunt acf magno impetu lapidare conantur.70 Tunc more prothomartyris71 primus Pannonie martyr positis in terra genibus72 clamavit voce magna73 dicens: “Domine Iesu Christe, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum,74 quia nesciunt, quid faciunt.” 75 Et cum hoc dixisset, in pectore lancea percussus, obdormivit in Domino.76 7. Eodem die maxima strages Christianorum facta est, namg duo pontifices77 multique virih religiosi interempti sunt,78 quorum numerum et nomina sola Dei scientia collegit. Corpus quidem sanc maligna turba V BrDK BrSN : turba malignorum BrZagr BrGS BrStrig 1558 magna turba C A tunc BrDK BrSN : om. V C A c contra V C A : proicientes lapides add. post contra BrDK d ac demum C A : at demum V tandem BrDK BrSN deinde BrZagr BrGS BrStrig 1558 e plaustrum V C A BrZagr BrGS BrStrig 1558 : add. satellites post plaustrum BrDK BrSN f ac C A BrDK BrSN : at V g nam C A (cf. enim Surius) : eodem die V h viri C A : om. V a

b

The location of Gerard’s martyrdom was a steep hill named Kelen (Hung. Kelen-hegy) on the Buda side of the Danube overlooking one of the medieval crossing points towards Pest; today, the hill bears Gerard’s name (Hung. Gellért-hegy). On the reputation it enjoyed in the Middle Ages as a space of the sacred not just among Christians, see Gábor Klaniczay, “Il monte di San Gherardo e l’isola di Santa Margherita: gli spazi della santità a Buda nel medioevo,” in Santità, miracoli, osservanze nel Medioevo: L’Ungheria nel contesto europeo (Spoleto: CISAM, 2019), 237–60. 67 The alternative reading in C and A is less ominous: “a great (magna) mob.” 68 One of the breviaries adds here proicientes lapides “those who were throwing stones”; this may have been the original version, abbreviated in the other witnesses. 69 Two of the breviaries from the Kalocsa-Bács tradition, which share a common source, identify here the people who toppled the cart by an additional work, satellites “the attendants,” referring either to Gerard’s own servants or to the “pagan” mob as the human accomplices of the devil. I believe that this rare, poetic term, rather than being a later addition, may in fact go back to the fuller original text of the lost vita still available to the common source of the two breviaries. 66

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then joyously he set forth to his martyrdom. When he arrived at the river Danube,66 behold, a wicked67 mob of people surrounded him and hurled stones at our father, who was seated in his cart, but these did not touch him then, since God was protecting him. From his side, our father opposed [them]68 with a blessing and the sign of the holy cross. But at last, grabbing and turning backwards the heads of the horses, they 69 toppled the cart, threw down our father, and started stoning him furiously.70 Then, like the Protomartyr,71 the first martyr of Pannonia, falling on his knees 72 on the ground, cried out with a loud voice 73: “Lord Jesus Christ, lay not this sin to their charge,74 for they know not what they do!” 75 And when he had said this, stabbed in the chest by a spear, he fell asleep in the Lord.76 7. The same day, an enormous massacre of Christians was perpetrated; for two bishops77 were killed and many religious men,78 whose number and names are recorded only in God’s knowledge. But the Cf. Acts 7:57 (et impetum fecerunt unanimiter in eum). St. Stephen, the first martyr, whose death by stoning as recounted in Acts 7:54– 59, became a model for later accounts of martyrdom. The narrative of Gerard’s death which follows is clearly patterned upon the biblical account. 72 Acts 7:59. 73 Cf. Acts 7:56 (exclamantes autem voce magna). 74 Acts 7:59. 75 Cf. Christ’s words in Luke 23:34 (non enim sciunt quid faciunt). 76 Acts 7:59. 77 These are identified in the Hungarian Chronicle (Chron. pict. 83), the Legenda maior 15 (SRH 2, 501, see below), and in the Chronica Hungarorum by John of Thurocz (ch. 66, ed. Galántai-Kristó, 86) as Beztricus/Boztricus/Bestrid, and Budi/ Buldi, both unknown from elsewhere. A third member of the company, Beneta (for whom an identification with Benedict, an archbishop of Esztergom mentioned in 1055 was proposed), escaped. See Elemér Mályusz and Gyula Kristó, Commentarii, 315. The Annales Posonienses (ed. Madzsar, SRH 1, 125) name only one Modestus as Gerard’s companion in martyrdom. 78 These numerous deaths are also mentioned in a source with first-hand information on eleventh-century Hungary, the Niederaltaich Annals, under the year 1046; see Annales Altahenses maiores, ed. Edmund von Oefele, MGH SS rer. Germ. 4 (Hannover: Hahn, 1891), 43. 70 71

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tum dum in loco martiriia sui iaceret, nulla sorde commaculatum est, quod verob sequenti die a catholicis viris ad ecclesiam sancte Dei genitricis semperque virginis Marie79 reconditum est. Postc 80 mortem viri Dei cum quidam nefandus in convivio sedens pilos ex marsupio suo traheret illudensque beato viro ad convivas diceret: “Hi sunt pili illius rase barbe,81 qui nos evertere a paternis traditionibus se posse existimabat,” protinus a demonio arreptus carnem propriis dentibus mordens vitam exhalavit.d 82 Ea vero tempestate83 sedata post e multos dies84 fidelissimus sancti viri procurator 85 regem Andream86 adiit, ut peregrini atque hospitis87 patris corpus reddat, celeriter impetravit. Qui ad sanctum corpus venientes tam nitidum lucidumque ac sif ipso die martirium consumasset, invenerunt, quod cum hymnis atque canticis ad Morisenam sedem tulerunt magnaque reverentia sepelierunt,88 ubi multe gracie a catholicis viris89 experte sunt, tamen non evidenter usque ad tempora Ladislay 90 regis, pontificis autem Laurentii,91 qui a beato viro quintus cathedram accepit. Prefati denique regis tempore a sancte Romane martirii C A Surius : meriti V vero C A : om. V c post — exhalauit V : om. C A Surius d exhalavit scripsi : exilavit V exalauit Calò exhaluit Wion e post C A : per V f si C A Surius : in V a

b

Gerard was martyred on September 24, 1046. According to the author of the Legenda minor, the next day his body was taken across the Danube, to Pest, where it found a first resting place. László Szegfű unnecessarily re-dated the bishop’s death to August 29, 1046; see his entry “Gellért, Szent,” in Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9–14. század) [A lexicon of early Hungarian history, 9th–14th centuries], ed. Gyula Kristó et al. (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994), 231. As Edit Madas has shown, this re-dating was based on Szegfű’s misinterpretation of medieval liturgical practices; see her Középkori prédikációirodalmunk, 47. 80 The following punishment miracle is missing from C and in the early printed versions of the legend. It only appears in the Venice tradition of the text, i.e., in V and the sources dependent upon it. 81 I have interpreted rase barbe in this passage as an insulting nickname for “priest, clergyman.” 79

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holy body, as long as it lay on the place of his martyrdom, was not sullied or defiled in any way; then it was taken the following day by some Catholics to the church of the Holy Mother of God and ever Virgin Mary79 and buried. After80 the death of the man of God, when some impious fellow at a feast took out of his pouch some hairs and mocking the holy man said to his companions: “Here are some hairs from that beard-shaver81 who thought he could turn us away from the traditions of our fathers!”, at once he was seized by a demon, and bit into his flesh with his own teeth until he met his death.82 But once that turbulence83 abated, after many days,84 a most trusted steward85 of the holy man approached King Andrew86 with the request that the corpse of the father, this stranger and pilgrim,87 be returned; and this was readily granted. When they arrived at the holy body, they found it as bright and shining as if it had suffered martyrdom that very same day; and then with hymns and chants they took it to the see of Marosvár and buried it with great reverence.88 Many miracles were experienced here by the true believers,89 but not openly, however, until the times of King Ladislaus 90 and of Bishop Lawrence,91 who was the fifth to hold the see after the holy man. Finally, at the time of the said king, it was decided by a I have emended the text given by V to read exhalavit “he breathed out.” The “pagan” uprising of 1046. 84 The Legenda maior 16 speaks of seven years (SRH 2, 503, see below at 324–25). 85 Instead of this unnamed steward (procurator), in the Legenda maior (SRH 2, 503–4, see below at 324–25), the initiative of the translatio is attributed to Maurus, bishop of Csanád, and Philip, whom Gerard had appointed abbot of the monastery of the Holy Virgin in Csanád. 86 King Andrew I (1046–1060), who had gained the throne as a result of the uprising. 87 Cf. Heb. 11:13 (peregrini et hospites sunt supra terram). 88 In 1053, according to the Legenda maior 16. 89 Lit. “Catholics” (a catholicis viris). The veracity of “many miracles” (as an expression of a spontaneous local cult) prior to Gerard’s canonization in 1083 seems dubious; see Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 127. 90 King St. Ladislaus I (1077–1095). 91 Lawrence was bishop of Csanád between 1083 and 1113. 82 83

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ecclesie sinodo inventum est, ut corpora eorum, qui Pannoniam fideia predicatione rigauerunt,b deberent summo honore venerari et ea dignis sedibusc collocari. Veniente quoque sedisd apostolice legato92 factoque nobilium Pannonie conventu, sanctum corpus elevatum est, regis ac ducum humeris portantibus translatum est decenterque relocatum.93 Ubi pro meritis tanti viri sanctissimi superna gratia per miraculorum exhibitionem largius corruscat. Prestante Domino nostro Iesu Christo, qui cum Deoe Patre et Spiritu Sancto vivit et regnat et gloriaturf per omnia g secula seculorum. Amen.h

fidei C A : in dei V rigauerunt C A : -erant V c sedibus C A : laudibus V d sedis C A : om. V e deo C A Surius : om. V f post gloriatur add. deus V g omnia C A : immortalia V h martyrizatus est autem beatissimus gerardus ep. currente anno dom. M. CLXVIIII VII kal. marcii praeter beatum thomam martyrem cantuariensem episc. qui tempore illo fuit V (in calce fol. 200 inseruit manus saec. ut uidetur XIV, cf. Valentinelli, vol. 5, p. 289, n. 1) a

b

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council of the holy Roman Church that the bodies of those who nourished Pannonia by the preaching of the faith, should be venerated with the utmost honor and placed in worthy resting-places. When the legate of the apostolic see92 arrived and an assembly of the nobles of Pannonia was convened, the holy body was elevated and, borne on the shoulders of the king and of the nobles, it was translated and with due honor set in its new place.93 In that place, on account of the merits of such a great and most holy man, the heavenly grace shines through an ever more abundant display of miracles. Through the granting of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns together with God the Father and with the Holy Ghost and is glorified for ever and ever. Amen.

The presence of this unnamed papal legate in Hungary during the ceremonies that accompanied the first canonization of Hungarian saints, would have endorsed the status of the new cults, although in the eleventh century such endorsement was by no means required. For a discussion of this issue in Hungarian context, see Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 125–26. 93 This solemn translatio of Gerard’s relics took place on July 25, 1083. On the first canonization of Hungarian saints in 1083 and its political motivations, see the extensive discussion in Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 123–34. 92

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DE SANCTO GERHARDO EPISCOPO MOROSENENSI ET MARTYRE REGNI UNGARIAE (Legenda Maior)

q

ON SAINT GERARD BISHOP OF MAROSVÁR AND MARTYR OF THE KINGDOM OF HUNGARY (Major Legend)

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DE SANCTO GERHARDO EPISCOPO MOROSENENSI ET MARTYRE REGNI UNGARIAE a (Legenda Maior) 1. Gerhardusb natione Venetus1 de civitate Venetiensi natus in pallatio patriciec militie.d 2 Pater autem eius, cum esset inter alios concives acceptabilis et placeret omnibus eiusdem civitatis habitatoribus, fama bona distentus est in longinquas regiones. Duxit autem sibi uxorem de eadem civitate moribus ornatam, a parentibus in timore Domini eruditam, elemosinis bonisque operibus ceteras mulieres preeminentem, que candelas vel lucernas aliasque elemosinas per se, vel per alias domicellas ecclesiis quottidie ministrabat. Pater autem eius, cum esset dives, invitabat presbyteros, clericos, amicos et vicinos, quos in mensa sua splendide reficiebat. Quadam autem die ait uxori sue: “Mulier esto secura et ora Deum et sanctam eius genitricem, ut nobis donet heredem.” Multosque transegerant dies sine liberis. Tribus itaque annis evolutis in die beati Georgii martyris3 filium, quem a Domino postulaverant, receperunt. Unde in baptismo Georgius est nominatus. Erat autem carus parentibus, a quibus educatus, cum esset annorum quinque, cepit magnis febribus estuare. Quod videntes parentes eius, obtulerunt eum sancto Georgio martyri, cum oblationibus ad eius monasterium deferentes puerum pro obtinenda sanitate coram abbate et monachis, ad quorum orationes cum esset sanatus, vestitus est habitu regulari.4 Transacto autem in scolis monachorum quinquennio, magister eius considerato sagacitatis eius ingenio mirabatur, quod eos, qui ipsum prevenerant, sciencia preveniret. a de — ungarie VM : vita sancti gerardi episcopi moresenensis et martiris origine veneti P b gerhardus VM : gerardus P ut semper c patricie V (cf. aliter patricie M marg.) : aliter patrie V marg. patrie MP d militie VMP: familiae coni. Batthyány, cui etiam Madzsar adsensus est

MSS have militie, emended by Ignacius Batthyan.

1

[ 268 ]

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ON ST GERARD BISHOP OF MAROSVÁR AND MARTYR OF THE KINGDOM OF HUNGARY (Major Legend) 1 Gerard was of Venetian origin and was born in the palace of a patrician family1 in the city of Venice.2 His father was esteemed among his fellow citizens, enjoyed a good reputation among all the inhabitants, his fame even reached far away regions. He married a lady from the same city, who was of noble spirit, raised by her parents in the fear of the Lord. She surpassed all other women in charity and good works, as she daily distributed lights and candles or other alms to the churches in person or through other young ladies. His father invited priests and clerics, friends and neighbors, whom he excellently hosted at his table, for he was quite rich. One day he told his wife: “Woman, be unconcerned and pray to God and to His Holy Mother to grant us an heir,” for they lived for a long time without a child. After the course of three years, they were given a boy on the feast day of the martyr St. George,3 as they asked from the Lord. He was, therefore, baptized George. He was dear to his parents who reared him. When he was five, he was attacked by a serious fever. When the parents saw this, they offered him to St. George, so that he may recover, and handed him over in front of the abbot and monks together with gifts. When he recovered through their prayers, he was dressed in monastic habit.4 After having studied five years in the school of the monks, his teacher, impressed by his innate character of cleverness, was surprised that he surpassed those in knowledge who started [school] earlier than he. For biographical and historical details, see the notes to Legenda minor, above. The footnotes to the translation of the Legenda maior are by János M. Bak. 3 April 24. 4 Tradition holds that this was the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore. Last so argued by László Szegfű in “La missione politica ed ideologica di San Gerardo in Ungheria,” in Venezia ed Ungheria nel Rinascimento, ed. Vittore Branca (Florence: Olschki, 1973), 23–36, here 29, but this cannot be proven. 2

[ 269 ]

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Factum est autem, ut ad imperium summi pontificis tota Christianitas cruce Domini signata ad sepulchrum Domini Ierosolimam se proficisci prepararet pro eodem loco sancto pugnaturi.5 Inter quos pater Georgii gracia Dei se protegente prosperum iter arripiens ad sanctum locum sine lesione pervenit. Cum autem ibi esset Christiana acies in oratione et exspectaret de celo auxilium, offerens unusquisque Domino orationes sollempnes et cohors Nicolaitaruma 6 de sua virtute confidens in aciem Christianam non modica improperia emitteret, habens fiduciam in fortitudine armorum, auxilium invocans Machometi, per quod plebem Christianam existimabat posse superare. Unde factum est, ut Christiani victoria obtenta cum gaudio remearent ad propriab et pater Georgii, sicud desideraverat adhuc domi existens, in terra sancta meruit sepeliri. Quod cum matri Georgii innotuisset, plorans et lugens maritum multo tempore, veniens ad prenominatum monasterium lugensque virum dicebat: “Heu me Gerharde, cui nunc dimisisti filios tuos?” Propter quod petivit patrem monasterii, ut et filio suo Georgio nomen patris imponeret et ex illo vocatum est nomen eius Gerhardus. Ipsa autem, postquam Vinetoc 7 filio suo iuniori uxorem accepisset, plena bonis operibus quievit in pace et sepulta est in eodem monasterio superius nominato. 2. Igitur Gerhardus, in ipso monasterio habitans, magis Deo, quam vanitati adherebat. Unde despectis omnibus, que sunt huius mundi, religionis habitum, quem susceperat et votum, quod Deo voverat, implere sollicite festinabat. Propter quod iunctus probatorum monachorum cetui ad omnia sibi ab abbate iniuncta exhibebat obedientiam sine mora. Cumque pervenisset ad tempus provectio nicolaitarum VP (cf. aliter nicolaitarum M marg.): aliter incolarum V marg. ad propria P: om. VM c vineto P (cf. adn. Wion ad loc.: vocatur in alio exemplari Vinetus): rineto VM vincentio Wion a

b

This reference to the crusade is one of the anachronisms, probably later interpolations, in the Vita. The First Crusade was called and fought only several generations after Gerard’s death.

5

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It happened then, that at the command of the pope, all of Christendom, taking the cross, prepared to proceed to the sepulcher of the Lord in Jerusalem, in order to fight for that holy site.5 Among them, the father of George, thanks to God’s protection, felicitously set out and arrived to the holy place unharmed. There the Christian army stood in prayer and hoped for aid from heaven, every one of them offering solemn prayers to the Lord, while the army of the locals6 convinced of their own strength hauled many insults at the Christian army. Trusting the power of their arms, calling upon the help of Muhammad, they assumed to be able to defeat the Christian people. So, it came about that, although the Christians could victoriously return home, the father of George [fell there and] became worthy to be buried in the Holy Land, as he wished while still at home. When the mother of George was told about this, she cried long in mourning her husband, then went to the aforementioned monastery, and said, mourning her man: “Oh, Gerard to whom did you now leave your sons?” Therefore, she asked the abbot of the monastery that he should give her son George the name of his father; from that day his name was Gerard. She, after having received a wife for her younger son Rineto,7 died full of good deeds and was buried in the same aforementioned monastery. 2 Thus, Gerard, living in the same monastery, was attached more to God than to any vanity. Shutting out all things of this world, he was keen to fulfill what his monastic habit that he had received and his vow that he had sworn to God prescribed. Therefore, once induced into the community of monks, he displayed obedience without delay in all tasks assigned to him by the abbot. When he reached the The various mss. have different words; the Ms Vin. has aliter incolarum on the margin, the Ms Monac. has incolarum in the text and aliter nicolaitarum on the margin. On Nicolaites, whom “Jesus hates,” see Rev. 2:5 and 16; it is here clearly a scribal invention and makes no sense. 7 In other MSS Vincentio or Vinoto. 6

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ris etatis, placuit omnibus ipsum preficere officio prioratus. In quo dum sine reprehensione conversaretur, factus est fratribus ceteris regularis discipline in exemplum. Unde octavum gradum humilitatis, qui docet vitam communem sibi eligere, non solum moribus exercebat, sed etiam, in quantum patris spiritualis licentia permittebat atque iustorum exempla hortabantur, festinabat implere. Omni enim tempore, preter dies festos ac dominicos, in quibus matutinorum aut aliarum synaxiuma cantus et lectiones artius solent extendi, cilicio aspero utebatur. Cumque sic permanendo se affligeret, nunquam communitatis iniuncta sibi officia negligebat. Igitur cum intentus esset verbis prophetarum et apostolorum orthodoxorumque patrumb eloquiis, perscrutabatur dilingenter expositiones eorum.8 Nemo unquam vidit illum verbosum aut otiosum vel vinolentum vel propter iustitiam aut veritatem aliquando sub silentio abscondendo tacentem. Dicebat enim: “Melius est irasci, quam sub silentio abscondendo conculcare veritatem.” Si quando vidisset sec ipsum iratum, statim revertebatur ad semetipsum. Sicque permansit in monasterio, in studio, in heremod ad tempus omnibus diebus, quibus onus huius mundi portavit. Quadam die, cum abbas suus Gwillerinuse conventui interesset, dixit: “Fratres karissimi, necesse est, ut ex vobis aliquos, quos inveneritis aptiores pro adipiscendo fructu scientie, ad studium transmittamus, ne ordo patris nostri Sancti Benedicti in scientiis liberalibus detrimentum patiatur. Placuit autem verbum fratribus et constituerunt Gerhardum et Sirdianum, quibus datis expensarum necessariis Bononiam9 transmiserunt, ubi notabiliter egregieque in scientiis gramatice, phylozophie, musice et decreti omniumque liberalium scientiarum artibus instructi quinto tandem anno a studiof revocati sunt, ipsarum scientiarum libros secum apportantes. synaxium Madzsar (cf. aliarum horarum synaxis Wion): sinaxim VMP patrum Wion : om. VMP c vidisset se ego ( fort. seipsum scribendum): vidisset P vidisses VM Wion d in studio in heremo P Wion : studio inherens VM e gwillerinus VM : guiliermus P ut semper gulielmus Wion f a studio P : om. VM a

b

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suitable age, all agreed to entrust to him the office of prior. Having fulfilled this task faultlessly he became the example to all brothers in the following of the commands of the rule. When he reached the eighth degree of humility that teaches to embrace the communal life, he not only followed it by his conduct, but hastened towards its completion as far as his spiritual father allowed and the example of the saints counseled. He wore all the time, except on Sundays and feast days when the singing of Matins and other readings last longer, the rough habit of a penitent: a coarse hair shirt. While chastising himself thus, he never neglected the tasks assigned to him by the community. He eagerly studied the words of the prophets, the apostles, and the orthodox [Fathers] and their commentaries.8 No one ever saw him to be chatty, lazy or drunken nor did he ever keep silent about what was right and true. He used to say: “It is better to become angry than to hide by silence and trod the truth underfoot.” If you ever found him to be irate, he quickly recovered his composition. Thus, he remained in the monastery and kept studying all the time while he bore the burden of this world. One day the abbot William, while in convent, said: “Dear brethren, it is necessary that we send some of you whom you regard better apt to reap the fruits of science to study, lest the Order of our father St. Benedict suffered loss in the knowledge of letters.” The brothers agreed to his words and selected Gerard and Sirdianus to be sent, supplied with the necessary expenses, to Bologna.9 There after having excellently and successfully studied the sciences of grammar, philosophy, music, canon law, and all other liberal arts, they were in the fifth year finally called back, bringing with them books of these subjects. This whole paragraph contains several verbatim quotations or references to the Rule of St. Benedict (Reg. S. Ben.), caps. 4, 6, 7, 9, 17, and 49. These close textual connections to the Rule were the main arguments for the authorship of the Vita in a Benedictine house, in Pannonhalma in particular, for Csóka, “Szent Gellért” 137–46. 9 The reference to study in Bologna is another anachronism of the Vita. There was no studium generale in that city in the early eleventh century. Similarly, the subjects and the title “magister” (below) fit only to a later date. 8

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3. Defuncto itaque patre monasterii, magister Gerhardus eligitur in abbatem, quod suscipere renitentem fratres conventus tanquam inobedientem increpabant, per quos tandem pater monasterii, licet invitus, ordinatus est. Tempore autem, quo prefatum monasterium regebat, se ipsum divina gratia in exemplum cunctis fratribus exhibebat, omnia videlicet, que docebat discipulis esse contraria, in suis indicabat operibus non agenda. Post aliquot autem annos, quibus preerat prefato monasterio, volens proficisci ad monasterium beati Ieronimi in Betlehem visitareque sanctum locum, quem Christus glorificavit sua presentia, officium, quod susceperat, temptabat resignare. Quod statim dum fratribus innotuisset, quibusdam placuit, quibusdam vero discessus patris merorem gravissimum et anxietatem spiritus incussit. Unde assumpto itinere navem Zadriensium mercatorum ingressus cum suis comitibus navigationem inchoaverunt. Exorta est autem eis magna difficultas remigandi in mari propter contrarium ventum et marinam tempestatem. Unde applicuerunt cuidam monasterio, in quo contigit dominum Rasinam abbatem monasterii Sancti Martini10 olim amicum suum peculiarem adesse. Factum est autem, ut propter tempestatem indea progredi non valentes, compulsi sunt tota quadragesima ibidem demorari, quod dominus Gerhardus graviter tulit. Cuius mesticiam Rasina considerans ait: “Ne causeris11 domine Gerharde de discrimine vie tue. Voluntas enim Dei est ut ita fiat. Quamdiu vero mecum eris, tibi et tuis comitibus libenter victui necessaria ministrabo. Sed interrogo te, ut iuxta intellectum scientie tue respondeas michi. Tu cum sis magister in Ytalia et abbas tuus Gwillerinus pro eo te miseratb ad studium, ut doctor fratrum fores,c unde rediens divina prouidentia abbas effectus es omnibusque placuisti a pueritia, nunc vero tam sollempnem locum deserens

inde P : om. VM miserat ego : miserit VM misit P c fores : sew fieres add. VM fieres P ut glossema seclusi a

b

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3 When the father of the monastery had died, Master Gerard was elected abbot. As he resisted accepting it, the brothers chided him for disobedience, whereupon he, though unwillingly, was ordained father of the monastery. During the time while he governed the aforesaid monastery, he was, by divine grace, an example for all brethren, by expressly avoiding doing anything what he had taught his pupils to be inappropriate. After a few years during which he was the leader of the said monastery, wishing to travel to the monastery of St. Jerome in Bethlehem and to visit the holy place which Christ had sanctified by His presence, he attempted to resign. When he told this to the brothers, it pleased some and filled others with deep sorrow and anxiety of spirit. Thus, he set out on his way and, having boarded the ship of merchants from Zadar together with his companions, they started their travel. But they encountered great difficulty rowing in the sea due to unfavorable winds and stormy seas. Therefore, they landed at a monastery where Rasina, abbot of the monastery of St. Martin,10 an old friend of Gerard happened to stay. It came about that, unable to proceed because of the storms, they had to stay there through the whole of Lent, which lord Gerard took very much to heart. Rasina, noting his bad mood said to him: “Do not complain,11 lord Gerard, about the diversion of your journey. It was God’s will that it should so happen. As long as you are going to stay with me, I shall gladly supply you and your companions with all necessities of life. But I ask you something to which you should reply to the best of your knowledge. You are a master in Italy and your abbot William sent you for studies so that you may instruct your brethren; when you returned from thence, you were made abbot and you were loved by György Györffy, “Zu den Anfängen der ungarischen Kirchenorganisation auf ­ rund neuer quellenkritischer Ergebnisse,” Archivum Historiae Pontificiae 7 (1969): G 79–113, here 94, suggested an identification with Radla, abbot of Pannonhalma, the oldest (Benedictine) monastery in Hungary, founded probably already by Grand Duke Géza in the 990s. 11 Reg. S. Ben. caps. 2 and 55 prescribes that monks or abbots should not complain (causare). 10

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et fratres plenos a merore relinquens ad gentem ignotam pergere festinas. Fuitne aliquis tecum in hoc consilio?” Cui ille: “Nemo.” Et dixit: “Si nemo, ergo minime prodest. Si autem aliquis, credere possem aliquatinus ad profectum. Nunquam enim legimus aliquem monachum claustralem pro huiusmodi negotio Ierosolimam quesivisse, exceptis dumtaxat gyrovagis.12 Laicis enim hec via constituta est pro terra sancta ratione preliandi,13 monachis vero alia, quam caritas vestra non ignorat. Ibi enim cruciferi pugnare tenentur. Ibi vituperabunt Iudei genitricem Salvatoris nostri te presente, quod tibi nequaquam utile erit audire. Ne putes ut te velim reprehendere, sed ideo tecum confero, ut animadvertas et mente pertractes utrum bene egeris, an non.” Qui erubescens ait: “Sicud fuerit voluntas in celo, sic fiat, memorans dictum illud evangelicum: Capillus de capite vestro non peribit.”14 Transactis tandem diebus quadragesime ait abbas Rasina: “Domine Gerharde, qui cogitasti tecumb de itinere tuo? Non erubescas michique cordis tui propositum aperias. Scio enim quod bonum desideras et non malum et quod humanum propositum in articulo positum ad diversa inclinatur.” c Respondit ille: “Omnia, que dixisti usque modo et maxime versiculus, quem in fine protulisti, quia verissimus est et noveris in veritate, quia cor meum divisum est.” Cui ait Rasina: “Si divisum, ergo infirmum; quamobrem infirmis sanitatisd est necessariae medicina. Crede etiam,f domine Gerharde, me fidelem socium tuum esse et sincerum amicum,g unde recognosce, si veritatem dixero.” At ille ait: “Libenter.” Et ait abbas Rasina: “Ecce pergis Ierosolimam ad predicandum Sarracenis et Iudeis. Quomodo te recipient, qui apostolos non receperunt? In mari vero si naufragium tibi evenerit, una cum scientia tua in profundum plenos P : pleno VM tecum P : certe VM c inclinatur P : machinatur VM d sanitatis P Wion : sanitas VM e necessaria P Wion : summa VM f etiam P : om. VM g et sincerum amicum P : om. VM a

b

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all ever since your boyhood, but now you abandon such a sacred place leaving your brethren in sorrow hastening to an unknown tribe. Did anyone counsel you to do this?” He replied: “Nobody.” Thereupon he: “If nobody, then it is useless. Had there been someone, I could believe that it makes sense. It is nowhere written that a cloistered monk would have embarked upon such a business to Jerusalem, except the wandering ones.12 This journey is designed for laymen in order to fight for the Holy Land;13 for monks it is different, as is well known to your charity. There the crusaders have to fight. There the Jews scold the mother of our Savior in your presence; listening to that would not be useful for you. Do not think that I want to blame you, I am just talking with you so that you might consider and ponder whether you are doing the right thing or not.” He replied, blushing, “It should be on earth as decided in heaven, remembering the word of the Gospel, ‘But a hair of your head shall not perish.’14” Once Lent was over, Abbot Rasina spoke: “Dear Gerard what did you decide? Do not be ashamed of your journey and open the choice of your heart to me. I know that you have good and not bad intentions, but human mind is undecided under the burden of decisions.” He replied: “All what you said is true especially the [Biblical] verse you said at the end, and I tell you in truth that my mind is split.” To which Abbot Rasina said: “If split, then it is sick, and the best medicine against sickness is health. Believe me, my dear lord Gerard, that I am a true friend, hence you should recognize whether I say the truth.” And he replied: “Gladly.” Then Abbot Rasina said: “Now you are about to go on to Jerusalem to preach to the Saracens and the Jews. How would they receive you, when they did not receive the apostles? And if you suffer shipwreck in the sea, you will

On the disapproval of the ways of wandering monks, gyrovagi, see Reg. S. Ben. cap. 1. On this anachronism, see above. 14 Luke 21:18 12

13

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submergeris, neque enim es Ionas propheta, ut possis in ventre ceti tribus diebus permanere.15 Igitur placeat tibi consilium meum, ut convertas mentema ad liberandum infideliumb animas a demonibus possessas, sanctorum apostolorum imitando exempla. Quod hac vice plebs Ungarorum maxime requirit. Neque in mundo ad lucrandas animas Domino locum ad presens invenire poteris aptiorem. Ego autem paratus sum caritatem tuam in omnibus adiuvare.” Unde subridens dominus Gerhardus mirabatur in verbis suis, quia nunquam tale quid ascenderat in cor eius16 dec predicatione et conversione Ungarorum, pro quibus ipse Rasina tam sollicite laborare nitebatur. Diffinivit ergo apud se dominus Gerhardus acquiescere consiliis abbatis Rasine. 4. Ascendentes ergo simul navem venerunt Zadriam, ubi ordinatis victui necessariis librisque asinis suis impositis, assumpto secum quodam ductore Crato nomine, qui vias ac semitas illarum partium noverat, quos ad predictumd preceptum domini sui usque in Neugrade  17 sine offensione conduxit. Indeque appretiato conductore alio, ordinato dicto Cratone,f tendebantg versus orientem in Neagidim, deinde Vereroche,h tandem Quinqueecclesias ad dominum Maurum episcopum18 pervenerunt. Cumque ibi moram facerent, episcopo eos retinente, accidit dominum Anastasium19 Waradiensem abbatem illis diebus Quinqueecclesias pervenire, qui ab eodem episcopo susceptus est. Cumque idem abbas Anastasius tam egregium clericum eti religiosum mentem Wion : mentes VMP ad liberandum infidelium P Wion : infidelium a. l. VM c de P : in VM d predictum P : om. VM e neugrad P Wion : engat VM f dicto cratone P (cf. a predicto cratone Wion) : dictus crato VM g tendebant Wion : tendebat VMP h in — vereroche P Wion : ingredi VM i et P : om. VM a

b

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sink together with all your knowledge, as you are not the prophet Jonas to survive three days in the belly of the whale.15 Therefore you should accept my counsel that you should convert the heart of the heathen in order to free their souls possessed by demons, following the example of the holy apostles. Right now, the people of the Hungarians need this most. You could not find now a better place in the world where you could win more souls for the Lord. And I am ready to support your charity in every way.” Lord Gerard had to smile on this and wondered on these words since it had never entered into my heart 16 to preach to and convert the Hungarians for which Abbot Rosina labored so intensely. Therefore, lord Gerard decided to accept the counsel of Abbot Rasina. 4 They boarded a ship together and arrived in Zadar, where they acquired victuals, loaded their books on donkeys, and hired a guide by the name Crato, who was familiar with the roads and paths of the region, and led them on his lord’s command safe to Novigrad.17 There they hired another acquired guide, while the said Crato proceeded towards the east. Finally, they arrived at Pécs, to lord Bishop Maurus.18 While they stayed there as the bishop’s guests, it happened that Abbot Anastasius19 of Pécsvárad came to Pécs and was received by the same bishop. When this Abbot Anastasius heard the bishop talk Jon. 2:1. Jer. 32:35. 17 Engat in the original. The editor, Imre Madzsar, proposed the identification with Novigrad in County Belovar. 18 Maurus became bishop of Pécs (Quinqueecclesiis) in 1036, thus he could not have been there at the time of Gerard’s probable arrival in Hungary. 19 Abbot Anastasius has been otherwise identified with Ascricus, well known from the Vitae of St. Stephen as a pupil of St. Adalbert (see above). The monastery of Pécsvárad, originally probably a royal mansion, was founded, according to tradition, in 1015; Ascricus’ having been its first abbot is not documented; see Gábor Thoroczkay, “The Dioceses and Bishops of Saint Stephen,” in Zsoldos, Saint Stephen and His Country, 49–68. 15

16

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cognovisset episcopo narrante de Ytalia advenisse, venit ad eum festinans ubi habitabat in quadam domo separatim. Cumque multo loquerentur, cognovit eum tam in verbis discrete prolatis, quam in habitu corporis hominem Deum metuentem esse. His peractis, die sequenti Maurus episcopus una cum domino abbate venientes ad domum, ubi hospitabatur, prebuerunt ei consolationem fraterne caritatis. Inter mutua autem colloquia ait Anastasius abbas: “Auctore,” inquam, “Deo tempore huius venerabilis regis nos venientes in hoc regnum primi predicavimus populo verbum Dei. Et nunc, licet immeriti, facti sumusa tu episcopus, ego vero abbas. Dominum autem Gerhardum eadem devotione estimo advenisse. Ponentes ergo eum in nostro vehiculo, ducamus ad regem, quem a nobis pro magno munere acceptabit, qui nobis precepit omnes venientes recipere20 et quos idoneos cognoverimus, pro persona sua specialiter reservare.” Ad hoc vero respondit episcopus, dicens: “Tu,” inquit, “abba, nosti a diebus, quibus Sanctus Adalbertus magister noster21 intravit regnum Ungarie, qui hunc regem adhuc cum parvulus esset, erudivit et nunc in iuvenili etate constitutum scimus cunctis cum eo habitantibus benefacientem. Sed et labor noster vacuus non fuit. Nam quos ante vidimus idolis servire, modo videmus Ihesu Christo ferventer adherere. Non enim sine nutu Dei credimus fore factum, ut dominus Gerhardus in hanc provinciam per tanta discrimina itinerisb adveniret,c quem Dominus Ihesus usque ad nos perduxit, ut non solum temporalis regis gratiam inveniat, sed et sempiterni.” Ad quod Gerhardus submisso vultu humiliter respondit, dicens: “Benefaciat vobis Deus omnipotens, reverendi patres mei et domini, pro cuius amore laboratis, sumus P : simus VM itineris P : om. VM c adveniret P : advenerit VM a

b

20 Cf. Chapter 6 of the “Admonitions of St. Stephen” about welcoming hospites. See Libellus de institutione morum, ed. Josephus Balogh, in SRH 2, 611–28, here 624– 25. On this speculum principum, see Jenő Szűcs, “The Admonitions of St. Stephen and his state,” New Hungarian Quarterly 29 (1988): 89–97, with English translation of the text by James Ross Sweeney and János M. Bak, ibid., 98–105, here 103.

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about such an illustrious clerk and monk who arrived from Italy, he hurried to his house where he lived alone. During their conversation he recognized from both his carefully chosen words and his personal demeanor that he was a god-fearing man. On the next day, Bishop Maurus and the lord abbot went to the house where he stayed and offered him the comfort of brotherly love. During their conversation, Abbot Anastasius said: “By God’s will, I say, we came to this kingdom in the time of this venerable king to be the first to preach the word of God to the people. And now, we have become, albeit unworthy, you—bishop, and I—abbot. I believe that lord Gerard arrived with the same devotion. Let us take him into our carriage and present him to the king, who will regard this as a great gift from us, as he has commanded us to receive all newcomers20 and to introduce personally to him those whom we find suitable.” To this the bishop replied: “You, abbot, remember the time when our teacher Saint Adalbert21 came to the kingdom of Hungary and instructed this king, who was still a child. He is now a young man, and we know him as the benefactor of those who live here. Our efforts were not futile either. Those whom we saw earlier to venerate idols are now zealously serving Jesus Christ. Hence, we are convinced that it was not without God’s will that lord Gerard came to this country through many dangers; the Lord Jesus Christ had led him to us so that he earned the grace not only with the earthly king but also with the eternal one.” To this Gerard replied humbly with quiet face: “The Almighty may bless you, reverend fathers and lords for having valued me, unknown to you, with frater-

That Maurus would have been in any way associated with St. Adalbert seems to be an invention of the author of the Vita. In the Legenda SS Zoerardi et Benedicti (SRH 2, 358; written by him, he calls himself a puer scolasticus of Pannonhalma; cf. “Lives of the Holy Hermits Zoerard the Confessor and Benedict the Martyr by Blessed Maurus, Bishop of Pécs,” tr. by Marina Miladinov, in Vitae sanctorum aetatis conversionis Europae centralis (saec. X–XI)—Saints of the Christianization Age of Central Europe (Tenth-Eleventh Centuries), ed. Gábor Klaniczay, Central European Medieval Texts 6 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2013), 315–37. 21

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me ignotum amore fraterno diligentes. Sed quia caritas in necessitatis articulo elucescit, nolo vos latere, ob quam causam devenerim in hanc regionem. Inerat michi voluntas servire Creatori meo in patria, in qua ipse pro salute cunctorum se subbidit servituti; disposueram enim mare transire, ut locum Dominicum visitarem. Sed vento contrario prohibente votum quod conceperam non potui adimplere. Unde admonente domino Rasina ad Danubium converti iter meum, illuc quoa disposui mediante vestro auxilio posse pervenire. Cui responderunt: “Cessa Gerarde ab hoc proposito et noli distrahi per huiusmodi cogitationes. Voluntas enim Dei te adduxit huc, ubi enim voluntas Dei, ibi omnia bona. Nam libris beati Ieronimi, qui Ierosolimis22 sunt scripti, totus mundus particeps effectus est. Tu vero scribe, doce, predica, converte in Ungaria, donec tempus est laborandi.” Maurus autem episcopus dominum Gerhardum a die inventionis sancte crucis23 usque ad diem beatorumb apostolorum Petri et Pauli24 apud se retinuit, in quo festo dominus Gerhardus fecit sermonem ad populum super verbo: Hii sunt viri misericordie.25 Abbasque Waradiensis vocatus per episcopum huic festivitati intererat. Qua peracta, assumpsit secum Gerhardum tenuitque eum usque ad festum Sancti Benedicti26 in Waradino, in quo fecit sermonem ad populum super verbo: Iustus germinabit sicud lilium etc.27 Cui Maurus episcopus similiter intererat. Cognovit autem episcopus Gerhardum esse ducem verbi et dicebat, quia a die, in qua cepit verbum Dei disseminari in Ungaria, talis clericus non fuisset visus in eadem provincia. Ipse tamen semper intendebat Ierosolimam. 5. Factum est autem cum beatus rex Stephanus pro celebrando festo Beate Virginis28 annuali Albam29 venisset, tunc mos erat convo illuc quo Wion : illuc quod P illicque VM beatorum P : om. VM

a

b

In fact, in Bethlehem. May 3. 24 June 29. 22 23

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nal love for the love of Him for whom you toil. But because charity shines up in case of need, I do not want to hide from you for what reason I came to this region. My wish was to serve my Creator in his own land where He had humbled himself for the salvation of all, thus I planned to cross the sea in order to visit the land of the Lord. But adverse winds hindered me to fulfill my intention. Therefore, on the counsel of lord Rasina, I turned my steps towards the Danube and hope to reach it with your help.” They replied: “Forget, Gerard, your plan and let yourself not be distracted by such considerations. It was God’s will that brought you here and all is well where it is God’s will. The books which St. Jerome wrote in Jerusalem22 now belong to the entire world. But you should write, teach and preach in Hungary while the time is right.” Bishop Maurus kept lord Gerard with him from the day of the Finding of the True Cross23 until the day of the apostles Peter and Paul.24 On that day lord Gerard held a sermon on the words “These were men of mercy.” 25 This feast was also attended by the abbot of Pécsvárad, on the invitation of the bishop. Thereafter he took Gerard with him and kept him until the feast of St. Benedict26 in Pécsvárad, where he preached to the people on the word “Israel shall spring as the lily,”27 which was also attended by Bishop Maurus. The bishop realized that Gerard was a master of the word and said that there was no such cleric in the country since he started to spread the word of God in Hungary. But Gerard still intended to proceed to Jerusalem. 5 It was a custom that when the blessed King Stephen went to Fehérvár28 for the feast of the Holy Virgin,29 the abbots and bishops Eccl. 44:10. July 11. 27 Hos. 14:6 (The Vita has iustus, “the just,” instead of Israel). 28 Alba Regia, now Székesfehérvár, in western Hungary was the coronation city and the royal necropolis throughout the Middle Ages and one of the kingly residences during the eleventh-twelfth centuries. 29 August 19, Assumption of the Holy Virgin. 25

26

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care abbates et episcopos, ut huic sacre sollempnitati simul interessent. Quapropter Maurus episcopus et Anastasius abbas, domino Gerhardo secum assumpto, ad ipsum diem festum ad regem Albam venerunt. Captata autem oportuna hora salutavit regem. Cumque vidisset rex Gerhardum, ait clam ad episcopum: “Unde venit iste ad nos? Apparet enim michi homo esse timoratus.” Cui episcopus respondit, dicens: “De civitate Venetiensi Ierosolimam accelerat properare. Egregius enim est clericus.” Cui rex ait: “Numquid, si hic nobiscum permanserit, Dei clericus nona erit? Et nos servi Dei sumus. Quomodo potest hacb terra invenire ad serviendum Domino meliorem? Non permittatis eum abire. Expectet adhuc modicum, donec iuvante Domino debellabo Achtum30 inimicum meum et dabo illi civitatem Morisenam,31 ut in ipsa episcopus ordinetur.” In crastino autem convocans eum rex ad se, ait illi: “Bene veneris,” inquit, “bone vir. Faciat tibi Deus bene32 hic et in futuro.” At ille flexis genibus cum resalutaret regem, ait: “Ad vestre regie maiestatis dignationem veni,c peregrinus enim sum, Ierosolimam proficisci cupio. Socios etiamd habeo, qui descendunt33 mecum in Danubium.”e Cui rex: “Desine,” inquit, “bone vir, ab hac intentione tua et permane nobiscum, ut bene tibi sit,34 magis predica hic populo meo, credentes confirma, infideles converte, neophiticamf plantationem irriga et dabo tibi in regno meo ubique potestatem predicandi, daboque tibi conductores, qui tibi serviant die ac nocte, tu tantummodo aperi os tuum35 et semina in corde populi huius semen non Wion : om. VMP hac Wion : hec VM om. P c ad — veni VM : beatam vestre dignationis gratiam petere veni P d etiam P : enim VM e danubium P : danubio VM f neophiticam Wion : neophicam VM novam neophicam P a

b

Ajtony (or Ahtun), a chieftain of unknown origin, held sizeable territories in the southeast of the Carpathian Basin as far as the Lower Danube and may have been an ally of the Bulgarians. Virtually all information about him is what this Vita contains; the Hungarian chronicles do not record his “duchy” or the war against him. A kindred named Ajtony—in all likelihood his descendants—held properties in the supposed region of his domain throughout the Middle Ages. 30

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were called there to attend the holy solemnities. Therefore, Bishop Maurus and Abbot Anastasius went to the king to Fehérvár for this festive day, taking Gerard with them. Finding the proper time, he greeted the king. When the king noticed Gerard he asked the bishop secretly: “Whence did he come to us? It seems to me that he is a God-fearing man.” The bishop replied: “He is from Venice and hastens to proceed to Jerusalem. He is indeed an excellent cleric.” To which the king said: “Should he not be an excellent cleric of God if he stayed with us? We, too, serve God. How could he find a better place to serve God? Do not let him leave. He should wait a little while until with God’s help I defeat my enemy, Ajtony,30 and I shall give him the city of Marosvár31 to be ordained bishop there.” Then the king invited him for the following day and spoke to him: “Welcome, good man. It was well that you came here, good man. May God deal well with you32 here and in the future.” He, while returning the king’s greeting genuflected, said: “I came to the honor of your royal majesty as a pilgrim who wishes to proceed to Jerusalem. I have companions who sailed with me down33 the Danube.” To which the king: “Give up, good man, this plan of yours and stay with us so that it may be well with you34. Rather preach here to my people, confirm the faithful, convert the pagans, and water the new plantation. I shall grant you the right to preach everywhere in my kingdom and give you guides who will serve you day and night— you just open your mouth35 and sew in the heart of this people the

Marosvár (Morisena), today Cenad in Romania, seems to have been the center of Ajtony’s domain, on the bank of the River Mureş. 32 Cf. Exod. 1:20. 33 Actually: up from Pécs. 34 Deut. 4:40. 35 Prov. 31:8. 31

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vite. Iherosolimam ire noli, neque enim te permittam. Ecce dedi tibi hodie episcopatum urbis Morisene.” Quo audito, rursus ipsum salutavita et deinceps vocatus est Gerhardus electus. Quo facto, scissum est cor eius et vinculum consilii eius ruptum et quod a multis facere statuerat diebus, hoc postposuerat in momento. Igitur adveniente festo Beate Virginis, Gerhardus cappab indutus assumpto interprete, videlicet Conrado Albense preposito, ascendensc pulpitum,d super verbo: Mulier amicta sole 36 sermonem ad populum inchoavit. Non fuit scriptura, de qua non proposuisset exemplum, rege populoque spectantibus ac mirantibus omnibus Christianis de tanta divini verbi consolatione, propter quod ipsum rex nimis diligebat. Consumato festo, cum unusquisque remeasset ad propria, rex Gerhardum retinuit apud se, adhibens ei custodiam et solatia in pallatio sibi congruenti.37 Fecitque eum filii sui Hemerici ducis magistrum diebus multis.38 6. Factum est autem, cum videret beatum Hemericum crescere in virtute39 hostemque humani generis Christo auxiliante viriliter suppeditare, tumultum populi fugiens heremum petiit, que vulgo Beel40 vocatur, ubi continuis septem annis ieiuniis et orationibus et vigiliarum exercitiis deditus, immobilis permansit, edificans sibi cellam, in qua dictabat libros, quos propria manu scribebat. Quadam autem die, dum dictaret et pre nimia imaginatione forte dormitare cepisset, venit cerva una cum pullo suo et se iuxta eum

ipsum salutavit VM : super terram adoravit P cappa Wion : capa P om. VM c ascendens P : ascendit VM d pulpitum P : id est ambonem post pulpitum add. VM ut glossema seclusi a

b

Rev. 12.1 This theme became very popular in the fourteenth century in the preaching of the Franciscans and the Dominicans. 37 This sentence adumbrates what the Legenda Minor spells out more clearly (invitum retinuit custodiumque adhibuit, i.e., “kept him against his will and arranged for his guard”) that Gerard was retained in the king’s palace unwillingly. 36

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seeds of life. I do not want nor allow you to go to Jerusalem. Today I gave you the bishopric of Marosvár.” Having heard this, he greeted him again and from this day on he was called bishop-elect Gerard. His heart was broken by that what happened, the chain of his plans cut, and what he had decided in many days he postponed in a minute. So, when the feast of the Holy Virgin arrived, Gerard, mitered, with the help of an interpreter, namely provost Conrad of Fehérvár, mounted the chancel, that is, the pulpit, and began his sermon to the people on the word “A woman clothed with the sun.”36 There was no writing from which he could not present an exemplum. King and people watched and wondered how all Christians obtained comfort from so many divine words, for which the king was even more pleased with him. After the feast, when all had gone home, the king kept Gerard with him, arranging proper guard and supplies for him in the palace.37 Then for a long time he made him be the teacher of his son Emeric.38 6 Then, when he saw that the blessed Emeric grew in virtues39 and with Christ’s help defeated manly the enemy of mankind, he chose, fleeing the tumult of people, to retreat into the hermitage that was commonly called Bakonybél.40 There he stayed continuously for seven years in fast, prayer, and vigils. He built a cell in which he composed books and wrote them in his own hand. One day, while writing and exhausted by mental efforts, he fell asleep. A doe with its fawn came and settled next to him on the ground. Suddenly a

This is the only reference to Gerard having been the tutor of the king’s son, Imre/ Emeric. Neither the Vita Emerici nor any of the legends of St. Stephen mention this charge of the saint, thus its authenticity is highly problematic. The “Admonitions of St. Stephen” (see footnote 20 above) had been by some authors also ascribed to St. Gerard, but this opinion has been long ago refuted. 39 cf. Luke 2:40. 40 On this hermitage, see note 14 of the Minor Legend. 38

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in terra ambo deposuerunt. Ecce autem cervus fugiens ante lupum impetu magno irruit super eos, unde cerva fugiens ipsum pullum circa lectuma reliquit. Qui latere cupiens attramentum eius, quo scribebat, in terram subvertit. Domum autem venientem pullus secutus est paneque41 nutritus amplius ab eo non recessit.42 7. Alio autem tempore Sanctus Gerhardus, cum portaret sarcinam, ante portam lupum iacentem reperit. Quem cum vulneratum esse conspiceret, portam ei aperuit lupusque cum eo intravit. Cum autem sarcinam deposuisset, lupus ante pedes eius in terram se prostravit, nec prius surrexit, nisi sanitatem susciperet. Ab illo autem die tam pullus cerve, quam lupus ibi permanserunt et exibant per portam ad pascua et pascebantur, nec alterutrum molestabant. 8. In diebus illis erat quidam princeps in urbe Morisena, nomine Acthum, potens valde, qui secundum ritum Grecorum in civitate Budin43 fuerat baptizatus. Qui nimium gloriabatur in virtute et in potentia sua. Habebat autem septem uxores, pro eo, quod in religione Christiana perfectus non erat. Regi autem Stephano honorem minime impendebat, confidens in multitudine militum et nobilium, super quos dominium exercebat. Equorum etiam indomitorum multitudinem habebat innumerabilem, exceptis hiis, quos pastores in domibus sub custodia servabant. Erant ei et pecora infinita, que omnia habebant pastores suos deputatos, insuper allodia et curias et usurpabat sibi potestatem super sales regis descendentes in Morosio,44 constituens in portibus eiusdem fluminis usque lectum P Wion : electum VM

a

Since animals are not wont to eat bread, this may be a Hungarism: to “live on someone’s bread” (kenyerén élni) means to be supported by a person. 42 Wild animals becoming companions of saints and hermits (as here and the next chapter) is a well-known hagiographical topos, cf. e.g., St. Jerome’s lion. See also Is. 65:25 (lupus et agnus pascentur simul etc.). 43 Budin of the text is clearly Vidin, a town south of the Danube in northern Bulgaria. On the Orthodox presence in early medieval eastern Hungary and Transylvania, see Nora Berend, József Laszlovszky, and Béla Zsolt Szakács, “The kingdom of Hungary,” in Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central 41

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stag, fleeing a wolf, ran speedily towards them, which scared the doe who ran away and left her fawn next to the elect man. The animal, while trying to hide, overthrew the writing utensils with which he had worked. On the way home, the fawn followed him and fed with bread,41 never ever left him.42 7 On another occasion, when St. Gerard carried home a bundle, he found a wolf laying in front of his cell. Since he saw that it was wounded, he opened the door, and the wolf went in with him. Once he put down the bundle, the wolf lied down in front of him and did not rise until it was healed. From that day on, wolf and fawn remained there, went out together to the fields to graze, and did not hurt each other. 8 In those times there was a very powerful prince in the city of Marosvár, by the name Ajtony, who had been baptized in the Greek rite in the city of Vidin,43 and who kept boasting with his strength and power. As he was not perfect in the Christian religion, he had seven wives. He did not exhibit due honor to King Stephen, trusting the great number of warriors and nobles under his command. He also owned a great number of wild horses, not counting those which his wranglers kept in stalls. He had uncounted cattle which all had their assigned herdsmen, and many estates and courts; moreover, he usurped the control of the royal salt that was shipped down on the Mureş44 by having toll collectors and guards in all the Europe and Rus’, c. 900–1200, ed. Nora Berend (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2007), 319–68, here 327–28. 44 Transylvanian salt mines were apparently operated long before the arrival of the Hungarians, probably already in Roman times and then by Bulgarian miners. They constituted, as regalia, one of the major incomes of the kings of Hungary throughout the Middle Ages, see István Draskóczy, “Forschungsprobleme in der ungarischen Salzgeschichte des Mittelalters,” in Investitionen im Salinenwesen und Salzbergbau, ed. Hermann Wirth (Weimar: Bauhaus Universität, 2002), 280–89; András Kubinyi, “Königliches Salzmonopol und die Städte des Königreichs Ungarn im Mittelalter,” in Stadt und Salz, ed. Wilhelm Rausch (Linz: Wimmer, 1988), 213–32.

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ad Ticiam tributarios et custodes conclusitque omnia sub tributo. Accepit autem potestatem a Grecis et construxit in prefata urbe Morisena monasterium in honore beati Iohannis Baptiste, constituens in eodem abbatem cum monachis Grecis,45 iuxta ordinem et ritum ipsorum. Serviebat namque eidem viro terra a fluvio Keresa usque ad partes Transilvanas et usque in Budin ac Zoren, que omnia sub sua concluserat potestate. Unde procedebat in multitudine armatorum, regem autem minime reputabat. Et erat ei b quidam miles valde honoratus, nomine Chanadinus, qui ceteros dignitate precellebat, quibus ipsum dominum preposuerat. Hic accusatus est apud dominum suum ardua accusatione, pro qua ipsum dominus interficere cogitabat. Cumque observaret tempus, quo eum perderet, loquens secum in dolo, quod ipsum Chanadinum non latuit. Unde fugiens occulte venit ad regem. Quem rex ad Christum convertendo baptizavit. Volens autem fidem ipsius experiri, explorando secreta domini sui, intellexit, quod non dolose ad ipsum confugisset. Unde cognita eius fidelitate et perseverantia, ait ad optimates suos: “Preparamini,” inquit,c “contra Achtum adversarium meum in prelium et preoccupemus regnum eius.”46 In quo sermone adhuc examinabat Chanadinum, quatenus eius fidelitas amplius probaretur. Cumque hoc audisset Chanadinus, gavisus est valde. Addidit quoque rex dicens: “Eligite e vobis talem virum, qui sit princeps vester in prelio.” Qui respondentes dixerunt: “Et quis aptior inveniri potest Chanadino?” Quem eis in principem constituerunt. Respondit Chanadinus: “Sicud,” inquit,d “domino meo regi placet, sic Christianis. Novus Christianus sum, noviter baptizatus novum subire volo prelium, paratus sum mori et vivere vobiscum. Egredimini igitur et preliemur contra hostes domini mei regis.” Bonusque visus est hice sermo in oculis omnium. keres VM : crissus P chrysius Wion ei P : om. VM c inquit P : om. VM d inquit P : enim VM e hic P : om. VM a

b

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ports all the way to the Tisza and collected toll everywhere. He held his power from the Greeks45 and built in the said city of Marosvár a monastery in honor of St. John the Baptist in which he set up an abbot and Greek monks according to their rules and rites. To this man the land from the River Kriş to Transylvania and to Vidin and Severin was subject, which he all kept under his power. Hence, he marched with a sizeable army, holding but little of the king. There was a highly regarded warrior by the name Csanád, who preceded in honor those whose commander he was made. He was accused to his lord [Ajtony] with a serious charge for which the lord was planning to kill him. While he was waiting for an opportunity to destroy him, he spoke to him deceitfully which Csanád recognized. Therefore, he fled in secret and came to the king, who, for converting him to Christ, baptized him. In order to test his loyalty, he inquired about the secrets of his former lord and found that he did not flee to him deceitfully. Once convinced of his loyalty and reliability, he spoke to his great men: “Let us arm against my enemy, Ajtony, and let us take his realm in battle.”46 With these words he also wanted to test once again the loyalty of Csanád. When Csanád heard this, he was most pleased. The king added: “Chose among yourself the man who should be your leader in battle.” In response they said: “Who can be found more suitable than Csanád?” and they chose him as leader. To which Csanád replied: “What pleases the king, pleases the Christians. I am a new Christian, recently baptized and wish to fight a new fight, ready to live or die with you. Let us set out and fight against the enemies of my lord, the king.” This speech was seen good in the eyes of all.

In fact, Ajtony was an ally of the Bulgarians. King Stephen may have used the fall of Vidin to Emperor Basil II (with whom he was allied) to break the power of Ajtony. The general term “Greeks” may point to a time when an independent Bulgaria was not known, adding one more anachronism to the surviving text. 46 The campaign against Ajtony cannot be exactly dated. There are several hypotheses from the early eleventh century to the years preceding Gerhard’s entry into the bishopric in 1030. 45

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Congregantes autem exercitum, egressi sunt in prelium. Cumque transissent Ticiam, inierunt certamen contra Achtum et exercitum eius. Factusque est fragor et sonitus magnus et duravit bellum usque ad meridiem et ceciderunt vulnerati multi hinc et inde, ex utraque parte erant viri ad bella fortissimi.a Unde exercitus Chanadini fugam iniens latuit in vepribus Kwkyner b et in Zewreg et in omni Canysa47 usque ad Tyciam. Chanadinus autem eadem nocte castrametatus est ad quendam montem, quem postea Orozlanus48 nuncupavit. Achtum autem posuit castra sua in campo nomine Nageuz.49 Exploratores autem utriusque partis vigilantes hinc et inde discurrebant. Igitur Chanadinus noctem illam ducens insompnem, orabat ad Sanctum Georgium martirem, ut sibi a Domino celi auxilium impetraret. Votumque vovit, ut precibus eius annuensc si adversarii victor existeret, in loco orationis, quo genua flexerat in terra, in honore eius monasterium edificaret. Cumque pre nimio labore et fatigatione ipsum sopor invasisset, apparuit ei in sompnis forma leonis, stans ad pedes eius dicensque ei: “O homo, quid dormis? Surge velociter, cane tuba, egredere in prelium et superabis tuum inimicum.” Cumque evigilasset, videbatur sibi ac si duorum virorum vires recepisset. Unde convocato exercitu sompnium, quod viderat, enarravit eis, dicens: “Post orationem quam prostratus coram Domino et Sancto Georgio martire effudi in hac nocte, invasit me sopor vidique ad pedes meos quasi leonem stantem trahentemque me ungulis et dicentem: Surge homo, quid dormis? Congrega exercitum tuum, egredere in hostem tuum qui nunc dormit et vinces eum.” Quo audito laudaverunt Deum, dicentes: “Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison, Pater noster.” Egressi sunt ergo in prelium sine mora, expectantes per merita beati Georgii martiris auxilium de celo, qui eos in forma leonis dignatus fuerat visitare. Et eadem nocte mox exercitus Achtum, qui iacebat in campo, alter ad alterum irruerunt. Qui terga vertens, iniit fugam. erant — fortissimi P : om. VM kwkyner V : et spinis P c precibus eius annuens P : om. VM a

b

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Having gathered an army, they marched to battle. After crossing the Tisza, they encountered Ajtony and his army. With great clamor and noise, the battle lasted until noon, and many fell or were wounded on both sides. Therefore, the army of Csanád retreated and hid in the bushes of Kökényér and in Szőreg, all around Nova Kanjizha 47 as far as the river Tisza. Csanád set up camp on a certain mountain which he later called Oroszlámos.48 Ajtony encamped in a field called Tomatic.49 Scouts of both sides watchfully cruised hither and fro. Csanád spent the night sleepless, praying to St. George the Martyr, that he may ask assistance from the Lord of heaven for him. He made a vow that, if he would defeat his enemy, he would build a monastery in his honor at the place where he knelt. When from all this labor and fatigue he fell asleep, the form of a lion appeared to him in his dream, standing at his feet and saying to him: “Man, why do you sleep? Get up swiftly, blow your horn, march to battle and you will defeat your enemy.” When he awoke, he felt to have the strength of two men. He, therefore, called up his men an told them about his dream: “This night, after I have prayed prostrate to the Lord and St. George the Martyr, sleep overtook me and I saw something like a lion standing at my feet, dragged me with his paw saying: ‘Rise man, don’t sleep! Call up your army, march against your sleeping enemy and you will win.’” When they heard this, they praised the Lord, exclaiming: “Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison, Pater noster.” They right away went to battle, trusting in heavenly help through the merits of St. George who deigned fit to visit them in the form of a lion. Still in the night, they rushed on to the army of Ajtony, lying in the field. The enemy took to flight, Ajtony was killed on

The identification of these and other places is based on Györffy, Az Árpád-kori Magyarország történeti földrajza, 1: 835 sqq. 48 Oroszlámos (now Banatsko Aranđelovo) got its name from the lions of Csanád’s vision (see below). Oroszlám (in modern Hungarian oroszlán) means lion. 49 Hungarian: Nagyősz. 47

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Achtum vero interfectus est in loco prelii ab exercitu Chanadini. Cuius caput auferentes miserunt regi et acceperunt in die illa spolia multa repletique sunt gaudio magno eo quod inimicus regis cecidisset. Corpora vero Christianorum, qui ceciderant in prelio, tollentes duxerunt in Moroswar a et sepelierunt in cimiterio Sancti Iohannis Baptiste in monasterio Grecorum, quia in eadem provincia aliud monasterium illis temporibus non erat.50 Monachis autem ipsius loci eiusdem urbis tertia pars deserviebat, quos Chanadinus non repulit, sed in eodem statu, in quo inventi sunt, manere permisit. Quo facto, Chanadinus assumens abbatem dicti monasterii cum aliquibus fratribus, venit ad locum, in quo ei leo apparuerat, ubi fecit signum, quatenus votum, quod Sancto Georgio voverat, adimpleret. In ipso quoque die societati sue convivium magnum preparavit. Deinde transeuntes Tyciam venerunt ad regem. Iam vero caput Achtum appensum erat super turrim porte civitatis.51 Videns autem rex Chanadinum, gavisus est gaudio magno, sed Gyulam socium eius super omnes extollebat. Quo audito Chanadinus subridens ait: “Si caput regi attulit, cur etiam linguam non apportavit qui regis inimicum interfecit?” Mentitus est enim regib Gyula, presentato capite, asserens se regis adversarium occidisse. Cumque ad visum regis caput fuisset submissum et, ore aperto, lingua non fuisset reperta, Gyula propter mendacium de curia domini regis eiectus est. Chanadinus vero linguam de bursa exponens, a rege sublimatur.52 Quem constituit principem domus regis53 et domus Achtum. Ait enim rex: “Ab hac die urbs illa non vocabitur Morisena, sed urbs Chanadina.54 Pro eo, quod inimicum meum interfecisti de medio eius, comes55 illius provincie eris ipsamque sub tytulo nominis tui in moroswar VM : ad moresenam P regi P : om. VM

a

b

Petru Iambor’s excavations on the site of the Baptist’s church discovered a part of the early medieval remnants. 51 The Hungarian chronicle (Chron. pict. cap. 64) records that the body of another defeated enemy of King Stephen, Koppány, was quartered and displayed on the gates of four cities of the kingdom (see above, footnote 54 of the Major Legend of St. Stephen). 50

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battlefield by the army of Csanád. They sent his cut off head to the king, they acquired much booty, and there was great joy as the enemy of the king had fallen. The bodies of the Christians who fell in the battle were taken to Marosvár and buried in the cemetery of St. John the Baptist in the monastery of the Greeks, for in those times there was no other monastery in the area.50 The third part of the town was the servant of the monks of that place, whom Csanád did not remove, but let them be as they were before. After these events, Csanád took the abbot of the said monastery and a few monks to the place where the lion had appeared to him; he made a sign there to fulfill his vow he made to St. George. On the same day he caused a great banquet to be set up for his companions. Then, crossing the river Tisza, they went to the king. The head of Ajtony was already displayed on the gate tower of the city.51 Upon seeing Csanád, the king was very happy, but he praised his companion Gyula above all others. Hearing this, Csanád, smiling, asked: “If he brought the head to the king, why did he, who killed the king’s enemy, not bring the tongue as well?” Gyula, namely, lied when he presented the head maintaining that he killed the king’s enemy. When then the head was shown to the king for inspection and at opening of its mouth the tongue was not found, Gyula was expelled from the king’s court as a liar. Csanád, however, who presented the tongue from his satchel, was honored.52 He became a master of the royal court53 and of the court of Ajtony. For the king said: “From this day on, the city will not be called Marosvár but the city of Csanád.54 You will be the ispán55 of the region to be called On this mythical motif, see Bernát Heller, “A Csanád-monda főeleme” [Main motif of the Csanad legend], Ethnographia 27 (1916), 161–68. 53 Cf. Ps. 104:21. The formulation here is more Biblical than historical, since we are told in the next sentence that Csanád was not kept at the court but became the ispán of the land of Ajtony of which County Csanád (so called to this very day) was organized. Then, the archaic term curtis has been seen by scholars as one of the proofs for this text’s going back to a lost model of both legends of much older date. 54 Today: Cenad, a small village in Romania, cf. footnote 31 above. 55 Ispán (Latin comes, probably from Slavic župan) was the term for the king’s officers heading a royal county or other royal estate (castle, forest, courtly office) and in general of the members of the elite of early medieval Hungary. 52

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tytulabis, provincia Chanadiensis vocetur usque in generationem.” Post hec veniens Chanadinus ad locum, ubi leonem in sompnis viderat, in honore beati Georgii martiris monasterium edificavit, cui nomen Araslanus imposuit,a introducens illuc memoratos Grecos monachos de monasterio beati Iohannis Baptiste una cum abbate. 9. Factum est autem, postquam beatus Stephanus rex vidisset regnum suum a preliis quievisse, servum Dei Gerhardum revocavit de heremo. Cumque ad regem venisset ipsumque more solito salutasset, ait ad eum rex: “Molestavi te,” inquit,b “homo Dei,56 propter tempus opportunum.c Nond enim voluntatis mee fuit, ut duodecim57 episcopatus, quos in regno meo statuere decreveram, episcopis none implerem, sed magis pependit in arbitrio aliorum, quorum arbiter sathanas fuit, et nunc episcopatum, qui, ut estimo, te respicit, assume. Sed quia clericos, quibus solet decorari presul ecclesiasticus, ad presens non habemus in obsequium vestri, tollamus ecclesiarum et monasteriorum clericos et monachos, qui secundum ordinem ecclesiastice institutionis sint vobis in divino officio adiutores. Ego autem comitibus meis precipiam, ut a populo tempore suo decimas exigant in bladis, quibus utaris.58 Volo autem ut nullus remaneat, qui eas non reddat. Nullum enim defectum in temporalibus necessariis patiemini, tantummodo exercete in Christi obsequio officium vestrum, predicando, baptizando ac infideles ad Christum convertendo.

cui — imposuit P Wion : om. VM inquit P : om. VM c opportunum Karácsonyi: importunum VMP d non P : nunc VM e non P : om. VM a

b

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by your name the county Csanád for all times, because you slew my enemy in the midst of his own [men].” Then Csanád went to the place where he saw the lion in his dream and had a monastery built in the honor of St. George the martyr, bringing there the aforementioned Greek monks from the monastery of St. John the Baptist, together with the abbot. 9 It happened that when the blessed King Stephen saw his realm in peace from battles, he called back God’s servant, Gerard, from the hermitage. When he came to the king and greeted him in the usual way, the king said to him: “I disturbed you, man of God,56 because the right time has come. It was my will to fill the twelve dioceses that I have decreed to found with bishops.57 But this depended on the will of others whose counselor is Satan, but now you should enter the bishopric that, as I believe, pertains to you. However, since we have now no clerks for your service who ought to honor a prince of the church, we shall take clerics and monks from the churches and monasteries who shall be of assistance to you in the divine service according to the rules of ecclesiastical institutions. I shall order my ispáns to collect from the people at the proper time the tithe in grain for your use.58 I want no one to be exempt from this. For you should not have any needs in worldly matters while you pursue your office in the service of Christ by preaching, baptizing, and converting the heathens to Christ.” Here and several times below: Deut. 33:1. Tradition holds that King Stephen founded only ten dioceses, even though in canon law twelve dioceses are supposed to add up to one archdiocese, but in fact only the foundation of eight of them are reliably documented. See Thoroczkay, “Dioceses” above; László Koszta, “L’organisation de l’Église chrétienne en Hongrie,” in Les Hongrois et l’Europe: conquête et intégration, ed. Sándor Csernus and Klára Korompay (Paris: Publications de l’Institut hongrois de Paris, 1999), 293–311. 58 The Second Law of St. Stephen, Art. 20 prescribed the payment of the tithe from “whatever God gave in a year,” see DRMH, 11. See also Andor Csizmadia, “Die rechtliche Entwicklung des Zehnten (Decima) in Ungarn,” Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: Kanonistische Abteilung 61 (1975): 228–57. 56 57

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Igitur ad imperium regis congregati sunt monachi de diversis regni monasteriis: de Waradino duo, Stephanus et Anshelmus, de Zaladino59 duo, Conradus et Albertus, de Beel60 duo, Vlricus et Valterus, de Zaburio duo,a Crato et Thazlo, de monte Pannonie quattuor, Philippus, Henricus, Leonhardus et Concius. Hi duodecimb presbiteri erant et viri literati, quos Chanadinus comes in currum suum ponensc in diocesim Chanadiensem duxitd et primo quidem in Orozlanos, ubi monasterium in honore beati Georgii martiris edificabat, eos collocauit.e Sanctificato autem eodem loco, magnum convivium fecit episcopo cum fratribus, quos etiam plurimis donariis remuneravit. Inde proficiscentes venerunt in urbem Morisenam, ubi erant monachi Greci, qui divina secundum ritum et consuetudinem suam celebrabant. Episcopus autem, inito consilio cum comite Chanadino, eundem Grecum abbatem cum monachis suis transtulit in Orozlanos,61 monasterium vero ipsorum episcopo cum fratribus suis assignavit, qui in eodem habitaverunt, donec monasterium beati Georgii martiris perficeretur.62 Confluebant autem ad eum nobiles et ignobiles, divites et pauperes, postulantes in nomine Trinitatis deifice baptizari. Quos ipse tanquam materf filios suos suscipiens ad mensam suam reficiendi gratia invitabat. Ducebantur etiam multi per comites quos constituerat rex et baptizabantur in monasterio Sancti Iohannis Baptiste. Stabat enim multitudo populi ad ianuam in cimiterio, habentes secum victualia, nec erat requies his, qui eos baptizabant, preter in nocte et erat eis grandis labor, tamen pro Christi nomine, in cuius opere persistere desiderabant, ipsum laborem equanimiter et voluntarie tollerabant. Episcopus autem verbum Dei his, qui fuerant baptizati, continue predicabat. vlricus — duo P Wion : om. VM duodecim scripsi : XII P decem VM c et post ponens add. VM d duxit P : ducens VM e eos collocauit Wion : om. VMP f mater P : om. VM a

b

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Thus, at the king’s command monks were gathered from the various monasteries of the kingdom: two from Pécsvárad, Stephen and Anselm; two from Zalavár,59 Conrad and Albert; two from Bakonybél,60 Crato and Tassilo; and four from Pannonhalma, Phillip, Henry, Leonard and Concius. These ten were priests and literate men. Csanád placed them in his carriage and took them to the diocese of Csanád, first [settling them] at Oroszlámos, where he had built the monastery in honor of St. George the Martyr. Having consecrated the place, he gave a great banquet to the bishop and his brethren and rewarded them with many gifts. Thence they arrived in Marosvár where the Greek monks celebrated divine service according to their rite and custom. The bishop, after consultations with Csanád, transferred them to Oroszlámos,61 while he assigned their monastery to the bishop and his brethren to live there until the new St. George monastery would be completed.62 There flocked to him nobles and commoners, rich and poor requesting to be baptized in the name of the divine Trinity. These he treated as his own sons and invited them to his table for refreshment. Many were led by the ispáns appointed by the king and were baptized in the monastery of St. John the Baptist. A crowd of people stood at the gate of the cemetery, having brought food with them, and those who baptized them had no respite, save at night, working hard. But for the sake of Christ’s name, for which they wished to labor persistently, they took upon themselves the burden willingly and gladly. The bishop unceasingly preached the word of God to those who had been baptized. A Benedictine monastery in Zalavár (at the location of the Carolingian-age Mosaburg) was founded in 1015/9; see Imre Takács, ed., Paradisum plantavit: Bencés monostorok a középkori Magyarországon / Benedictine Monasteries in Medieval Hungary (Pannonhalma, 2001), passim (see Index p. 748); esp. Ágnes Ritoók, “Zalavár,” 673–76. 60 Wion named those from Bakonybél Urich and Walter and made another two come “from Zobor” (founded probably in the 990s near Nitra, now in Slovakia), thus increasing the number to twelve, which is quite convincing. See the Legenda SS Zoreardi, as above. 61 Some ruins of it can be found near the village of Majdan, in Vojvodina, Serbia. Its patron was, logically, St. George. 59

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Inter prefatos vero monachos erant septem viri literati et Ungarica lingua interpretes expediti, videlicet Albertus, Philippus, Henricus, Conradus, Crato, Thazlo et Stephanus, qui etiam per se populo verbum Dei predicabant. Per ipsos enim tota Chanadina provincia sacri eloquii fluminea exstitit irrigata. Qui officiumb archidiaconatus habentes63 edificabant ecclesias in urbibus et villis. Populus autem, licet adhuc nove plantationis existeret, tamen verbum Dei ferventi spiritu audiebat, meditando in lege Domini die ac nocte. 10. Quadam autem die venerunt triginta viri ad episcopum neophiti, petentes ut tolleret filios eorum, quos literis eruditos in clericos ordinaret. Quibus susceptis, eos sub manu magistri Waltheri constituit, dans eis unam domum ad hec aptam, ut eos scientiis gramatice et musice informaret. Qui brevi temporis intervallo in ipsis artibus non mediocriter profecerunt. Quo viso nobiles et magnates filios suos tradebant predicto Walthero ad instruendum, pro adipiscendo fructu scientie artis liberalis. Isti sunt primi canonici64 in monasterio beati Georgii martyris ordinati, quos episcopus sub maxima diligentia nutriebat, eo quod non essent alienigene, sed patriote, quatenus per ecclesia Dei posset magnificentius exaltari. Igitur in festivitate beati Iohannis Baptiste65 facta predicatione et data benedictione, accesserunt ad episcopum quasi centum viri, postulantes sibi sanctificari loca pro ecclesiis construendis. De quorum devotione episcopus non modicum letabatur. Factoque convivio, ipsos ad mensam suamc invitavit cum ceteris, tam divitibus, quam pauperibus, qui aderant universis. Cumque surrexissent flumine Wion : om. VMP officium P : om. VM c suam P : om. VM a

b

This transfer of the Orthodox monks seems to have happened in stages, while the new monastery was being built. 63 Archdeacons oversaw a number of parishes, usually of one county, and in the early period had their seat together with the county’s ispán, see Antal Szentirmai, “Der Ursprung des Archidiakonats in Ungarn,” Österreichisches Archiv für Kirchenrecht 7 (1956): 231–44. 62

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Among the above-mentioned monks there were seven learned men who were experienced interpreters of the Hungarian language: Albert, Phillip, Henry, Conrad, Crato, Tassilo, and Stephen, who preached the word of God by themselves to the people. Through them the whole diocese of Csanád was refreshed by holy eloquence. They held the office of archdeacons63 and built churches in towns and villages. The people, even though a young plantation [of Christianity], listened to the word of God with fervent soul and contemplated the law of God day and night. 10 One day thirty newly baptized men came to the bishop asking him to take their sons and, teaching them the letters, ordain them to priests. Having received them, he entrusted them to master Walther and assigned a suitable house where they were instructed in the sciences of grammar and music. In a short time, they made good progress in these disciplines. Having seen this, nobles and magnates entrusted their sons to the said Walther for instruction so that they would reap the fruits of the liberal arts. These were the first canons64 ordained in the church of St. George the Martyr. The bishop nurtured them with great attention, as they were not foreigners but natives, so that by them the church of God could be more splendidly exalted. Then, on the feast of St. John the Baptist,65 after the sermon and benediction, some one hundred men came to the bishop, asking him to consecrate places for the building of churches. The bishop was most pleased by their devotion. He invited them to a banquet together with others, both rich and poor, all who were present. When they rose from the table, they presented the bishop various gifts, presents,

On the notion of “canons”—another alleged anachronism of this text—see Edit Pasztor, “Sulle origini della vita comune del clero in Ungheria,” in La vita comune del clero nei secoli XI e XII. Atti della Settimana di Studio, Mendola, Settembre 1959 (Milan: Vita e Pensiero, 1962), II, 71–79. 65 June 24. 64

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a mensa, obtulerunt episcopo varia dona et munera et clenodia, videlicet equos, boves et oves, iumenta, pulvinaria,a mulieres vero anulos aureos et monilia. Quibus dicebat episcopus: “Numquid propter hoc vos invitavi, ut vestris bonis vos spoliarem? Absit, sed vocavi vos ad audiendum verbum Dei.” Cui responderunt universi, dicentes: “Quia, pater sancte, audivimus te hodie in sermone Dei protestantem: Sicud extinguit aqua ignem, ita elemosina extinguit peccatum.66 Suscipe ergo que tibi offerimus pro Christi nomine, in quo sumus ad vitam ab erroreb renati.”c 67 11. Factum est autem, cum episcopus egrederetur cum fratibus suis suam visitare dyocesim, ut consecraret eorum cymiteria, qui erant ecclesias constructuri, a quibus recipiebantur tamquam sancti apostoli, signa et prodigia facientes, et munera ex eis omnibus que habebant prompto animo offeberant. Illi autem prefati septem monachi preibant episcopum, predicando et baptizando populum in omnem locum, quo ipse erat venturus, per quos applicabatur Domino innumerabilis credentium multitudo, quorum oblationes susceptas in urbem transmittebat Morisenam. Episcopus autem erat gerensd magnam sollicitudineme pauperumf scolarium ac monachorum et hospitum, ad cuius nutumg ducebantur parvuli et tradebantur ad scolas, qui tam sollicite informabantur, ut noctes pro diebus computarentur. Illi vero scolares trignita primi iam in lectura et cantu erant docti, quos dominus episcopus ad sacros ordines promovens canonicos faciebat. Mittebat etiam nuntios ultra Danubium et congregabat scolares. Quibus congregatis, ipsos presbyteros ordinabat eosque ecclesiarum rectores in parrochiis faciebat. Concurrebantque ad eum iumenta pulvinaria P : tapecia plurima VM ab errore P : om. VM c renati VM : reperti P revocati Wion d gerens P (cf. gerebat Wion) : in VM e magnam sollicitudinem Wion : magna sollicitudine VMP f ex parte ante pauperum add. VM g nutum P : domum VM a

b

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and jewels, such as horses, cattle, sheep, many carpets, and the women golden rings and necklaces. The bishop told them: “Did I invite you in order to rob you of your goods? Not at all, I invited you to hear the word of God.” To which they all replied: “We have heard today, holy father, as you confirmed with the word of God, that ‘just as water quenches fire, so alms resist sin.’66 So, take what we offer to you for the name of Christ, in which we were reborn for life.”67 11 It happened that when the bishop set out with his brothers to visit his diocese in order to consecrate its cemeteries that were set up next to the churches, they were received like the holy apostles who performed signs and miracles, and they received from everyone gifts of whatever they had by their own will. The aforementioned seven monks went ahead of the bishop, preaching and baptizing the people everywhere where he was to go. Thus, they won for the Lord an uncounted number of believers, whose donations they received and sent over to Marosvár. The bishop was most concerned about the poor scholars, monks, and foreigners. Upon his command children were gathered and sent to the house and given to schooling, where they were instructed with so much care that they made day out of the night. The first thirty students were already so well trained in lecture and chant that the bishop promoted them into holy orders and made them canons. He also sent emissaries across the Danube and collected students. Those whom he collected were ordained priests and assigned parish churches. So came to him Germans, Czechs, Poles,

Cf. Eccles. 3:33, ignem ardentem extinguit aqua et elemosyna resistit peccatis. As Anna Kuznetsova pointed out, this episode suggests the survival of gentile / pagan customs of “gift exchange,” see her “Signs of Conversion in Vitae sanctorum,” in Christianizing Peoples and Converting Individuals, ed. Guyda Armstrong and Ian Wood (Turnhout: Brepols, 2000), 139. The classic on this is, of course, Marcel Mauss, The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies (London: Routledge, 1990 [1922]). 66 67

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Thewtonici, Bohemi, Poloni, Gallici et ceteri, quibus ordinatis parrochias sue dyocesis conferebat.68 Magister vero Waltherus videns supercrescere numerum scolarium, laboris onere pressus, dixit ad episcopum: “Non sufficio huic,” inquit, “multitudini in utroque preesse officio, cantus videlicet et lecture, mitte et adduc magistrum, sive lectorem, vel cantorem. Misit ergo episcopus fratrem Maurum ad salutandum regem, precipiens ei ut etiam scolas ingrederetur, que tunc in Alba69 sollempnes erant, ut ipsis scolaribus doctorem scolaruma inveniret et adduceret. Qui veniens Albam, peracto apud regem negocio, intravit scolas, ubi erat quidam Thewtonicus nomine Henricus, qui erat puerorum vicemagister, quem cum allocutus fuisset, ille assensum prebens, acceptis libris suis venit cum eo ad episcopum. Quem episcopus gratanter suscepit et constituit eum scolaribus in lectorem. Waltherus autem preerat illis in cantura. 12.70 Crescente igitur numero fidelium et clericorum, ecclesias vir Dei per urbes singulas fabricabat, principale quoque monasterium, quod in honore beati Georgii martiris at litus Morosii construxit, sedem Morisenam appelavit. Beatus autem rex Stephanus ipsam nobiliter dotalibus muneribus exornavit. In quo monasterio aram ad honorem Dei genetricis erigens,b ante ipsam thuribulum argenteum fixit, duos provectec etatis adhibens homines in ministerio ad vigilandum, quatenus ad nullius hore spatium ibi odor thymiamatis deesset. Singulis quoque sabatis diebus episcopus, sicud in assumptione, laudum preconiis devotionis sue officiumd cum novem lectionibus ibidem adimplebat, eisdem etiam diebus opera scolarum P Wion : sew informatorem VM ut glossema seclusi erigens P : erexit et VM c provecte P : profecte VM d officium Wion : affectum VM om. P a

b

We know little about the parish organization in eleventh-century Hungary. The Second Law of St. Stephen, article 1 (see DRMH, 9) ordered that every ten villages should build a church, which the king would endow with necessary equipment, but no written or archaeological evidence exists to prove that this had been implemented. 68

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French, and others, whom, after their ordination, he entrusted the parishes of his diocese.68 Master Walther saw the number of students increase greatly and, overburdened by work, told the bishop: “I am unable to teach this great number in both fields, that is chant and lecture. Please send and bring a master for either chant or lecture.” Therefore, the bishop sent Brother Maurus with greetings to the king and commanded him also to visit the schools that were now established in Fehérvár69 in order to find and bring a doctor or instructor for the students. He went to Fehérvár and after having completed his business with the king, visited the school. There was a master, a certain German by the name of Henry, vice-master of the boys, whom he addressed; he agreed, packed his books, and came with him to the bishop. The bishop received him thankfully and placed him in charge of the students in lecture. Walther remained their teacher in chant. 1270 Now, as the number of the faithful and of the clerics grew, the man of God had churches built to God in every city, but the main monastery he built in honor of St. George, the martyr of Christ, on the bank of the river Maros after which he called his see Marosvár, and this the Holy King Stephen nobly embellished with donations and gifts. In this monastery he erected an altar in the honor of the mother of our Savior, and he placed before it a silver censer. He appointed two men who were well advanced in years for its service to keep vigil at that place uninterruptedly so that the fragrance of incense should never cease, not even for the span of an hour. On every Saturday the bishop would perform the office of his devotion there with nine readings just as on the day of the Assumption and with many hymns of praise, but even

Nothing more is known about this school than its mention here. Most of this chapter is identical with parts of chapters 3, 4 and 5, of the Legenda Minor (see above, in this volume). Annotations to the text there are not repeated here.

69 70

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m ­ isericordie in pauperes amplius exercebat. Ceteris autem diebus, matutinis peractis ac vesperis, consueverat bis ad eius venerandum altare cum processione venire. Sanctus ergo vir propter honorem Beate Virginis tanto humilitatis studio insistebat, ut qualiscumque reus clam aba eius familiaribus edoctusb fuisset et pro nomine matris Christi ab eo indulgentiam postulasset, audito nomine Matris Misericordie, mox perfusus lacrimis, eius petitionibus annuebat et velud ipse esset reus, ita a reo veniam postulabat. Cuius nomen, videlicet Matris Christi proprium, in Ungarorum generatione non exprimitur, sed tantum Domina resonat. Unde Pannonia a sancto rege Stephano familia Beate Virginis appelata est. O beatorum virorum felix industria, qui hanc stellam maris intuentes vite sue cursum dirigebant, quatenus respectu exempli illius potuissent inter huius seculi fluctus remigantes c voluptatumd scileame voraginem declinaref portumque g quietis perpetue invenire. Circa vero ecclesiastica ministeriah curam in tantum sollicitus erat, ut estivo tempore vascula in domo Domini glacie plena ponerentur, in quibus lagunculei cum optimo vino, quod inveniri poterat, pro consecratione sanguinis dominicij servaretur. Dicebat enim: “Hoc, quod per fidem intro accipitur, hoc exterius suave inveniatur.” Nocturno denique tempore leprosum proprio in lectulo quiescere faciens, accepta securi silvam solus petebat fasciculisque lignorum propriis humeris pro castigatione sui corporis allatis, mercennariorum sibi servientium labores sepius relevabat. clam ab P : de VM edoctus ego (cf. doctus Wion) : eductus P adductus VM c remigantes P : remigare VM d voluptatum P : voluptatumque VM e scileam ego (cf. textum Legendae minoris cap. 4) : sileam P stillantem VM f declinare P Wion : devitare VM g portumque P Wion : et portum VM h ecclesiastica ministeria ego (cf. textum Legendae minoris cap. 4) : ecclesiasticam ministerii P ecclesiasticam monasterii VM i laguncule ego (cf. textum Legendae minoris cap. 4) : legnicula P lagena VM j dominici P : domini VM a

b

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more he would apply himself to works of charity on these very days for the poor. On the other days, however, after completing the offices of matins and vespers, he would twice lead a procession to that altar. The holy man persevered with such dedication to the honor of the Holy Virgin with such humble devotion that whenever some offender, brought to him by his associates, would ask for mercy in the name of the Mother of Christ, as soon as he would hear the name of the Mother of Mercy, he would at once burst into tears and grant his petition, as if he himself had been the guilty one, would ask pardon from the offended. Among the Hungarian people her name, the proper name of the Mother of Christ, was not used, but was named only “(our) Lady.” Hence Pannonia was called by the holy King Stephen “the household of Saint Mary.” O, worthy of praise is the wisdom of these men who would steer the course of their life with the guidance of this Star of the Sea, so that following her example they could row through the billows of this world and, avoiding the craving for pleasures as a Scylla-like maelstrom, they could attain the haven of eternal peace. Regarding the church services of the monastery, he was so concerned that in summertime containers filled with ice would be placed in the house of the Lord, and in these small flasks would preserve the best wine that could be found for the consecration of the blood of the Lord. For he used to say: “Let this, which by faith we receive inside us, also taste delicious!” Finally, at night, having put a leper to rest in his own bed, he would take an axe and make for the woods alone, from where he brought bundles of sticks on his shoulders so as to mortify his body, thus lightening the hard work of the servants who served him.

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Quando autem de loco ad locum properabat, non quolibet iumento, sed modico utebatur vehiculo, in quo residens libros, quos ex Spiritus Sancti auctoritate compilaverat, relegebat. Vestimentis aut cilicio, aut hispidis arietum pellibus frequentius utebatur. Unde, sicud sepius contingit sanctis hominibus, cum aliquando negligenciaa sui aurige, seu alia qualibet iniuria lesus fuisset, hominem sibi culpabilem protinus flagellis aggravari, aut vinculis precipiebat constringi,b cuius iussioni ministri obedientes, sed paternitatis eius dulcedinem non obliviscentes, secus viam, qua sanctus pater erat transiturus, hominem reum ad stipitem ligabant, ac signa plagarumc in nudo dorso eius gallined seu cuiuslibete animalis sanguinemf depingebant. At ubi vir Dei veniens crudelitatis sue intuens memoriam, saltum de plaustro suo faciens, ad ligatum hominem properabat stipitemque, manus et brachia, vincula et pedes eius osculabatur, munera promittens, si veniam et misericordiam ab homine iam soluto consequi mereretur. Et si tunc homo astares et videres, certe diceres hunc Dei virum pro tanta humilitate et simplicitate effectum illum puerum, quem Salvator discipulis ad imitandum humilitatis exemplum statuisset. Quamvis autem episcopalem dignitatem magna providentia gubernaret,g erat tamen ei magna sollicitudo pro commisso grege. Nam quotiens aliquos filios suos, quos Christo genuerat, beatus rex Stephanus virga equitatis pro scelere voluisset corripere, hos pater zelo pietatis et misericordie lacrimis defendebat. Sic iusticia pietati negligencia P : ex negligencia VM hominem — constringi P : precipiens hominem culpabilem protinus flagellis aggravari aut vinculo mancipari VM c signa plagarum ego (cf. textum Legendae minoris cap. 4) : ligno plagarum P om. VM d galline ego (cf. textum Legendae minoris cap. 4) : gallino P gallinatico VM e cuiuslibet P : cuiusvis VM f sanguine ego : sanguinem VMP g hic quaedam e textu Legendae minoris deprompta (cf. SRH, vol. 2, 475, ll. 11-15) inseruit Wion, post quae incerto ex fonte add. quoties ad aures eius pervenisset quempiam adversa laborare valetudine, medicinae loco mittebat ei, sive panis, sive pomi, sive herbae odoriferae particulam, simul mandans, ut sanus surgeret, mox vero divine misericordiae favore, eius sermonem prosequente incolumis ille efficiebatur. a

b

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Then, when he would travel from one place to another, he used no beast of burden, but a modest cart, where he would sit and go once again through the books that he had composed by the grace of the Holy Ghost. As far as clothing goes, most of the times he wore things made of haircloth and rough sheepskins. As it often happens with holy men, sometimes, when he got upset either because of his driver’s negligence or because of some other offense, he would be swiftly moved to anger and immediately order that the man he held guilty be flogged and restrained with harsh bonds. His servants would obey this order, but keeping also in mind his paternal gentleness, they would tie the guilty man to a post by the side of the road where the holy father would be traveling and would paint on his naked back the marks of lashes with blood taken from a chicken or from some other animal. And when the man of God drove by and saw [this], he would put aside his severity, immediately jump off his cart, rush to the tied man and kiss now the post [to which he was tied], his arms, his hands, and his bonds, now his feet, and promise gifts if he should be found worthy to obtain pardon and mercy from the man, who, by this time, had already been released. And should anyone have been there at that time, seeing such humility and simplicity, they would have said that this man of God was transformed and made like that child whom the Savior, surrounded by His disciples, offered as an example of humility. Even though he was fulfilling his episcopal office with great wisdom, he took the greatest care of the flock entrusted him, for whenever holy King Stephen was about to chastise with the rod of justice one of the sons whom he had fathered in Christ, our father would defend him with kind-hearted vehemence and compassionate tears.

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annexa, eoruma Deo iudicium fiebat.b Accidit autem quodam tempore, ut pro defensione cuiusdam ad regem properaret et in eiusdem regionis parte silvosa, que usui pecorumc erat apta, sita erat quedam villa, in qua vir Deid hospitatus est. Ubi circa mediam noctem audivite strepitum lapidum molarium, quod ipse alias non viderat. Mirabatur quidnam hoc esset. Continuoque mulier, que molam trahebat, cantare cepit. Admirans autem episcopus, dixit ad Waltherum: “Walthere, audis symphoniam Ungarorum, qualiter sonat?”71 Riseruntque ambo de carmine isto. Cumque solaf traheretur mola manug mulieris et cantus cresceret in altum episcopus autem lecto interim iaceret, adhuc subridens ait: “Walthere, edissere michi, quis istius melodie cantus sit, qui meam cantoria sua cessare compellit lectionem.” At ille: “Ista modulatio carminis est,” inquit, “mulier, que cantat, ancilla est huius hospitis, apud quem hospitamur, que molit triticum domini sui, tempore quo alia molendina in regione ista reperiri omnino non possunt.” Cui episcopus: “Arte,” inquit, “currit, an labore?” Ait Walterus: “Arte et labore, non quolibet trahendo iumento, sed manu propria circumferente.” “O miranda res,” ait episcopus, “qualiter se pascit humanah generatio. Nisi enim esset ars, laborem quis posset tollerare? Felix,” inquit, “mulier, que sub alterius potestate posita, sic dulciter debitum servitium absque murmuratione leta impendit.” Cui etiam non modicum pondus pecunie portarii precepit. Factum est autem, postquam venisset ad regem et sua negotia feliciter peregisset, cum quidam nobilis gravi scelere apud regem accusatus fuisset et multitudo nobilium ei veniam impetrare nullatenus eorum ego : quarum P culparum Wion fort. recte fiebat ego : faciebat P relinquebat Wion sic—fiebat om. VM c pecorum P (cf. pecoribus pascendis Wion) : porcorum VM d vir dei Silagi (cf. “Legenda maior,” 181, adn. 35) : meridie VMP e audivit P : audit VM f sola Wion : solo P solius VM g traheretur mola manu P : m. solius m. t. VM h humana VM : hungarica P fort. recte i ei ante portari add. VM Wion a

b

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It happened once, as he was making haste to the king in order to defend someone, there was a village where he stopped at midday in a forested part of the country that was good for keeping pigs. Here, around midnight, he heard the noise of a millstone, which he otherwise did not see. He wondered what that was. Then, the woman who worked the mill, began to sing. Wondering, the bishop said to Walther: “Walther, do you hear what the song of the Hungarians sounds like?”71 And both laughed at the song: While the woman was turning the mill by hand and the song rose up high, the bishop, already in bed, still smiling said: “Walther, explain to me what is the melody of the song that forced me to stop my reading?” He replied: “It is the melody of a song that the woman sings, who is the servant of our host where we stay and is milling the grain of her master at a time, when in this region no other mill can be found.” The bishop asked: “Does it work by machine or by hand?” Said Walter: “Both by machine and hand, not moved by a beast, but by the hand of the woman who turns it.” “O, how wonderful,” said the bishop, “how mankind feeds itself. If there would be no machine, how could one stand all the labor? Blessed, said he, is the woman who, although set under someone else’s authority, discharges the duty required of her so sweetly, gladly, without complaint!” And he asked that a good deal of money should be given to her. When he had come to the king and successfully completed his business, it happened that a nobleman was accused to the king of some serious crime and a great number of nobles could not obtain pardon

This “novelistic” insert elaborates on the brief mention about music in cap. 5 of the Legenda minor and gave rise to extensive speculations and comments, for which see n. 40 of the Minor Legend, and József Balogh, “Saint Gerard of Csanád and the ‘Symphonia Ungarorum,’” Music and Letters 29 (1948): 356–65. 71

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potuisset, iste solus obtinuit. Diebus autem, quibus erat apud regem, episcopi, abbates, nobiles, sacerdotes et clerici erant congregati, qui admirabantur de conversatione et sanctitate eius, Deum glorificantes. Monasterio autem Beate Virginis72 ubi sibi locum sepulture elegerat, illa vice quingentarum marcarum summam a domino rege obtinuit, cum decem peciis purpurarum eta Lta peciis pannorum, a regina vero quattuor pecias purpure et totidem syndones. Ad opus quoque Sancti Georgii martiris mille marcas promisit, quas in diebus suis integraliter iuxta promissum adimplevit. Erat autem consuetudo viri sancti, ut nullum ex canonicis suis in villa dormire permittebat,73 exceptis his, qui ad viam mittebantur, ceteri in una domo pausabant. Si quis autem eorum ad matutinas non venisset, ipsa die prebenda ei non dabatur. Nullum etiam ex ipsis ad domum suspiciosam singulariter ire permittebat. Dicebat autem eis: “Quid differtis a laicis, si talia facitis, nisi in tonsura?” Qui in choro superpellicia habebant, extra chorum vero cappas rotundas ferebant. Quemcumque autem ipsorum in crimine reperisset manifeste, eundem privabat beneficio suo. Ipse vero sancte religionis habitum, quem in pueritia suscepit, nunquam mutavit. Accidit autem eo tempore, quod Chanadinus comes haberet quendam vinctum, qui pro reatu suo ad patibulum duceretur. Qui evadens manus eorum, qui ipsum vinctum ducebant, fugam petiit etb in monasterium Beate Virginis insiliens evasit. Qui eum velociter subsequentes, usque ad ostium monasterii venerunt. Dicebantque ei: “Bene tibi vulpecula, que laqueum perditionis evasisti et cum pelle, qua spoliaberis, in foveam requisitionisc introisti.” Ex quo factus est risus magnus in populo. Idem vero vinctus datus est monasterio pro pulsatore cunctis diebus vite sue.

et P : om. VM fugam petiit et P : om. VM c requisitionis P : om. VM

a

b

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for him, but he alone obtained it. During the time that he was with the king, bishops, abbots, nobles, priests, and clerics gathered who admired his behavior and holiness, praising the Lord. At this occasion he received from the king for the monastery of the Holy Virgin72 where he wished to be buried, the sum of 50 marks, 10 bales of purple cloth, 50 bales of felt, and from the queen four bales of purple and the same amount of muslin. He [the king] promised for the costs of St. George’s monastery a thousand marks, which he in the course of time paid out, as agreed, to the last penny. It was the habit of the holy man to allow no canon to sleep in town, unless he was sent on a journey; all others stayed in one house.73 If any of them failed to appear to Matins, he was not given that day’s prebend. He allowed none of them to go alone to a house of bad repute. He told them: “If you do such a thing, in what do you differ then from laymen save your tonsure?” In the choir they wore surplices, otherwise round capes. Whomever of them he found to have committed a crime, he stripped of his benefice. But he never changed the monastic habit that he had received as a child. It happened at that time that ispán Csanád had a prisoner be led for his crime in fetters to the gallows. He escaped from the hands of those who led him in fetters and fled into the monastery of the Holy Virgin. His pursuers followed him to the gate of the monastery and said to him: “All right, little fox, you evaded the trap of perdition but fell into the pit, where you will lose your skin.” People had a good laugh at this. The man was handed over to the monastery and remained their bell ringer for the rest of his life.

This monastery was founded by St. Gerard as a kind of cathedral chapter. Later it was often referred to as St. Gerard’s. Its location is known, but no excavations have been made, thus no details are known. 73 On the communal life of canons, see above, n. 65. 72

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13. Quodam autem tempore, cum idem sanctus pater esset in loco suo cathedrali et haberet secum capellanos, qui eius lateri adherebant, duos etiam monachos et socios spirituales,a retraxit se ab eis et in cubiculo solus permansit precepitque uni eorum dicens, ut infra triduum nullum ad eum intrare permitteret, nec ei cibum inferreb deberet. Quod cum factum fuisset, quarto die silenter exivit, ad sue sepulture veniens locum, ubi cooperto capite diutius ploravit. Tandem ad capitulum, ubi fratres convenerant, venit. Cumque residisset, fecit sermonem de cursu seculi, simul de pseudo monachisc ait etiam inter hecd: “Scindetur,” inquit, “Ungaria et solvetur a iugo Christianitatis, a sacerdotibus usque ad laicos laborque meus et predicatio mea despicietur et verbum Dei non recipietur. Clerus despectui habebitur, monachi erunt varii coloris in habitu et in diversis conventiculis morabuntur, deserta fugient et vitam solitariam non amabunt. Multi etiam appetitu vane glorie laudes humanas querent et erunt populo in parabolam et in derisum74 propter suam instabilitatem et presumptionem.” Hec et alia, que sanctus vir predixerat de gladio ultionis in Abbame regem, iuxta prophetiam eius omnia evenerunt. Factum est autem, postquam beatus rex Stephanus ad lucem fidei Christiane Pannoniam convertisset, eam sub patrocinio Beate Virginis resignans, in die assumptionis eiusdem matris Domini carne solutus ad eternam requiem translatus est. 14.75 Post quem Petrus in regem coronatus est, cui cum omnes regni principes fidelitatem sub iureiurando spopondissent, Abbaf comes palacii, deiecto Petro, regalem coronam et cathedramg usurpavit. Quo regnante ut ait propheta, sanguis sanguinem tetigit, id est peccatum peccato adiunctum est. Nam sanctis quadragesime et socios spirituales P : suos speciales VM inferre Wion (cf. infere P) : afferre VM c simul — monachis P : om. VM d ait etiam inter hec P : et i. h. a. monachis VM e abbam regem scripsi (cf. cap. 14: abba comes) : albam r. VM albam regalem P f abba P : alba VM g cathedram P : aulam regiam sibi VM a

b

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13 One day, when the holy father stayed at his cathedral and had only two chaplains and two of his favorite monks with him, he retreated to his chamber and ordered one of them not to let anybody enter for three days, nor should food be brought to him. This was done and when on the fourth day he emerged, he went to his burial site, where he cried for a long time with covered head. Finally, he came to the chapter where the brothers were assembled. When he took his seat there, he gave a sermon about the course of the world and said, among others: “Hungary will be split and relieved of the yoke of Christianity. Priests and laymen alike will despise my work and preaching and will reject the word of God. Clerics will be despised, monks will wear habits of various colors and stay in different conventicles, avoid solitude, and reject eremitism. Many will, out of desire for vainglory, seek the praise of men and will become the byword and laughingstock74 of the people for their inconstancy and presumptuousness.” This and many other things what the holy man foretold, such as the sword of vengeance against King [Samuel] Aba, happened all according to his prophesy. Then it came about that after the blessed King Stephen had converted Pannonia to the faith of Christ and placed it under the protection of the Holy Virgin, he was freed of the fetters of flesh and was transferred to eternal rest on the day of the Assumption of the same Mother of God. 1475 King Peter succeeded him. But even though the main nobles of Pannonia had sworn him loyalty, Aba, count palatine, deposed Peter and usurped the royal crown and court. In his reign, blood touched blood, that is, sin was piled upon sin. During the holy days of Lent he dared to slaughter the most honorable members of his council with stakes

Ps. 68:12 and Ier. 20:7. Above and in the following chapter the Leg. minor (cap. 5) is copied as good as verbatim. For annotations, see above at 250–55. 74

75

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diebus honestissimos quosque sui consilii viros sudibusa et palis, velud immunda animalia,b ausus est interficere. Qui cum ad sedem Morisenam, ad locum beati Gerhardi pontificis venisset, paschalia sacramenta celebraturus, die vero Dominice resurrectionis mittens principes et episcopos ad beatum pontificem, ut per manus ipsius imponatur dyadema regni super caput eius, ipsum beatum Gerhardum cepit invitare. Quo renuente et venire nolente, episcopi, qui aderant, ipsum coronantes cum magno ornatu et comitatu cleri et populi ecclesiam introducunt. At vero vir Dei, repletus Spiritu Sancto, stola candida coopertus, ascendens pulpitum, cepit regem de sua crudelitate intrepidus redarguere, dicens: “Sancte quadragesime observantia peccatoribus data est ad veniam et iustis ad premium, tu autem, o rex, eam in occisione gladii tui polluisti michique nomen patris abstulisti, eo quod meis hodie dulcissimis caream natis. Nil ergo indulgentie in hac die mereris. Verumtamen quia pro Christo mori paratus sum, ventura tibi prenuntio. Ecce anno futuro tertio excitabitur in te gladius ultionis, qui a te auferet regnum per te fraude acquisitum.” Cum autem amici regis, liberalibus litteris imbuti,c audientes hec attonitid mirarentur, volentes episcopum ab indignatione regis defendere, innuebant interpreti ut taceret. Quibus interpres metuense consensit. At vero pastor bonus sentiens interpretem timore trepidare, cepit eum increpare magno clamore, dicens: “Deum time, regem honora, paterna verba prode.” Tandem interpres coactus pastoris declaravit sententiam, que ei metum non levem incussit. Que omnia postquam impleta fuissent, cunctis Pannoniensibus innotuit virum Dei spiritum prophetie habuisse. Nam et eidem genti maximam seditionem evenire predixit, in qua et martirii coronam se prenunciavitf adepturum. sudibus P : fustibus VM immunda animalia P (cf. immunda pecora Wion) : velud iumenta sew bruta VM c litteris imbuti P : studiis eruditi VM d audientes hec attoniti P : hec audientes VM e metuens P : timore tactus VM timens W f prenunciavit P : pronuntiavit VM a

b

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and pales like some foul beasts. When he came to the see of Marosvár, that is, to the place of the holy bishop Gerard, wishing to take part in the Easter celebrations on the day of the Lord’s Resurrection, Gerard was invited by the bishops and by the nobles to come and place a crown on the head of the king. When he refused, and did not want to go, the other bishops present placed the crown, and the king entered the church with great pomp, surrounded by a large retinue of clergy and people. Then, however, the man of God, filled with the Holy Spirit and clad in a white stole, mounted the pulpit and, fearless, began to rebuke the king as follows: “The observance of Holy Lent was set to sinners for the purpose of imploring forgiveness, but to the righteous as a reward. Yet you, O king, have defiled it by the killing of your sword and stripped me of my appellation of ‘ father,’ for I am now deprived of my most beloved sons. And so you deserve no clemency today. But since I am ready to die for my Christ today, I will predict what lies in store for you: in the third year to come there shall rise against you the sword of vengeance, which shall take away from you the reign that you acquired through vile deceit” And as those friends of the king who were trained in the letters watched all this in astonishment, they beckoned the interpreter to keep silent, wishing to protect the bishop from the anger and the indignation of the king; and the interpreter, frightened, agreed. The true shepherd, however, seeing that the interpreter was trembling of fear, started to reprove him loudly, saying: “Fear God, honor the king, convey the words of your father!” At last, the interpreter was forced to explain what the bishop had said, which struck no small fear into him. When all this had come about, all the Pannonians learned by experience that the servant of God had possessed the spirit of prophecy. For he both predicted that a great uprising would break out among that nation, and that during that he would earn the crown of martyrdom.

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Unde uno lustro evoluto secundo inchoante ipsa seditio exorta est. Cumque vir Dei totam provinciam Chanadiensem ad fidem Christi convertisset ecclesiamque cathedralem sub honore Sancti Georgii martiris consumasset, nec non monasterium Beate Virginis in contiguo ecclesie Sancti Iohannis Baptiste pro sua sepultura similiter consumasset easque per sanctum regem Stephanum nobiliter multis possessionibus dotari fecisset, plenus spiritu prophetico, anno XIo post mortem sancti regis Stephani hoc ordine ad martirium accessit. 15. Cum ergo maxima discordia orta fuisset inter Petrum regem et Ungaros, Ungari miserunt sollempnes nuntios post filios Wazul: Endre, Bela et Leventhe, qui erant de genere sancti regis Stephani,76 petentes eos, ut de Polonia ad Ungariam venirent. Sicque Bela ibidem remanente, Endre et Leventhe ad Ungariam venerunt. Confluxitque ad eos universa multitudo Ungarorum in civitate Pest. Qui instinctu dyabolico inflammati, petiverunt,a ut permitterent universum populum ritu paganorum vivere, episcopos et clericos occidere, ecclesias destruere,b fidem Christianam abicere et ydola colere.77 Qui permiserunt eos, secundum desideria cordis eorum, ut irent et perirent in adinventionibus antiquorum patrum suorum.78 Aliter enim contra Petrum regem non pugnabant. Primus enim inter renatos nomine Bacha79 dedicavit demoniis rasitque caput suum ritu paganorum. Sicque omnes fecerunt et demonibus libaverunt et ceperunt comedere equinas80 pulpasc et omnia pessima et enormia opera facere et exercere, clericos et omnes Christianos interficere, ecclesias destruere et perd precones proclamare edictum Endre et Leventhe, ut episcopi cum clericis et monachis et Christianis petiverunt P : supplicaverunt VM destruere P : devastare VM c pulpas Banfi : carnes pupas P carnes VM d per P : om. VM a

b

They were members of the ruling family, but not from the “line of St. Stephen.” Their father, Vazul, was an uncle of King Stephen and was blinded in order to be excluded from succession. The sons fled to Poland. See Chron. pict. cap. 69. 76

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Five years passed and at the beginning of the next the rebellion broke out. And once the man of God had converted the entire Csanád county to the faith of Christ and had the cathedral church in honor of St. George the martyr built, and also completed the monastery of the Holy Virgin next to the church of St. John the Baptist as his place of burial, all of which he made richly endowed with many properties by King St. Stephen, full of prophetic spirit, in the eleventh year after King St. Stephen’s death, he reached martyrdom in the following manner. 15 When there emerged a great discord between King Peter and the Hungarians, the Hungarians sent trusted emissaries to the sons of Vazul, Andrew, Béla, and Levente, who were from the line of King St. Stephen,76 requesting them to come from Poland to Hungary. Thus, while Béla remained there, Andrew and Levente came to Hungary. A multitude of Hungarians gathered to them in Pest, who, inflamed by a devilish inspiration, demanded that they allow all the people to live according to pagan rites, kill bishops and clerics, destroy the churches, reject the faith of Christ, and worship idols.77 And they permitted them to follow their hearts’ desire and perish by following the inventions78 of their fathers, for otherwise they would not have fought against King Peter. The leading apostate, called Vata,79 was devoted to the demons and shaved his head in the pagan way. All others did that, worshipped demons, began to eat the flesh of horses,80 and commit and pursue other horrible deeds. They killed clerics and all Christians, destroyed churches, and had criers proclaim the edict of Andrew and Levente that bishops, cler This kind of revolt against the new faith and the Christian monarchy was not unique in the region; see Christian Lübke, “Das ‘junge Europa’ in der Krise: Gentilreligiöse Herausforderung um 1000,” Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropaforschung 50 (2000): 475–96. 78 Ps. 80:13. 79 The Latin text here has Bacha, but later, correctly, Vata. 80 On eating horsemeat as a non-Christian habit, see Robert Bartlett, “From Paganism to Christianity in Medieval Europe,” in Berend, ed. Christianization, 63–65. 77

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interficiantur et memoria eorum pereat in eternum et ritus patrum nostrorum reassumatur. Quo audito Sanctus Gerhardus, Beztridus, Budi, Beneta et Zonug comes,81 qui convenerant ad Albam Regalem cum multitudine Christianorum, egressi sunt de Alba versus Budam, ut Endre et Levente honorifice susciperent. Cumque festinanter predicti episcopia ad locum venissent,b qui dicitur Dyod, in ecclesia Sancte Sabine Sanctus Gerhardus missam celebravit et exhortationis gratia de fide catholica premioque vite eterne sollempnem sermonem populo assistenti fecit. In fine autem sermonis prorumpens in lacrimas, sic ait: “Fratres et coepiscopi mei et omnes alii fideles, qui adestis, scitote nos hodie ad Dominum nostrum Ihesum Christum cum corona martirii in eterna gaudia perventuros. Ego enim notum facio vobis archanum Dei, quod michi in hac nocte revelatum est. Vidi enim Dominum nostrum Ihesum Christum in gremioc Sanctissime Matris sue Virginis Marie sedentem nobisque ad se vocatis de manu sua corporis et sanguinis sui eucharestiam communicantem.d Beneta vero episcopus cum ad eum accessisset, retraxit eie eucharistiam Ihesus Christus, unde ipse hodie consortio martirii nostri privabitur.” Post hec beatus Gerhardus ammonuit eos, ut confiterentur alterutrum peccata sua et audita missa orationi incumbentes et certi de spe beatitudinis eterne perf martirium adipiscendeg letificati omnes communicaverunt. Deinde perrexerunt versus portum Danubii. Beatus autem Gerhardus, cum esset brevis statura omnesque vires suas in servitio Dei funditus consumpsisset, currus subvectione utebatur.82 Cum autem ad portum Pest83 venissent, ecce quinque festinanter predicti episcopi P : p. e. festinanter VM ad locum venissent P : v. ad locum VM c in gremio VM : in brachio P in tabernaculo Wion (cf. in pluteo Chron. pict. cap. 83) d eucharestiam communicantem P : ewkarestiam porrexit VM e ei P : om. VM f per P : om. VM g adipiscende ego (cf. certa spe eterne beatitudinis per martirium adipiscende Chron. pict. cap. 83): adipiscentes VMP a

b

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ics, monks together with Christians were to be killed, their memory extinguished for ever, and the rites of the fathers reintroduced. On these tidings, St. Gerard, Bestrid, Budi, Beneta, and ispán Szolnok,81 who had gathered in Fehérvár together with a great number of Christians, left Fehérvár for Buda in order to honorably receive Andrew and Levente. When the said bishops, hurrying, reached the place called Diósd, St. Gerard celebrated Mass in the church of St. Sabina and for the encouragement of the attending people held a festive sermon on the Catholic faith and the prize of eternal life. At the end of the sermon, he broke out in tears and said: “Brethren and fellow bishops, and all other believers, know that today we shall go to eternal joy with the crown of martyrs to our Lord Jesus Christ. I am going to share with you the secret of God that had been revealed to me tonight. I saw our Lord Jesus Christ seated together with His Most Holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, calling us to him and offering us his body and blood, that is, the Eucharist by his own hand. When Bishop Beneta came to him, Jesus Christ withdrew the Eucharist, hence he will not join our company today in martyrdom.” Thereafter the blessed Gerard called upon them to confess their sins to one another. After the sermon, they all bowed deep in prayer and, they all received communion joyfully, sure of the hope of eternal bliss in martyrdom. Then they proceeded toward the ford of the Danube. The blessed Gerard, because he was short of stature and had spent all his strength in the service of God, rode in a carriage.82 When they reached the ford of Pest,83 five godless men, Vata and his ac-

81 He must have been the first ispán of Szolnok County, which was named after him; the Annals of Niederaltaich (Annales Altahenses, MGH SS 4, 43 for 1046) mentions him as Zaunic. 82 Much of the following is identical with the text of the Hungarian chronicle (Chron. pict. cap. 83). The relationship between it and the presumed model of the legends is debated. 83 At that time both sides of the ford were called Pest, they actually arrived at the (today) Buda (right) side of the river.

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viri impii, Vata et complices eius, demonibus pleni, quibus se ipsos dedicaverant, irruerunt in episcopos et in omnesa socios eorum et lapidibus eosb obruerunt. Beatus vero Gerhardus eos, qui sec lapidabant, indesinenter signo crucis insigniebat. More prothomartiris Stephani, primus Pannonied martir, positis in terra genibus, clamavit voce magna, dicens: “Domine Ihesu Christe, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum, quia nesciunt, quid faciunt.”84 At illi hoc viso multo magis seviebant et impetum fecerunt in eum et everterunt currum eius in rippam Danubii ibique abstracto eo de curru eius in biga positum de monte Kreenfeld85 submiserunte et dum adhuc palpitaret, in pectore lancea percussus ac deinde super unum lapidemf contriverunt cerebrum eius, sicque gloriosus martir Christi ab erumpnis mundi huiusg ad eternam beatitudinem transmigravit, in anno Domini millesimo quadragesimo septimo.86 Danubiush semper redundansi j molem lapidis,k in quo contritum est caput Sancti Gerhardi, non potuit sanguinem diluere per septem annos, donec recolligatus estl a sacerdotibus lapis cum sanguine. Corpus autem sancti viri eodem die ibidem iacuit, ubi martirizatus est. Buldim quoque episcopus lapidibus obrutus transiit ad gloriam. Bestridusn autem episcopus vulneratus est ad mortem, qui tercio die migravit a seculo. Beneta vero episcopus per Endre ducem liberatus in omnes P : om. VM lapidibus eos P : transp. VM c qui se P : quos VM d pannonie P : in pannonia VM e submiserunt VM : submerserunt P f ipsum trahentes post lapidem add. VM g mundi huius P : transp. VM h danubius P : danubiusque VM i redundans P : redundabat VM j super suppleui (cf. Chron. pict. cap. 83) k molem lapidis P : et de lapide VM l recolligatus est P : recolligeretur VM m buldi P : budi VM n bestridus M : bistridus V bestredus P beztritus Wion a

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complices, full of demons to which they were devoted, attacked the bishops and their companions and threw stones on them. But the holy Gerard, made the sign of the cross over those who stoned him, as the Protomartyr Stephen had done, and this first martyr of Pannonia, exclaimed, kneeling down: “Lord Jesus Christ, do not charge them with these sins, for they know not what they do.”84 Thereupon they became even crueler, rushed upon him and turned over his carriage on the shores of the Danube. Then they dragged him off his carriage, put him into a cart and pushed him down from Mount Kelenföld.85 As he was still breathing, they thrust a lance into his chest, finally dragged him to a stone and crushed his skull. Thus, the glorious martyr of Christ left the sorrows of this world and moved to eternal bliss in the year of the Lord 1047.86 The Danube swept it for seven years but could not wash off the blood from the stone on which St. Gerard’s head was smashed, until the priests took away the stone and the blood. His body was lying there where he had suffered martyrdom for the whole day. Bishop Budi also passed on to eternal glory, killed by stoning. Bishop Bestrid was mortally wounded and left this world three days later. Bishop Beneta was rescued by Prince Andrew. Ispán Szolnok and the entire company and entourage of the bishops—except Bishop Beneta—were also

Combined from Acts 7:60 and Luke 23:34. Today Gellért-hegy (Mount of Gerard) on the Buda side of modern Budapest. Kelenföld (mentioned in 1225 as Kreinfeld) was a small settlement at the foot of the hill. 86 Correctly: 1046. 84 85

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est. Zonug quoque comes, preter Beneta, cum omni multitudine et familia episcoporum interfecti sunt. Illo enim die tanti Christiani trucidati sunt, quorum numerum novit solius Dei clementia. Sicque prophetia Sancti Gerhardi completa est. Et sic re vera patet, quanta sanctitate in vita sua fulserit hic pluribus gratiarum donis a Deo dilectus. Erat enim virgo, doctor decretorum, magister sacre theologie, a quinto anno pueritie incipiens habitum Sancti Benedicti portavit, nichilominus dignitate episcopali fultus, martir gloriosus, qui pro sancta ecclesia primus in Ungaria martir exstitit. Sequenti autem die in ecclesia Beate Virginis in Pest87 cum maximo planctu tumulatus est in eodem habitu, in quo martirizatus est. Quicumque autem infirmorum corpus eius tetigissent vel sanguinem eius de terra collegissent, protinus a variis infirmitatibus curabantur. Dux autem Endre in Alba coronatus est,88 precipiens universe genti sue sub pena capitalis sententie, ut deposito ritu paganismoa ad fidem Christi reverterenturb et secundum statuta sancti regis Stephani viverent. Quod et ita factum est. Ipse enim rex, pietate valde Christianus, duo monasteria construxit, Tychonium et iuxta Visegrad.89 16. Cum igitur septem annis corpus Sancti Gerhardi, ubi tumulatum fuerat, sub terra iacuisset, Maurus episcopus Chanadiensis et Philippus, abbas monasterii Beate Virginis de Chanadino, quem Sanctus Gerhardus adhuc vivens abbatem prefecerat in predicto monasterio, abierunt ad regem Endre cum multitudine nobilium de episcopatu Chanadiensi, petentes, quatenus corpus Beati Gerhardi martiris, quod sepultum esset in capella Beate Virginis in Pest, liceret eisc ad sedem Morisenam transferre. Quam postulationem ritu paganismo ego (cf. ritu paganismo Chron. pict. cap. 86) ritu paganissimo P paganorum ritu VM ritu paganismi Wion b reverterentur P : converterentur VM c liceret eis P : permitteret libere VM a

It is assumed that this church stood where the Inner-City parish church (Belvárosi templom) still dedicated to the Holy Virgin now stands today; parts of its thirteenth-century successor survived in the choir. It may have been a royal foundation as part of a curtis built on or near the ruins of the Roman outpost of Contra-Aquincum.

87

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killed. Only God’s mercy knows how many Christians were slain on that day. Thus was fulfilled the prophesy of St. Gerard and so it is clear in what a holiness he shone during his life, loved by God for many gifts of grace. He was a virgin, doctor of canon law, Master of Theology, wore the habit of St. Benedict since his fifth year of life, but was nevertheless promoted to the dignity of bishop and came to be a glorious martyr, the first in Hungary, who suffered martyrdom for the Holy Church. On the following day, he was buried amidst great lamentation in the church of the Holy Virgin in Pest,87 in the same habit in which he was martyred. All the sick, that touched his body or collected his blood from the ground, were healed from various diseases. Prince Andrew was then crowned in Fehérvár,88 ordering all his people under the penalty of death to abandon pagan rites, return to the Christian faith, and live according to the laws of King St. Stephen. Which was done. This king, filled with piety, built two monasteries, one in Tihany and one near Visegrád.89 16 As the body of St. Gerard had been for seven years under the earth where it was buried, Maurus, bishop of Csanád, and Philip, abbot of the monastery of the Holy Virgin in Csanád, whom St. Gerard had made abbot during his lifetime to preside over the said monastery, came with a great number of nobles from the diocese of Csanád to King Andrew requesting permission to translate the body of the Blessed Gerard the martyr, buried in the chapel of the Holy Virgin in Pest, to the see of Csanád. When this was granted and they went to the grave of the holy martyr, wondrous good odor

Andrew I, crowned in September 1046, was king of Hungary until 1060. The monastery of St. Anian in Tihany, founded 1055 according to its surviving original charter, was also the burial site of Andrew I (with his grave still extant); see DHA 1: 152. The Greek monastery (of St. Andrew?) was on the Sibrik-Hill, near Visegrád, where there was an ispán’s residence as well. In the thirteenth century it was taken over by the Benedictines. 88 89

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impetrantes, cum ad tumulum sancti martyris pervenissent, mira fragantia ex sepulchro eius erupit et corpus eius lucidum, tanquam nix, reperierunt,a ac si eodem momento martirizatus fuisset. Cum ergo sanctum corpus tulissent, concurrebat multitudo debilium, cecorum, claudorum, qui, tacto corpore vel habitu eius, omnes sanabantur. Et cum propter multitudinem populi in die egredi non valerent, nocte egressi sunt. Et cum aliquantulum processissent, manus cuiusdam contracte mulieris, que corpus sanctum tetigit, mox restituta est sanitati.90 Insuper iumenta, que currum trahebant, non sunt visa comedere nec bibere, semper lete trahentes, quasi nullum pondus sentirent. Currebant de villis et de tota provincia Chanadiensi corpori viri Dei obviam, ut qui ipsos ad fidem converterat, dignaretur etiam apud Altissimum pro ipsis intercedere. Cumque ad fluvium Moros pervenissent et more solito currus cum corpore in navi esset, navem tota multitudo movere non potuit. Et cum remigia sua de manibus suis proiecissent, navis tam velociter fluvium pertransiit, ut arte humana nullatenus pertransire potuisset.91 Ibi ergo Philippus abbas cum canonicis et monachis induti ornatub sacerdotali, cum magna processione sanctum corpus tollentes ad monasterium Beate Virginis, quod ipse vivens pro sepultura sua construxerat iuxta ecclesiam Sancti Iohannis Baptiste, deduxerunt.c Factaque est altercatio magnad inter Philippum abbatem et canoni­ cos. Dicebant enim canonici, quod in ecclesia cathedrali deberet sepeliri, econtra Philippus abbas auctoritate apostolica, quam vir Deie vivens procuraverat pro sepultura sua, dicebat sepeliri in monasterio Beate Virginis. Tamen primumf canonici sanctum corpus portantes ad ecclesiam Sancti Georgii martirisg nullatenush deponere reperierunt P : repererunt VM ornatu P : ornamento VM c deduxerunt VM : collocaverunt Wion om. P d magna P : om. VM e dei P : om. VM f tamen primum P : tandem primo VM g martiris P : om. VM h et tamen ante nullatenus add. VM a

b

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came out of it and they found the body white as snow, as if he were martyred in that moment. While carrying the body, a crowd of cripples, blind, and lame gathered, who by touching the body or his clothing were all healed. Because of the crowds, they could not leave by day, so they left at night. When they had traveled some distance, the hand of a lame woman, who touched the body, was restored to health.90 Moreover, the beasts that pulled the wagon seemed never to eat or drink but pulled it gladly as if it had no weight. The body was met by [people] from the villages and the whole region of Csanád so that the man who converted them to the faith might intercede for them with the Almighty. When they reached the river Maros and the carriage was, as usual, on the ferry, the whole crowd was unable to move the boat. But when they dropped the oars from their hands, the boat crossed the river so swiftly as no human hand could have brought it across.91 There [in Csanád] Abbot Philip, the canons and the monks, all in priestly attire, carrying the holy body in a great procession, took it to the monastery of the Holy Virgin, which he had built while alive as his burial site next to the monastery of St. John the Baptist. There arose a quarrel between Abbot Philip and the canons. The canons wanted to bury him in the cathedral, against which Abbot Philip, on the apostolic authority of the man who in his life decided about his burial, said that he must be buried in the monastery of the Holy Virgin. However, at first the canons, carrying the holy body to the church of St. George the Martyr, could by no means lay it down, and he did not allow himself to be laid down anywhere else but the

Matt. 12:13. There are many parallels to a saint’s body being carried to its selected burial site in miraculous ways; see e.g., Legenda S. Ladislai cap. 8 (see below in this volume) where the oxen start out overnight towards Oradea. 90 91

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potuerunt, nec se deponi permisit, nisi in loco memorato, ubi elegerat sepulturam. Unde hi, qui feretrum portabant, ibant cum miraculo sequentes quo ducebantur inviti. Cum autem ventum fuisset ad predictum locum sepulture, tanto pondere portantes sacrum corpus oppressi sunt, ut sicud unusquisque eorum postea ­referebat, quatenus, si eis hoc gravamen in via accidisset, ipsum corpus reliquissent. Denique cum pre multitudine populi ipsum sepelire non possent, nec etiam divinum officium per aliquas septimanas in ecclesia explere valerent, habitoa consilio fecerunt populo convivium. Cumque convenissent ad manducandum, abbas cum episcopo et monachis, clausis ianuis, corpus venerabile sepelierunt cum debita reverentia et honore. Habitum vero, in quo fuit interfectus,b id est tunicamc habentem capucium, quod alio nomine floccus dicitur, dalmaticam,d pallium de pilis camelorum, lapidem, quo obrutus est, cilicium et flagellum, quibus castigabat corpus, hec omnia super sepulchrum eius collocaverunt. 17. Parvulus quidam contractus cum a parentibus suis delatus fuisset ad portum Pestiensem, solo osculo corporis sanctie martiris sanitatem recepit. 18. Virgo quedam Thewtonica oculis caliginosis tactu manuum eius oculorum promeruit sanitatem. 19. Ibidem etiam nauta quidam casu accidente digitos mannum contriverat remigando, erantque curvi facti et retorti. Qui cum magno dolore, clamore et eiulatu ad sanctum corpus venit. Quod cum tetigisset, sine dilatione sanatus est.

habito P : inito VM supra danubium VII kalendas marcii post interfectus add. P c id est tunicam P Wion : om. VM d dalmaticam Wion : dalmunculam P om. VM e solo — sancti VM : sola sancti corporis visione Wion a

b

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said place which he had chosen to be buried. Those who carried the bier experienced that they went miraculously where they were lead against their will. But when they reached the said burial site, they had to deposit the body, for those carrying the holy body were burdened by such a weight—as each of them reported later—that if this had occurred on their way, they would have left the body there. Because of the crowds, they could not bury him nor could divine offices be held in the church for several weeks. Then they took counsel and held a great banquet for the people and while they gathered for the meal, the abbot and the monks closed the doors and buried the venerable body with proper reverence and honor. The habit with hood (also called tuft) in which he was killed, his camel-hair mantle, the stone where he was slain, the hair shirt and the flail with which he had castigated his body, all this was placed on his grave. 17 A little crippled boy who was brought by his parents to the ford at Pest was healed by merely kissing the body of the holy martyr. 18 A virgin from Germany who had a cataract, earned to recover the health of her eyes. 19 A boatman had his fingers crushed by the oars in an accident and they were curved and twisted. When he came to the holy body in agony with a laud cry of pain and wailing, he was instantly healed by touching the body.

The text has the word capanum (the Ms Monac. carnapum), neither of which has a meaning. In his Hungarian translation, Flóris Szabó, in Érszegi, Árpád-házi legendák és intelmek, 93, decided for “hemp” (cannabum) which makes sense. 93 The text has bufo, meaning verbatim “frog”; apparently referring to a frog-like tumor. 92

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20. Quedam virgo, pulchra quidem facie, sed lippis oculis, per fratres suos ad corpus sancti martiris adducta, cum illud porrectisa manibus tetigisset, statim lumen oculorum recuperavit. 21. In sede autem Morisena, cum adhuc in feretro iaceret, cuidam sacerdoti, nomine Pech,b qui erat monoculus, visum restituit. 22. Item domina quedam, uxor videlicet comitis Bech,c que fuerat quondam de uxoribus Achtum, erat patiens gravissimam febrem. Quam ipse sanctus baptizaverat. Que, facta oblatione, veniens ad sepulcrum eius, mox ut pallium eius fuisset osculata, sanitatem est adepta. 23. Parvulus quidam, percussus a serpente et carne eius intumescente, gravissime torquebatur. Qui a parentibus dum allatus fuisset, statim nec dolorem, nec tumorem amplius sensit. 24. Quedam mulier in nocte canapumd 92 de aqua extrahens furtive,e a demone obsessa est, que latrabat more canum.f Cum adveniensg iuxta corpus sancti martiris astitisset, mox a demonio liberata discessit. 25. Canonicus Sancti Georgii guttam patiens gravissimam post tres dies sanitati est restitutus.

porrectis Wion : perrectis P om. VM pech P : petrus VM fort. recte c bech VM : boche P boch Wion d canapum ego (cf. iam Szabó, “Szent Gellért püspök nagy legendája,” 87, qui Hungarice vertit “ kender,” i.e., cannabem) : canipum P capanum V carpanum M (teste Silagi, “Legenda maior,” 181, adn. 48) e furtive P : om. VM f latrabat more canum P (cf. latrans m. c. Wion) : om. VM g adveniens P Wion : mane veniens VM a

b

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20 A certain virgin, who had a fair face but bleary eyes was led by the brothers to the body of the holy martyr, and when she touched it, she right away recovered the light of her eyes. 21 In Marosvár, while still lying in state, he restored the sight of a priest called Peter, who had lost an eye. 22 Then, a lady, wife of ispán Becs (previously one of the wives of Ajtony), suffered of a serious fever. She had been baptized by the saint. She made a donation, then went to his grave and barely did she kiss his mantle when she was healed. 23 A boy, bitten by a snake, became swollen with great pain. When his parents brought him [to the grave], his swellings and pain immediately ceased to torture him. 24 A woman who was soaking hemp92 at night was obsessed by a demon. On the morning she came to the body of the holy martyr, stood next to it and was able to leave relieved of the demon. 25 A canon of St. George who suffered a serious stroke was healed in three days.

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26. Rusticus quidam habens bufonem93 in capite, qui propter aspectum terribilem, quem habebat, ostium monasterii non est permissus ingredi, sed posito sancti martiris sanguinea in pannob suspenso in arundinec posuerunt super bufonem, trahentes in modum crucis huc atque illuc, procul stante populo, bufo cecidit in terram et rusticus sanatus est. Post hec autemd sancti martiris sanguis collectus fuisset in unum et positus in vasculo, cuius tactu multi infirmi curati sunt.e 27. Hec autem signa meritis sancti martiris duraverunt usque ad tempora beati Ladislai regis et domini Laurentii episcopi, qui a beato viro quintus eius ecclesiam rexit. Prefati autem sancti regis tempore a sacrosancta Romana ecclesiaf constitutum est, ut sanctorum corpora, qui Pannoniam ad Christum predicatione sua converterunt, deberent summo honore venerari. Veniente ergo sedis apostolice legato, facta est conventio nobilium Pannonie, corpus sancti martiris canonizatum est per sanctum regem Ladislaum anno Domini millesimo sexagesimo octavo,94 portatumque est regis ac ducum manibus,95 decenterque collocatum, ubi meritis sancti martiris per miraculorum revelationem superna gratia largissime corruscavit. 28. Post hec anno Domini millesimo trecentesimo sexagesimo primog Deo devotissima domina regina Elizabeth, relicta Karoli regis, Ungarie illustris domini, ex equoh lapsa in gravem morbum incid-

posito — sanguine P (cf. sancti martyris sanguis Wion) : VM sancti martyris in panno P (cf. panno alligatus Wion) : pallio VM c suspenso in arundine P : i. harundine s. VM d cum post autem add. VM e post — sunt a cap. 27 seiunxi et huc transtuli f a — ecclesia VM : a sancto synodo romane ecclesie P a sancta r. e. synodo Wion g millesimo — primo Wion : 1361 VM millessimo septuagesimo primo P h equo Wion : quo VMP a

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26 A peasant had such a malignant tumor 93 on his head that he looked so horrible that they did not let him pass the gate of the monastery, but had the mantle of the holy martyr, hung on a fishing rod and swung in the form of a cross over the tumor; while the people stood afar, the tumor fell to the ground and the peasant was healed. 27 Then, when the blood of holy martyr was gathered and placed in a vessel, many sick persons were healed by touching it. These signs of the merits of the holy martyr lasted into the times of the blessed King Ladislaus and lord Bishop Lawrence, who reigned over the church as the fifth after the holy man. In the times of the said holy king, it was decided by the most holy church of Rome that the bodies of the saints, who with their preaching had converted Pannonia to Christ, be honored by the highest veneration. A legate of the Apostolic See came, a council of the nobles of Pannonia held, and the body of the holy martyr was canonized by King St. Ladislaus in the year of the Lord 1038.94 It was carried by the king and the dukes95 personally, and suitably buried, where the divine grace shone brightly through the revelation of miracles due to the merits of the holy martyr. 28 Later, in the year of the Lord 1361, the most devout Lady Queen Elizabeth, widow of the excellent King Charles, was healed by the merits of St. Gerard from an illness. Therefore, the same lady, for

The text has the wrong date of 1068. The younger brother of Ladislaus, Lampert, and the sons of his older brother, Géza, Coloman, and Álmos, may have been “dukes” at the time of the canonization. The custom of granting a duchy to junior members of the royal dynasty went back to the mid-eleventh century, but it is not documented for the reign of Ladislaus I. The question of the duchy (ducatus) is discussed in Dániel Bagi, Divisio Regni: The Territorial Divisions, Power Struggles, and Dynastic Historiography of the Árpáds of 11th- and Early 12th-Century Hungary (Budapest: Research Centre for the Humanities, 2020). 94 95

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erat,a de quab infirmitate sua per merita Sancti Gerhardi convaluerat. Ideo eadem domina ex devotione, quam ad ipsum Sanctum Gerhardum habebat, monasterium ipsius viri Dei in edificiis extendit et pluribus ornamentis pretiosis et calicibus decoravit. Insuper sepulchrum de argento et auro mirifici operis proc reliquiis eiusdem sancti revelandisd parari fecit. Tumbam vero simul cum altari in corpore eiusdem monasterii construxit, in quibus in predicto anno beati martiris reliquias sic locavit, quod maiora ossa ipsius poni fecit ad sepulchrum argenteum cum aliquibus reliquiis sanctorum. Item minora ossa cum cilicio, flagello et cappa, in qua martirizatus est, locari fecit ad tumbam marmoream. Cuius memoria in benedictione est. Quee etiam domina in anno Domini millesimo tricentesimo octogesimo primof migravit ad Dominum96 et sepulta est in Veteri Buda in claustro monialium, quod ipsa fundaverat. Finis.g

lapsa — inciderat Wion : om. VMP qua P : quadam VM c pro P : om. VM d revelandis P : relevandis VM elevandis Wion e que PV p. c. : qua V a. c. M f millesimo — primo scripsi : m. t. nonagessimo p. P MCCCLXXXXI Wion 1381 VM g finis P : om. VM a

b

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the devotion she felt to St. Gerard, had the monastery’s buildings expanded and enriched it with valuable ornaments and chalices. Moreover, she caused a shrine of silver and gold of marvelous workmanship made to hold his relics. She had the grave together with an altar built in the middle of the same monastery, in which she had in the same year placed the relics of the blessed martyr so that the major bones of his were placed together with the relics of other saints in the silver shrine, and the lesser bones, together with his tunic, flail, and the mantle in which he had suffered martyrdom, on the marble sepulcher. Her memory be blessed. This lady passed away to the Lord in the year of the Lord 138196 and was buried in Óbuda in the convent of the nuns which she had founded.

In fact, on December 29, 1380. The difference of date here may be due to different ways of counting the beginning of the year. 96

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PREFACE Petr Sommer The hagiographic record of St. Procopius (Procop, 970/80–1053), founder of the Sázava monastery, canonized in 1204, consists of three surviving and one hypothetical texts. The three Latin Lives were called by Václav Chaloupecký the Vita antiqua, the Vita minor, and the Vita maior.1 The existence of the earliest hagiographic text on St. Procopius, supposedly written in Old Church Slavonic, has been alternately affirmed and doubted. The second prologue of the Vita maior, which, together with the first prologue, is generally regarded as an authentic original component of the text of the Vita minor, refers to a “translation” from slavonicis litteris.2 Chaloupecký argued that the Old Church Slavonic legend was first followed by the Vita antiqua, but the latter has been convincingly re-dated by Bohumil Ryba to the end of the thirteenth century.3 Thus, the Vita minor was first composed after the OCS legend—if it existed—as its author declares. Chaloupecký dated the Vita minor to the time of the first Latin abbot, Dethard (1097–1133), and this was long accepted. Recently, however, attempts were made to date this legend as close to Procopius’ canonization as possible,4 which is problematic for a number of reasons. If the Vita minor were created specifically for the canonization, it would have to have been written by a sophis1 Václav Chaloupecký and Bohumil Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské [Medieval legends of St. Procopius] (Prague: ČSAV, 1953), 112–20, 129–61, 246–66. 2 See below, at 655–57. 3 Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, 283. 4 Martin Wihoda, “Das Sázava-Kloster in ideologischen Koordinaten der böhmischen Geschichte des 11. Jahrhunderts” in Der heilige Prokop, Böhmen und Mitteleuropa, ed. Petr Sommer (Prague: Filosofia, 2006), 257–72, here 258; similarly, without particular justification, Martin Nodl, “Prokop démonobijec a dvojí cesta vnitřní christianizace karlovských Čech” [Procopius the conqueror of demons and the two paths of the domestic Christianization of Bohemia under Charles IV], in Tři studie o době Karla IV. (Prague: Argo, 2006), 112.

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ticated and diligent forger; however, if that were his purpose, the work is not very convincing because it records only the beginnings of a local cult. In comparison, the Vita antiqua, although concise, contains references to all the elements necessary for the canonization. What is decisive for the dating of the Vita minor is its first prologue, addressed to Bishop Severus, which means it must have been written before his death in 1067. This prologue could have been part of the OCS legend or composed specifically for the Vita minor. The report on the exile of the community to Hungary under Duke Spytihněv and their return to Sázava in (after) 1061 provides a terminus post quem. The Vita minor could thus be a work from the second half of the eleventh century (as it refers to events of this time) or date to the time of the Latinization of Sázava and Abbot Dethard in the first third of the twelfth century. In either case it may be a translation of an OCS work. The anonymous continuator of Cosmas of Prague, called the Monk of Sázava (writing 1173–78),5 maintained that after the expulsion of the Slavic monks Abbot Diethard found only Slavonic books and had to have Latin ones written.6 A translation from Old Church Slavonic would fit well into this time. It cannot be dismissed, however, that the Vita minor was indeed created at the time the preface claims, with the death of Bishop Severus as the terminus ante quem. Even then it could have been—but did not have to be—a translation from an OCS original, implying that both legends were composed between 1061 and 1067. True, the Vita minor as we know it contains (besides the appendix about the canonization) references to later events, such as the miracle in the Church of the Holy Cross, consecrated only in 1070. If the OCS life did not exist, the Vita minor could still have been written He incorporated the older Exordium Zazavenzis monasterii into his chronicle describing the founding of the Sázava monastery and its first, “Old Slavonic” period, see Anhang III in Bertold Bretholz, ed., Die Chronik der Böhmen des Cosmas von Prag, MGH SSrG NS 2 (Berlin: Weidmann, 1923), 247–49. See also in the recent edition: Cosmas of Prague, The Chronicle of the Czechs, ed. János M. Bak and Pavlína Rychterová, CEMT vol. 10 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2020), 432–53. 6 Bretholz, Cosmas, 250–51. 5

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before the time of the first Latin abbot. If we accept this earlier dating, it becomes an interesting case of a Latin version of the Life of St. Procop (whether translated from an OCS legend or not) being created during the Slavonic period of Sázava. The use of Latin in this Slavic monastery would be remarkable, but not altogether surprising, for a community on the border between Eastern and Western Christianity. The present communis opinio, then, is that the hagiography of St. Procopius might have begun with an OCS legend, which (if it existed) was written before 1067. The Vita minor, either a translation of an OCS text or an independent work, was created in the second half of the eleventh or the first third of the twelfth century, the beginning of the Latin period of Sázava. The Vita antiqua was only written thereafter and the transmission concluded with the Vita maior. The Vita antiqua was written in the later thirteenth century,7 the Vita maior perhaps even later. On these grounds, the Vita minor was chosen for inclusion in this collection of Lives as representing the oldest surviving tradition about the saint. *** The introduction to the legend is indebted to many authorities, but above all to the Life of St. Benedict. The author wanted to draw a parallel between Procopius and the founder of the order, who, before becoming abbot of Monte Cassino, also lived as a hermit. From the introduction, we learn that Procopius was a priest of the Slavonic Rite, knew the Slavonic script, and became a monk and the first abbot of his monastery. He was married, had a son and other relatives, and used some property. Procopius’ son was called Emmeram and one of his nephews was named Vitus. The two names point symbolically to the beginnings of the Czech Church. Emmeram was a Bavarian saint whose cult came to Bohemia from the missionary bishopric of Regensburg. Vitus was the patron saint of Saxony whose cult arrived in Bohemia from the monastery of Corvey. The Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, 283.

7

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veneration of both saints in Bohemia is known as early as the reign of Duke (St.) Wenceslas (925–935). Procopius lived in the time of early medieval Czech society and the Czech Church, whose clergy was connected with the important centers of the ducal administration of the land. For Procopius, the most important center was Kouřim. The church and clergy were entirely subordinate to the duke and the priests in the so-called large-parish administration not only carried out spiritual duties but were also entrusted with administrative tasks related to the maintenance of law and order. Procopius was a priest who most likely not only lived in the Kouřim region but was directly connected with this important ducal castle.8 It was probably in 1009 that Procopius decided to leave the secular world and go into seclusion at the place where Sázava monastery was subsequently founded. A group of pupils and followers gathered around him and with them he founded a Benedictine monastery, perhaps in 1032. The sources on Procopius (particularly the Vita minor) provide several details on the everyday life in that monastery, which, dated from Procopius’ life, fall in the period between 1032 and his death in 1053. The abbot is depicted as an exemplary Benedictine: a good father to his monks and a good shepherd of the laity.9 The year of Procopius’ death is symbolic for the history of Sázava. It preceded the schism between the Eastern and Western Churches by only one year, after which the days of the Slavonic Rite in the West that Procopius had cultivated (whatever that had meant) were numbered. Forty-two years later, the Slavonic community had to leave Sázava for good. Individuals were then accepted back by grace, but only as members of the Latin convent, which had come to Sázava from Břevnov.10 For a summary of historical topics related to Abbot Procopius and the Sázava Monastery cf. Petr Sommer, Svatý Prokop: Z počátků českého státu a církve [Saint Procopius: From the beginnings of the Czech State and Church] (Prague: Vyšehrad, 2007). 9 Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, 136–38, 142–45. 10 Bretholz, Cosmas, 250–51, 255–56. 8

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A number of apparently reliable stories of people and events fill in the historical framework in the legends. The Vita minor, for instance, narrates the story of a person called Menno who wanted to participate in the Rogation processions but was hindered by a river. At Procopius’ intercession, a small boat came to Menno so that he could cross the river and participate. The miracle of the small boat is a typical hagiographical topos; the fact that the Sázava Convent organized Rogations, however, testifies to how the abbot and the monks took pastoral care of the surrounding populace— or at least how Rogationes were conducted at the time the earliest legends were created. The whole story is also evidence that when the monastery began the area was well settled by lay people, who attended processions in some numbers.11 Another story, present in both earliest Lives, is also characteristic of the age. It is reported that St. Procopius successfully exorcised an evil spirit from a possessed person. That Procopius had the abilities of an exorcist must have seemed logical, as he had already conquered the demons in the cave where he dwelt; the ability to defeat the devil is among the axiomatic characteristics of every saint. Procopius’ cave became one of the most sacred places in the local history of Sázava; located next to the choir of the church it was adjacent to the place where the abbot rested after death. The sacred core of the monastery was composed so that both places (with the cave subsequently built upon or entirely changed) would form the spiritual axis of the site.12 The accounts of Procopius’ exemplary life and miracles reached Duke Břetislav, who according to the Monk of Sázava, confirmed the establishment of the abbey and thus fulfilled the intention of his father, Duke Ulrich.13 It is also noteworthy that the Vita antiqua says that Břetislav made Procopius’ cell the basis of the ab See below, at 372–75; Petr Sommer, “Procession in early medieval Bohemia,” in Wallfahrten in der europäischen Kultur / Pilgrimage in European Culture, ed. Daniel Doležal, Hartmut Kühne (Frankfurt am Main: Petr Lang 2006), 173–75. 12 See below, at 374–77. 13 See Anhang I in Bretholz, Cosmas, 245. 11

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bey, and, as was the custom, appointed him abbot.14 Closer investigation of this statement provides a number of interesting details. The noun cella commonly refers to a hermitage or an embryonic form of monastery. Thus, if it is said that this cella was turned into an abbey, it is equivalent to saying that it attained the status of a standard Benedictine monastery, which would have been headed by a prelate with the rank of abbot. This depiction of the beginnings at Sázava is quite different from what appears in the text of the Vita minor15 which must mean that the Vita antiqua was created much later, at a time when the steps for establishing a monastery had already been formalized, so that it was necessary to correct the “confusion” in the earlier (and more authentic) text of Vita minor and accompany it with a commentary “sicut tunc erat consuetudinis.” The statement that the duke made Sázava an abbey, just as he made Procopius an abbot, is also typical for the early Middle Ages and the status of the Czech Church at that time, as referred to above. The Vita antiqua recorded that the duke invested Procopius with his office and that Bishop Severus of Prague confirmed him in his new function according to canon law only afterwards.16 Thus, even the highest ecclesiastical dignitary of the country was understood to be a subject member of the sovereign’s court. The legend is divided into two parts, by the account of Procopius’ death and his funeral. The first part is devoted to Procopius’ life and the miracles performed by his intercession, the second part recounts the post mortem miracles and episodes, which were intended to celebrate the saint. These include the first banishment of the Sázava Slavonic monastery, as Procopius had prophesied, following the death of Břetislav. In the place of the banished Benedictines, Duke Spytihněv II (1055–1061) installed a German abbot and a Latin monastic community.17 Behind this move one can see the competition between the eleventh-century reform movement Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, 115. Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, 115. 16 Ibid. 17 See below, at 386–89. 14 15

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from Gorze—which reached Bohemia from Regensburg and Niederaltaich through the monasteries of Břevnov and Ostrov—and the Slavonic tradition of Sázava. In this round, Gorze won out against the locals. The passages of the legends about the numerous jealous (Latinists) and their poisonous slanders,18 especially the appearance of Procopius as an indignant soul beating the German abbot, who refuses to acknowledge that he is in the way,19 fits well with early medieval Czech patriotism as discerned by Anežka Merhautová and Dušan Třeštík.20 Our legends take this quite a bit further. The addendum to the Vita minor describes how Abbot Blasius of Sázava brought the long endeavor for the canonization of Abbot Procopius to final success and how Pope Innocent III consented to Procopius’ canonization only after the future saint resorted to rather rough tactics: he threatened the slow-witted pope with a beating.21 Threatening the head of Christianity—nota bene, a reform pope who initiated the Fourth Lateran Council that fundamentally influenced the Christian world for centuries—with a trouncing as a means to canonization must be, in my opinion, a “Czech specialty.” In their study of the religious ideas in twelfth century Bohemia, Merhautová and Třeštík correctly emphasize that such issues of patriotism troubled only a small group of intellectuals. The laity, primarily the agricultural population of Bohemia, presumably had more pressing worries around daily life and survival, splendidly documented in the legends of St. Procopius. Besides fears for their crops, their worries were mainly about illness; and in their afflictions the sick rushed to Procopius for help, who healed them as a proper saint should, through miracles both during his lifetime and thereafter.22 František Šmahel noted that faith in Procopius’ See below, at 384–47. See below, at 386–89. 20 Anežka Merhautová and Dušan Třeštík, Ideové proudy v českém umění 12. století [Trends of thought in Bohemian art of the twelfth century], Studie ČSAV 1985/2 (Prague: ČSAV, 1985). 21 See below, at 400–401. On the problem of Procopius’ canonization, see the post scriptum section of this text. 22 See below, passim. 18 19

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healing power lasted through the entire Middle Ages and did not vanish even in the Hussite period, when the traditional cult of the saints was otherwise rejected.23 The passages where the author speaks about miracles in terms that reflect his own personal experience are also important. Hagiographers, when they speak of a supernatural phenomenon, are in reality often writing about their own world. In this way the author here also reveals things about his own time, such as the story told by the author of the Vita minor of the miraculous recovery of a woman who had been blind and disabled for four years. This woman had tirelessly sought the assistance of St. Procopius and visited his monastery to fast and pray. On the day of the Birth of the Lord, in the Church of the Holy Cross, Procopius appeared to her during the ceremonial church service and healed her.24 The Church of the Holy Cross has been identified archaeologically as the central four-apse structure that the Monk of Sázava spoke of as having been consecrated in 1070.25 It stood in the center of an extensive lay complex just north of the monastery, where there was a settlement of servants of the monastery.26 The Vita minor provides information about other inhabitants of the monastic complex when it tells the story of the hermit Martin and some nuns living at the monastery in a monastic way, and how thieves stole all their property. We learn about Martin’s hermitage, from which this Benedictine, living alone, hurried to morning prayers; the passage about Martin’s despair at the loss of the facilities of his abode is noteworthy. This is a human scene, easily imaginable, but it is hardly an exemplary story for the poor 23 František Šmahel, “Silnější než víra: Magie, pověry a kouzla husitského věku” [Stronger than faith: Magic, superstition and witchcraft in the Hussite age], Sborník vlastivědných prací z Podblanicka 30 (1990): 31. 24 See below, at 396–99. 25 Bretholz, Cosmas, 120. 26 Petr Sommer, “Eine Dienstsiedlung des Benediktiner-Klosters in Sázava,” in Hausbau und Raumstruktur früher Städte in Ostmitteleuropa, Památky archeologické— Supplementum 6, ed. J. Klápště and H. J. Brachmann (Prague: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 1996), 142–47.

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hermit as a model of piety. Martin runs to the grave of Abbot Procopius and “blackmails” the saint: If he does not get the stolen things back, he will leave the Sázava monastery and never settle in another.27 As a Benedictine, Martin must have known that to leave the monastery willfully is a serious offense; and not to settle in another monastery meant either leaving the order or becoming a wandering monk (a gyrovagus, as St. Benedict scornfully calls such persons in his Rule), which was an unthinkable transgression. That such an episode appears in an important hagiographical text might be explained by reference to the state of the early medieval Czech Church. Another important detail is that Martin entered the monastery as a boy and grew old there still under Procopius’ rule. It is thus likely that the whole story is to be assigned to the period not long after Procopius’ death, which corresponds to the dating of the legend to the second half of the eleventh century. The information that Procopius’ tomb (still in the wooden church built at the time when the monastery was founded) was accessible to petitioners and indicates that some form of local cult existed at that time. The reference to a group of nuns leading “a spiritually profitable life under the yoke of Christ” in the Sázava monastery is mysterious.28 It is possible that there was some kind of women’s convent next to the monastery, but such an arrangement would have been unusual in a proper Benedictine abbey. There were so-called dual monasteries in Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages, but as an entirely exceptional phenomenon, experiments usually abandoned after a short time.29 There is no other evidence of such an institution on Czech territory and, if the mention in the Vita minor was based on reality, it must be understood as a testimony to the rather See below, at 394–95. See below, at 394–97. 29 Irma Bühler, “Forschungen über Benediktiner-Doppelklöster im heutigen Bayern,” Zeitschrift für bayerische Kirchengeschichte 3 (1928–1930), 197–207; 4 (1929), 1–13, 199–229; 5 (1930), 17–33, 229–51; Stephanus Hilpisch, Die Doppelklöster: Entstehung und Organisation, Beiträge zur Geschichte des alten Mönchtums 15 (Münster: Aschendroff, 1928); Michel Parisse, “Doppelkloster,” in Lexikon des Mittelalters, vol. 3 (Munich: Artemis, 1983), 1257–59. 27

28

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archaic and undeveloped beginnings of the Czech Church and monastic life in Bohemia. Like many other saints’ lives, the legends of St. Procopius speak of the holy abbot’s power to free diverse types of transgressors from prison. In one case, he frees an unfaithful wife after delivering an appropriate admonition;30 in another, a shepherd who had stolen clothes from the bailiff he worked for. The bailiff first had a rope bound around the shepherd’s neck and his hands tied behind his back, then had him locked up and set in stocks, planning to take him before the court the next day at Kouřim castle. At the time of the incident Procopius was already dead. The new abbot, Vitus, interceded for the shepherd, but in vain: the manager most likely responded to the abbot by citing the contemporary legal principle that if he had not turned in the guilty man, he would have been publicly punished himself. This sheds light on the legal conditions of the age that without Procopius’ intervention the shepherd would have faced serious punishment for the theft of a few garments. What is particularly interesting is that the process of convicting the thief involved the testimony of the vicini. This seems to be proof of a functioning vicinage, the lowest archaic form of the organization of society.31 The longer legend of St. Procopius, the Vita maior, also touches on the theme of imprisonment and although it was created much later it is not impossible that it adopted elements from earlier traditions. In particular, its description of the miracle connected with parricide evidently draws on early penal practice. The legend tells of a parricide who came to the Sázava monastery from faraway lands at the time of the Easter fast. He had a chain fitted round his loins which pierced his flesh and tormented him cruelly. At the moment the priest began to read the Gospels, the chain softened like wax and fell clattering to the floor.32 The moritat (story of a “deadly See below, at 396–97. Petr Sommer, Svatý Prokop, 90–91, 119–21. 32 Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, 261–62 (The legendist speaks confusingly about the Church of St. Peter, which is clearly related to the additional contamination of the Procopian theme by the theme of Prague’s Vyšehrad). 30 31

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deed”) of the parricide, however, is not mere fantasy. The description recalls the strictures Duke Břetislav announced over the grave of St. Adalbert in Gniezno in 1039, which prescribed that such criminals be “expelled from the country, chained on their hands and body so that they wander around in the world as fugitives and vagabonds like Cain.”33 The Vita minor presents yet another interesting glimpse into the area of guilt and punishment in the eleventh and possibly twelfth centuries. It mentions a certain Labessa from the retinue (ex clientela) of Duke Vratislav II (1061–1092). Court slander caused Labessa to fear for his life so he decided to escape to the Sázava monastery. His plan, however, was discovered, and he was followed until he found himself across from the monastery on the opposite bank of the flooded Sázava. Although it was summer, at Procopius’ intercession, the water froze for a brief time so that Labessa could quickly cross this barrier and escape his pursuers.34 Should we wish to see a core of truth in the event, it might be primarily that life at the ducal court was (like at every court) quite uncertain. That Labessa sought refuge in Sázava monastery can be explained by the fact that Duke Vratislav loved this monastery exceedingly35 and the intercession of the abbot of Sázava would have had the power to save a person who took asylum there. As we know, Vratislav so favored Sázava that he attempted to obtain papal permission from Gregory VII for Slavonic church services in Bohemia.36 The legends of St. Procopius provide details of the death of Abbot Procopius. The version of the Vita minor is certainly recast according to the sentiment of the Benedictine world from which it comes, but its time of writing makes it the most authentic one. Procopius himself foresaw his death—seeing into the future be-

Bretholz, Cosmas, 87. See below, at 388–91. 35 As reported by the Monk of Sázava: Bretholz, Cosmas, 248. 36 We know this from the pope’s negative response: Codex diplomaticus et epistolaris Regni Bohemiae I, ed. Gustav Friedrich (Prague: Wiesner, 1904–1907), 87–88, No. 81. 33

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ing among the essential characteristics of a saint.37 This scene became an occasion for the author to compose a vaticinatio ex eventu. Procopius had the brothers called together; he lectured them and expressed his wishes for his burial and prophesied to his monks, among them his nephew Vitus and his son Emmeram, of tribulations that awaited them in the reign of Spytihněv II, after which a period of calm would come that would last for all of their days.38 The third day after this, the abbot died as he was sitting on his bed and talking with the members of the convent. He did so after he had fulfilled all of the obligations imposed on a Benedictine by everyday life: he participated in the canonical hours, specifically vespers and compline. Bishop Severus of Prague buried him in the church that Procopius had built.39The bed mentioned in the legends would have been in the wooden building that an archaeological survey has identified as the first building to serve as the abbot’s house, located in the northwest corner of the Sázava courtyard, on the site of today’s parsonage; in accordance with the Rule of St. Benedict, a separate residence was provided for the abbot. The fact that the abbot stipulated a burial in his church is also credible. It fits very well in the feelings of a Benedictine abbot and monastery founder who wants his church to be used as his burial site. Procopius’ funeral was certainly a major event in Bohemia. This is evidenced by the fact that the bishop of Prague himself came to bury the abbot. The ritual probably took place in the presence of other important figures and a crowd of the populace from the vicinity. The funeral rites took place in a simple wooden church that would have fit into today’s parish church several times over, was far from monumental, and would have accommodated only a few people. South of this church was a simple building that was the dwelling of the members of the convent. The grave of such an important figure, an object of local veneration from the very start, was most likely situated in the interior of the church in front of the main altar. See below, at 382–83. See below, ibid. 39 See below, ibid. 37

38

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The wooden church gave way to a new building during the reign of Bozetech, the last abbot of the Slavonic convent. At a certain phase of the construction (most likely in 1093), Procopius’ relics were elevated from the grave and placed in the new chancel, as recorded in manuscripts C and S of the Old Bohemian Annals.40 Procopius’ grave became an object of public veneration in both the first Romanesque basilica and the new Gothic church, the construction of which extended through the entire fourteenth century. Just like the old basilica, this new church had a crypt, but it was never finished. Only a long choir for the monks and the south nave with a tower were completed. The new Gothic tomb of the saint was probably again in the choir, accessible for veneration.41 Thus, from the time of his death the abbot of Sázava became the focus of a local cult, which was the prerequisite for canonization. According to the appendices of the Vita minor and Vita maior, this was achieved in 1204, in a complex political situation in which Přemysl Ottokar I was moving between two simultaneously elected kings of the Romans (the Hohenstaufen Philip of Swabia and the Welf Otto of Brunswick) and Pope Innocent III, who was pursuing his own aims in this constellation. At the beginning of 1204 (indisputably in connection with his strengthening position with the pope), Přemysl Ottokar requested that Innocent III raise the Prague bishopric to an archbishopric. The pope at first refused the request, but finally consented. Neither initiative can be understood in isolation. It is likely that a component of the petition for an archbishopric was also a bid for a new saint who would come with the metropolitan see. While the first part of the project collapsed, the second became reality.42 MS XIX C 19, National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague and MS V E 43, Library of the National Museum in Prague. 41 For a basic orientation in the historical topography of the Sázava Monastery, see Dušan Foltýn, Pavlína Mašková, and Petr Sommer, eds., The Benedictines and Central Europe: Christianity, Culture, Society 800–1300 (Prague: Nakladatelství lidové noviny, 2021), 351–55. 42 On the events connected with Prokop’s canonization, see Petr Sommer, Svatý Prokop, 173–79. 40

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According to the Vita minor (which was adopted without change by the Vita maior), Procopius’ canonization process was to be as follows: Abbot Blasius of Sázava was to travel to Rome in the spirit of Procopius that desired canonization. This desire was formulated in 1203 with the condition that the abbot should compile evidence of Procopius’ miracles witnessed by sovereigns, bishops, and important secular and religious figures. This corresponded to the practice of the Curia for canonization processes, which had been made stricter since the time of Alexander III in the 1170s. Blasius and two brothers from Sázava arrived in Rome with the necessary documents. After a year of trying, when Blasius had run out of finances and the whole project seemed to be lost, the combative spirit of Procopius visited Pope Innocent, threatened him with a thrashing (or bestowed it upon him), and the pope understood that canonization was unavoidable. After this decision, Innocent celebrated Procopius’ mass in the presence of thirteen cardinals, drew up the relevant bull, and sent Guido, the cardinal priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere with the title of St. Callixtus, to Sázava to conduct the canonization ceremony there on July 4, 1204. Over time, Procopius’ feast day appeared in several Czech calendars, finding a place in common Czech liturgical practice; a process evidenced by the legends of St. Procopius and the Czech calendars.43 The text of the Vita minor and its canonization appendix are sources of the first order for the first two hundred years of the Sázava monastery and the contemporary Czech state and society in the context of Central European culture and politics.

Post Scriptum Until recently, the dating and characterization of the Procopian texts described above were generally accepted, but in the previous

The Feast of Procopius on July 4 was first listed in the Codex Gigas of the Monastery in Podlažice from the first third of the thirteenth century: Beda Dudík, Forschungen in Schweden für Mährens Geschichte (Brno: Winiker, 1852), 416.

43

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years they have been subject to substantial criticism by Petr Kubín,44 who has stated that both their proposed posteriority and dating are incorrect. This conclusion also led him to question the historicity of the personality of the founder of the Sázava Monastery, Abbot Procopius. I will react briefly to this criticism here and I will publish a more detailed argument elsewhere. In summarizing the reasons for his claims, Kubín based his conclusions on several points. He disagrees with the present consensus that the oldest surviving Procopian text is the Vita minor and that the Vita antiqua, the Vita maior, and several other hagiographic sources would be derived from it. He claims that the Vita minor is not the oldest text, which, according to him, is rather the Exordium Zazavensis monasterii, a typical historia fundationis,45 a writing that provided additional justification for the foundation of a monastery and its property, which was given to the monastery for use at a time when such acquisitions were made without documentary confirmation. Many other similar examples are known throughout medieval Europe. The Exordium was created around the middle of the twelfth century (at the time of Abbot Silvester) when the Premonstratensian convents were experiencing their first flowering in Bohemia and Moravia. For some time now, Czech historiography has been suggesting that this was the time of the first existential clash between the Benedictines and the new dynamic orders, the Premonstratensians and the Cistercians.46 The Exordium can therefore be seen, according to Petr Kubín, not only as a defense of the Sázava property, but also as a tool to prevent the dissolution of Sázava itself. The Exordium, inserted into the domestic chronicle of an anonymous Sázava author writing between 1173 A summary of his views: Petr Kubín, “Saint Procopius of Sázava between Reality and Fiction,” Revue Mabillon 88 (2016): 49–81. 45 Bretholz, Cosmas, 242–51. 46 Václav Novotný, České dějiny [Czech History], I/2 (Prague: Laichter, 1913), 921, 923, in this connection emphasizes the different role of these religious institutions in their attitudes towards the current papal schism. Cf. also Václav Chaloupecký, in Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, passim. 44

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and1178,47 became an informative and inspirational starting point for the Procopian legend. Petr Kubín believes that this explanation is the only one possible and therefore discards all previous arguments in favor of other solutions. In addition to several factual details, he excludes from the argumentation the so-called Prologues, the opening hagiographic texts addressing Bishop Severus of Prague and the reader.48 These Prologues are preserved in two manuscripts of the Vita maior legend from around 1400, but date back to the eleventh century. A  number of historians consider them authentic and agree that they may have been written for the Old Slavonic legend they refer to, which also may have been the first version of the Procopian legend.49 According to the traditional assessment, the Old Slavonic legend was translated (and possibly redacted) into Latin after 1096 during the liquidation of the Old Slavonic convent of Sázava. The Latin texts of the Vita minor legend and both Prologues are the result of this. Kubín, however, rules out this possibility and considers both Prologues to have been created solely in connection with the Vita maior.50 He also uses the argument that the Prologues are not preserved in any text of the Vita minor and therefore cannot be related to this legend. This can easily be disputed, however, since the extant manuscripts attest the state of the source base, but not its original content. Good arguments also successfully challenge the hypothesis (and it is only a hypothesis) that the Exordium originated as Sázavian self-defense against the Premonstratensian danger, for it is clear Václav Novotný, Zur böhmischen Quellenkunde II: Der Mönch von Sázawa, Sitzungsberichte der der königl. Böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Klasse für Philosophie, Geschichte und Philologie, 1910/5 (Prague, 1911). 48 Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, 129–31. 49 The Prologue “Ad lectores” says of the Vita minor that it is: “. . . de slavonicis litteris in latinitatem translata, cuius materiam succinte adoriar explicare.” Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, 131, Marie Bláhová, “Písemná kultura přemyslovských Čech” [The written culture of Premyslid Bohemia], in ­Přemyslovci: Budování českého státu, ed. Petr Sommer, Dušan Třeštík, and Josef Žemlička (Prague: Nakladatelství lidové noviny, 2009), 511, 640, note 15. 50 Kubín, “Saint Procopius of Sázava,” 62–64. 47

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that this danger was not nearly so formidable as Kubín presented it. In the middle of the twelfth century, the Premonstratensians actually took over the originally Benedictine monastery of Hradisko near Olomouc thanks to the personal commitment of the bishop of Olomouc, Jindřich Zdík, who was an admirer of the Premonstratensian community of monastic canons. Nothing is known, however, about the immediate cause of his decision.51 The second case of a takeover of an older Benedictine monastery by the Premonstratensians relates to Želiv, a convent among the oldest Premonstratensian houses, established in the 1140s. The monastery in Želiv was founded by Benedictine Reginard of Metz, who became the abbot of Sázava in 1162. It is possible, therefore, that he came from the Sázava monastery, and that this monastery supported the foundation of Želiv.52 If the argument of the Sázava-Benedictines defending themselves from abolition falls, the basic reason for the whole change in the assessment of the Procopian legends and the Sázava sources, which is the greatest weakness of Kubín’s thesis, also falls. Almost all his other arguments are based on the contemporary pressure to hand over the Benedictine monasteries to the Premonstratensians. Another reason could also have resulted from the visit of the papal legate Guido, as a result of which the reigning abbot of Sázava, Silvester (1134–1161), was deprived of his abbey in 1143 (i.e., according to Kubín, at the critical time of the beginning of the expulsion of the Benedictines). In the same visitation, the legate also chastised a number of other non-canonically living prelates and priests in Bohemia, but their institutions were not punished. Thus, the supposed devastating punishment for Sázava does not make sense. Moreover, Silvester had already been restored to his position in 1144 thanks to Dušan Foltýn, Pavlína Mašková, and Petr Sommer, eds., The Benedictines and Central Europe (Prague: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2021), 340. 52 For a detailed analysis of the conditions of the foundation of the Želiv monastery, see Petr Sommer, “Želiv,” in Foltýn, Mašková, and Sommer, The Benedictines and Central Europe, 375–76, and Sommer, “Vita Procopii minor: A Basic Source for the History of the Sázava Monastery and Early Medieval Bohemia,” Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU 28 (2022): 225–44. 51

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Bishop Jindřich Zdík, the alleged instigator of replacing the Benedictines with the Premonstratensians.53 Kubín believes that Silvester was plagued by fears of a threat to the Sázava monastery and that in the mid-twelfth century (incidentally at the time of the ongoing construction of Silvester’s Romanesque monastery) this is why he decided to write the Exordium, which was intended to emphasize that the foundation of Sázava had the sovereign’s highest support from the beginning. But what would this advocacy through the Exordium look like? With the manuscript barely dry, would Silvester rush to the then-reigning Vladislav II and Bishop Daniel? And would such a defense with a document without legal validity be enough for them? In that case, would it not have been far more effective to use the tried and tested practice of forging the missing documents? The Exordium Zazavenzis monasterii is therefore more logically included in the already existing series of legendary texts and is derived from them. These were of course created earlier, as it is impossible that the first domestic attempt to record the events connected with the founding of Sázava and the personality of the founder, Prokop, only appeared in the mid-twelfth century. His grave was venerated in the monastery church and, as in other convents in similar contexts, the Sázava monks certainly sought Prokop’s canonization. High medieval sources attest to these efforts, probably as early as the end of the eleventh century. The Exordium itself fits well into the series of Procopian and Sázava sources. It is an annalistic text and therefore differs from the legends. For the monastic chronicler, the details of the beginnings of Sázava in the context of the 1030s (the role of the princes Oldřich and Břetislav) and also the dispute with the original owners (vicini) of the land on which the Sázava monastery was founded were more important than for the legendist, and therefore he deals with them in detail not found in the legends.54 According to the Monk of Sázava, Silvester was deposed in 1144 and reinstated the following year, 1145. MGH, SS, IX, ed. Rudolfus Koepke (Hannoverae, 1851), 159. The chronicler is wrong by a year, however; Guido carried out his mission in Bohemia in 1143 and was no longer in Bohemia in 1144. Novotný, České dějiny, I/2, 792. 54 Sommer, Svatý Prokop, 119–22. 53

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Another important topic that Kubín sees as a clear questioning of the reality of Procopian history is the canonization of Procopius. Because he re-dates and reinterprets Procopian sources, he concludes that the abbot’s person is more or less an invention of the authors who defended Benedictine Sázava against the rise of the Premonstratensians. Therefore, and for other reasons, he sees the later addition to the Vita minor (Additamentum) as a forgery, intended to attest Procopius’ canonization in 1204. But again, many arguments depict Procopius as a credible person from the time of the beginnings of Sázava and there are many source testimonies that Procopius’ saintly cult slowly but surely spread throughout the Bohemian lands from the first half of the thirteenth century onwards. Kubín is aware of this and therefore questions Prokop’s papal canonization in particular. He is not the first: Bernard Schimmelpfennig55 already expressed serious doubts by noting that Innocent III showed great restraint in proclaiming new saints and that canonization bulls were always preserved for the undoubted ones—which is not true of Procopius. Therefore, Kubín believes that only a kind of domestic canonization of Prokop took place in Sázava in 1204.56 This possibility cannot be completely excluded, but it is unlikely in the Czech environment. As early as the Chronicle of Cosmas we find clear evidence that the canonization was clearly conditioned by papal approval.57 The whole matter probably cannot be decided unequivocally, but it is clear that Abbot Prokop was already considered a saint in the first half of the thirteenth century and that considerations about the mere legendary nature of his personality are not sustainable. One can clearly agree with the argument that the Vita minor was not Bernhard Schimmelpfennig, “Heilige Päpste—päpstliche Kanonisationspolitik,” in Politik und Heiligenverehrung im Hochmittelalter, ed. Jürgen Petersohn (Sigmaringen: Thorbecke, 1994) (=Vorträge und Forschungen XLII), 73–100, particularly 177–79. 56 Kubín, “Saint Procopius of Sázava,” 77–78. 57 Bretholz, Cosmas, 130. Cosmas on 1074 recalls his conversation with a pilgrim who wants to visit the tomb of St. Radim. Cosmas replies: “Quem tu dicis sanctum, adhuc non est per apostolicum incanonizatus . . .” 55

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suitable for the purpose of papal canonization. Its accounts of a married priest and monk and of other phenomena associated with early Bohemian Christianity would probably not have convinced Innocent III. In any case, this also counts as an argument for dating this legend conservatively to the period to which it refers. For these reasons, I am convinced that it is still the most logical to evaluate the Procopian legends through comprehensive analysis, focusing crucially on the analysis of these texts and their insertion into the network of contemporary relations and realities. Kubín’s path is based on an attempt to rely on one absolutized hypothesis, which must be sacrificed to a chain of other arguments, and there are many good reasons to reject this attempt. The classical dating of the Procopian texts, including the Exordium, is still actual, and an unpreserved Old Slavonic legend from the 1060s may stand in their line, followed by the Vita minor, from the 1130s at the latest. Its position at the beginning of the Procopian legend rests on the fact that the slice of Sázavian and Procopian history it gives ends in the 1060s with praise for the stabilization of the Slavic convent that returned from its first exile in Hungary. In the case of the translation of the older legend this is explainable, but not in the case of the new text created after the dissolution of the Slavonic monastery in 1096–1097; it would be incomprehensible. It is equally significant that the legendist speaks credibly about events and realities that can only be associated with the time of the beginnings of Sázava and the Bohemian early Middle Ages.58

This text was written in the course of the project “Sázava—Archaeology of the Benedictine Monastery” (No. 19-17636S) supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic.

58

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MINOR LIFE OF SAINT PROCOPIUS

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VITA SANCTI PROCOPII MINOR1 I Incipit prologus ad Severum Pragensem episcopum de vita sancti ac venerabilis Procopii, nostri patroni Domino sanctissimo Severo, summi gracia Opificis sancte Pragensis ecclesie2 secundum utriusque hominis habitum decentissimo pontifici ac Sue Sanctitatis licet inutilis servus sic in presenti agere, quatenus future beatitudinis municipatum cum sanctis valeat obtinere. Dum mentis mee sagaciori speculacione sancte Vestre Dignitatis excellenciam et mee persone intueor indignitatem ac rusticitatem, ad presumendum de Vestra pia benignitate, presulum sanctissime, assurgere minus audeo. Siquidem parvitatem meam infra mensuram suam se debere continere dignum tutumque estimo nec tam insignis reverencie domino meam nugacitatem seu presumptuosam fatuitatem verbo vel scripto ingerere. Sed quia tanta lege vis necessitatis constringitur, ut plerumque eciam difficilia et impossibilia imperet, ea utique racione dictante et ego compellor extra me ire supra me, dum tantillus homuncio tamque contemptibilis persona Vestre Sanctitatis excellencie parvitatis mee negocium exponere conor. Cinctus siquidem crebra fratrum peticione historiam de vita et conversacione beati patris Procopii, quamquam id vires meas scirem excedere, literali serie contextam Vestre Serenitati presentandam dignum existimavi, iustum et cautum fore perpendens nichil me in hoc opere debere ex mea parvitate presumere, quod non Vestra prius fulciatur et roboretur auctoritate, vel eciam ideo, We reproduce and translate here the Latin text of the critical edition by Chaloupecký and Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské, 121–61; for an assessment of this edition, taking into account all the textual variants of the large number of manuscripts (not reproduced here), see Antonín Kalous and Jan Stejskal, “Einige Bemerkungen zur neuen Edition der Legenden über den heiligen Prokop,” in Der heilige Prokop, Böhmen und Mitteleuropa, ed. Petr Sommer (Prague: Filosofia, 2006), 147–54.

1

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MINOR LEGEND OF ST PROCOPIUS1 I Here begins the prologue addressed to Severus, the bishop of Prague, on the life of the holy and venerable Procopius, our patron. To the most holy Severus, most capable bishop of the holy church of Prague2 according to the bearing of both the inner and the outer man, by the grace of the highest Creator, the servant of His Holiness (albeit unworthy of the name) [wishes] that he may live his present life in such a way as to be worthy of being granted the reward of beatitude together with the saints in the one to come. As I contemplate with keen mind and see both the worthiness of your holy Excellency and the unworthiness and rustic simplicity of my own person, I can hardly dare, o most holy bishop, aspire to claim the attention of your saintly benevolence. Since my insignificant self should keep well within the bounds of its measure, I think it appropriate and safe not to obtrude, by word or written letter, upon the attention of such a distinguished and venerable master with my frivolity and presumptuous foolishness. Yet, seeing that one can be compelled quite strongly by the force of necessity, which sometimes forces upon us even difficult and impossible tasks, by the same token I am myself compelled by forces beyond myself to go beyond my own forces as I try, insignificant little man and contemptible individual as I am, to lay before the excellence of your Holiness the work of my humbleness. For, urged repeatedly by the brothers’ prayers, I have thought it worthwhile to present Your Serenity with a written narrative about the life and lifestyle of our holy father Procopius, even though I know well that this surpasses my abilities. I thought it over and over again, and came to the conclusion that it would be right and safe Šebíř (Severus), sixth bishop of Prague (1030–1067).

2

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quia eiusdem patris vita vobis haut minus fuit cognita, qui sancti vestri presulatus tempore presentis vite cursum feliciter duxit et felicius ac laudabilius divina favente clemencia consumavit, cuius eciam sepulthure exequiis in persona Vestra pro exhibendo pie humanitatis officio animeque sue Domino commendacione interesse gratum habuistis. Humiliter igitur ac confidenter supplico, quatenus eiusdem opusculi textum utique ecclesiastico usui nec alibi, nisi nostro tantum cenobio necessarium, vobis coram recitari faciatis. Et sicubi, quod facile imperitis evenire solet, rectitudinis lineam vel in materia vel in dictatu excesserim, Vestre Dignacionis censura ut corrigatur et nostre congregacioni Vestre auctoritatis gracia perpetuo retinendus commendetur, efflagito. Igitur tam obediencie debito, quam fraterne caritatis astrictus vinculo ymmoque Vestre Sanctitatis ac Benignitatis fultus patrocinio, in laudem et gloriam nominis Cristi ad commendandam tam mirifici viri memoriam, universis sancte Dei ecclesie filiis, vite eius meritum scire volentibus, tocius materie hoc assumpsi exordium: II Omnis laudem psallat nostra monachorum concio, psallant rudes, psallant senes concordanti iubilo, Iesu Cristo grates reddat omnis vacans ocio.

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if, in this work of mine, I should not dare do anything without the prior confirmation and sanction of your authority, all the more so since you have no little knowledge about the life of the said father, who lived his blessed life on earth in the days of your episcopate and, by the grace of divine mercy, concluded it in an even more blessed and praiseworthy manner. And it even pleased you to attend in person his burial ceremony so as to generously fulfill a pious duty and entrust his soul to the Lord. I, therefore, beg in full humility and in full confidence that you should authorize the reading of the text of the present work in your presence as appropriate for ecclesiastic use, if not elsewhere, then at least within our monastery. And I also make entreaty that if I have anywhere strayed from the right path either in my choice of topic or of words (which can and does easily happen to unskilled people), the text should be corrected by the rigorous judgement of Your Honor and by your gracious authority be entrusted to our congregation, where it should be kept forever. Moved, then, by my duty of obedience and equally bound by the bond of fraternal affection, as well as encouraged, most of all, by the patronage of your Holiness and Grace, I have set the following prologue at the very beginning of my narrative, to extol and glorify the name of Christ and to praise the memory of this wonderful man for the benefit of all the children of the Holy Church who wish to know the merits of his life. II Let all our monastic choir sing his praise unanimously! let the novice sing, the elders, in one voice harmoniously! Render grace to our Lord Jesus all who dwell here peacefully!

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Iesu bone, Criste pie, nos, rogamus, tuere, auge lumen nostri sensus, intellectum perfice! Nil te sine quimus umquam nos per ipsos facere. Vitam patris Procopii propagare tribue per dictatum, per sermonem! Tibi fiat gloria par cum Patre, cum Pneumate, laus, [et] potestas inclita, decus, salus, perpes honor, virtus omnifaria, nunc et semper et ubique pia benediccio, cunctis horis et momentis graciarum accio, qui salvare nos dignare per omnia secula.

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O good Jesus, o Christ holy, we beseech, do us protect, Make our mind’s light ever brighter, sharpen thou our intellect! Nothing can we do without you, our labor is to no effect. Help us spread, by word, by writing, far and wide the life perfect Of Procopius, our father! In the Father’s glory sharing, with the Holy Ghost alike, let your praise be never-ending, and all honor, might, and virtue, may be yours and everlasting! Now and always, everywhere let us bless you piously, at all times and in all hours, let us thank you graciously, that you grant us all salvation till the end perpetually!

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III Item sequitur prologus ad lectores Benedicta sit pia sacrosancte Trinitatis et individue Unitatis predestinacio trinam rerum machinam gubernans, que non persone accepcionem, sed coronat bone voluntatis devocionem, ex omnigenis scilicet mundi tripartiti tribubus et linguis unitatem corporis sancte matris ecclesie conficiens! Cuius gracia dictante et donante, qualiter in corporis vita armatura Dei agonizans, in Cristo beatus abba Procopius perseveraverit et quam optime inicio suo finis concordaverit, licet imperito omnino stilo, tamen prout auctor et fons luminis inspirare dignatur, contemplacioni fidelium seriatim tradam. Efflagito autem, ne quis, si quampiam incongruentis scrupulositatem litteracionis indagaverit, inerudicioni mee et temeritati imputet seu fastidiat, sed pocius ignoscendo condescendat. Quamquam siquidem stilus simplex et omni ex parte nullius sit prerogative artis litteratorie, Deo tamen omniscio teste historia veridica, de slavonicis litteris in latinitatem translata, cuius materiam succinte adoriar explicare. IV O felix, gaude Procopi, sancte patrone! Inmortale decus vite meruit tua virtus. Clausus progrederis fratres claustrumque tueris, abba benigne, loco Dominus quos collocat, isto. Ipsorum presto nunc et semper memor esto, orans pro cunctis, alme patrone, tuis!

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III Here follows a prologue to the readers. Blessed be the sacred predestination of the holy Trinity and undivided Unity which governs the threefold fabric of the world, which [shows] no partiality to persons, but rewards the devotion of the good-willed, which shaped the one single body of the Holy Mother Church out of the manifold nations and languages of this threefold world! Relying on the help and guidance of its grace I will attempt to set before the eyes of the faithful in a running narrative (even though in a rather rough style, yet just as much as [He who is] the origin and the fount of light should deign to inspire me), how our blessed abbot Procopius held steadfast in Christ, fighting God’s wars all throughout his life in this body, and in what excellent manner he brought his initial pursuit to a fitting end. I beg you, however, that if anyone should run into any stylistic or grammatical infelicities, they should attribute these or impute them to my lack of knowledge and to my temerity, but, even better, they should show compassion and forgive them. Indeed, even if its style is rather simple and has not benefited in any way from any literary training, this story, translated into Latin from a Slavonic original, whose contents I will attempt to present in brief [in what follows], is nevertheless true, as God, who knows all, is my witness.

Rejoice, o blessed Procopius, our holy patron! Imperishable honor the virtue of your life has earned you. Solitary go forth, o kind abba, and keep guard over the brothers and their cloister, which God has settled in this place. Come forth to their help, and remember them now and always, Praying for all your people, o benevolent patron!

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1 Fuit itaque beatus abbas Procopius, nacione Bohemus, Sclavonicis apicibus, a sanctissimo Quirillo episcopo3 quondam inventis et statutis canonice, admodum inbutus, in seculo presbiter eximius, honesta vita et casta misteria celebrans, postmodum infula monastice parmatus professionis, solus cum solo Deo in fidei pingnore inconvulsus deguit. Hic quippe pro amore Iesu Cristi toto spiritus sui ardore fervens, vanitatem nequam huius mundi contempsit et domum uxoremque, agros, cognatos atque amicos, ymmo semetipsum sibi abnegans, versuciali seculo et pompis suis miserabilibus valedixit; a cuius tumultuoso turbine fugiens, secreta solitudinis peciit, qui supercilio cuiusdam deserte spelunce, quam mille demonia inhabitabant, celestibus armis loricatus consedit ibique, quibus se posset tueri, obstaculis virtutum constructis contra canes viciorum et impetum spiritalium nequiciarum ac suggestionum sagittas ad petram,4 que Christus est,5 oracionibus, vigiliis, ieiuniis allidens, viriliter pugnare cepit. 2 Predicta siquidem spelunca a castro Curim distat duabus leucis, que vocabulum a fluvio, ibidem desubtus fluente, Zazava usitavit. Ubi dum ipse a naufragio secularis tumultus liber ac hominibus occultus per multum tempus Deo indefessus agonizaret, pia divinitatis disposicio civitatem in monte positam latere et lucernam sub modio abscondi6 minime voluit, sed ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui in propatulo exemplo multorum fidelium lucere. Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) with his brother Methodius (815–885), called “the Apostles of the Slavs,” started their converting mission in Great Moravia in 862. In their subsequent cult they are credited in devising the Glagolitic alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic. See Alexis P. Vlasto, The Entry of the Slavs in Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970). 4 Cf. Ps. 136:9 (adlidet parvulos tuos ad petram). 5 Cf. 1 Cor. 10:4 (petra autem erat Christus). 6 Cf. Matt. 5:14–16 (Non potest civitas abscondi supra montem posita, neque accendunt lucernam et ponunt eam sub modio). 3

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1 The blessed abba Procopius was a Bohemian by birth, thoroughly educated in the Slavonic letters, which had been invented in the past and canonically established by the most holy bishop Cyril.3 While still in the world, he was an excellent priest, who lived his life in perfect honesty and celebrated the mysteries in full chastity. After he took up the armor of the monastic profession, he dwelt all alone, in God’s exclusive company, unshaken in the security of his faith. As he was all burning with an ardent spiritual love for Jesus Christ, he scorned the wretched vanity of this world and, renouncing his home and his wife, his land, his relatives and friends, in the end even himself, he said farewell to this crafty world and its miserable tricks. He fled away from its turbulent maelstrom and sought out a secret hideout in solitude; fully armed with celestial weapons, he settled down on the overhanging edge [in front] of some empty cave, which was inhabited by a thousand demons. And there, digging himself in and raising the barricades of his virtues all around himself against the hounds of vices and the assaults of impure spirits, he started to fight valiantly, by means of prayers, vigils, and fasts dashing the arrows of sinful thoughts against the rock4 which is Christ.5 2 Now, the said cave was two leagues away from the city of Kouřim and was known by the name of the river which flows beneath it, namely, Sázava. As he was there, having escaped unscathed from the shipwreck of this world’s maelstrom, and engaged for a very long time, unbeknownst to others, in relentless spiritual combat for the sake of God, God’s sacred dispensation would not allow that such a city seated upon on the mountain should remain unknown and that this candle should be hidden under a bushel6 for much longer, but [brought] it out into the open for the praise and the glory of His name, so as to shine as an example to many believers.

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3 Celesti itaque gracia dictante crescebat adeo longe lateque per cuncta compita fama virtutum illius, multiplici sermone discurrens, ut ad eius opinionem catervatim provincie eiusdem homines exenia offerrent ipsiusque oracionibus sese devote manciparent. Qui caritatis flagrancia plenus, hospitalitate pie preditus, prudencia sancta decenter ornatus, castimonia purus, humilitatis misericordia providus, temperancia clarus, habundancia zeli fidei plenus, qui sermone predicacionis sancte pectora audiencium, ut ymber temporaneus,7 opportuno tempore infusus, irrigabat ac doctrine sue vomere mentes utilissime reformabat, pauperes denique tanta pietatis largicione, sibi divinitus ingenita, suscipiebat tamque prona et leta famulatus sollicitudine ministrabat, ac si manifestissime Cristus adesset, ut omnes territorii eius industria mendici atque piphandi pascerentur. Properabat equidem ad eum multitudo fidelium, habentes in desiderio animi sui seculi lucris renunciare, secum finetenus conmanere. Quos benigne amplectens fovebat sicut gallina pullos suos sub alis.8 4 Fabricavit igitur basilicam in honore sanctissime Dei genitricis Marie et sancti Iohannis Baptiste et aggregavit secum quosdam fratres vita et moribus religiosos; quibus spiritaliter concordantibus unanimi caritate monastica fieri moderamina et misteria divina iuxta exemplar almifici patris Benedicti constituit, ipse vero minimus in minimis effectus.

Hos. 6:3. Cf. Matt. 23:27 (quemadmodum gallina congregat pullos suos sub alas).

7 8

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3 Following the disposition of the divine grace, the fame of his miracles started spreading far and wide, being the talk of all at every crossroad, so that the people of that province would flock there to pay homage to his good reputation and to commend themselves devoutly to his prayers. The holy man, consumed by ardent charity, abandoning himself piously to hospitality, befittingly endowed with saintly perspicacity, purified by his chastity, provident in his humble charity, whom his temperance had made famous, whom his overflowing faith had rendered zealous, kept watering the hearts of his listeners, pouring onto them the words of his predication just like the early rain,7 which falls at the right time, and kept straightening up their minds with utmost profit, turning them up with this teaching as if with a sharp plow. He would then receive the poor with such a profuse display of pious charity, with which the divinity had infused him, and attend to their needs with such ready and submissive solicitude as if Christ Himself were present, so that owing to his diligence all the beggars and the dispossessed of that region were provided for. Indeed, the faithful were coming to him in great numbers, having set the desire of their hearts upon renouncing the things of this world and remaining with him until the end. These he received kindly, protecting them as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings.8 4 He then built a church dedicated to Mary, the most holy Mother of God, and to St. John the Baptist, and he gathered around himself several brothers of pious character and lifestyle. To benefit these, who lived in unanimous spiritual harmony inspired by their monastic affection for each other, he set up guidelines and divine ceremonies in accordance with the rule of our glorious father Benedict, while he himself remained the lowest of the low [among them].

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Cuius quantum prudens et efficax diligencia mentis industriaque ac sollicitudo et quam pia caritatis affluencia erga fratres extiterit, nullo dicendum ore; quod non sine gracia muneris Dei, qui est mirabilis et gloriosus in sanctis suis,9 agebatur; qui in quantum se diligentem hunc diligeret, homines miraculorum patracione noluit ignorare. Incipiunt miracula beati Procopii 5 Tempore igitur, quo ex Romana consuetudine inter Pascha et Penthecosten auctorizabili ritu letania triduano ieiunio celebratur, quidam homo, Menno nomine, ardenti animi desiderio cupiens oracioni processionis eius adesse, ad litus fluvii supra nominati venit. Hunc dum diu expectantem casu nullus, qui transveheret ad cellam sancti viri et navis nullibi adesset, processionis sacre misteria interim tempestive ex more agere sanctus pater cepit. Ille vero puppim in altera fluminis ripa haberi conspiciens, intima cordis suspiria protraxit ac voce conpunctibili clamavit ad Deum, dicens: “Deus, qui per electum tuum Procopium magnalia multa virtutum sanctis effectibus tuis operaris, quarum munificencia nos peccatores ad magnam fidei devocionem excellenter accendit, per eiusdem eciam oraciones fac navem ex altera parte venire, quatenus merear particeps fieri oracionis eius, desiderate processionis ad laudem et gloriam nominis tui!” Hec ut dixit, subito volatili inpetu puppis conto, quo affixa fuerat, subsequente ad eum pervenit, qui transvectus processioni desiderate interfuit. Quod cum sancto patri in graciarum accione recto ordine retulisset, respondit ei: “Ne arbitreris propter me indignum, sed propter fidei tue devocionem pietatem divinitatis hec fecisse;

Ps. 67:36.

9

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What tongue can properly tell how great his wisdom was and how effective his diligence, how resourceful his mind, how great his solicitude, and how abundant his displays of affection towards the brethren? In all this he never lacked the gift of God’s grace, who is wonderful and glorious in his saints,9 who, by granting him the gift of working miracles, wished that the people should not remain unaware of how much He loved this man who, in turn, loved Him. Here begin the miracles of blessed Procopius 5 Therefore, between Easter and Pentecost, at the time which is celebrated according to the Roman custom and the established ritual by means of a procession and a three-day fast, a man named Menno came to the bank of the river mentioned above, wishing with ardent desire to take part in the procession and the prayers. He stood there waiting for a long time, as it so happened that he could find neither ship nor anyone to take him across the river to the holy man’s cell; meanwhile, the holy father started the procession right on time, according to his custom. Now Menno, seeing that there was a boat on the other side, by the river bank, sighed from the depths of his heart and cried out to God in words shot through with compunction, saying: “O God, whose holy power accomplishes such great and wondrous miracles through Procopius, your elect, and by such munificence instills so well in us, sinners, an ardent devotion to the faith, bring over through his prayers the boat which is on the other side, so that I may be found worthy to join in his prayers and in the procession as I greatly desire for the praise and the glorification of your name!” No sooner had he said this than the boat, moved by a sudden thrust, slipped away from the pole to which it was tied, and sailed over to him, so that he could cross the river and take part in the procession as he desired. After he told this to the holy father in due order and with words of thanks, Procopius answered him: “Do not think that divine mercy did this on my account, as I am unworthy, but on ac-

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nam Ipse ayt: Si habueritis fidem ut granum sinapis,10 omnia possibilia erunt vobis. Hoc igitur ammiranda Dei potencia, ut fidei tue firmitas inconvulsa permaneret, miraculum ostendit, qui est benedictus et gloriosus in secula seculorum, amen.” 6 Quidam homo spiritus inmundi tanto conturbabatur furore, ut vix a fortissimis viris contineretur, qui magnis vociferacionibus perturbatisque inmaniter perstrepebat clamando. Qui dum, carorum suorum cura vinctus, prope duceretur ad sanctum patrem, quo suis intercessionum precibus salvaretur, clamavit demon, dicens: “Quam iniuriam facio tibi, Procopi? et cur me eicis?” Et hec dicens, vexabat hominem acriter. Quem beatus pater, penitencie ieiunio indicto, uni ex fratribus conmendavit, qui attencius oracioni et adiuracioni insisteret, semet ipsum autem pro eo ieiuniis et oracionibus pervigil afflixit. Expleta itaque septimana, cum ipse pater sanctus super eum exorcismum ex more terminaret, visus est protinus spiritus inmundus in similitudine nigerrime avicule ex ore eius evolasse et super tectum ecclesie consedisse. Unde perseverante eo in oracione, dicitur corruisse in terram et quasi frustatim in quatuor partes crepuisse. Extunc autem, suffragante gracia Dei omnipotentis, in homine illo nulla umquam in tocius vite sue cursu demonis dominacio locum habuit.11 7 Audita sunt quoque die quadam demonia in spelunca clamancia ac voce querula dicencia: “Ve, ve! Ut quid vir iniqus et inpius habitat super hanc speluncam invidia plenus? Iam maleficia eius sustinere non valemus, sed, assummptis Milobuzensibus sociis, discedamus Cf. Matt. 17:20 (si habueritis fidem sicut granum sinapis . . . nihil impossibile erit vobis). 11 For the history of possession and exorcism in the eleventh and twelfth centuries see, Florence Chave-Mahir, L‘exorcisme des possédés dans l‘Église d‘Occident (Xe–XIVe siècle) (Turnhout: Brepols, 2011); Sari Katajala-Peltomaa, Demonic Possession and Lived Religion in Later Medieval Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020). 10

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count of your devout faith! For He has said: ‘If you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, all shall be possible to you!’10 You see, God’s wondrous power has performed this miracle so that the strength of your faith should remain unshaken. Blessed is He and glorious for ever and ever, amen!” 6 Another man was being so much tormented by the raging power of an unclean spirit, that he could barely be restrained even by some very strong men as he broke out in tremendous shouts and shook violently. While he was being taken to the holy man, all tied up by the care of his closest kin, so that he could be cured through his prayers, the demon shouted out, saying: “What wrong have I done to you, Procopius? Why are you driving me out?” And while saying so he kept troubling the man ever more violently. The holy father, after prescribing a penitential fast, entrusted the man to the cares of one of the brothers, who was to engage in fervent prayer and invocation while he mortified himself by means of vigils, fasts, and prayers on the man’s behalf. And so, when a week had passed, just as the holy father himself, as was his custom, was saying the last words of the exorcism over him, suddenly the unclean spirit was seen in the likeness of a pitch-black bird, which flew out of the man’s mouth and sat down on the roof of the church. Then, as the saint went on with his prayers, it is reported that the bird fell down to the ground and broke into four pieces. Ever since that moment, by the help of Almighty God’s grace, never again could the demonic powers find a foothold in that man during all the days of his life.11 7 One day, some demons were heard even in his cave shouting and wailing: “Alas, alas! How come that this impious and unjust fellow, so filled with malice, is allowed to live in this cave? We can endure his wrongdoings no longer! We will pick up our friends from Mile-

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in secretum deserte Lobecz, ubi numquam maledictus iste homo nos inquietare valebit, qui nos hic ultra habitare non patitur!” Forsan nobis hec scribentibus inproperabitur dicendo, quia hoc carmen presumptuose et temerarie bachamur, quod absit, quia eciam maiora ad laudem Dei magnalia in sequentibus, si Deus annuerit, pro viribus disseremus. 8 Multi denique vicinarum villarum accole ad eum venire frequenter et suorum languorum adiumenta impetrare solebant. Quibus ipse, magistrum humilitatis sequens, interminabatur singulis, ne huiusmodi opinio, eo vivente, divulgaretur. Venit eciam quedam muliercula ad eum, cuius visum diutine cecitatis caligo infecerat, suffragia postulans. Cuius cum, fusa oracione ad Deum, oculos signo sancte crucis consignaret, illico pingnus luminis recepit. Nullus equidem de dictis virtutibus sancti viri debet dubitare, cuius talis revera conversacio extitit, ut merito virtutibus debeat insigniri. 9 Multis et aliis beneficiis, que pretermisimus, clemencia divina merita fidelis sui famuli declarante, tandem ad aures ducis terre memorande memorie Bracizlay12 fama sanctitatis eius pervolavit. Qui tripudio inmenso, ultra quam credi potest, cum optimatibus suis gavisus est, cuius sese gratulabundus conmendavit oracionibus. Quidem deinde idem prefatus dux et primatus curialis patrem vocitare usui suo conmendaverunt, quem eciam paterna veneracione diligere decenter affectabant. Unde idem dux magnanimiter cum satraparum suorum ingeniositate perspicaci prudentique consilio discrecionis inito, eum ad

Břetislav I, Duke of Bohemia (1035–1055).

12

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buz and go down into the hidden corners of the solitude in Lobeč, where this accursed fellow, because of whom we cannot go on living here, will never be able to bother us!” Someone might object when I write such things, dismissing them as the ravings and rantings of some puffed up fool. Far be it! God willing, in what follows I will tell of even greater wonders, as much as I can, to God’s praise. 8 Later on, many inhabitants of the neighboring villages used to come to him often and beg for his assistance with their afflictions. To all these and to each one in part, following the example of the Master of humility, he would adamantly forbid that they spread his reputation as long as he was still alive. Even some woman came to see him, whose sight had been obscured by the night of a long-lasting blindness, and asked for his help. He first prayed to God, then made the sign of the holy cross over her eyes and immediately she was granted the gift of light. No one should doubt any of the holy man’s miracles recounted above, for his way of life was indeed such that it fully deserved to be made conspicuous by such miracles. 9 After God’s clemency had proclaimed the merits of its worthy servant by means of many other benefactions, which I have omitted, the reputation of his sanctity finally also reached the ears of Břetislav of worthy memory, the duke of the country.12 He rejoiced, together with his nobles, with such immense exultation as it is hard to even imagine and he gladly commended himself to Procopius’ prayers. And then the said duke and the foremost of his courtiers took to calling him father, and not only in words, but they were indeed eager to show him, quite appropriately, the affection and the respect due to a father. Then the same duke deliberated with his chieftains and took a magnanimous decision, guided by his keen intelligence and by his wise and discriminating counsel; he decreed that Procopius should be

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abbacie investituram debere promoveri decrevit, quedam cenobiali usui necessaria decenter coaptans, quedam pollicens, que tamen decenter conplevit. 10 Ille vero sese ceteris preferre pertimescens, summo mansuetudinis humilitatisque emolimento omnino recusabat, semet asserens inperitum hominem et indignum operam obediencie minime subiectis inpendere valere, Deum, qui omnium occultorum solus cognitor est,13 intime sue inspeccionis testem preponens. Qui tamen omni temperamento precum omnique dileccionis ammonicione atque affabilitate optimatum victus, violenter abbas ordinatur, in quo apertissime postmodum gracia sancti Spiritus requievit. Hic denique virtutum firma fundatus soliditate, humilitatis quoque ac caritatis constanti excellencia stabilitus, tam hylaris et affeccione benivolencie continens extitit, ut a subiectis sibi plus amori haberetur quam timori, quibus tam publice quam singillatim salutaria ministrare monita multaque exemplis priscorum dogmata pigmentata non desistebat. In tempore siquidem suo omnium rerum opulencia non defuit, qui tamen exercicio laboris manuum suarum sustentabatur et pauperum inopiam refocillabat, atque in tristicia positorum curam subportans cunctorum, eos, uti prudens medicus infirmos antidoto, paterno solacio recreabat. Qui dum igitur tam beatam vitam et illustrem duxit, virtutum signis in templo Dei14 ceu sol usque ad consumacionem vite15 refulsit, quin ymmo sancti Pneumatis instinctu prophecie misterio claruit, presagus futurorum.

Cf. Dan. 13:42 (deus aeterne, qui absconditorum es cognitor). Cf. Sir. 50:7 (quasi sol refulgens sic ille effulsit in templo dei). 15 Sir. 47:12. 13 14

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promoted and invested as abbot, granting him an appropriate endowment of some things necessary for the monastery and promising some others, which he later duly delivered. 10 Procopius, however, fearing that he would be placed above and in charge of the others, would hear none of this, as it was only to be expected from a man endowed with such extreme meekness and humility. He protested that he was unskilled and unworthy, the least capable to enforce upon others the task of obedience; and to all this self-scrutiny he took God as his witness, who alone knows all the hidden things.13 In the end, prevailed upon by the nobles, who spared no persuasive prayer, no appeal to compassionate love, no affable entreaty in the process, he was ordained abbot against his will. After that, the grace of the Holy Ghost rested upon him for all to see. From then onwards, standing steadfast on the strong foundation of his virtues and strengthened even more by his constant and outstanding sense of humility and compassion, he became so amiable and his behavior was so much governed by affection and kindness, that those subject to his authority loved him more than they feared him. To these he would always impart, both in public and in private, many profitable admonitions and many teachings, peppered with exemplary stories of the ancients. To tell the truth, in his days everything was in abundance, although he always sustained himself through the labor of his own hands and always relieved the suffering of the poor and, taking great care of all who were afflicted, always restored their forces with paternal care, just as a wise doctor [heals] with his medicine those in suffering. All in all, all throughout his blessed and illustrious life, he was like the sun shining in the temple of God 14 through his miracles even to the end of his life.15 What is more, inspired by the Holy Ghost, he also distinguished himself through the charismatic gift of prophecy, foretelling the things to come.

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11 Ante biduum siquidem sue terminacionem resolucionis,16 revelante divinitatis gracia, prescivit. Qui accersito bone qualitatis nepote Vito et filio suo pie indolis Emmerammo, seriatim exposuit eis futura, sicuti et postea rei conprobavit successus, singultuose tali verbi nobilitate inquiens: “Karissimi mei filioli, quos utpote gallina pullos17 educavi, perpendite, quia tempus mee resolucionis18 adest. Tercia certissime die, Domino annuente, de huius carnis tabernaculo migrabo, vos commendans Deo. Sed vestre circumspeccioni innotesco, quia post discessum meum fluctivagarum detraccionum varietate inpetuosa ac pestifero persecucionum quassabimini naufragio atque extorres efficiemini sex annis in terra aliena et iste locus potestativa manu ducis tradetur possibilitati alienigenarum. Vos autem, dilectissimi filioli, idcirco nolite a fide naufragare19; fratres vestros confirmate,20 Deum expedibiliter laudate, in prosperis benedicite, in adversis supplicate, in letis gracias agite, in tristibus querite eventibus, cuius pietatis munificencia tandem consolabimini. Nam revolutis sex annis exilii, vestri misertus, tranquillitatis reparabit vobis statum ac detractoribus vestris talionem merito reddet vosque ad portum consolacionis reducet. Defuncto namque presente principe pio Bracizlao, succedet Zpitigneus,21 qui vos persequetur. Quo mortuo, Wratizlaus22 regimen principatus Bohemie suscipiet, vir timoratus, benivolus. Hic reducet vos de exilio, et dabit vobis Iesus Cristus, Dominus noster, in loco isto pacem et securitatem omnibus diebus vite vestre, amen.”

18 19 20 21 22 16 17

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Cf. 2 Tim. 4:6 (tempus meae resolutionis instat). Cf. Matt. 23:27. 2 Tim. 4:6. Cf. 1 Tim. 1:19 (circa fidem naufragaverunt). Cf. Luke 22:32 (confirma fratres). Spytihněv II, Duke of Bohemia (1055–1061). Vratislav II, Duke of Bohemia (1061–1085), King of Bohemia (1085–1092).

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11 In fact, two days before the time appointed for his dissolution,16 the foreknowledge about his end had already been revealed to him by divine grace. Summoning his nephew Vitus, a man of fine quality, and his own son Emmeram, a man of pious disposition, he revealed to them the things to come one by one (and this was confirmed afterwards by what actually came to pass). Sighing deeply, he spoke to them these dignified words: “My beloved children, whom I have brought up just as the hen its chickens,17 take care, for the time of my dissolution is at hand!18 I am quite certain; three days from now, with God’s approval, I will migrate from my bodily abode, leaving you in God’s care. But I will reveal this to you and you be on your guard: after my departure, disparagement of all kinds will fall upon you with force like that of mighty waves, you will be shipwrecked in a deadly storm of persecution and washed ashore in a foreign land, where you will spend six years in exile, while the oppressive hand of the duke will give this place away into the power of foreigners. You, however, my beloved children, do not let your faith be shipwrecked19 by all this! Strengthen your brothers,20 praise God without restraint, bless Him in prosperity, invoke Him in adversity, thank Him in times of joy, seek Him in times of sorrow, for His bountiful grace will comfort you in the end. Indeed, once the six years of your exile will have passed, taking pity on you, He will restore you once more to a peaceful condition and will repay your detractors as they deserve, eye for an eye, while you He will guide to the safe haven of His consolation. You see, after the death of the pious prince Břetislav who now rules, he will be followed by Spytihněv,21 who will persecute you. After his death, Vratislav,22 a God-fearing, kind man, will become the supreme ruler of Bohemia. He will bring you back from your exile, and Jesus Christ will grant you peace and security in this place throughout all the days of your life, amen!”

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12 Sequenti igitur die intravit ad eum quidam pifandus, cuius iam per septimanam inopiam benigne more solito refocillarat, inpetrans licenciam abeundi ad propria. Cui sanctus pater, dum nil, quod ei caritatis obtentu tribueret, haberet, ayt ei hylari vultu: “Non te, karissime, pigeat, obsecro, differre, quia dies Domini, advenire quam prestolor, crastinabit, et post obitum meum tunica mea tibi dabitur.” 13 Labente igitur die sequenti, dum finita canonice vespertinali sinaxi et conpletorio, resideret in lectulo, infirmitate vehementi correptus est. Qui in articulo mortis positus, quamquam ultimum anhelitum traheret, tamen antiquum hostem23 oracionis mucrone, brachio viriliter extenso, iaculari non cessabat. Adesse extimplo fratres iubet, quos in meroris affliccionem fletumque inconsolabilem conversos, paterne informacione consolacionis corroborat, commonensque eos de corpore suo, VIIIo Kalendas Aprilis anno ab incarnacione Domini Mo L IIIo de mundi huius naufragio migravit ad Dominum, de servicio ad regnum, de labore ad requiem, de morte ad vitam sempiternam, prestante Domino nostro Iesu Cristo, qui in Trinitate perfecta vivit et gloriatur, Deus unus per infinita secula seculorum, amen. Affuit denique Severus, Pragensis ecclesie episcopus, exsequiis sepulture eius, qui honorifice corpus eius in ecclesia sancte Dei genitricis, quam ipse construxerat, sepelivit. 14 In hora quippe sepulture eius quidam palpo querula voce clamavit, dicens: “O pie pater, o pie Procopi, tua virtus multis multa beneficia aput Deum inpetravit, eciam mei miserere, ut, si non diucius, saltem

A metaphorical designation of the devil which occurs often in Gregory the Great’s Life of St. Benedict (see, for instance, Dial. 2.8.12,13; 2.9; 2.10), and which ultimately goes back to Rev. 12:9 (serpens antiquus qui vocatur diabolus). 23

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12 Then the following day, some beggar, whose needs he had kindly provided for during the previous week, as it was his custom, came in to see him, asking permission to return to his place. The holy father, as he had nothing left to give him as a token of charity, told him with a happy expression on his face: “My dear, I beg you, do not hesitate to stay on a little longer, for tomorrow will come the day of the Lord, which I am awaiting, and after my death you will be given my tunic!” 13 Now, when the following day went by, after completing the service at vespers and the compline as required by the canons, while he was sitting on his bed, he was suddenly seized by a violent illness. On the very doorstep of death, even as he was struggling for his last breath, with his hands stretched out bravely, he never ceased striking the ancient enemy23 with the sword of his prayer. He asked that the brothers should immediately be called for, and when they were all gathered in deep sorrow and shedding inconsolable tears, he encouraged them with paternal words of consolation, leaving instructions as to what should be done with his remains. On the eighth day before the kalends of April, in the year 1053 of the incarnation of our Lord, he migrated to the Lord from amidst the shipwreck of this world, from service to domination, from toil to rest, from death to eternal life, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and is glorified in the perfect Trinity, one God through ages without end, amen! Later on, Severus, the bishop of the church of Prague, attended his burial procession and laid his body to rest with due honor in the church of the Holy Mother of God, which Procopius himself had erected. 14 At the very time of his burial, some blind man started shouting and wailing, saying: “O merciful father, o merciful Procopius, your virtue has earned many people many benefits from God; have mercy

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interim, dum deposicionis tue sancta misteria tractantur, videam!” Hec ut dixit, illico aperti sunt oculi eius et tamdiu visu functus est, quousque sanctissimi corporis gleba decenter humata est. Nunc igitur opere precium esse arbitramur eiusdem sancti patris miracula molli conpendiosaque verbositate tractando foveri ac veridica relacione memorie fidelium caritative tradere, que Domini nostri magnificencia per merita eius post mortem mirificare dignata est. 15 Post discessum igitur beatissimi patris Procopii consors fratrum societas propria voluntate de congregacione Vitum, nepotem eius, elegit, qui electus sine dolo, sine venalitate, ordinatus est, vir in humanis et divinis rebus ydoneus, seculi huius inimicus, inclite morigeratus, sapiencia pervigil, reverendus in vultu, affabilis alloquio, lenitate placabilis. 16 Quo in abbacia expedibiliter degente, Bracizlaus dux ultimum mundo valedixit. Cuius loco Zpitigneus monarchie gubernacula suscepit. Quo tempore sancti patris Procopii vaticinii ordo completur. Instigante namque zelo dyaboli multi emuli, ficticia venenosa detraccionum conspirantes, laqueos cavillacionum in curia ducis contra Vitum abbatem et fratres eius astruere ceperunt atque aures principis favorabiliter conpositis mendaciis obpulsantes, eos multifariis vituperiis publicabant, scilicet dicentes per sclavonicas litteras heresis secta ypocrisisque esse aperte irretitos ac omnino perversos.

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on me too, so that I might see, if not for longer, then at least for a little while, to witness the holy ceremony of your burial!” No sooner had he said this than his eyes were opened and he could enjoy his eyesight for just as long as the saint’s most saintly remains were laid in the grave with due honor. Now I think it worth the while to cherish the miracles of this holy father, recounting them in brief and unadorned words as well as to entrust to the memory of the faithful with great dedication and by means of a truthful account those miracles that, following his death, the magnificence of our Lord has deemed worthy to manifest on account of his merits. 15 After the departure of our most holy father Procopius, the whole community of the brothers elected of its own accord Vitus, his nephew, [as abbot] out of the [entire] congregation. He was elected without fraud and without corruption and was ordained; he was apt in both human and divine affairs, an enemy of this world, famous for his benevolence, endowed with an always quick mind, of venerable appearance, affable in conversation, easy to appease because of his forgiving nature. 16 In the days when he aptly fulfilled his duties as abbot, Duke Břetislav said farewell to this world. He was replaced by Spytihněv, who took the reins of the kingdom. It was at this time that the prophetic words of our holy father Procopius were fulfilled. Indeed, many enemies, spurred on by the devil’s envious machinations, concocted all sorts of venomous and false accusations and started laying the snares of deception at the duke’s court against Vitus the abbot and the brothers. They started bombarding the ruler’s ears with conveniently fabricated lies and kept slandering the brothers with all kinds of malicious accusations; they were saying, for instance, that because of their use of Slavonic letters the monks had clearly slipped into the web of heresy and sectarianism and they had become completely perverted. They

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Quam ob rem eiectis eis, in loco eorum Latine auctoritatis abbatem et fratres constituere omnino esse honestum constanter affirmabant. O invidia, inextricabilis malicie zelus! O invidia, detestanda omnimoda malicia conglobata, ignis inextinguibilis!24 Sed revera, sicut tynea vestimentum consumitur,25 sic is, qui illam zelatur; cui autem invidet, clariorem reddet. Vitus itaque abbas, assumptis fratribus suis, quos unitas caritatis concordaverat, peregre profectus est in terram Hunorum. 17 Dux autem memoratus, propria fautorumque suorum consiliaria diffinicione utens, in loco illo abbatem genere Theutunicum constituit, hominem turbida indignacione plenum. Ubi dum nocte prima adventus sui ex more ad matutinalem synaxim pergens, foribus ecclesie appropinquaret, apparuit vir sanctus Procopius infra ianuam oratorii appodians et dicens ei: “Unde tibi potestas hic degendi? Quid queris?” At ille: “Potestativa,” inquit, “ducis magestas et eius primatum inconvulsa sublimitas mee possibilitatis regimini hoc cenobium usque ad finem vite mee tradidit.” Cui sanctus pater dixit: “Citissime sine confusionis verecundia discede! Quod si non feceris, ulcio divinitus veniet super te.” Et hec dicens, evanuit. At ille, estimans esse delusionem Sathane, omnino nichili pendebat. Qui dum sequenti et tercia nocte minacem eius coammonicionem parvi penderet, quarta nocte apparuit ei ad matutinum obsequium eunti sanctus vir dicens: “Cur meis monitibus amicabilibus obtemperare recusasti? Filiis meis spiritalibus a Domino inpetravi hunc locum, non tibi, qui subplantatim intrasti. Et si a domino tuo tibi duce hec actenus potestas fuit inhibita, a me sit amodo prohibita.” Et hec dicens, inpetuose fortissimis ictibus cambuca, quam manu gestabat, illum ferire cepit. Qui mox, quasi Bellone percussus oestro,26 sine dilacione locum mutavit et volatili Mark 9:44. Cf. Job 13:28 (quasi vestimentum quod comeditur a tinea) and 4:19 (consumetur velut a tinea). 26 Juvenal, Sat. 4.123. 24 25

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then pressed their claim that this should be a very good justification to expel them and settle the monastery instead with an abbot and brothers of Latin observance. O what envy, what unshakable malice and spitefulness! O what envy, what despicable concoction of malice of all sorts, what unquenchable fire!24 Yet, indeed, just as a garment is eaten by moth,25 so it is also with malicious people; whereas they make those whom they envy even more illustrious! So, in the end, Vitus the abbot with the brothers, bound closely together by fraternal love, went into exile to the land of the Huns. 17 The above-mentioned duke, then, on the strength of his own and his supporters’ counsel and decision, established in that place an abbot of German origin, a man seething with violent rage. On the first night after his arrival, while he was going as usual to the morning service, he was approaching the doors of the church when Procopius, our holy man, appeared to him, leaning against the doors of the oratory from within and asked him: “Who gave you the authority to live here? What do you want?” He replied: “The powerful majesty of the duke as well as the firm eminence of his nobles entrusted this monastery to my authoritative guidance until the end of my days!” The holy father said to him: “Go away this instant, as long as the shame of defeat is still not upon you! If you do not, divine vengeance will descend upon you!” And with this he vanished. That man, however, thinking all this to be a satanic trickery, made nothing of it. Since he went on ignoring the saint’s menacing advice the following night and the one after that, on the fourth night the holy man appeared to him as he was on his way to attend the morning service, saying: “Why do you refuse to obey my friendly warnings? It is for my own spiritual sons that I have obtained from the Lord this place, not for you, who came here as an intruder! And if until now you have held such permission by this lord of yours, the duke, from now on I withhold it from you!” And with these words, he started hitting him hard with the crozier in his hand. The abbot soon after that, as if pursued by Bellona’s sting,26 took to flight and, running as

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cursu ad ducem terre pervenit ac omnem rei eventum illi patefecit. At ille attonitus vehementi ammiracione vacillare cepit ac ambiguitatis laqueo irretitus usque ad finem vite sue permansit. 18 Defuncto igitur Zpitigneo duce divinitas fideli servo suo Wratizlao memorali tytulo ducatus gubernaculum tradidit. Qui cum divinum ecclesie diligeret unice cultum, eciam hunc toto cordis affectu locum dilexit. Qui missis legatis Hunorum ad regem, de exilio Vitum abbatem et fratres eius cum honore reduxit et in loco suo decenter restituit. Quibus, per merita et oraciones sancti patroni Procopii, omnipotentis Dei propicia consolacio affuit, que ipsum locum omnium rerum profectibus habundantem redundantemque in pristinum, ymmo in ampliorem honorem enceniavit. 19 Placuit igitur adhuc innotescere contemplative fidelium memorie miraculum. Quidam ergo ex clientela memorati ducis, Labessa nomine, aput dominum suum iniquis detraccionibus omnino erat accusatus. Qui latenter publice finicionis dampnacionem fugiens, volatili cursu ad ripam Sazave fluminis pervenit. Is dum, insecutores timens, aliorsum fugere non valeret et difficultate inundacionis concrete aque fluvii ad cellam sancti viri pervenire minime posset, anceps ex omni parte lugubri cordis contricione clamavit ad Dominum, dicens: “O Deus, Deus, fons inmense pietatis et misericordie, per merita et oraciones sancti Procopii, electi tui, in adiutorium meum intende et ab inmensitatibus angustiarum, que me circumvallant, eripe, quatenus magnifice clemencie tue et confessori tuo sancto Procopio amodo

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swiftly as he could, he went to the duke of the country and told him everything as it had happened. Now the duke, suddenly struck by amazement, started hesitating and remained caught in the snares of incertitude right up to the end of his life. 18 Then, upon Duke Spytihněv’s death, the Divinity entrusted the reins of the state to its faithful servant, Duke Vratislav of illustrious memory. He, who held the divine cult of the Church in such regard as no one else, also held this place in the highest regard, cherishing it with the deepest affection of his heart. He sent messengers to the king of the Huns, brought back from their exile abbot Vitus and the brothers with him with all honor and reinstated them, as it was only befitting, in their place. Through the merits and the prayers of their holy patron Procopius, God extended upon them His kind solace and inaugurated a new era of prosperity for that place, granting it for the future a full measure of revenues of all kinds, and even beyond all measure, as well as giving it once again pride of place and even more than that. 19 In addition to all this, I found it appropriate to bring before the faithful even the following miracle, to be remembered and thought about. A certain man from the entourage of the said duke, Labessa by name, was being charged before his lord with all kinds of unjust accusations. Trying to escape condemnation in a public trial, he ran away in secret as swiftly as he could and came to the banks of the river Sázava. There, unable to turn back for fear of his pursuers and with no means at all to reach the cell of our holy man because the river was in full flood and the waters very high, he cried out to the Lord, his heart contrite and anxious as no way of escape was in sight: “O God, o God, the ever-running fount of mercy and compassion, come to my help for the sake of the merits and the prayers of Saint Procopius, your elect, and deliver me from the countless troubles that surround me, so that from now on and until the end of my life I would never tire of bringing the tribute of my prayers to

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et usque in finem vite mee vota laudum indefessus omni tempore offeram, qui es benedictus in secula seculorum, amen.” Tunc quippe tempore estatis sol in Leone vigebat. Cum ergo suspirando, tenens sonipedem per frenum, reflexis obtutibus circumspiceret, perspicacius intuens, conspexit aquam fluminis omnino congelatam. Unde attonitus et quasi in extasi amens effectus secum deliberat tractando, quid significet tam grande miraculum et inauditum et retro seculis invisum. Qui tandem mente concipiens, intellexit divinitatis misericordiam ob meritum egisse sancti patris Procopii hanc tanti miraculi virtutem. Ac in fide nichil hesitans, post tergum cornipedem ducens, siccis vestigiis flumen transiit. Qui mox, retro luminibus reflexis, aquam solito fluere intuetur. O Iesu bone, quam magnificata sunt hoc opera tue magnificencie, qui antiquitatis potenter eciam nunc per merita sancti tui declaras mirabilia! Tu enim quondam, ut Israelitico populo mari Rubro diviso iter siccum concessisti,27 ita et huic homini electi tui Procopii obtentu siccis vestigiis undas concretarum aquarum sine iactura cum equo transire tribuisti. Tibi ergo benediccio et gloria omnifaria et graciarum actio cum Patre et sancto Pneumate per omnia secula seculorum, amen. 20 Aliud eciam miraculum fidelium condescensioni promulgare dignum duximus. Uxor cuiusdam officialis gravibus infirmitatibus correpta deficiebat. Huic sanctus pater apparuit, dicens: “Mitte festinanter ad abbatem Sazavensem Vitum, nepotem meum, et postula, quatinus te in infirmitate tua visitet. Qui si languore proprio ingravescente venire non valebit, mittat pro se filium meum Emmerammum, cenobii sui fratrem. Hic dum, manum tuam tenens, oracionem terminaverit, sospitatis pignus extimplo percipies.”

27

Cf. Exod. 14:16 (ut gradiantur filii Israel in medio mari per siccum).

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your magnanimous clemency and to your holy confessor Procopius, to you, who are blessed for ever and ever, amen!” Now, you see, this was happening in the middle of the summer, when the Sun was burning with full strength in the sign of the Lion. Next, when the man, holding the reins of his horse and sighing deeply, turned back his gaze and looked intently, he saw that the waters of the river were frozen stiff. Dazed by this and almost besides himself with amazement, he stood there wondering what this great miracle could mean, the likes of which had not been heard or seen ever before. Finally, when he could gather his wits, he understood that divine mercy had performed such a wondrous miracle on account of the merits of our holy father Procopius. And no longer wavering in his faith, leading his horse behind him, he crossed the river without a single drop touching his feet. Soon after, looking back, he saw the water once more flowing normally. O, good Jesus, how magnificent are the deeds of your kindness, which, revealed so powerfully in the old times, are being manifested miraculously even in our days through the merit of your saint! It was you who once, parting the Red Sea, allowed the Israelites to cross it as if on dry land27; in the same way, through the intercession of Procopius, your elect, you have also granted to this man to cross with his horse over a solid expanse of water without any injury and without a single drop touching his feet! To you, then, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost, [we render] blessings and all glory and grace, for ever and ever, amen! 20 There is another miracle that I have considered worth presenting here so as to benefit the faithful. The wife of some official was languishing away under the burden of serious illnesses. The holy father appeared to her, saying: “Send right away to my nephew Vitus, the abbot of Sázava, and ask him to visit you at the time of your weakness. If, prevented by his own declining health, he should be unable to come, let him send my son Emmeram instead, also a monk at that monastery! As soon as he will have said a prayer, holding your hand, you will be granted the gift of sound health.”

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Hec itaque promissa efficaciter inpleta sunt. Nam Emmerammus vice Viti abbatis cum conplesset oracionem visitacionis ac manum languentis tenuisset, mox omnium membrorum ipsa sanitatem recepit ad laudem et gloriam magnificencie Dei omnipotentis, qui mira beneficia per merita sancti Procopii, confessoris sui, operatur. 21 Et aliud signum memorie intimandum referimus. Quidam opilio in eiusdem abbacie territorio tunicam hospitis sui clepserat. Qua cum post aliquot dies indutum eum hospes inveniret et sub testimonio vicinorum argumentosa racione exueret, misit funem in collum eius ac manibus post tergum vinctis sine dilacione illum ad iudices Curimenses trahere cepit. Abbas vero Vitus, ut audivit, misit nuncium, interpellans pro culpabili. Accusator autem rennuit peticiones eius dicens se publice vindicte sentenciam subire, si reum sine iudicii communis discussione inpunem dimitteret. Qui tamen reduxit vinctum ad propriam domum et arto inmensoque pedem eius cyppo sarcinavit ac noctu, adhibitis custodibus, inclusum custodiebat, voluntatem, ulcionis ira instigante, conplere cupiens in crastino. Qui vinctus incessanter auxilia sancti patris inplorare singultuosis suspiriis cepit. Nocte igitur media, dum custodum oculi letalis dormicionis violencia opprimerentur, apparuit in luminis claritate vir veneranda canicie, vultu decorus, habitu monachico, infulatus, cambucam in manu tenens, qui dixit vincto: “Assum ad suffragium tuum! Vocasti namque me!” Et ut tetigit cyppum cambuca, dicens: “Sis liberatus ab hoc trunco et iam amplius noli peccare!”, tanta celeritate fractus est, ut mox prosiliens media pars eius podium domus hostii confringeret. Sed qui apparuerat, evanuit. Ille autem manibus et pedibus enodatis, quasi passer ereptus de laqueo,28 in-

Cf. Ps. 123:7 (anima nostra sicut passer erepta est de laqueo venantium).

28

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This promise of his to her was indeed fulfilled; as soon as Emmeram, who came to look upon her instead of abbot Vitus, holding the hand of the ailing woman, finished his prayer, health was restored to all her limbs to the praise and the glory of merciful God Almighty, who works such beneficial miracles on account of the merits of his confessor, saint Procopius. 21 I add yet another miracle worthy to be remembered. In the region of his monastery, some shepherd stole a garment from his master. Some days later, his master found him wearing it and forced him to take it off, calling on some of the neighbors to witness this. Then he tied a rope around his neck, bound his hands behind his back, and without any further delay, started dragging him off to the judges in Kouřim. As soon as abbot Vitus heard of this, he sent someone to intercede on behalf of the guilty man. His accuser, however, rejected all his appeals, saying he would suffer himself the condemnation and the ire of everyone if he were to dismiss the guilty man without a public trial and without any punishment. In the end, he took the man back to his home, bound his feet in heavy wooden fetters, and locked him up under guard for the night, wishing to have his way and fulfill his desire for revenge the next day. The prisoner started imploring our holy father to help him, sighing and crying profusely. Then, around midnight, while a death-like sleep was bearing down heavily upon the eyelids of the guards, an imposing gray-haired figure of pleasant appearance was seen in a halo of bright light wearing the monastic habit, a miter on his head and a crozier in his hand. He told the prisoner: “Here I am to help you! You called for me, didn’t you?” He then touched the fetters with his crozier and said: “I hereby free you from these wooden fetters, but sin no more from now on!” The wooden fetters split to pieces so violently that the middle part, flying out, burst through the door of the house. By then, however, the apparition was gone without a trace. The man, his hands and feet untied, just like a sparrow which was delivered from the snare of the fowler,28 started

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mensis pietatis Dei laudibus viscera glorie Dei extollit, custodibus pavefactis. Cuius accusator ea in causa deinceps nullus extitit. 22 Aliud rursum divine efficacie beneficium notificamus. Quidam vir, Martinus nomine, proposito conversus, timens Deum cellula propria secus sepe dictum cenobium degebat. Quo quadam nocte ex more ad matutinalis vigiliam synaxis propere discendente, fures, fractis foribus cellule eius, omnem supellectilem abstulerunt. Peracto igitur matutinali officio ille cum rediret et res, quas dimiserat, in cellula minime inveniret, lugens et contristatus ad sepulcrum sancti viri cucurrit et flexis poplitibus infortunium imminens eiulans conqueri cepit, dicens: “Nisi, o pater venerande, tui obtentu meriti michi, alumpno tuo sub regiminis tui virga a puero enutrito, recuperacionis supellectilis solamen reddetur, et locum hunc in desperacione mutabo et in alio numquam stabilibor, in tocius vite mee cursu desperans!” Qui dum tandem lugubris ad ergastulum rediret, illico fures visione Dei territi ei obviant, qui, penitencia ducti, restituerunt cuncta, que rapuerant. Qui dum vixit, vota laudum Deo solvere non cessavit, qui tanta beneficia per confessorem suum prestat. 23 Quedam eciam sorores penes id ipsum monasterium sub iugo Cristi expedibiliter degebant, quarum totas res usuales fures noctu rapuerunt. De quo eventu cum ipse singultu intimo cordis invicem verbis querulis ingemiscerent, sancti patris Procopii adiumenti solamen efflagitantes, sequenti nocte eis idem sanctus apparuit, inquiens: “Nolite mesticiam gestare in cordibus vestris, quia post

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glorifying God and His compassion and poured out lavish words of praise from the bottom of his heart, to the great dismay of his guards. No one ever dared renew the accusations against him. 22 Again, I bring notice of another beneficial display of God’s charitable actions. Some man named Martinus, a conversus by his choice of life, was dwelling in fear of God in his own cell near the often-mentioned monastery. One night, as he was hurrying as usual to the vigil of the morning service, some thieves broke into his cell and took away all his belongings. Once the morning service was over, he returned to his cell only to find that all his things were gone. Greatly saddened and with tears in his eyes, he went right away to the holy man’s grave and, down on his knees, he started lamenting over his recent misfortune, wailing and saying: “O venerable father, unless I receive, by your intercession, the comfort of seeing my things returned to me, in my despair I, your pupil, educated from childhood under your care and authority, will not only move away from this place, but I will not settle down again anywhere else, abandoning myself to despair for all the rest of my life!” As he was finally returning, sorrowful, to his cell, he was met on the way by the thieves, who, terrified by a divine apparition and driven by repentance, gave him back all that they had taken from him. As long as he lived, he never ceased to bring the tribute of his praise to God, who grants such benefactions through his confessor. 23 There were even some sisters who were leading a spiritually profitable life under the yoke of Christ close to this said monastery; one night thieves stole all their belongings. As they complained to each other about this, with deep sighs drawn from the bottom of their hearts and sorrowful words, begging our holy father Procopius for help and comfort, the saint himself appeared to them the following night, saying: “Do not allow sorrow to grow in your hearts, for two days from now you will get all your things back!” And with this he

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biduum omnia vestra rehabebitis!” Et hec dicens, evanuit. Igitur huius promissi effectus mox inpletur. Nam et fur adductus est ad eas captivus et res eis sunt restitute. 24 Eciam aliud prodigium proferimus in conspectu fidelium. Apparuit idem sanctus cuidam muliercule in urbe, que Wyssegrad nuncupatur, dormienti, inquiens: “Surge et vade cum festinacione et dic uxori Goztonis amice tue: ‘Vade ad monasterium, quod Zazava dicitur, properanter et ibi commenda te oracionibus unius de fratribus et age penitenciam de peccatis perpetratis, que te ad interniciem deducent, si ita non feceris’.” 25 Liburni cuiusdam coniux instinctu zelotipie Babilonici regis caminum29 mentis succedentis in amorem cuiusdam iuvenis exarsit, cum quo et rebus mariti sui raptis furtim aufugit. Quam apprehensam maritus suus multis verberibus attrectavit ac demum, inmenso cyppo eius pede artato, custodie mancipavit. Que noctu longa suspiria, reumatizatis oculis inundantibus lacrimis, trahens, cepit sancti patris suffragia toto anhelitu usque quaque inplorare, promittens sese ultra nolle taliter peccare, donec sanctus pater apparuit, dicens: “Liberata sis ab hoc cyppo, sed cave, ut promittis, ne pecces, ne deterius tibi eveniat!” 26 Videtur eciam aliud prodigium huic operi necessario inserendum. Mulier quedam nube quatuor annis cecitatis occupata ac omnium fere membrorum officio carens, venit ad monasterium sancti viri, ubi ieiuniis et oracionibus indefessa cum diu perseverasset, in die preclare dominice Nativitatis infra sacra missarum sollempnia in ecclesia vivifice Crucis ei lumen oculorum et sospitatem mem-

A hint to the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, where the three condemned Jewish friends of Daniel should have been burnt to death but miraculously survived. Dan. 3. 29

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vanished. Then the words of his promise were soon fulfilled; not only was the thief himself caught and brought to them, but they also got their things back. 24 I bring yet another miracle before the attention of the faithful. The same saint appeared to some little woman in the city called Vyšehrad while she was sleeping, and said: “Get up, go immediately and say to your friend, Gost’s wife: ‘Go right away to the monastery called Sázava and there entrust yourself to the prayers of one of the brothers and make penance for the sins you committed, for they will be the death of you, if you do not do so!’” The wife of some man named Liburnus, driven by desire, her mind inflamed like the furnace of the King of Babylon,29 was consumed by a burning passion for some young man with whom in the end she eloped after stealing her husband’s property. When her husband caught her, he gave her a sound beating and then, with her feet bound in huge wooden fetters, he placed her under guard. At night, with floods of tears in her eyes and sighing deeply, she started begging the holy father for his help with every single breath she took, promising him that she would never again commit such a sin until, in the end the holy father appeared to her, saying: “I’ll free you from these wooden fetters, but take care and keep your promise not to sin anymore, lest even worse things should happen to you!” 26 It seems necessary to insert here one more miracle profitable to this work. Some woman, whom blindness had enveloped for four years in its dark shadows and who was deprived of the use of almost all her limbs, came to the monastery of the holy man. She spent there a long time fasting and praying hard and then, on the day of the most glorious Sunday of the Nativity, in the church of the life-giving Cross, while mass was being said, the Divinity restored her eyesight and the

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brorum per sanctum patrem Procopium concessit divinitas; que inestimabili gaudio repleta, tamquam e mortis umbra prodiens, clamabat, dicens: “O Procopi sancte, o Procopi sancte!” Quam cum populus presens attonitus, quid ei accidisset, inquireret, referebat, quod idem sanctus pater venisset eiusque oculos signo sancte crucis signasset et extimplo visum et sanitatem corporis recepisset. Unde mox in unum coadunatur populus, laudans et glorificans Deum, qui taliter glorificat sanctum suum confessorem. Perpendere igitur debemus, cuius honoris gloria idem sanctus fulgeat in celo, per quem tot miracula Deus choruscare facit in terra, qui est benedictus et gloriosus et superexaltatus in secula seculorum,30 amen. Additamentum 27 Igitur hiis et aliis beati patris quam plurimis miraculis clarescentibus et ad episcoporum et omnium prelatorum ducumque ac baronum, nobilium et ignobilium noticiam venientibus, que fiebant circa tumbam ipsius in ecclesia sancti Iohannis Baptiste infra spacium multorum annorum, nemine tamen ad hoc subsidium ferente, ut gleba sanctissimi corporis sollempniter canonizaretur, sed qui suis meritis per divinitatis graciam hec insignia operabatur, providit et suo corpori glorificacionem. Nam dominice incarnacionis anno millesimo ducentesimo tercio apparens abbati, Blasio nomine, provisori et rectori fratrum suorum, monuit et percepit primo, secundo et tercio, quatinus, recepto testimonio omnium spiritalium et secularium virorum, conscriptis miraculis, que ipse operatus fuerat ibidem, quantocius ad curiam Romanam properaret pro corporis sui canonizacione,31 promittens auxilium, si deesset consilium aput apostolicum, corpori suo ad honorem. Dan. 3:52. On Procopius’ canonization procedure, see Petr Kubín, “Kanonisation des heiligen Prokop im Jahre 1204,” in Der heilige Prokop, Böhmen und Mitteleuropa, ed. Petr Sommer (Prague: Filosofia, 2006), 109–24.

30 31

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health of her limbs through our holy father Procopius. Filled with boundless joy, as if returning from the shadow of death, she started crying out and saying: “O saint Procopius, o saint Procopius!” When the people who were there, filled with amazement, began asking her what had happened, she started saying that the holy father himself had come, had made the sign of the holy cross over her eyes, and her health and her eyesight had been restored on the spot. Hearing this, the people immediately gathered together, praising and glorifying God, who glorified his holy confessor in this way. We should consider how brilliant the glory and the honor of our saint are in heaven if through him God causes so many miracles to shine forth on earth, God who is blessed and glorified and exalted above all for ever30 and ever, amen! Appendix 27 Then, these and many other miracles of our holy father kept shining forth and it came to the knowledge of the bishops and of all the prelates, of the dukes and the barons, of the nobles and the less noble what things had been happening around his tomb in the church of St. John the Baptist for many years. Yet no one did anything so that the mortal remains of his body could be officially canonized. Nevertheless, it was he himself, the one who was working these wondrous miracles through his merits and by divine grace, who provided for the glorification of his bodily remains. Indeed, in the year one thousand two hundred and three of the Lord’s incarnation, he appeared to the abbot named Blasius, the caretaker and ruler of his brothers, and he advised and requested him once, twice, and then a third time as well, that he should gather testimonies from all the religious and secular people, write down the miracles which he had performed in that place, and hasten to Rome as soon as possible in order to have his bodily remains canonized.31 He promised help in case the Pope’s decision would not be forthcoming, all for the sake of honoring his bodily remains.

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Qui abbas Blasius, iunctis sibi duobus fratribus, testimonio sufficienti terrigenarum fretus, dominum papam Innocencium tercium32 est aggressus; cui cum totum negocium beati Procopii proposuisset sub attestacione litterarum, papa vero pro nichilo ducens dicta et scripta, parvipendit tanti viri sanctitatem. Abbas vero multas ammoniciones faciens pro negocio sibi commisso, unum annum continuavit ibidem. Et cum iam deficeret in expensis nec quidquam proficeret, adoratis apostolorum liminibus, beato Procopio suum negocium ulterius terminare commisit. Et surgens eadem nocte clam recedere cepit. Quid mora? Statim vir beatus, ut promiserat, venit ad auxilium. Nam eadem hora, qua abbas Blasius extra menia civitatis declinabat, iste sanctus pater, in conclavi pape Innocencio apparens cum virga pastorali, ait: “Quid hesitasti? Quid moram fecisti? Quam diu corpus meum sic humatum iacere permisisti? Quare capellanum meum sic vacuum abire permisisti? Nisi cito ipsum per viam euntem ad sanctum Laurencium extra muros civitatis redire iusseris et testimonio corporis mei annueris debitumque honorem michi inpenderis,” elevans virgam pastoralem, ait, “sic fodiendo te perfodiam.” Expergefactus autem apostolicus, quis vel qualis esset aut quomodo vocaretur, quasi semiviva voce interogavit. Cui vir Dei respondit: “Procopius vocor!” et disparuit.33 Apostolicus vero surgens, convocatis cardinalibus, qui presentes fuerant, numero tredecim, quorum nomina in privilegio eiusdem apostolici sunt inpressa, statim abbatem revocavit et testimonio attencius perspecto, missam celebravit beato patri nostro Procopio. Pope Innocent III (1198–1216) was the pope who made canonization processes obligatory and reserved the right to the popes to pronounce the sainthood of a candidate. Cf. André Vauchez, Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 22–57. 33 On the dreams of the popes influencing their decisions on canonizations, see Michael Goodich, “Reason or Revelation? The Criteria for the Proof and Credibility of Miracles in the Canonization Processes,” in Procès de canonisation au Moyen Âge: Aspects juridiques et religieux / Medieval Canonization Processes: Legal and Religious Aspects, ed. by Gábor Klaniczay (Rome: École française de Rome, 2004), 181–97. 32

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Abbot Blasius together with two brothers, relying on the sufficient testimonies of his countrymen, approached our lord Pope Innocent III.32 After he presented to him the entire case of St. Procopius on the strength of the written documents, the Pope, nevertheless, showed little regard for the sanctity of this great man, brushing aside both words and written documents as worthless. Still, the abbot went on with his interventions in the interest of the case entrusted to him and remained there for an entire year. And when he started running short of cash, as there was still no result in sight, he paid his respect to the churches of the Apostles and left it to Saint Procopius to bring his case to a closure in the future. And the same night he got up and, in secret, started his journey back home. To cut a long story short, the holy man came to the rescue right away, as he had promised. Indeed, at the same time as abbot Blasius was leaving behind the walls of the city, this holy father appeared in secret to Pope Innocent, holding his pastoral staff, and said: “Why have you doubted? Why have you procrastinated? How long will you still allow my body to remain buried like this? Why have you permitted my chaplain to go away like this, empty-handed? If you do not send for him this instant asking him to come back (you will find him on his way near the church of St. Lawrence outside the walls of the city!), and if you do not accept the testimony of my relics, and if you do not show me the honor due to me, I will strike you with this,” he said lifting his pastoral staff, “and strike you down!” The apostolic father, waking up barely alive, asked him in a faint voice who he was and what his name was. The man of God replied: “My name is Procopius!” and vanished.33 Now the apostolic father got up, convoked the cardinals who happened to be there (thirteen in all) and whose names are listed in the canonization document issued by the same Pope, immediately sent for the abbot and, examining his testimony with greater care, he celebrated a solemn mass in the honor of our holy father Procopius.

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Deinde, data auctoritate cum privilegiorum suorum robore, misit Gwidonem, sancte Marie trans Tiberim sancti Calixti presbiterum et cardinalem, legatum a latere suo, ut corpus beati viri sollempnizatum canonizaretur.34 Hec autem canonizacio acta est anno Domini millesimo ducentesimo quarto, quarto nonas Iulii.35 28 In hac vero canonizacione multa Deus sue potencie mira et stupenda ostendit. Nam multi ceci illuminati, leprosi mundati, infirmi sanati, obsessi liberati, captivi soluti, surdi auditui redditi, muti loquelam adepti ac ceteri morbidi curati sunt per merita sancti patris Procopii. Cum vero tumba ipsius aperiretur, odor suavissimus inde emanavit, ut omnes, qui aderant, in stuporem et ammiracionem verterentur. Predictus autem Gwido cardinalis, visis hiis miraculis et eis conscriptis, monasterium ipsum in plurimis exaltavit, videlicet indulgenciam conferendo; apparatum eciam suum, in quo missam cantaverat, pro memoriali relinquens, episcopis, qui presentes fuerant, predictum locum commendans, ad matrem mundi, videlicet Romam, est regressus.

August Potthast, Regesta Pontificium Romanorum, I. (Berlin: Berolini, 1874), 195, 494. 35 July 4, 1204. 34

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Then he sent Guido of Santa Maria Trastevere, priest and cardinal of the church of St. Callixtus, as a legate on his behalf, giving him the authority confirmed by his official canonization privilege, in order to have the bodily remains of the holy man solemnly canonized.34 And this canonization took place in the year of the Lord one thousand two hundred four, on the fourth day before the Nones of July.35 28 During this canonization God revealed many miraculous and amazing signs of his power. You see, many blind people got back their eyesight, many lepers were cleansed, many crippled people healed, many who were possessed liberated, many prisoners freed, many deaf people made to hear once more, many dumb people made to speak again and many others who were suffering were healed through the merits of our holy father Procopius. As they were opening his tomb, a most pleasant odor rose from it, so that all those present were amazed and awestruck. The above mentioned cardinal Guido, having witnessed these miracles with his own eyes, had them written down and showed particular favor to the monastery, that is, by granting it an indulgence. He even made a gift of his own solemn apparel, namely, the vestments in which he had said mass, so as to be remembered and, recommending the said monastery to the bishops who had taken part in the ceremonies, returned to Rome, the mother of the universe.

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SAINT LADISLAUS OF HUNGARY

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PREFACE Gábor Klaniczay Saint Ladislaus (c. 1040, r. 1077–1095) was characterized in the Chronicle of the Deeds of the Hungarians with the following words: “All of his subjects called him, instead of his own name, ‘the pious king.’ Not in word and name, but in truth and deed was he victorious and honored, famous and august; for he augmented the state of Hungary.”1 His reign is considered a major step in consolidating the Christian monarchy of Hungary, the most important act after its foundation by St. Stephen.2 As a recognition of his merits, he was canonized a century after his death in 1192, on the initiative of King Béla III (1172–1196).3 Chron Pict. 247. On his reign, see György Györffy, “A lovagszent uralkodása (1077–1095)” [The reign of the knight-saint], Történelmi Szemle 20 (1977): 533–64; László Veszprémy, “King St. Ladislas, Chronicles, Legends and Miracles,” Saeculum Christianum 25 (2018): 140–63; András Bódvai, ed., Szent László Emlékkönyv [Memorial book on St. Ladislaus] (Budapest: Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt., 2021). 3 Terézia Kerny, “László király szentté avatása és kultuszának kibontakozása (1095–1301)” [The canonization of King Ladislaus and the unfolding of his cult (1095–1301)], in Ősök, táltosok, szentek: Tanulmányok a honfoglaláskor és Árpád-kor folklórjából [Ancestors, táltos and saints: Studies in the folklore of the time of the “Conquest” and the age of the Arpads], ed. Éva Pócs and Vilmos Voigt (Budapest: MTA Néprajzi Kutatóintézete, 1998), 175–78; Gábor Klaniczay, Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 184–87; idem, “A Szent László-kultusz kialakulása” [The formation of the cult of St. Ladislaus], in Nagyvárad és Bihar a korai középkorban: Tanulmányok Biharország történetéről 1., ed. Attila Zsoldos (Nagyvárad: Varadinum, 2014), 16–21; László Solymosi, “Szent László király sírja, kultusza és szentté avatása” [The tomb of St. Ladislas, his cult and his canonization], in Szent király, lovagkirály: A Szent László-herma és a koponyaereklye vizsgálatai [Holy king, knight king. The examination of the Saint Ladislaus reliquary and the head relic], ed. Lilla Alida Kristóf, Zoltán Lukácsi, and Lajos Patonay (Győr: Győri Hittudományi Főiskola, 2011), 16–41; Gábor Thoroczkay, “László király szentté avatása” [The canonization of Saint Ladislaus], in idem, Ismeretlen Árpád-kor: Püspökök, legendák, krónikák [Unknown Arpadian age: Bishops, legends, chronicles] (Budapest: L’Harmattan, 2016), 119–28; Veszprémy, “King St. Ladislas,” 142. 1 2

[ 407 ]

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The legend of St. Ladislaus is preserved in two versions, shorter and longer variants, with identical texts for the most part. The first hypothesis to explain the relationship of the two versions could be that either the former is an abbreviated version of the latter, or, inversely, the latter enlarged the text of the former with additional elements. Through careful philological analysis of the differing paragraphs, however, the editor, Emma Bartoniek, demonstrated that the differences of neither version could be deduced from the other; she suggested that both versions may have relied independently on an original legend no longer preserved, probably written for the canonization.4 This interpretation has been refined further by Kornél Szovák,5 who suggests that the author of the shorter version, the “Minor Legend,” could have extended the text of the presumed original around 1204,6 and subsequently, around 1217, another author using this same lost text, which preserved more of the original version, prepared a longer version with different additional elements, which could be called the “Major Legend.” 7 The edition here follows Emma Bartoniek’s solution in the Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum. The Major Legend is the basis for the edited text and footnotes or two parallel texts are offered where the Minor Legend has significant variation. The individual texts of the two variants have been edited separately in the more

4 Emma Bartoniek, “Praefatio,” to the “Legenda Sancti Ladislai regis,” in SRH 2, 507–14. 5 Kornél Szovák, “Legenda Sancti Ladislai regis,” in SRH 2, 783–85; idem, “The Image of the Ideal King in Twelfth-Century Hungary (Remarks on the Legend of St. Ladislas),” in Kings and Kingship in Medieval Europe, ed. Anne Duggan and Janet Nelson (London: King’s College London Centre for Late Antique and Medieval Studies, 1994), 241–65; Idem, “Szent László alakja a korai elbeszélő forrásokban” [The figure of St. Ladislaus in the early narrative sources], Századok 134 (2000): 117–45. 6 The twelve manuscripts preserving this version are listed in the most recent critical edition of the variants of the Ladislaus legend: István Hajdú, ed., “Vita sancti Ladislai confessoris regis Hungariae (†1095),” Cahiers de l’Institut du Moyen-Âge Grec et Latin, Université de Copenhague, 77 (2006), 3–83, at 36–39. 7 This version has been preserved in five codices, cf. Hajdú, “Vita sancti Ladislai confessoris,” 45–50.

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recent critical edition by István Hajdú, yet we opted for the version of Bartoniek, current in Hungarian historiography.8 Two further variants of the Ladislaus legend have been discovered more recently. One of them, edited by Adrienne Fodor, is the version preserved in late medieval breviaries.9 The other was discovered by László Szelestei Nagy in a fourteenth-century legendary currently in Graz but originally from a Carthusian monastery in Seitz.10 Both of these variants proved to be dependent on the former two, yet they contain some interesting additions to the legend corpus, especially the one from Seitz. In addition to reconstructing the lost original text and defining the stemma of the variants, the legend of Saint Ladislaus presented another important, much debated, philological question. Several passages and wordings of the legend are identical with those of the fourteenth-century Illuminated Chronicle, a composite text augmented, completed, and interpolated at various times after the eleventh century.11 The question is whether the legend took these Bartoniek prepared the edition of the Major Legend, reproduced here, using two codices: Mondsee, Vienna, ÖNB Cod. 3662, 102v–104v, end of the 15th c. [V], Tegernsee, Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clmae 18.624, 49r–55r, 15th c. [M]; and for the additions taken from the Minor Legend three: Alba Iulia, Batthyaneum, R.I. 76, 396r–397r, 14th c. [B]; Corsendonc, Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarin 1733, 404r–406r, end of 15th c. [C]; Legende Sanctorum Hungariae, 1486 (Ct. incun. No. 2045) 8v–9v [A]—in the Latin text the variants are indicated by these letters. 9 Adrienne Fodor, “László-legendák XV-XVI. századi magyarországi breviáriumokban” [Ladislaus legends in fifteenth and sixteenth-century Hungarian breviaries], in Athleta Patriae: Tanulmányok Szent László történetéhez [Athleta Patriae: Studies on the history of St. Ladislaus], ed. László Mezey (Budapest: Szent István Társulat, 1980), 57–72; cf. Hajdú, “Vita sancti Ladislai confessoris,” 50–54. 10 Szelestei Nagy László, “A Szent László-legenda szöveghagyományozódásáról (Ismeretlen legendaváltozat)” [On the textual tradition of the Saint Ladislaus legend. An unknown legend variant], Magyar Könyvszemle 100 (1984), 176–203; since then, other versions of this variant have been identified by Hajdú, Vita sancti Ladislai confessoris,” 39–44. 11 Chronica de gestis Hungarorum e codice picto saec. Xiv. / Chronicle of the Deeds of the Hungarians from the Fourteenth-Century Illuminated Codex, ed. and trans. by János M. Bak and László Veszprémy, with a Latin text by Ibolya Bellus (Budapest– New York: CEU Press, 2018). For detailed analytic comments see Elemér Mályusz, “Commentarii,” in Johannes de Thurocz, Chronica Hungarorum, ed. Julius Kristó, vols. II/1, et II/2 (Budapest: Akadémiai, 1988), 339–411. 8

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passages from the already existing parts of the chronicle, as argued by József Gerics,12 or, inversely, whether these parts of the chronicle were borrowed from the legend, as claimed by Lajos J. Csóka.13 This debate had special significance for deciding whether to date the relevant part of the chronicle, narrating the deeds of Saint Ladislaus, to a period before the end of the twelfth century or to the thirteenth century. The present consensus of the experts accepts the arguments of Gerics for the priority of the chronicle, and posits that the legend writer drew on an already-existing version of the Chronicle of the Hungarians.14 If we accept this, the enigmatic issue still remains of why a number of legendary and miraculous episodes related to the life of Ladislaus and narrated in the chronicle are not mentioned in his hagiographic legend. These episodes include Ladislaus’ fight with the Cuman warrior and his rescue of an abducted Christian woman (the most frequently depicted scene related to him on medieval frescos),15 and other miraculous appearances seen by him or others near him showing angels bringing a crown to his József Gerics, “Textbezüge zwischen den ungarischen Chroniken und die Sankt-Ladislaus Legende,” Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 19 (1973): 273–303. The identical parts in the texts of the legend and the Chronicle are indicated by underlining, below. 13 Lajos J. Csóka, A latin nyelvű történeti irodalom kialakulása Magyarországon a XI-XIV. században [The formation of the Latin language historical literature in Hungary between the eleventh and the fourteenth centuries] (Budapest: Gondolat, 1967), 226–28, 557–59, 647–73. 14 Szovák, “Szent László alakja,” 126–32; Idem, “A legendák Szent László királya” [King Saint Ladislaus of the legends], in Szent László emlékkönyv [Memorial book for Saint Ladislaus], ed. András Bódvai (Budapest: Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt., 2021), 58–79; Thoroczkay, “László király,” 125–27; Veszprémy, “King St. Ladislas,” 149. 15 Ernő Marosi, “Der heilige Ladislaus als ungarischer Nationalheiliger: Bemerkungen zu seiner Ikonographie im 14–15. Jh.” Acta Historiae Artium Hungariae 33 (1987/88): 211–56; Gyula László, A Szent László-legenda középkori falképei [Medieval frescos of the St. Ladislaus legend] (Budapest: Tájak-Korok-Múzeumok Egyesület, 1993); Terézia Kerny, “Patronage of St Ladislas Fresco Cycles during the Sigismund Period in Connection with a Contract of Inheritance,” in Bonum ut pulchrum: Essays in Art History in Honour of Ernő Marosi on His Seventieth Birthday, ed. Lívia Varga, László Beke, Anna Jávor, Pál Lővei, and Imre Takács (Budapest: Argumentum, 2010), 259–73; Zsombor Jékely, “Narrative Structure of the Painted Cycle of a Hungarian Holy Ruler: The Legend of St. Ladislas,” Hortus Artium Medievalium 21 (2015): 62–74. 12

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brother, Géza, protecting him with a fiery sword, or a miraculous stag with candles in his antlers to indicate the foundation site of a church. My suggestion is that these episodes were not part of the chronicle text used by the author of the legend, but were inserted into a later, longer, version of the chronicle in the course of the thirteenth century.16 A brief discussion of the specific features of the Ladislaus legend shows some traits that relate it to the corpus of Hungarian and Central European hagiographies and other traits that seem to be innovative and aligned with contemporary trends. The legend begins by situating the “Holy King Ladislaus” in the proper historical and dynastic context, showing at the very start its affiliation to the Chronicle of the Hungarians. The ensuing attention to his childhood “of distinction” reveals the increased late-twelfth-century interest in this “age of men,” and the growing elaboration of the hagiographic topos of puer senex, which shows the early manifestation of a special spiritual sensitivity ascribed to the future saint. The detailed etymology of his name—a passage identical to the Chronicle in its wording17—is also a feature that became fashionable in hagiographic writing in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In contrast, the ensuing catalogue of virtues that describe the excellent character of King Ladislaus, frequently in rhymed prose in the style of a liturgical hymn, echoes regional models of royal sainthood. He is said to be “abounding in charity, forbearing in his patience, in piety a king most serene, in gifts of grace most plentiful, supporter of the just, defender of the chaste, consoling the afflicted, uplifting the oppressed, for orphans full of pity, for all wards a caring father, abounding with innermost compassion, he provided for the needs of the poor and needy.” This same characterization, worded similarly, appears in legends of the holy duke of Bohemia, Saint Wenceslas (d. 936),18 and also in those of Saint Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 176–82; Idem, “A Szent László-kultusz,” 28–31. See below footnote 12 of the legend. 18 See below in this volume at 420–21. As for Saint Wenceslas, see Gumpold of Mantua, “Passion of Saint Wenceslas,” in Vitae Sanctorum Aetatis Conversionis 16 17

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Stephen (1000–1038), closer in time to the writer of the Ladislaus legend. It is said of Saint Stephen that: “he helped those who found themselves in need, freed those burdened by the yoke of captivity, offered clothes and hospitality to pilgrims, reckoned the misery and need of widows and orphans to be his own.”19 One particular aspect in the description of Ladislaus’ excellence is quite unusual in hagiographic writing, however, his outstanding physical traits: “the favor of divine grace had exalted him above the common strength of men through a special grant of superiority. For he had strong hands, an attractive face, and large limbs like the body of a lion, he was tall, standing from the shoulder above other men, so that, besides the overflowing plenty of his gifts, the very appearance of his body proclaimed him as worthy of the royal crown.”20 This characterization may have reflected a still-preserved memory of St. Ladislaus, described by Anonymus Gallus in the Chronica Polonorum at the beginning of the twelfth century, as “conspicuous for his piety as he was tall in stature.”21 There are also arguments that this description in fact referred to the physiological attributes of King Béla III, who promoted the 1192 canonization of St. Ladislaus, and whose tall physical stature is confirmed by his skeletal remains.22 Kornél Szovák demonstrated that this description of the physiology of Saint Ladislaus also bears marks of the Stoic and Ciceronian literary topos of kalokagathia, the manifestation of interior merits and virtues on the human exterior, a feature ­ uropae Centralis (Saec. X–XI) / Saints of the Christianization Age of Central Europe E (Tenth-Eleventh Centuries), ed. by Gábor Klaniczay, Central European Medieval Texts 6 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2013), 36–37. 19 See above in this volume at 172–73. 20 See below in this volume at 420–21, and footnotes 20–21 of the legend. 21 “.  .  . sicut eminentem corpore, sic affluentem pietate.  .  .  . Dicunt talem nunquam regem Ungariam habuisse, neque terram iam post eum fructuosam sic fuisse.” Gesta Principum Polonorum / The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles, ed. and trans. by Paul W. Knoll and Frank Schaer. Central European Medieval Texts 3 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2003), 96–97. On the Hungarian contacts of the author see Dániel Bagi, Gallus Anonymus és Magyarország [Gallus Anonymus and Hungary] (Budapest, Argumentum, 2005). 22 Szovák, “The Image of the Ideal King,” 254.

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frequently employed by chronicle writers to indicate the suitability of rulers in the period of the “twelfth-century renaissance.”23 The legend continues with enumerating the merits of Ladislaus as an ideal, just, ruler, “benevolent to his people, generous to foreigners, munificent to his subjects, compassionate to the afflicted, a most stalwart deliverer of the oppressed,”24 and also munificent in his support of the Church, founding new bishoprics and churches, and promoting the canonization of the first group of Hungarian saints: Stephen, Emeric, Gerard, Zoerard-Andrew, and Benedict.25 Strangely, however, there is barely a hint in the legend of his most important merit, chivalrous military excellence, expressed in the athleta patriae epithet describing him in a fourteenth-century hymn.26 The legend makes only a brief reference to his fight against Petcheneg nomads that gave him the opportunity for a miraculous exploit: a successful prayer that resulted in a herd of deer and wild oxen that appeared to feed his army, just as Moses had provided manna for his people. The other potentially chivalrous element in the legend, the invented assertion that he was nominated as the “leader and commander” of the first crusade, prevented only by his premature death, was more justified by his “fame” than his military excellence.27 This conspicuous lack in the legend was subsequently compensated for by the sweeping popularity of dozens of frescos depicting his fight with the Cuman warrior.28 In conclusion, it should also be pointed out that the Ladislaus legend is rather poor in miraculous elements. Besides the wondrous feeding of the army, it ascribes only one miracle to the king during Ibid, 257–62. On the significance of kalokagathia, see Stephen Jaeger, The Origins of Courtliness: Civilizing Trends and the Formation of Courtly Ideals, 939–1210 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985), 115, 147–49. 24 See below, at 424–25. 25 See below, at 428–29, and footnote 36 to the legend. 26 “Sis indefessus et athleta patriae,” Mezey, Athleta patriae, 45. 27 See below, at 428–31, and footnote 38 to the legend. 28 See above footnote 15 to the Preface. 23

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his life, a miraculous levitation during his prayer in the monastery of Várad, and three after his death, the cart carrying his corpse moving “of its own accord” towards Várad, his designated burial place; the “miracle of vengeance” striking the man who asserted that his corpse stank with “divine punishment;” and the “fiery star” that shone for two hours above the monastery of Várad after his canonization. In addition, the number of miracles occurring at his relics were enumerated in greater detail than in the legends of his saintly predecessors, Saints Stephen and Emeric, properly reflecting the newly required legal standards of the canonization processes.29

André Vauchez, La sainteté en Occident aux derniers siècles du moyen âge: D’après les procès de canonisation et les documents hagiographiques (Rome, École française de Rome, 1981), in English: Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997).

29

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q

ON SAINT LADISLAUS KING OF HUNGARY

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DE SANCTO LADIZLAO REGE UNGARIE 1. Beatus rex Ladislaus ex illustri prosapia regum Ungarie exortus elegantissime effulsit. Pater nimirum ipsius inclitus rex Bela primus, primi Andree regis clarissimi germanus extitit,1 per cuius industriam ingenii annis, quibus regnavit, respublica, ymmo tota Pannonia ita ordinata et adaucta floruit, ut post tempora beati Stephani regis2 legibus, libertate, opulentia numquam tam egregie enituit. In cuius quoque tempore Ungaria magis ditior quam antea, cepit libertatis caput plenis copie cornibus extollere super ethera,3 cunctasque fere regiones evincere divitiis, honore et gloria. Frater autem eius uterinus Magnus, rex gloriosus, Geysa4 a sua gente apellatus est; vir religiosus et totus catholicus, qui adeo honestis moribus ac probis actibus decoratus fuit, quod si fraterna discordia inter ipsum et regem Salomonem5 non fuisset interceptus, sanctitatis merito et gloria dudum manifeste claresceret insignitus. 2. Beatus itaque rex Ladislaus, tanquam de syderibus novum sydus exortus, in ipso nativitatis sue exordio gratie Dei propositum6 habitu corporis et animi preferebat, et natus monstrabat infantulus, qualis esset rex futurus. Providentia nimirum conditoris, qui speciosus forma pre filiis hominum 7 et innumerabilis sapientie 8 describitur, sic ad simil1 Béla I, king of Hungary (1061–1063) was the younger brother of Andrew, who ruled between 1047 and 1060. The reference to Andrew as “primus” is an argument for dating the “longer” version of the legend to the reign of Andrew II (1204–1235). 2 St. Stephen I, king of Hungary (1000–1038). 3 Psalms 74:6. 4 Géza I, also called Magnus by his Christian name (reg. 1074–1077), was Ladislaus’ elder brother. 5 Solomon was king of Hungary from 1063 until 1074; he was the eldest son of King Andrew I and the cousin of St. Ladislaus. Born in 1053, he was crowned king in 1058, during his father’s lifetime and then betrothed to Judith, daughter of Emperor Henry III. After his father Andrew was defeated by Béla I in 1060 and died soon after, Solomon was taken to Germany and, with the help of his brother-in-law, Emperor Henry IV, who invaded Hungary in 1063, regained his throne, while his cousins Géza, Ladislaus, and Lampert took refuge in Poland. Following their recon-

[ 416 ]

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ON SAINT LADISLAUS KING OF HUNGARY 1. The Holy King Ladislaus, born from the illustrious lineage of the kings of Hungary, shone most splendidly. His father was the glorious King Béla I, brother of the most celebrated King Andrew I.1 Thanks to his innate industriousness and abilities, during the years when he reigned the state, indeed the whole of Pannonia flourished, being well managed and developed to such an extent that never since the times of the holy King Stephen2 had she shone forth so remarkably by her laws, her liberty, and by her opulence. It was also in his time that Hungary, wealthier than before, started to lift up her free head above the heavens3 with horns full of abundance, and to surpass in riches, honor, and glory almost all the countries. And his uterine brother, Magnus, a glorious king, was called Géza4 by his people, a religious man and thoroughly catholic, who was to such a measure adorned with an honorable character and with worthy deeds that, had he not been embroiled in brotherly strife between himself and King Solomon,5 he would have long become conspicuously famous, shining with the merit and glory of sanctity. 2. The holy King Ladislaus, then, who rose like a new star among the stars, from the very hour of his birth displayed in the nature of his body and of his spirit the intention of God’s grace,6 and already as a newly-born infant he was showing what manner of king he would become. Assuredly, it was the providence of the Creator—whom they describe as fairer than the sons of men 7 and of infinite understanding 8–which, in His own likeness, laid the fundaments of the ciliation and a brief period of successful co-operation with Géza, who was appointed duke, fraternal strife erupted after the siege of Belgrade in 1071, probably over the division of the booty acquired on that occasion. With the help of Czech mercenaries, Géza and his brothers defeated the German-backed Solomon on March 14, 1074, who then fled to the West and was unable to regain his throne in spite of the constant support of Emperor Henry IV and the initial recognition of Pope Gregory VII. 6 Rom. 9:11. 7 Psalms 44:3. 8 Psalms I46:5. [ 417 ]

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itudinem suam in operis sui vicario9 bone spei10 ac venture dignitatis fundamenta coniecit, ut ex prima conpositione, decore sui corporis et mentis elegans puer ostenderet, cuius vicem adultus tenere natus esset. In hiis itaque primis gratie donis exortus, Ladislaus est vocatus, quod utique nomen non sine presagio futurorum videtur eidem esse impositum. Nam si ethymologie nominis eius alludamus,11 Ladislaus quasi laus divinitus data populis dicitur. Laos enim populus interpretatur, dosis autem dans vel datum, sive datio.12 Prima vero sillaba nominis eius laus est per paragogen.a 13 Ipse quidem laus data erat populis, quia revera beata gens et laudabilis populus, in quo talis princeps surrexerat, gloriosum extitit tanto rectore divinitus concesso visitari. 3. Crevit itaque puer14 et virtutibus ante diem ei contingentibus superatis et in incrementa de virtute in virtutem proficiens, cum ad primum virtutis gradum ascendisset, habita veri dei notitia,b Christiane fidei cultor factus eximius, puro mentis affectu devotissime Christo servire studuit. Illustratus enim sancti spiritus gratia, arridentis sibi atque blandientis mundi gloriam caducam reputans et transitoriam, esurivit atque sitivit iustitiam,15 ut ad eternam feliciter perveniret patriam. Quamvis enim mundus sibi florens al nam si ethymologie – paragogen om. et add. in pp. 426 B C ex illustri prosapia regum Ungarie exortus (p. 416 v. 2)– dei notitia om. B A C

a

b

A formula which echoes the Ordo coronandi regem Romanorum: “Rex vicarius Christi est.” Cf. Georg Waitz, Die Formeln der deutschen Königs- und der römischen Kaiserkrönung, Abhandlungen der hist. phil. Klasse der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, XVIII (Göttingen, 1873), 42. 10 Wis. of Sol. 12:9. 11 In fact, the name Ladislaus (i.e., Vladislav) is of Slavic origin, and means “[he who] rules with glory.” 12 The underlined passages in the legend indicate, henceforth, parts which have been taken from the Chronicle of the Hungarians, written continuously since the eleventh century, and preserved in the fourteenth-century compilation of the Illuminated Chronicle (Chron. pict. 131, 244–45) For a detailed discussion of this etymological interpretation of Ladislaus’ name, see János Bollók, “Ladislaus: Egy középkori etimológia és tanulságai)” [Ladislaus: A medieval etymology and its implications], in Scripta manent: Ünnepi tanulmányok a 60. életévét betöltött Gerics József professzor tiszteletére [Scripta manent: Festive studies in honor of professor József Gerics on his 9

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future grandeur in this vicar9 of His work, with good hope,10 and so that from his initial aspect, as a child of distinction, he should indicate by the grace of his body and of his mind whose place he was born to hold as an adult. Therefore, born with such initial gifts, he was called Ladislaus, which name indeed seems to have been given him not without a certain omen for the future. For if we refer to the etymology of his name,11 Ladislaus is as much as to say, “praise given to the peoples.” Thus, laos is translated as “people,” and dosis as “giver” or “given” or “giving.”12 By paragoge,13 the first syllable of his name means “praise” (laus). Now, he was, indeed, “praise given to the peoples,” for assuredly blessed was the nation and worthy of praise the people in which such a prince arose, and a glorious thing it was when the Divinity granted them the visitation of such a ruler! 3. So the child grew14 and, surpassing the virtues that had been granted him before time and acquiring in due course one virtue after the other, once he had attained the first degree of virtue, he received knowledge of the true God, became an outstanding devotee of the Christian faith, and strove to serve Christ in purest spirit and devotion. For, enlightened by the grace of the Holy Ghost, he reckoned the glory of this world with its smiles and blandishments as perishable and transitory, and he hungered and thirsted for righteousness15 in order that he might happily attain the eternal home-

sixtieth birthday], ed. István Draskóczy (Budapest: ELTE, 1994), 63–74. The two Greek words used here by the author to explain Ladislaus’ name (dósis “giving, gift” and laos “people”) do not necessarily require a knowledge of Greek on the part of our author pace Bollók. 13 Paragoge is defined by ancient grammarians as “the addition of a letter or of a syllable at the end of the word” (paragoge est appositio ad finem dictionis litterae aut syllabae; Aelius Donatus, Ars grammatica 4, ed. L. Holtz, Donat et la tradition de l’enseignement grammatical. Étude sur l’Ars de Donat et sa diffusion (IVe-IXe siècle) et édition critique (Paris: CNRS, 1981), 661). Here, this grammatical concept is invoked in order to expand the first syllable of the saint’s name (la-) into Lat. laus “praise.” 14 Cf. Luke 2:40. 15 Matt. 5:6.

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besceret, in eius tamen corde iam aruerat, cuius ipse concupiscentiis in spe filiorum deia crucifixus fuerat.16 In hoc itaque mortali corpore vivens iam non ipse, sed in ipso fidem rectam, veram, catholicam, in Christo Ihesu fundatam, in cordibus prophetarum patriarcharumque radicatam, apostolico preconio commendatam, tota mente fideliter amplectendo tenuit. Super hoc etiam fundamentum gratum omnipotenti deo habitaculum17 et sancti spiritus sacrarium ex auro gemmis et lapidibus preciosis 18 secundum apostolum edificavit. Erat enim copiosus in caritate, longanimis in pacientia, pietate rex serenus, gratiarum donis plenus, cultor iustitie, patronus pudicitie, consolator afflictorum, sublevator oppressorum, miserator orphanorum, pius pater pupillorum,19 miserorum et inopum necessitatibus misericordie visceribus affluens subveniebat. In naturalibus autem bonis divine gratia speciali eum prerogativa preeminentie supra communem hominum miserationis valorem pretulerat. Erat enim manu fortis et visu desiderabilis et secundum phisonomiam leonis magnas habens extremitates 20 statura quippe procerus ceterisque hominibus ab humero supra preeminens21 ita, quod exuberante in ipso donorum plenitudine ipsa quoque corporis species regio dyademate dignumb ipsum declararet.22 Cum vero tanta bonorum preeminentia se videret gloriosum, non in superbie tumorem est elevatus, non aliorum iura dolose seu violenter occupavit, sed ei, qui

in spe filiorum dei om. B A C regio – ipsum; imperio digna – add. B A C

a

b

John 1:22. Eph. 2:22. 18 I Cor. 3:12. 19 Taken over from the Chron. pict. 131, 246–47. 20 This metaphor is most probably taken over from Aristotle’s Analytica priora, II. 27. cf. Szovák, “The Image of the Ideal King,” 255–56. 21 The tallness of Ladislaus, as described in the legend, has been brought in connection with the similar physiological attributes of King Béla III who promoted the 1192 canonization of St. Ladislaus. Cf. “Preface,” Footnote 22. 16 17

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land. For although the world blossomed for him in its full bloom, in his heart it had already withered, as he had crucified himself against all desires with the hope of becoming one of the children of God.16 And thus, while living in this mortal body, not himself, but rather within himself, he held the right, true, catholic faith that is grounded in Jesus Christ, rooted in the hearts of the prophets and the patriarchs, and commended through the preaching of the apostles, embracing it faithfully with all his mind. And on this foundation he built a dwelling place pleasing to almighty God 17 and a temple for the Holy Ghost of gold, gems, and precious stones18 according to the Apostle. For he was abounding in charity, forbearing in his patience, in piety a king most serene, in gifts of grace most plentiful, supporter of the just, defender of the chaste, consoling the afflicted, uplifting the oppressed, for orphans full of pity, for all wards a caring father,19 abounding with innermost compassion, he provided for the needs of the poor and needy. As far as natural assets go, the favor of divine grace had exalted him above the common strength of men through a special grant of superiority. For he had strong hands, an attractive face, and large limbs like the body of a lion,20 he was tall, standing from the shoulder above other men,21 so that, besides the overflowing plenty of his gifts, the very appearance of his body proclaimed him as worthy of the royal crown.22 Nevertheless, even as he saw himself glorified by such superior endowments, he did not exalt himself with swelling haughtiness, nor did he usurp

The suggestion of worthiness for “imperial” dignity instead of royal, in the text of the Minor Legend, is enlarged by an interesting variant in a late thirteenth-century sermon: “species Priami digna est imperio.” Edit Madas, “‘Species Priami digna est imperio.’ Les enseignements d’un sermon du XIIIème siècle sur Saint Ladislas,” Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 40 (2000), 311–19; this same metaphor of Priam is also found in a late medieval breviary version of the Ladislaus legend, cf. Fodor, “László-legendák,” 65 (cf. note 9 of the Preface); the physical and moral “worthiness” to rulership, called idoneitas, an archaic principle of royal inheritance, supported Ladislaus’ claim against the legitimate king, Solomon. Cf. Kristó, “Legitimitás és idoneitás,” 528–621; Szovák, “A legendák László királya,” 64, 69. See also note 49 of the Preface to the Legends of St. Stephen by Gábor Thoroczkay, above in this volume. 22

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sine preventu meritorum largiri bona consvevit, debitas pro a­ cceptis beneficiis gratias agens, quicquid bonorum sensit in se, divino cultui mancipavit. 4. Interea, mira creatoris providentia, ne tantum decus occultum lateret, ne tanta virtus quiesceret otiosa, presertim Ungaricis gentibus, utpote noviciis adhuc provido rectore plurimum indigentibus, aderat iam tempus opportunum, quo scilicet Deus et electum suum declararet, et populum suum talis patroni virtute protegeret et exemplis erudiret. Electus itaque divinitus princeps et prius officio ducatus religiosissime perfunctus, tandem perniciosis regni civibus cum rege eorum Salomone sepius triumphans, nec tamen a malitia cessantibus, nisi Salomone rege carcerali custodia detento,23 cum consensu principum et consensu totius Ungarie—felix regnum tali rectore decentium—sine potestatis aut honoris ambitione, sine qualibet secularium rerum cupiditate regni gubernacula suscepit. Cum enim in arbitrio haberet, regiam dignitatem divinitus sibi vendicare, non inungi, non in regem coronari festinavit, sed insignia regis ante se faciens cum honore deferri, regie dignitatis officium non ut presit sed ut prosit adimplevit.24 Iam vero regie dignitatis officio dignissime suscepto, quantum se ac qualem exhibuerit, plus est, quam verbis queat explicari. Non enim affluentibus divitiis aut aliis temporalibus cor apposuit,25 sed eternum pre mente bonum semper habens, illud insatiabili desiderio Ladislaus persuaded Solomon, the exiled former king, to renounce his claims to the throne and return to Hungary. Soon after their reconciliation in 1081, forced by Solomon’s incessant intrigues, the king had him imprisoned at Visegrád, from where he was released in 1083, on the solemn occasion of the canonization of several Hungarian saints. Solomon then fled the country, found new allies in the Pechenegs living on the Lower Danube, and, with their help, made a last, unsuccessful bid for the Hungarian throne in 1085. He was thought dead by 1087, when his wife re-married. The circumstances of his death are unclear, he probably perished somewhere in the Balkans while fighting the Byzantines and might be buried in Pula (Croatia), where a tombstone preserved in the lapidary of the former Franciscan friary claims to cover the remains of the “King of Pannonia.” Cf. Gábor Klaniczay, “The Ambivalent Model of Solomon for Royal Sainthood and Royal Wisdom,” in Ivan Biliarsky and Radu G. Păun, eds., The Biblical Models of Power and Law / Les modèles bibliques du pouvoir et du droit (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2008), 75–92. 23

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the rights of others by trickery or violence, but, offering due thanks for the blessings he had received to Him who often imparts gifts even without previous merits, he dedicated whatever good assets he discovered in himself to the worship of God. 4. Meanwhile, by the Creator’s wondrous providence, lest such great distinction should remain hidden and such virtue rest idle, the proper time had come for God to reveal his chosen one to the Hungarian people especially, who so far had been quite new in the faith and in need of a prudent ruler, and to protect his people through the virtue of such a leader as well as to instruct it through his example. Therefore, after having been divinely elected prince and having first fulfilled most conscientiously the duties of the office of duke, at last he triumphed many times over some malevolent citizens of the kingdom and their king, Solomon—although they would not desist from their wickedness until King Solomon was detained under guard in prison23—and with the consent of the nobles and of all Hungary (blessed is the kingdom of those distinguished by such a ruler!), he took over the helm of the kingdom, without any ambition for power or honor, without any desire whatsoever for worldly things. For even now when it was in his power to claim by divine right the royal dignity, he did not rush to be anointed nor to be crowned as king, but had the royal insignia carried before him with honor, and fulfilled the duties of the royal office in such a way that he ruled not over others, but for them.24 And once he had taken over the duties of royal dignity in a most dignified manner, it is beyond the power of words to tell how great a man and of what qualities he proved himself to be! For he did not set his heart on increasing riches25 or on other worldly things, but always kept the eternal good before his mind, and for this he longed with The principle of the just ruler, “non praeesse sed prodesse,” revived by Gratianus in his Decretum, goes back to early medieval political theory, framed by Isidore of Seville or Alcuin. Cf. Wilfrid Parsons, “The Medieval Theory of the Tyrant,” Review of Politics 4 (1942): 133; Alcuin, Epist. 257 MGH Epist. IV. 301. 25 Psalms 61:11. 24

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cupiebat, illud indesinentium operum magnanimitate perquirebat. Omnium quippe desiderabilium suorum deum esse non dubitans et in illius maiestatem tota mentis virtute erectus, regum dignitate servata, quid suum est, unicuique tribuens,26 dilexit deum propter se, mundi contemptibilia propter deum. Erat ergo fidelis et devotus in creatorem per votum et oblatum, benivolus in suam gentem, liberalis in extraneos, munificus in subiectos, misericors in afflictos, validissimus oppressorum liberator. Erat itaque benignus in affectu, providus in consilio, verax in sermone, constans in promissione, iustus in iudicio, serenus in corripiendo,a in examinandis autem iudiciis non tam iudicare quam iudicari timuit, sibique magis terribile iudicium imminere credebat quam hiis, qui ab eo iudicabantur. Unde rigorem iustitie lenitate temperans misericordie, talem se erga subditos exhibebat, ut ab eis potius amaretur, quam timeretur. Regni quippe gubernaculum non solum honori sibi erat, sed oneri. Non enim sua, sed secundum apostolum, que Ihesu Christi sunt sine querela querebat.27 Propter quod a proprietate rerum et nominum quasi mutato nomine, ab omni gente sua pius rex vocabatur. 5. Cum itaque ipse pius rex esset armatus humilitate, potens pietate, precipuus tamen erat largitate. Omnes enim ecclesie et monasteria regalia, sive ab eo, sive a quocunque alio fundata, elemosinis eius sunt locupletata, unde merito usque in hodiernum diem elemosinas eius enarrat omnis ecclesia28 Ungarorum. Duosque episcopatus ordinavit29 et regia largitate locupletavit. Erat enim magnus et munificus secundum nomen suum gloriosum.b Ieiuniis et orationibus

cum vero tanta bonorum preeminentia (p. 420, v. 20) – serenus in corripiendo om. B A C b cum itaque ipse – gloriosum om. B A C; et add in p. 428. a

26 A possible reference to a principle of Roman law, for which see Cicero, Rhetorica ad Herennium 3.2.10. 27 Phil. 2:21. 28 Sir. 31:11.

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an insatiable desire, this he sought to acquire by the munificence of countless good deeds. Indeed, he did not doubt that God is [the source] of all things worthy to be sought after, and he aimed all his mind’s power towards His majesty, he preserved the royal dignity and, while rendering each person their due,26 he loved God for His own sake and the contemptible things of this world for the sake of God. Thus, he showed himself faithful and devoted to his Creator by vows and offerings, benevolent to his people, generous to foreigners, munificent to his subjects, compassionate to the afflicted, a most stalwart deliverer of the oppressed. And he was of kind disposition, wise in counsel, true in his speech, steadfast in his promise, just in his judgement, even-tempered in his correction, and when it came to settling lawsuits, he feared that he was not judging but being judged, believing that a more terrible judgement hung over him than upon those whom he was judging. Hence, mitigating the severity of justice with the mildness of compassion, he behaved towards his subjects in such a way as to be loved rather than feared by them. Indeed, the helm of the kingdom was for him not only an honor, but onerous as well. For he was seeking not his own things, but, in the words of the Apostle, those of Jesus Christ27 uncomplainingly. For this reason, that things and names might conform, as if his name had been changed, he was called “the pious king” by all his people. 5. Now, while this pious king was fortified by his humility and strengthened by his piety, he was all the more remarkable on account of his generosity. Indeed, all the churches and royal monasteries that had been founded either by himself or by others, were enriched through his alms, and for this, every church of the Hungarians rightfully declares his alms28 up to this day. And he established two bishoprics29 and enriched them with royal generosity. For he was grand and munificent, in accordance with his glorious Our author is probably thinking of the bishoprics of Zagreb (Hung. Zágráb, est. 1094) and Oradea (Hung. Nagyvárad, est. before 1091). The latter had been initiated by St. Stephen, but was only completed during Ladislaus’ reign and dedicated to the memory of the first Holy King. St. Ladislaus also initiated the organization of the bishopric of Nitra (Nyitra), which was then completed by King Coloman between 1105 and 1110. 29

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iugiter insistebat, peccata populi sui plangebat et in ara cordis semetipsum deo hostiam vivam offerebat.30 Quod si nocturnis vigiliis et prolixioribus orationibus31 ipsum fatigari contigisset, non delicatum thorum repetebat, sed in exedris ecclesiarum paululum pausabat. Quadam siquidem nocte monasterium Waradiense iuxta consvetudinem subiit, ut oraret. Factum est autem, dum in oratione diutius moraretur, cubicularius eius, qui foris eum solus expectabat, pre nimia mora tedio affectus surrexit et introspexit, viditque dominum suum glorificato corpore mirabiliter in aërea sublevatum. O vere beatum virum, quem adhuc in carne constitutum carnea moles non premebat, sed prerogativa meritorum ad consortia supernorum civium sublevabat. 6. Post hoc latrunculi Byssenorum confinia Ungarorum irruperunt et illic viros ac mulieres captivos abduxerunt.32 Quos ipse cum exercitu persequens venit in solitudinem magnam, nec habebant, quod manducarent. Et dum fame periclitaretur exercitus, avulsus est ipse seorsum ab eis, et in oratione prostratus implorabat misericordiam dei, ut qui quondam filios Israhel manna pluens nutrierat,33 christianum populum famis inedia non sineret interire. Cumque surgens ab oratione reverteretur, ecce grex cervorum et bubalorum obviat ei, et cum ipso simul in medium exercitus deposita feritate convenit. Tulit ergo unusquisque ex animalibus, quantum sibi sufficiebat 34 laudantes et glorificantes deum in sancto suo, per quem talem misericordiam fuerant consecuti.b Adest deus electis suis, affectum eisdem opportunitatem boni operis amministrans.

A C aëre, V aëra cum itaque ipse – gloriosum add. B A C ex p. 424 – nam si ethymologie – laus est per paragogen, add B C ex pp. 418.

a

b

30 Cf. Oratio pseudo-Ambrosiana (PL, vol. 17, col. 829): Summe sacerdos .  .  . Iesu Christe qui te obstulisti Deo Patri in ara crucis hostiam puram et immaculatam pro nobis miseris peccatoribus. 31 Mark 12:40.

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name. He would apply himself continuously to fasting and prayers, he wept for the sins of his people, and in the sanctuary of his heart offered himself to God as a living sacrifice.30 And if it happened that he grew exhausted through nocturnal vigils and long prayers,31 he did not seek the comfort of his bed, but would rather pause for a little while in the halls of the churches. Thus on one such night he came to the monastery of Várad to pray, as was his custom. And it happened that, as he remained at prayer for a long time, his chamberlain, who stood outside alone waiting for him, growing bored with so much waiting, got up and looked inside, and he beheld his master’s body glorified and miraculously raised in the air. O, truly blessed man, whom the weight of the flesh could not drag down, even while he was still in the flesh, but whom the distinction of his merits raised up to consort with those dwelling in heaven! 6. After this, some brigands from the Pechenegs broke across the boundaries of the Hungarians and carried off men and women there into captivity.32 As he went in pursuit of them with his army, he came to a great wilderness and there was nothing for them to eat. As the army was in danger of starving, he withdrew from their midst and, prostrated in prayer, he implored God’s mercy that, in the same way as He had once fed the sons of Israel by making manna rain down on them33 so now He should not allow the Christian people to die of starvation. As he rose from his prayer and was coming back, behold, a herd of deer and of wild oxen came his way, and abandoning their wild nature, followed him together right into the middle of his army. Then every man took from those beasts according to each one’s need,34 praising and glorifying God in His saint, through whom they had obtained such mercy. God stands fast by His chosen ones, assisting their thoughts towards the accomplishment of a good deed. This probably refers to an incursion of a Pecheneg army led by King Solomon into Transylvania in 1085. 33 Cf. Exod. 16. 34 Exod. 16:16. 32

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DE SANCTO LADIZLAO REGE UNGARIE

Electus iste dei servus, dum affectu summo placita deo facere cogitaret, hoc ei potissimum divinitus oblatum est, ne corpora sanctorum, quos auctor universitatis celi dignabatur honorare suo iam gremio confovens, in pulvere diutius iacere pateretur. Igitur, auctoritate summi pontificis impetrata, sanctorum corpora, videlicet beati Stephani regis, qui primus Ungaris viam salutis eterne35 demonstravit, et filii eius Sancti Hemerici, —qui cum esset filius regis unicus, peteretque sibi divinitus revelari, quid offere deo posset acceptius, essetque ei responsum virginitatem esse deo gratissimam, contra voluntatem coniugii et contra spem posteritatis in regni successore, votum deo virginitatis obtulit— corpora Sancti Gerhardi martyris et beatorum Andree et Benedicti mirabiliter fecit canonizari.36 7. Hiis ergo diebus, ad votum ei contingentibus videns divine circa se dilectionis indicia, cepit sollicite meditari, quid pium, quid unicum, quidve deo gratissimum pro tot bonis bonorum auctori retribuat.a VM Statuit igitur ire Ierosolimam, et illic, si oporteret, mori pro Christo, qui cum esset splendor glorie et figura substantie37 dei, non dubitavit crudelissimam mortem crucis pro redimendis hominibus sustinere. Cum autem fama Sancti Ladislai regisque nomen longe lateque diffudisset, duces Francorum, Lothoringorum et Allemanno-

CAB Iherosolimam se iturum voverat, ut ubi sanguis domini nostri Ihesu Christi pro redemptione nostra fusus est, ipse ibi sanguine suo contra inimicos crucis Christi dimicaret. Duces autem Francorum, Lothoringorum et Alemanorum, qui cum exercitu domini illuc profecturi erant, omnes pariter pium regem Ladislaum digne dignum

adest deus electis – bonorum auctorum retribuat, om A C

a

Heb. 5:9. On the canonization of the five Hungarian saints in 1083 and its implications, see the detailed discussion in Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 123–33. 37 Heb. 1:3. 35

36

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As this chosen servant of God was considering wholeheartedly how to fulfill God’s will, this is what, under divine inspiration, occurred to him first of all: he should suffer no longer the bodies of the saints to lie in the dust, whom the Maker of the whole of heaven deemed worthy of honor and whom he already cherished in his bosom. Therefore, having obtained the papal authorization, he had the bodies of the saints canonized in wondrous wise, namely, that of the Holy King Stephen, who first showed the path of eternal salvation35 to the Hungarians, and his son, St. Emeric, who, although the king’s only son, when he asked for a divine revelation as to what he could offer God that would be most acceptable, and when he was answered that virginity is most pleasing to God, he offered God the vow of his virginity against the desire for marriage and against the hope of offspring from him as successor to the throne, and the bodies of St. Gerard the martyr, and of SS. Andrew and Benedict.36 7. Therefore, in those days, seeing in the fulfillment of his wishes the signs of divine affection towards himself, he started pondering diligently with what pious thing, with what unique thing, with what thing most pleasing to God he could repay the Giver of such blessings for so many blessings. He, therefore, decided to go to Jerusalem and there, if it behooved, die for Christ, who in spite of being the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person,37 did not hesitate to undergo a most cruel death on the cross in order to redeem humankind. Now, as the fame of St. Ladislaus the king had spread his name far and wide, the leaders of the Franks, of the Lotharingians, and of the Alemans, who had

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He vowed to go to Jerusalem in order that where the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed for our redemption, he might himself fight against the enemies of Christ’s cross at the cost of his own blood. And the leaders of the Franks, of the Lotharingians, and of the Alemans, who were about to set out on the same way with the army of the Lord, all together and of one accord decided to elect the pious King Ladislaus rightly as

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DE SANCTO LADIZLAO REGE UNGARIE

rum idem peregrinationis iter convoventes, pium regem Ladislaum sibi suisque ducem ac preceptorem fore concorditer petierunt.38 Sed antequam

sibi ducem ac preceptorem preficere concorditer disposuerant. Prius autem, quam de Francia et Alemania ceterisque occidentalibus regionibus exercitus domini

in Ungariam convenirent, pius rex urgente regni sui necessitate contra Bohemos in expeditionem profectus est, ubi reformata cum honore suo pace, dum iam regredi cogitaret,a egritudine repentina correptus, viribus corporis cepit omnino destitui, convocatisque regni principibus indicavit dissolutionem sui corporis imminere. Quo audito clamor multitudinis plangentium de morte piissimi regis usque ad celum extollitur. Sed rex accepta eukaristia,b in quamc fideliter credidit, quam toto corde dilexit,39 et quam tota virtute quesivit,d feliciter migravit ad dominum. Cadit ergo in solo rege Ladizlao tota militum eius in Christi sacramenta iuratorum expectatio.e Planxit ante eum universitas Ungarorum, clerus et populus, simul in unum dives et pauper, iuvenes et virgines40 lugubres, indumentis squalidi,f continuo trium annorum spatiog correas non duxerunt41 omnisque musici generis instrumentah intrai tempus luctus siluerunt.

ubi reformata – cogitaret om. B A C; ibique add. B A C eucharistia B A C; corporis et sanguinis domini nostri Ihesu Christi add. B A C c quam M d et quam tota virtute quesivit om. B A C e cadit ergo in – expectatio om. B A C f lugubres indumentis squalidi om B A C g in vestibus squalidis add. C; in vestibus lugubribus squalidi add. B; in vestibus squalidi add. A h et delinitiva dulcisona add. B A C i ultra B A C a

b

38 Although also told in the Illuminated Chronicle, the story of Ladislaus’ unanimous appointment as leader of the Crusader armies is anachronistic and fictional: the saintly king died on July 29, 1095, and the council of Clermont, where Pope

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vowed to take the same road of pilgrimage, with one voice asked the pious King Ladislaus that he should lead and command them and their men.38 But before they. . .

431

their proper leader and commander. However, before the army of the Lord from France and from Germany and from the other Western regions. . .

.  .  . came together in Hungary, the pious king, driven by the urgent need of his kingdom, departed on an expedition against the Bohemians, then after he restored the peace in accordance his honor, while he was thinking of returning, he was seized by a sudden illness, his bodily strength started to fail him altogether, and he called together the nobles of the kingdom and let them know that his bodily demise was now imminent. When they heard this, the wailing of the crowds bewailing the passing of their most pious king reached the skies. But the king, having partaken of the eucharist, departed to the Lord, in whom he faithfully believed, and whom he loved with all his heart,39 and whom he sought with all his strength. Thus, crumbled with King Ladislaus himself all the expectations of his soldiers who had taken an oath on Christ’s sacraments! All Hungarians mourned before his corpse, the clergy and the people, both rich and poor together, and both young men and maidens,40 all mournful, clad in somber vestments, for three whole years joined in no dancing 41 and musical instruments of every kind fell silent during this time of mourning.

­ rban II issued his famous exhortation for the reconquest of the Holy Places was U held on November 26 of the same year, after Ladislaus’ death. Cf. László Veszprémy, “Dux et praeceptor Hierosoliminatorum: König Ladislaus (László) als imaginärer Kreuzritter,” in The Man of Many Devices, Who Wandered Full Many Ways... Festschrift in Honor of János M. Bak, ed. by Balázs Nagy and Marcell Sebők (Budapest– New York: CEU Press, 1999), 470–77; idem, “King St. Ladislas,” 143–46. 39 Deut. 6:5. 40 Psalms 48:3; 48:12. 41 The description of the mourning follows the wording of the description of mourning of St. Stephen in the Chronicle, c. 70: cf. Chron. pict. 128–31.

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VM 8. Dum vero de corpore eius Waradinum transferendo, ubi scilicet sepeliri se mandaverat, ob ardorem dierum canicularium et longitudinem vie fidelium hesitaret arbitrium et in Albensem ecclesiam, que propius erat, videretur esse declinandum, venerunt iterum ad diversorium, ubi pre labore ac tristitia fatigati dormierunt. Cumque sopore gravati essent, currus in quo positum erat corpus eius, sine subvectione

CAB Cum autem fideles sui corpus ipsius Waradinuma efferrent, pre labore et merore defatigatib dormierunt. Cumque sopore gravati plus iusto demorarentur, currus, in quo positum fuerat corpus eius, sine subvectione et absque omni amminiculo

VMCAB cuiuslibet animalis, recto itinere Waradinum ultro ferebatur. Vigilantes autem et currum non invenientes contristati valde, ceperunt per loca discurrere, inveneruntque currumversus Waradinum ultro currentem, et sanctum corpus in eo positum. Videntes itaque miraculum, quod videlicet corpus beati confessoris ad locum, ubi sepulturam ipse sibi met elegerat,42 divinitus portaretur, VM ei, qui mirabilis est in sanctis suis,43 gratias agentes, iter suum sine omni hesitatione versus Waradinum reduxerunt.

CAB deo gratias agentes laudaverunt deum.

Albam B defatigari (sic) C

a

b

The miracle of the wondrously proceeding cart with the body of the saint could have been borrowed from the hagiography of Saint Wenceslas according to the suggestion of Cyrill Horváth, Szent László legendáink eredetéről [On the origin of our 42

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8. Now, as on account of the heat of the summer days and of the length of the journey, his faithful followers were hesitant whether to take his corpse to Várad, the place where he had given instructions to be buried, and as it seemed to them better to make for the church in Székesfehérvár, which was closer, they arrived at an inn, where, worn out by effort and by sorrow, they fell asleep. While they were sound asleep, the cart on which his body had been placed, without being pulled by . . .

433

8. And when his faithful followers were carrying his corpse to Várad, worn out by labor and by grief, they fell asleep. As they were sound asleep and lingering more than was necessary, the cart on which his body had been placed, without being pulled and without the help of . . .

any beast, started to move of its own accord directly towards Várad. And when they woke up and did not find the cart, they were deeply saddened, and started to run all over the place, and they found the cart going by itself towards Várad with the holy body placed in it. Seeing then this miracle, namely that the corpse of the holy confessor was being carried by the might of God towards the very place which he had himself designated for his burial,42 giving thanks to Him who is marvellous in His saints,43 without any hesitation, they once more turned their path to Várad.

giving thanks to God, they praised God.

Saint Ladislaus legends] (Budapest: Pallas, 1928), 22–23; Gumpold of Mantua, “Passion of Saint Wenceslas,” in Vitae Sanctorum Aetatis Conversionis Europae Centralis, 64–65. 43 Psalms 67:36.

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9. Cum igitur ad predictam civitatem pervenissent et officium humanitatis exhibentes

Cum autem multitudo magna officium humanitatis exhibendo

VMCAB sepulture ipsius assisterent, quidam de circumstantibus dicebat corpus eius fetere, reliquis omnibus svavissimam odoris fragrantiam sentientibus. Retortum est igitur ilico mentum eius et flecti non poterat. Qui seipsum divina ultione videns esse percussum, miserabiliter eiulando clamabat dicens: “peccavi in sanctum dei,”44 et procidens ad sepulchrum Sancti Ladislai regis, misericordiam eius, ut sanaretur, implorabat. Avulsa est itaque cutis cum carne menti sui, que dorso eius inherebat et ipse quidem sanitatem recuperavit, sed cicatrix rupte cutis in mento eius occaluit. Sic ergo deus illum percutiendo sanans, timendum se pariter et amandum ostendit.45 Necessarium itaque deus beatificandi modum observans dum electis suis sese participat, hunc suum electum in se transfigurans, regali sublimavit dignitate et sicud in terris vicem suam gerendam ei commisit, sic in celestibus regnis corregnare secum eundem constituens, divina ei suffragia cunctis ipsum invocantibus conferre donavit. Cecis itaque visum,46 surdis auditum, mutis loquelam, claudis dedit gressum, et adiutor in opportunitatibus,47 defensionis solatium oppressis impendit. Siquidem fama sanctitatis ipsius audita, quedam virgo paupercula veniens ad sepulchrum eius amissum recuperare visum promeruit et recepta corporali sanitate tanti (sic)a animi simplicitatem percepit, ut etiam in spiritu visitata divinitus esse crederetur. Quedam autem nobilis puella, dum oculorum visu privata fuisset et totam carnalis medicine spem amisisset, apud sepulchrum eiusdem a suis derelicta Recte: tantam

a

Exod. 10:16. This is a nice example of the archaic miracle type, the miracle of vengeance. Cf. Gábor Klaniczay, “Miracoli di punizione e malefizia,” in Miracoli: Dai segni alla storia, ed. Sofia Boesch Gajano and Marilena Modica (Roma: Viella, 1999), 109–37. 44 45

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9. So, when they finally arrived at the said city and, paying their due respect

435

9. As a great crowd, in order to pay their due respect,

were attending his burial, someone from among the bystanders was saying that his body stank, while all the others could only perceive the fragrance of the sweetest scent. Consequently, his chin was twisted backwards instantly, and it could not be bent back in place. When he saw himself struck by divine punishment, he started to cry out, wailing wretchedly and saying: “I have sinned against the saint of God!”44, and falling prostrate at the grave of the holy King Ladislaus, he started to beg for his mercy that he might be healed. Then, the skin and the flesh of his chin, which had been stuck to his back, tore free and he was restored whole again, but a scar was left on his chin where the skin had been torn. In this way, by striking him and healing him, God showed that we must fear Him and love Him at the same time.45 Therefore God, who in observing the procedure necessary for sanctification, allows his elected to partake of Himself, in the process of transforming this elected one into Himself, elevated him to the royal dignity, and as He entrusted him with holding His place on earth, so He now appointed him to reign with Him in the heavenly Kingdom, and bestowed upon him the power to intervene with God on behalf of all those who invoked him. Thus, he restored their sight to the blind,46 their hearing to the deaf, their speech to the dumb, and power to walk to the lame, and, as a helper in times of trouble,47 he offered the oppressed the comfort of his protection. Thus, some poor maiden, having heard the fame of his sanctity, came to his grave and was found worthy to recover her eyesight, and having regained the wholeness of her body, she also acquired such innocence of soul, that she was believed to be receiving spiritual visitations. And a certain noble girl, who had lost her eyesight and had abandoned all hope in human cure Luke 4:19. Psalms 9:10

46 47

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parentibus, egros oculos inaudito modo sanis commutavit. Nam cum angustia doloris et dampno membrorum lugubris defluentes lacrimas abstergeret, ceciderunt in manu eius quidam globi carnis, formam quidem oculorum habentes, sed coagulato sagwine prorsus involuti. Cumque vociferante puella, que nimirum oculos suos iam amisisse credebat, populus attonitus ad eandem videndi studio cursitarent, vident eam et elisos carnis globos in manu sua ammirantibus ostentantem et novis oculis stupenda, que videbat, ammirantem. De mutis autem, surdis et claudis, per ipsius merita sanatis vulgaritas et quasi habilitas miraculorum inter gaudia loqui prohibet et ad insveta potius enarranda transmittit.a 10. Quidam itaque miles, urgente necessitate scutellam argenteam, quam patri suo pius rex donaverat, cuidam comiti venalem exposuit, sed eam idem comes, ardore cupiditatis illectus, a se furtim sublatam esse confinxit. Rex itaque Stephanus,48 Colomanni filius, hanc causam Walthero,49 Waradiensi episcopo, legittimo fine terminandam commisit, qui de meritis beati regis certissime confidens,b per sententiam iudiciariam decrevit, quod eadem scutella super sepulchrum sancti regis Ladislai poneretur, ut conprobaret dominus,quis illorum eam iuste deberet habere. Comes ergo nimium de se presumendo scutellam accepturus ad sepulchrum accessit, statimque cecidit, velud mortuus et vehementer attonitus neque scutellam meminit accipere neque de terra potuit resurgere.c

sic ergo deus illum percutiendo sanans – transmittit om B A C rex itaque Stephanus (v. 15) – certissime confidents om. B A C c pauper vero miles ad sepulchrum humiliter accedens, quod suum erat deo gratias agens accepit. Nostris quoque temporibus deus multis mirabilibus sanctum confessorem suum Ladislaum glorificavit. Nam add B A C a

b

48

Stephen II King of Hungary between 1116 and 1131.

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and had been left by her parents at his grave, exchanged her afflicted eyes for healthy ones in a manner that was unheard of. For, as she was wiping her flowing tears, distressed by pain and by the loss of her sight, some lumps of flesh dropped into her hands, they had the shape of eyeballs, but were covered all over in gore. And when the maiden started shouting—for indeed she thought she had lost her eyes—the people rushed to her in astonishment, wishing to see what happened, and they saw her and the fallen lumps of flesh in her hand, which she was showing to all who looked and wondered as she herself looked in wonder with her new eyes at all the astonishing things she saw. As for all the dumb, the deaf, and the lame who were cured by his merits, the commonplace and almost customary nature of such miracles prevents us from detailing them among such joys, and bids us rather pass on to relate the unusual ones. 10. Then, a knight driven by need had offered for sale to a count a silver bowl that had been presented to his father by the pious king, but the said count, driven by greed, pretended that it had been stolen from him. Now, King Stephen,48 King Coloman’s son, entrusted this case to Walther, 49 the bishop of Várad, to be settled within the allotted term; the bishop, fully confident in the merits of the holy king, decreed by a judicial sentence that the said bowl be placed on the grave of the holy King Ladislaus, in order that God might establish to which one of them it should rightly belong. So, the count, overconfident in himself, approached the grave to receive the bowl and instantly fell down as if struck dead, and greatly bewildered, he neither remembered to take the bowl, nor was he able to get up from the ground. Walther was bishop of Várad from 1124 to 1138. Cf. Solymosi, “Szent László király.” The grave of St. Ladislaus in Oradea became the most important center of ordeals in Hungary, and this miracle is an early attestation of this. Cf. Regestrum Varadinense (1208–1235), ed. László Solymosi and Kornél Szovák (Budapest: Arcanum CD, 2009); Dorottya Uhrin, “Az istenítéletek társadalomtörténeti elemzése a Váradi Regestrum alapján” [Social historical analysis of the ordeals on the basis of the Regestrum of Várad], in Mortun falu: 800 éves Kunszentmárton 1215–2015 (Kunszentmárton: Helytörténeti Múzeum, 2016), 28–43. 49

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11. Dum igitur auctor universe creature hunc sanctum regem divine virtutis consortem esse tantis miraculis declarasset,a anno domini millesimo centesimo nonagesimo secundo sanctum corpus eius gloriose est canonizatum.50 VM Nimirum nature genitor sic naturam sue bonitati fecit obnoxiam, ut nichil videretur ei derogatum, quod divina pietas indicaret annuendum. Plures enim ceci ad sepulchrum Sancti Ladislai regis venientes, implorato eius auxilio, mirabiliter sunt illuminati. Claudi quoque et muti, surdique et

CAB Tunc itaque ex causis superioribus lege nature mutata, prevaricationem ordine regressibili sequi cepit habitus. Plures enim ceci per merita beati regis Ladislai sunt illuminati, cecideruntque ab eorum oculis, tamquam squame, albuginis cedule, quas etiam viri religiosi viderunt, qui etiam veritati testimonium perhibuerunt. Multi quoque relaxatis lingue vinculis facultatem recte loquendi ceperunt. Claudi

paralitici, variis langworibus6 diuturno tempore attriti, VM per invocationem nominis eius a suis sunt infirmitatibus liberati. In ipsa canonizationis hora quidam puer, qui loco manuum et pedum carebat, suscepit sanitatem. In eadem hora sydus

CAB ad sepulchrum eius venientes, implorato eius adiutorio sanati sunt. Singuli quoque piissimum confessorem pro suis necessitatibus invocantes, optata beneficia perceperunt. In ipsa etiam

dum igitur auctor – declarasset om. B A C

a

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11. Therefore, since by such great miracles the Maker of the entire creation had revealed that this saintly king partook of His divine power, in the year of the Lord 1092 his holy body was gloriously canonized.50 Assuredly, the Creator of nature subjected nature to his benevolence in such a way that nothing that divine pity showed its assent to might seem denied to him. For many blind people who came to the grave of St. Ladislaus the king and begged for his help were miraculously granted to see the light again. Likewise the lame, the dumb, the deaf, and

And then, as the law of nature had been changed for higher causes, the usual things started to take an unnatural course, going in reverse. Thus, many blind people were granted to see the light again through the merits of the Holy King Ladislaus, and like scales, patches of whiteness fell from their eyes, and this was seen by monks, too, who bore testimony to the truth. And also many people were enabled to speak properly again once the fetters of their tongue were loosened. The lame,

the paralytic, those long wasted by various diseases, were freed from their infirmities by invoking his name. At the very hour of his canonization, a child who lacked both hands and feet, received his healing. At the same hour a star

were cured by coming to his grave and begging for his help. Even individuals who invoked the most pious confessor in their need received the benefits they asked for. At the very hour

The canonization took place on July 27, 1192, in the presence of King Béla III (1171–1196). For its exact circumstances see Klaniczay, Holy Rulers, 184–87; Idem, “A Szent László-kultusz,” 16–21; Solymosi, “Szent László király”; Veszprémy, “King St. Ladislas,” 142. 50

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hora canonizationis quidam puer, cui loco manuum et pedum tumida carnis massa ossibus penitus carens fluitabat, meritis eiusdem sancti ossibus increscentibus perfectam manuum et pedum sanitatem suscepit. Eadem etiam hora diei quasi sexta rutilans stella VMCAB preclari fulgoris stetit supra in directo monasterii, ubi sanctum corpus ipsius positum erat eta per spatium duarum fere horarum perspicue rutilavit. Itemb leprosus quidam ad sollempnitatem eius veniens, preventu meritorum eiusc in via mundatus est, VM curatori suo regi sancto laudes et gratiarum intulit actiones. Diversi etiam per invocationem nominis sancti regis Ladislai usque hodie liberantur a suis infirmitatibus prestante domino nostro Ihesu Christo, cui est honor et gloria in secula seculorum. Amen.

CAB Post hec autem Mo CCo IIIIo kl. iunii ipso die Penthecostes51 canonicis orantibus et prime hore officium celebrantibus, quedam mulier, cuius manus et brachia pectori suo connexa fuerant, ad sepulchrum beati Ladislai sanata est. Sed et in aliis multis partibus late patentis Hungarie et circumadiacentibus regionibus plurima miracula et copiosa beneficia fidelibus, eius patrocinia implorantibus, exhibita sunt, que

hoc autem maxima multitudo contra monasterium congregatorum add. A C; hoc autem maxima multitudo extra monasterium congregatorum add. B b rutilavit. Item om. B A C; videntes gavisi sunt gaudio magno valde add. B A C c preventu meritorum eius om. B A C a

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of his canonization, a child who instead of hands and feet had swollen and slack lumps of flesh (since there were no bones inside), through the merits of this saint his bones grew and his hands and feet became perfectly whole. At the same hour—about the sixth hour of the day—a fiery star of exceeding brightness stood directly above the monastery where his holy body was laid and shone brightly for almost two hours. Also, some leper who was coming to his celebration, by the prior intercession of his merits, was cured while yet on the road, and gave praise and thanks to his healer, the holy King. Also, to this very day many others are delivered of their infirmities by invoking the name of the holy King Ladislaus, this being granted by our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is the honor and the glory forever and ever. Amen

And after that, in the year 1204, at the kalends of June, on the very day of Pentecost,51 when the canons were praying and celebrating the office of prime, a woman who had her arms and hands connected to her chest was healed at the grave of Saint Ladislaus. But also in many other parts, throughout the breadth of Hungary and in the neighboring lands, many miracles and numerous benefactions were manifested to the faithful who invoked

In fact, in 1204 Pentecost fell on June 13, not on June 1 as the text states.

51

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non sunt scripta in hoc libro, ne tediosa prolixitas legentibus fastidium ingereret. Hec autem scripta sunt, ut audientes et legentes per intercessionem piissimi Ladislai sic transeant per bona temporalia, quod et eterna consequantur gaudia. Prestante domino nostro Ihesu Christo, qui cum Deo patre et Spiritu Sancto vivit et regnat deus, per omnia secula seculorum. Amen

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his assistance, which were not written in this book lest tedious verbosity may cause weariness to the readers. But so much has been written in order that those who hear and those who read, enjoying the intercession of the most pious Ladislaus, may proceed through temporal goods in such a way that they may also attain the eternal joys. Which may our Lord Jesus Christ grant, who, together with God the Father and with the Holy Ghost lives and reigns as God forever and ever. Amen

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SAINT JOHN OF TROGIR

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PREFACE Ana Marinković Scholarly interest in the hagiography of St. John of Trogir (bishop c.1062–after 1111) appeared as early as the seventeenth century, when the renowned historian from Trogir, Johannes Lucius (Ivan Lučić), while preparing the critical edition of Vita b. Ioannis Confessoris episcopi Traguriensis, compiled a manuscript collection of various sources (liturgical, hagiographical, diplomatic, notarial) related to the cult of the patron saint of Trogir.1 Lucius’ annotated edition of the Vita served as the basis for the 1769 annotated edition by Daniele Farlati in Illyricum Sacrum, an enormous Jesuit project of collecting all data available for a history of the church on the territory of the ancient Illyricum.2 Lucius’ edition was preceded by and based on the first printed edition of Vita b. Ioannis, published without critical apparatus in 1516 by Johannes Statileus (Ivan Statilić), secretary of King Louis II of Hungary and a high-ranking prelate of Tragurian origin. Statileus’ edition is preserved in only a few known copies and was thought until recently to be the earliest extant copy of the text. Thanks to Paolo Chiesa’s description of a hagiographical manuscript collection kept in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence, however, a fourteenth- or early fifteenth-century manuscript copy of the Vita came to be known.3 1 BHL 4441; Johannes Lucius, Vita b. Ioannis Confessoris episcopi Traguriensis, et eius miracula (Rome: Typis Thomae Colinii, 1657); Lucius’ manuscript is kept in the National and University Library in Zagreb, sign. R6608. 2 Daniele Farlati et al., Illyricum sacrum, 8 vols (Venice: Apud Sebastianum Coleti, 1751–1819), vol. 4, Ecclesiae suffraganeae metropolis spalatensis (1769), 310–29 (second edition: Zagreb: Naklada Nediljko Dominović, 2005). This edition of the Vita appeared in a separate facsimile reprint with Croatian translation and additional notes as Život sv. Ivana Trogirskog po izdanju Daniela Farlatija [Life of saint John of Trogir according to the edition by Daniele Farlati], ed. Kažimir Lučin (Split and Trogir: Matica Hrvatska and Knji­ževni krug, 1998) and has been used for this edition. 3 Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Conv. Soppr. G.5.1212, 151v–155v; Paolo Chiesa, “Recuperi agiografici veneziani dai codici Milano, Braidense Gerli MS.

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The hagiography of John, the first bishop of Trogir known by name, was written some time after 1150 by an anonymous author and enlarged in 1203 by the Archdeacon, later Bishop of Trogir, Treguan. The first redaction of the Vita relates most of the known information on Bishop John: his arrival in Trogir around 1062 in the entourage of a papal legate, his strong inclination to asceticism, his active role in the crucial political event of King Coloman’s victorious entry into Zadar in 1105. Additionally, three charters signed by John have been preserved that attest to his role in the wave of monastic foundations in Dalmatian cities in the 1060s.4 Establishing new Benedictine houses was typical of the reformist bishops in the mid-eleventh century and John’s supposed Roman provenance fits this picture as well. A later tradition that found its way into the scholarly literature associates Bishop John with the Camaldolese order. The Annales Camaldulenses, the most extensive history of the order, states that John was trained at the monastery of St. Peter in Osor, plausibly related to the legacy of reformist Bishop Gaudentius and governed according to Romualdine principles. This assumption seems improbable, considering the chronological uncertainties regarding the monastery’s founding, as well as the fact that the Vita is clear about John coming to Trogir from Italy as a very young man in the legate’s entourage.5 The improbability of John’s connection to the monastery in Osor notwithstanding, it is 26 e Firenze, Nazionale Conv. Soppr. G.5.1212,” Hagiographica 5 (1998): 219–71, here 244–53. Statileus’ edition: Vita beati Ioannis episcopi & confessoris Traguriensis & eius miracula (Vienna: per Hieronymum Vietorem, 1516). The text of the Florentine manuscript is almost identical to Statileus’ and Lucius’ editions, whereas Farlati divided the text into chapters, but his titles have been omitted in this edition. 4 Codex diplomaticus regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae, vol.1, ed. Marko Kostrenčić et al., 18 vols. (Zagreb: Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, 1967), no. 70, 74, and 80. 5 Another historically unfounded tradition, probably originating from the late fourteenth century, relates John to the Roman noble Orsini family. The earliest mention of this affiliation is in a letter by Emperor Sigismund, soliciting documents from Trogir proving that the saint descended from the Orsini family, at the request of the Rosenberg family from Carinthia (which aimed at proving their own relation to the saint as a branch of the Orsinis). This tradition is an invention, however, based plausibly on John’s (supposed) Roman provenance.

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striking that descriptions in his hagiography fit well into the ascetic trends propagated by Peter Damiani’s circles and might indicate John’s affiliation with a reformed Benedictine branch. Despite the strong ascetic tone of the text, the anonymous author of the first Vita b. Ioannis, possibly a canon, was plausibly related to the cathedral chapter not only because of the assumption that the chapter advanced the petition for the papal confirmation of his cult, but also because John came to Trogir to fill the post of the bishop and was not affiliated with local Benedictine communities. Moreover, his body was buried and remained in the cathedral church. The 1203 redaction of the Vita was expressly commissioned by the bishop and the canons and composed by a member of the chapter, Archdeacon Treguan. Formerly a Benedictine monk in Florence, Treguan arrived in Dalmatia with the papal legate Gregory de Sancto Apostolo and stayed in Split with the new Spalatine Archbishop Bernard until he was sent to Trogir to fill the post of notary. His erudition and exactitude, characteristic of a notary, were certainly decisive when the bishop and canons commissioned him to redact the Vita. Three years after completing the task, Treguan was appointed to the episcopal office in Trogir, which he held until 1254/5. In spite of Treguan’s Benedictine background, no ascetic elements appear in his part of the Vita b. Ioannis. In the period of pre-communal development, bishops were the main city representatives and thus hagiography written in the episcopal/canons’ circle included strong civic references and eventually provided key elements for civic self-representation. Treguan, living in the city and having first-hand information, focused on two detailed accounts with a strong civic flavor: the elevation of the body and the arm-relic miracle, both of them emphasizing the restoration of the city after episodes of destruction. This aspect of the Vita reveals more about the context of the commission than the saint himself, but it provides important evidence of the transformation of episcopal hagiography in the late twelfth century. Starting from the beginning of the century, the traditional concept of a passive, reformed bishop (still dominant in Bernard of Clairvaux’s treatise-letter De officiis episcoporum) was

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gradually replaced by a new model of an active bishop-reformer, which introduced many new features into the episcopal biographies of the Gregorian era.6 The major innovation was connected to contemporaneity, that is, the proliferation of contemporary local saints that were inserted in the liturgical calendars. In the later twelfth century, the reformist hagiographic model spread outside the direct circle of pontifical influence and was also transformed according to new circumstances as well as local demands. Its exponents were not as militant as their predecessors and peace-making became one of the crucial topoi in later reformist episcopal hagiography—John of Trogir making peace with Coloman is an example as important as Ubald of Gubbio’s negotiations with Frederic Barbarossa. In general, John’s hagiographic image conforms well with the post-Gregorian episcopal model, which kept a balance between dominium and ministerium and introduced new elements related to local civic communities. Most of John’s “reformist” features are indirect; his activities regarding the reformed Benedictine female communities are only attested in charters, whereas his reformist upbringing can only be reconstructed by comparing the fragmentary information in his Vita with the careers of other typical reformist bishops. Thus, it seems that the flourishing of his cult in the late twelfth century should not be regarded as some kind of persistence of Gregory’s ecclesiology and Gregorian hagiography, but rather seen as a direct answer to current local demands, notably, episcopal restoration and the development of a civic cult.7 Both the content and function of the reformist episcopal vitae were novelties as they pertained to the dossier collected for canonization, a procedure that was still at an early stage of devel Pierre Toubert delineated the model of the ideal reformist bishop—“saintly bishop reformer in his city”—on the basis of four episcopal biographies from Lazio; Pierre Toubert, Les structures du Latium médiéval. Le Latium méridional et la Sabina du IXe à la fin du XII e siècle, vol. II (Rome: École française de Rome, 1973). 7 During the second half of the twelfth century Trogir faced several serious problems for breaching canonical episcopal elections; see Ana Marinković, “Celestine III and Dalmatia,” in Pope Celestine III (1191–1198): Diplomat and Pastor, ed. John Doran and Damian J. Smith (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), 179–88, here 187. 6

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opment. The reformist context of both the episcopate and the hagiography of St. John of Trogir can only be grasped partially from the preserved sources, but Vita b. Ioannis, together with certain other texts, provides direct evidence for the procedure and the result of the papal intervention on the confirmation of John’s cult. The pontificate of Celestine III (1191–1198), the period when this confirmation took place, was in the middle of the establishment of the new canonization procedure, between the initial steps by Alexander III and the development of the canonization procedure in the direction of exclusive papal control during the pontificate of Innocent III, although the application of newly-developed features is detectable as early as Celestine’s canonization bulls. The closing passage of Vita b. Ioannis, combined with other sources, adds important information on papal involvement in the bishop’s cult and knowledge of the procedures used at the time. Bishop John died in the odor of sanctity sometime after 1111, but after the Saracen/Venetian sack of Trogir in 1123, the nascent local cult was temporarily abandoned. Sometime after the mid-twelfth century the miraculous inventio took place, followed by the elevation accompanied by the official episcopal enquiry into John’s miracles and virtues, conducted before witnesses that were referred to in the Vita.8 It is plausible that the local prelates decided to turn to the pope in order to assure the official recognition of the local cult they were promoting. In return, the papacy supported the cult, which fostered reformist episcopal sanctity, plausibly helping to establish an ambience capable of promoting a reform of episcopal elections, important to the papacy in the case of the Church of Trogir. Thus, towards the end of the twelfth century, a network of churchmen began working on promoting and recognizing the cult, starting with Bishop Michael of Trogir and culminating with the papal legate Gregory de Sancto Apostolo and Treguan, redactor of the saint’s Vita.9 See below at 502–11. As far as the involvement of the Cathedral chapter in the initiative for papal recognition of the cult, it seems that the canons supported the bishop; Treguan asserted that he had been asked by “the brothers” (that is, the canons) and Bishop Michael to rewrite the Vita: See below at 510–11.

8 9

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In 1179, Archbishop Rainer of Split summoned Bishop Michael to attend the Third Lateran Council, where he possibly planned to present a petition to Alexander III for confirmation of the cult.10 For serving that purpose, the Vita of Bishop John must have already existed, even including a brief mention of the early miracles. One might even suggest that, contrary to the generally accepted dating to shortly after 1150, the first Vita was composed for that occasion, commissioned by the same bishop who, a quarter of a century later, commissioned its redaction by Treguan.11 Both the anonymous author and Treguan mention an episcopal inquiry, and since there is no evidence of the cult before the inventio of the saint’s body, it is plausible that both authors refer to the same inquiry, conducted sometime before the assumed petition to the pope.12 Moreover, an additional impulse for such a petition at that particular moment might have been the recent return of the Tragurian Codex diplomaticus regni Croatiae, vol. II, no. 160. Eventually, only the bishops of Nin and Skradin joined Rainer at the council; cf. Ivan Majnarić, Papinski legati na istočnojadranskoj obali (1159.–1204.) [Papal Legates on the Eastern Adriatic Coast] (Zagreb: Hrvatski institut za povijest, 2008), 81. 11 This is also supported by the fact that the previous bishop, Dessa Macarelli, was excommunicated due to his non-canonical appointment. Treguan’s assertion that he re-wrote what he “found in certain books, already worn by time” is somewhat exaggerated, since the period between the composition of the two redactions may vary from around twenty-five to a maximum of fifty years. The vitae which belonged to the dossier for the petitio were frequently used as the basis for subsequent official hagiographies; Roberto Paciocco, “Sublimia negotia”: Le canonizzazioni dei santi nella curia papale e il nuovo ordine dei Frati minori (Padua: Centro studi antoniani, 1996), 46–47. The possibility that Treguan re-wrote the Vita at the request of the legate even before the final version of 1203 (possibly in order to add more miracles needed for the papal approval) should not be discarded either. It is also possible that after the second legation, in 1198, it took several additional years until the Tragurian petition met all the requirements. 12 “Etenim sicut demum compertum est, referentibus veridicis testibus, and presentibus religiosis tam laicis, quam clericis ad hoc vocatis, ut rei gestae testimonium perhiberent, ne Episcopus narrationis praesumptuosae posset incurrere reprehesionem,” respectively. (See below at 492–93) An official inquiry is suggested by the line quae, qualiter et quo ordine viderit, implying a set of questions used in the inquiry. It is also possible that both of the formulaic references to healing miracles (Anonymus’ and Treguan’s) concern the same period after the elevation in the mid-twelfth century. 10

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bishop’s relic from Venice. The arm relic was stolen during the sack of Trogir by the Venetian fleet in 1171, and supposedly returned miraculously in 1174. The account of this crucial miracle is the major part of Treguan’s addition, accompanied by some witnesses’ depositions on three other more conventional healing miracles. Seemingly, the official papal inquiry started only in the early 1190s, indicated in two sources: Thomas of Split states that Celestine’s cardinal legate, Gregory de Crescentio, spent the whole of Lent of 1192 in Trogir, whereas Treguan mentions testimonies on the miracles by as many as sixty witnesses.13 Thomas does not mention Gregory’s task of investigating the Tragurian bishop, and neither does Treguan explicitly, although it took place only eleven years before his rewriting of the Vita and Treguan himself participated in the second legation sent to Dalmatia with this task. According to Pierre Toubert, however, omitting a mention of the official procedure is a typical feature of reformist vitae, and if the canonization is mentioned, it is in the form of a brief epilogue underlining the favorable conclusion of the inquiry.14 Such an epilogue indicating an official enquiry closes Treguan’s redaction of the Vita b. Ioannis.15 “Eo tempore illustris vir Bela Hungarie rex, missis apochrisariis ad apostolicam sedem, supplicavit domino pape Innocentio(!), ut iuberet reliquias beati Vladislavi regis sublevari et in loco decentiori componi ac ipsum in sanctorum cathalogo decerneret ascribendum. Cuius petitioni summus pontifex annuit et misit quendam virum reverendissimum Gregorium de Crescentio cardinalem, ut voluntati regie satisfaceret condecenter. Tunc cardinalis apostolica legatione suscepta transfretavit et venit in partes Dalmatie applicuitque Tragurium. Et quia yemis adhuc asperitas imminebat, voluit ibidem per totam quadragesimam comorari.” Thomae Archidiaconi Spalatensis Historia Salonitarum atque Spalatinorum Pontificum. History of the Bishops of Salona and Split by Archdeacon Thomas of Split, ed. Damir Karbić, Mirjana Matijević Sokol, Olga Perić and James Ross Sweeney. Central European Medieval Texts, vol. 4 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2006), 120. On Ladislaus’ canonization, see Gábor Klaniczay, Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 182, with further literature, and 185–87. On Thomas confusing Celestine with Innocent, see ibidem, 186. The presence of the papal legate in Trogir during the winter of 1192 was related to the testimonies of the sixty witnesses by Johannes Lucius; Lučin, Vita Ioannis, 118. 14 Toubert, Les structures du Latium médiéval, 809–10. 15 “Quae autem de ipsius translatione, et brachii relatione scripta leguntur, ideo praenotavi diligenter, ne essent occulta, de divinis miraculis. Quae ex sexaginta bonorum 13

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No papal bull or any reference to a papal decision to confirm the cult has been preserved, but Celestine might have authorized the legate who was in charge of the enquiry into the life and miracles to confirm the cult.16 The similarity of the opening paragraph of the Vita, added by Treguan in 1203, to the texts of contemporary canonization bulls (especially the use of the honorary plural credimus) speaks in favor of such an assumption. Thus, Treguan’s textual framework, added to the earlier text of the Vita, offers two indications of the papal approval of the cult: Firstly, the possible reference in the introduction to a papal bull or related document issued by the cardinal legate and, secondly, the mention in the epilogue of an inquiry into the bishop’s miracles with the depositions of sixty witnesses. In the context of Celestine’s canonization policy, confirmation of John’s cult should not be considered exceptional; at the beginning of his pontificate Celestine canonized two reformist bishops, Peter of Tarentaise in 1191 and Ubald of Gubbio in 1192.17 Moreover, it seems that the cult of St. Ubald of Gubbio, which had developed immediately after his death in 1160, was confirmed by the papal bull, rather than established—if one can discern the two in this period of fluid definition of papal canonization.18 assertione virorum, fuisse vera probatum est.” (See below at 510–11) In addition, since in the early terminology of official sanctity the terms translatio and canonizatio are used as synonyms, the two mentions of translatio in St John’s biography should be read with this meaning of the word in mind; Paciocco, “Sublimia negotia,” 18. 16 Still as Cardinal Hyacinth, Celestine undertook a similar action regarding the cult of St. Rosendo of Dumio, although the pope did not expressly delegate him the task; see Michael Goodich, “The Canonization Policy of Celestine III,” in Pope Celestine III, 307–9. 17 In addition to Goodich’s study, see Piero Zerbi, Papato, Impero, e “Respublica christiana” dal 1187 al 1198 (Milan: Vita e Pensiero, 1955; second edition 1980), 70–78, and Giulia Barone, “La canonizzazione di s. Ubaldo,” in: Nel segno del santo protettore: Ubaldo vescovo, taumaturgo, santo. ed. Stefano Brufani and Enrico Menestò, Quaderni del Centro per il collegamento degli studi medievali e umanistici nell’Università di Perugia, vol. 22 (Spoleto: Centro italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo, 1990), 261–67. 18 Vauchez asserts that still in the thirteenth century devotees conceived of canonization as a ratification, preceded by verification, of an already existing cult established by a local community; André Vauchez, La santità nel Medioevo, tr. Alfonso Prandi (Bologna: il Mulino, 1989), 60.

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The most important evidence indicating the legate’s task was successfully concluded was the composition of the proper liturgy for the Tragurian bishop.19 St. John’s rhymed Office has been dated to the very end of the twelfth century and considered a result of the second legation, which indicates that the cult had been officially confirmed in the meantime.20 The second antiphon in the Vespers of the Office reads Joannem Gregorius optans venerari, per Martinum pauperem jussit praedicari; thus Lucius already identifies Gregorius as the cardinal legate, whereas Martinus would refer to the author of the Office.21 Furthermore, according to a note in Lucius’ transcription, it seems that Treguan was the author of certain lectiones of the Nocturns or even of the whole second part of the Office,22 which confirms that an incomplete version of the Office already existed in Treguan’s time. Therefore, Treguan, in addition to completing the already-existing Vita, also completed the Office The office is preserved in Lucius’ manuscript R6608, 2r–8v; published by Antonio Lovato, “L’ufficio ritmico del beato Giovanni Orsini vescovo di Trogir/Traù (1064– 1111),” in: Srednjovjekovne glazbene kulture na istočnoj i zapadnoj obali Jadrana do početka 15. Stoljeća / Mediaeval music cultures on the eastern and western shores of the Adriatic until the beginning of the 15th century, Proceedings of the International Musicological Symposium held in Split, May 21–24, 1997, ed. Hana Breko et al. (Zagreb: Hrvatsko muzikološko društvo, 2000): 85–123, here 95–101. For the corrected, fifteenth century version, see Officium Beati Joannis Ursini episcopi et confessoris Traguriensis ad usum ejusdem Civitatis (Verona: Ex officina Libantiana, 1841). 20 As early as the time of Alexander III it was considered irregular to perform a liturgy dedicated to a person not yet canonized by the pope, as the example of St. Thomas Becket attests; Eric Waldram Kemp, Canonization and Authority in the Western Church (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1948), 88–89. 21 R6608, 1r–2r. On the other hand, relying on certain verses in the Office pointing to a Franciscan milieu, it was suggested that pauper stands for a Franciscan, and that Gregory should be identified with the Tragurian bishop, Franciscan Gregory Machinatura (1282–1297). Antonio Lovato has proved, however, that the correction containing Franciscan reminiscences was made in the first half of the fifteenth century, whereas the original office should be dated to the very end of the twelfth century. See Antonio Lovato, “L’ufficio ritmico,” 90–91. A document published by Lucius, an excerpt from the cathedral operarius’ records of expenses for the year 1434, mentions bergamine per rescriver l’offitio novo de s. Zuanne de Tragura, referring to the modified version of the office; Iohannes Lucius, Memorie istoriche di Tragurio ora detto Traù (Venice: Stefano Curti, 1673), 488. 22 Lucius added the words De Treguano Episcopo to the title Lectio IIII; R6608, 5r. 19

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partially written by a certain Martin commissioned by Cardinal Gregory. The text of the Vita also contains a possible reference to the papal confirmation of the cult. In the early phase of canonization policy development, the term translatio equaled canonizatio; thus, Treguan’s words that St John was repositus . . . sive translatus might have referred to the fact that John’s body was translated to the altar after the official confirmation of his cult sometime between 1192 and 1198. Since they were intended as a part of the canonization dossier although written in the form of a traditional biography, many episcopal vitae written around the year 1200 include all the data required by the official inquiry. This meant primarily the signs of sanctity, comprobationes sanctitatis, which include prophecy in articulo mortis, death in the odor of sanctity, and evidence of thaumaturgic powers.23 Each of these elements is present in Vita b. Ioannis in elaborate and lengthy episodes, which suggests the function of the text in the official dossier and at the same time announces new hagiographical motifs related to a growing civic consciousness. Pierre Toubert drew attention to the civic potential of the cults of reformist bishops of Latium, stressing the typical topoi that later became the basis for their development into civic patrons.24 Among the recurrent episodes in episcopal biographies, defense of the city from an enemy’s attack refers most directly to a bishop’s ability to protect all the members of the civic community and therefore represents the germ of a civic cult, the basis for its construction and eventual appropriation by communal institutions. Although the confrontation where John acted as defensor civitatis took place in Zadar and not in Trogir, it introduces the same civic elements into a report of ecclesiastical affairs as a consequence of the development of urban imagery.25 The conflict between Trogir and Venice over Cf. Toubert, Les structures du Latium médiéval, 823–25. Toubert refers to the background of post-Gregorian hagiography as “l’amalgame entre les aspirations da l’évêque vers la libertas Ecclesiae et celles de son peuple vers les libertés communales,” Toubert, Les structures du Latium médiéval, 821. 25 The episode of King Coloman’s siege of Zadar is echoed in Andrea Dandolo’s chronicle: [the Jadertines] meritis etiam beati Iohanis episcopi tragurini eis assistentis, 23

24

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the arm relic of St. John, seized by the Venetian army in 1171, and now known exclusively through the saint’s hagiography, raised this episode to the level of universal civic importance through including citizens in the efforts to regain the relic, and eventually developed into the central visual motif of civic identity.26 Besides defending the city through a pacifying action, the motif of settling internal civic discords, a traditional episcopal topos, was re-used in late-twelfth century episcopal vitae as an element showing civic quality. In John’s biography, this element is related to the activities of the papal legate before he installed John in the bishop’s see. In the case of Trogir, however, this was also a reformist topos, since the civic discord in general referred to the conflict between the supporters and the adversaries of the reformed Church. The episodes attesting to signs of sanctity, such as prophecy preceding death in the odor of sanctity and working miracles, were infused with details referring to the civic community. A variant of the traditional hagiographic motif of prophecy, predicting a city’s future, is an especially effective means of keeping the imagined connection between the bishop and the city alive even after his death and assuring the presence of his memory in future events. John predicted the destruction of the city and its subsequent r­ ebirth.27 conservabantur illesi; Andreae Danduli Chronica per extensum descripta, ed. Ester Pastorello. Rerum italicarum scriptores, vol. 12 (Bologna: N. Zanichelli, 1938), 228. This episode, in which the bishop succeeds in converting a powerful enemy by calling on the common Christian faith, is comparable to Ubald’s negotiations with Frederick Barbarossa during the siege of Gubbio; AASS Maii III, 633–34; Alba Maria Orselli, “Ubaldo di Gubbio: Quale ‘segno’ per una città?” in Basileousa polis-regia civitas: studi sul Tardoantico Cristiano (Spoleto: Centro Italiano di Studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 2015), 155, and similarly was presented as a miracle narrative. 26 See Ana Marinković, “Hagiographical Motifs and Visual Identity: The Late-Medieval Communal Seal of Trogir,” Hortus Artium Medievalium 12 (2006): 229–35. On the Tragurian episode of furtum sacrum as a literary rendering of a diplomatic act of taking a subject city’s patron relic as a hostage, see Ana Marinković, “Hostage Relics and Venetian Maritime Control in the Eastern Adriatic,” in: Ein Meer und seine Heiligen: Hagiographie im mittelalterlichen Mediterraneum, ed. Nikolas Jaspert, Christian Alexander Neumann, and Marco Di Branco, Mittelmeerstudien vol. 18 (Leiden–Paderborn: Brill–Fink, 2018), 275–97. 27 See below at 480–83.

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The “prophecy” might have been the author’s a posteriori reference to the 1123 attack by Venetians or Saracens, which in its turn satisfied the need for one of the signs of sanctity and at the same time added a civic flavor to the Vita. The related motif of a saint’s “testament,” that is, his last message to the citizens, often includes strong references to the civic community as an organized collective body. John’s last message included such a prophecy, and closed with a typical submission of his flock to the Lord’s mercy. Describing a bishop’s funeral is a particularly appropriate moment to describe the citizens’ devotion directed to the future saint, thus establishing a basis for his veneration as the civic patron. The description of John’s funeral emphasizes the participation of all social groups in civic mourning, while the related strategy of referring to prominent citizens in miracle accounts and stressing local place-names also added to the “localization” of hagiography.28 The detailed geographical description of the bishop’s shipwreck miracle at the Planka promontory plausibly inspired the later construction of the confraternal chapel at this spot that would eventually become the major location of the saint’s miracles at a distance.29 Crowds of citizens witnessed the miraculous events post mortem: “a great number of clerics and laymen” participated in the invention of the relics and “the people” rejoiced when the tomb was found. Furthermore, the account of the theft of the arm relic describes the citizens’ organized efforts to regain the relic (plausibly echoing official diplomatic actions between the governments of Trogir and Venice) and the celebration after its miraculous return.30 The latter account, concluding with a reference to John’s intercession on behalf of In three miracle accounts which Treguan added to Vita Ioannis, as many as four persons are mentioned by name (and surname). Similarly, the importance of the place-names in the localization of St. Ubald’s hagiography is stressed by Orselli, “Ubaldo di Gubbio: Quale ‘segno’ per una città?,” 149. 29 On confraternal devotion to St John, see Ana Marinković, “The Changing Objects of Civic Devotion: Gender, Politics and Votive Commissions in a Late Medieval Dalmatian Confraternity,” in The Routledge History Handbook of Gender and the Urban Experience, ed. Deborah Simonton (London: Routledge, 2017), 259–70. 30 See below at 496–503. 28

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all the citizens, provides the fundamental narrative for construction of civic patronage; this episode from John’s hagiography eventually became the basis for the iconography of civic insignia. The choice of Trogir’s civic patron saint was fundamentally directed and supported by writing and rewriting his hagiography, that is, using details and episodes related to the citizens. These hints and episodes created the “civic quality” of hagiographic reading (and consequently the cult) necessary for appropriating the saint as the city patron. The fact that Vita b. Ioannis focuses on neither the reform of clerical life (which, as argued above, was an important issue in the reform of the Dalmatian Church) nor the material restoration of episcopium but puts forward “signs of sanctity” elaborated to meet the requirements for the official approval clearly indicates the author’s or commissioner’s primary goal: papal confirmation of the cult. In addition, the abundance of civic references relates Vita b. Ioannis to the strand of post-Gregorian models that introduced the civic dimension to episcopal vitae. It seems that the cults of reformist bishops were predestined to develop into civic cults for more reasons than only the recurrent civic hagiographical topoi. What made these cults exceptionally suitable for such a task is that they were established in the initial period of communal development and evolved around holy bishops, who were both locals and contemporaries, and thence had close ties to civic communities. This “local quality,” originally used to reinforce the image of the ideal bishop actively reforming his own community, eventually became the basis for the development of official civic devotion. The post-Gregorian episcopal model, the last phase of reformist episcopal hagiography, eventually gave way to new models inspired by and conforming to mendicant spirituality. Late-twelfth century episcopal hagiography introduced, nevertheless, original features informed by the emerging communal system that was reflected in the specific topoi stressing the strong connection between bishops and the civic community.

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VITA S. JOANNIS EP. TRAGURIENSIS Pars prima Acta S. Joannis, & obitus Præfatio Conditor humani generis Dominus noster volens ecclesiæ, quam filii sui Jesu Christi dormientis in cruce sanguine dedicaverat, fundamenta stabilire in montibus Sanctorum,1 ad ipsius roboris firmitatem alios elegit Apostolos, quorum prædicationis sonus in omnem terram exiret2; alios quidem martyres, qui pro testimonio fidei ejus & lege servanda velut agonistæ fortissimi, usque ad mortem certantes, sanguinem proprium effuderunt: quosdam vero confessores, qui licet non succubuerint gladiis persequentium, crucifigentes tamen carnem suam cum vitiis & concupiscentiis palmam martyrii nullatenus amiserunt. De quorum consortio Beatum Joannem Traguriensis civitatis Antistitem fuisse credimus. Qui cujus vitæ, vel meriti fuerit, & qualiter ad apicem infulæ pontificalis pervenerit, sequens textus edocet manifeste. Caput I Joannes Cardinalis & legatus apostolicus rogatus a Traguriensibus Joannem Ursinum, legationis comitem, Ecclesiæ Traguriensi Episcopum præficit, quamvis invictum & reluctantem. Temporibus igitur Colomani regis Hungariæ,3 cum quidam legatus4 ab urbe Roma missus ad partes Pannoniæ, intrans Dalmatiam, A variation on Ps. 14. Rom. 10:18. 3 King of Hungary (1095–1116), son of Géza I and his Greek concubine Synadene, daughter of Nicephor Botaneiates; nephew of St. Ladislaus. In 1102, he was crowned king of Croatia in Biograd by the Sea (Belgradum supra mare). During his Dalmatian campaign in 1105, he asserted his sovereignty over several towns, but also granted the privilege of municipal autonomy to Zadar, Trogir, and Split. However, there is a major discrepancy in date, John must have occupied the episcopal see of Trogir at least from 1064, since he is mentioned as the founder of the Benedictine nunnery of 1 2

[ 462 ]

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LIFE OF SAINT JOHN OF TROGIR Part i Deeds of St. John and his death Preface Our Lord, creator of the human race, having consecrated the church our Lord with the blood of his son Jesus Christ who died on the cross, wished to make firm its foundations upon the mountains of the saints.1 In order to strengthen its vigor, he elected certain people to become apostles, in order that the sound of their preaching should go forth into all the earth;2 others, again, to become martyrs, who fought to death and spilt their own blood as bravest of combatants in order to testify to his faith and preserve his law; and some to become confessors, who although they did not succumb to the swords of persecutors, nevertheless crucified their body with its vices and lusts, and thus by no means lost the palm of martyrdom. In our opinion, the blessed John, bishop of the city of Trogir, belonged to this last group. How he lived and what were his merits, and how he obtained the episcopal fillet, the following text will make plain. Chapter 1 John, cardinal and apostolic legate, at the request of the citizens of Trogir, appoints John Orsini, a member of the legation, to be bishop of the church of Trogir, although John is unwilling and resists. In the times of Coloman, king of Hungary,3 a certain legate,4 who had been sent from the city of Rome to Pannonia, entered DalmaSt. Domnius (later St. Nicholas) and his name appears on further charters throughout the early twelfth century. The name of Coloman should be therefore substituted by that of Krešimir IV (1050–1075), and this error raises the question of the actual extent of Treguan’s modifications and interpolations. Cf. Ana Marinković, “Constrvi et erigi ivssit rex Collomannvs: The Royal Chapel of King Coloman in the Complex of St. Mary in Zadar,” Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU 8 (2002): 37–64. 4 The name of the legate is not known. In his vita of St. John of Trogir, the seventeenth-century historian Johannes Lucius (Ivan Lučić) identified him as Cardinal [ 463 ]

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venisset in civitatem Jadratinam,5 occurrunt ei cives Tragurienses orantes, ut per terram eorum iter faceret, quia civitas sua crebris bellorum incursibus diutissimaque civium dissensione agitata, destructioni proxima ferebatur: qui legationis injunctæ sibi nulla potiora initia se posse dare considerans, quam in initio viarum suarum civilia bella pacare, petitioni condecendens illorum, cum illis navigavit ad urbem; ubi datis salutaribus monitis seditionem sedavit, antiquam & civilem discordiam pacis concordia commutavit. Moram autem eo faciente in Traguriensi civitate, contigit, ejusdem urbis præsulem de præsenti vita migrare, post cujus obitum clerus & populus universus ad legatum convenientes deprecabantur voto supplici, ut eis dignaretur providere pastorem de his, quos in suo adduxerat comitatu. Quod cum sibi grave videretur admodum, tum propter patriæ longinquam distantiam, tum propter diversos mores & instituta locorum, tum etiam quia difficulter sperabat esse personam in suo comitatu ad hoc voluntariam, votis illorum acquiescere recusabat. Assiduis demum precibus fatigatus eorum, animadvertit inter clericos comitatus sui quendam juvenili adhuc ætate, tamen lenitate florentem, genere nobilem, scientia plenum, probatum moribus, Joannem nomine, quem his exhortationibus adoritur dicens: Non est tuæ discretioni secretum, fili carissime, quanta precum instantia me fatigare non cessat populus civitatis hujus, postulando de sociis nostris aliquem in ecclesiæ suæ futurum præsulem & rectorem. Et quia vox populi fertur esse divina, operæ pretium videtur nobis eorum debere condescendere postulationi. Nunc ergo confortare in Domino, & in potentia virtutis ejus,6 accingens te ipsum ad subeundum pondus onJohn, whom Pope Alexander II sent to Dalmatia in 1062/63 to solve a schism between the adherents of Slavonic and Latin language in liturgy. According to Lucius, the city was also plagued by frequent Norman incursions and torn by civil unrests between the party that was loyal to Byzantium and the advocates of Norman allegiance. Cf. Lucius, Vita b. Ioannis Confessoris. 5 In Zadar, Coloman financed the construction of a royal chapel adjacent to the Benedictine nunnery of St. Mary. Cf. Ana Marinković, “Funkcija, forma, tradicija: Kraljevska kapela Kolomana Učenog u samostanu Sv. Marije u Zadru” [Function, form, tradition: The royal chapel of Coloman the Learned at St. Mary’s monastery in Zadar], Prilozi povijesti umjetnosti u Dalmaciji 40 (2003–2004): 43–76.

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tia and came to the city of Zadar.5 There he was approached by the citizens of Trogir, who pleaded with him to pass through their land, since their city, troubled with frequent warlike raids and protracted dissent among its citizens, stood near to destruction. Believing there was no better way he could begin the legation confided to him than by quelling civil wars at the beginning of his travels, the legate agreed to grant their petition and sailed with them to their city. There he settled the sedition with salutary admonitions and transformed the ancient civil discord into concord and peace. However, while he was staying in the city of Trogir, it happened that the bishop of that city departed this life, and after his death the clergy and the entire people approached the legate, begging and entreating him to deign to provide them with a pastor from among those that he had brought in his entourage. But since this seemed to him extremely difficult—owing both to the great distance from his homeland and to the difference in local customs and observances, but also because he hardly expected that there would be in his entourage a person willing to do that—he declined to respond to their supplications. But finally, weary of their assiduous pleas, he noticed among the clerics in his entourage one that was still of youthful years, but nevertheless distinguished by mildness, noble of birth, abounding in knowledge, and of proven good ways, by the name of John; and he addressed him with the following exhortation: “My dearest son, surely it has not escaped your understanding with what urgent pleas the people of this city do not cease to tire me, begging for one of our companions as prelate and governor of their church. And since the voice of the people is said to come from God, it seems to us worthwhile and necessary that we should comply with their request. Therefore, be strong in the Lord, and in the might of his power,6 and gird yourself to accept the weight of the burden and the

Eph. 6:10.

6

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eris & honoris; cum præter te non sit inter comites nostros quispiam, de circumspectione cujus possimus huic ecclesiæ providere. Quibus auditis turbatus infremuit, & ut erat columbinæ simplicitatis, verecunda facie respondens ait: Quid in me, Pater & Domine, tuæ displicuit paternitati? Cur mihi perferre suades pondus, quod humeri potentes & fortes ad onera expavent; præsertim cum & corporisa vires, & scientia desit animo, nec vitæ cursus congruat gravitati?7 Sed & si mea tibi, Domine, videntur ingrata obsequia, licentia tua, nativitatis patriam repetam, de qua huc te prosecutus adveni, potius quam in hac parte cujuspiam consiliis acquiescam. Contradicente autem Joanne legati consilio, adjiciente quoque se subiturum quodvis genus supplicii, priusquam onus solicitudinis pastoralis; egreditur ad plebem legatus, & expectationi ejus in hunc modum respondit. Fratres & filii, honestis, justisque petitionibus vestris, quantum cum Deo poteram, satisfacere proposueram; sed meo proposito effectus operis contradicit. Est enim in comitatu legationis nostræ quidam, quem quia scientiæ plenitudine ac morum gravitate juvenilem transcendit ætatem, vestræ petitioni tradere satagebam. Sed quia ipsius animo suadere nequeo, quod vel meo consilio acquiescat, vel vestræ voluntati consentiat, ite & juxta beneplacitum vestrum de provida persona, & ecclesiæ vestræ idonea, juste & rationabiliter cogitate. Qui ob hanc vocem mærentes effecti ac tristes clerus omnis ac populus metuentes, ne civitas dissoluta sine pastore dimissa, post legati recessum in deteriora relapsa prioribus, ad irrevocabile præcipitum vergeret, pari voto se ipsos adstringunt, a legati foribus non recessuros, nisi prius per illum postulationis suæ finem consequerentur optatum. Cumque innotuissent ei vota populi, commotus iterato clamore plebis ad sæpe dictum juvenem convertitur rursus, & eum in hunc modum affatur, dicens: Fili carissime, non te latet, ut credo, & cer recte corpori

a

According to canon law, it was not permitted that a person younger than thirty years of age should be appointed to the episcopal office. Cf. Kathleen G. Cushing, Reform and Papacy in the Eleventh Century: Spirituality and Social Change (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 69. This fact has influenced the dating of John’s birth in ca. 1033. 7

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honor; for except for you, there is nobody among our companions whom we could place above this church for his foresight.” When he heard this, John cried out in distress; and since he was simple as a dove, he responded with a bashful face: “My father and lord, what in me has displeased you? Why do you urge me to take upon myself a burden which daunts shoulders that are strong and used to carry weight, especially when my body lacks strength and my mind knowledge, and the stage of my life is not in keeping with this dignity?7 But if my attendance obedience seems displeasing to you, my lord, I will with your permission return to my land of birth, from which I came here following you, rather than consent to anyone’s design in this matter.” Since John was opposing the legate’s designs, and even added that he would sooner subject himself to any type of torment than accept the burden of pastoral care, the legate went out to the people and replied to their expectations in the following manner: “Brothers and sons, I intended to satisfy your honest and just petition as much as I was able to do with God’s help; however, the outcome of my effort has turned out contrary to my intention. There is indeed a man in the entourage of our legation whom I thought of consigning to your petition, since he surpasses his youthful years in the abundance of his knowledge and dignity of his character. But since I am not able to bend his mind that he should acquiesce to my counsel or consent to your wish, go and think as you will, rightfully and reasonably, about a prudent person that would be suitable for your church.” When they heard the news, all the clergy and people were struck with grief and sadness, fearing that the divided city, left without a pastor, would after the legate’s departure fall into even greater misery than before and head towards an irreversible cataclysm; so, they unanimously vowed that they would not depart from the legate’s doors until they had achieved the desired outcome to their request through him. When the legate was informed about the vow of the people, moved by the repeated clamor of the populace, he again turned to the above-mentioned young man, addressing him as follows: “My dear son, it is not unknown to you, as I believe and am convinced, that it

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tus sum, quod sit bonum viro cum portaverit jugum ab adolescentia sua, cum jugum enim suave8 sit ad portandum, & leve onus ipsius, prout in Evangelio legimus, ad ferendum; ideoque scire te, frater, oportet, quia divinæ providentiæ sententia te invitat per voces istius populi, ut reddas in hoc loco Domino vota tua,9 & ut sacrificando laudis hostiam offeras Altissimo vitulum labiorum tuorum.10 Acquiescens demum juvenis legati sermonibus, & considerans quod divina non potest mutari sententia, respondens ait: Si provisum est dispositione Domini sic, quod non possit aliter fieri, dummodo ipsi ecclesiæ labor meus possit proficere, voluntas Dei, Pater, & tua fiat. Lætus itaque legatus ad plebem egreditur, & ejus desideria completa esse revelat. Exultat clerus, congaudet populus, & gratiarum actiones Deo & Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ pro tanta sibi collata persona ferentes, unanimiter deposcunt, ut quantocyus in præsulem consecretur. Legato suo prosequente legationis suæ iter, consecratur a Laurentio Salonitanæ11 sedis Archipræsule, atque ad urbem Traguriensem reversus, cum gaudio plebis suscipitur universæ.12 Caput II De studio precandi, meditandique, & assidua præsertim corporis afflictatione, qua laude in primis Joannes floruit, seque omnibus suspiciendum & admirandum præbuit. Sublimatus igitur cathedra pontificali, non dedit se corrumpendum inertiæ, veluti plerique adepti causam desidiosæ quietis solent; sed jugi meditationi intentus totius vitæ suæ cursum jejuniis, orationibus, vigiliis, & eleemosynis adorsus est. Erat autem in oratione facundus, in sapientia præcelsus, pietate affabilis, in sermone verax, in judicio justus, & reddens quæ sunt Dei Deo,13 Matt. 11:30. Job 22:27; cf. Ps. 49 (50):14 10 Hos. 14:2. 11 That is, the archbishop of Split (1060–1099). His vita can be found in Farlati, Illyricum sacrum, vol. 3, Ecclesia Spalatensis olim Salonitana (1765), 131–160. 12 On John’s consecration, cf. Thomae Archidiaconi Spalatensis Historia, 76–77. 8 9

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is good for a man to have carried a yoke from adolescence, for then the yoke is sweet and the burden is light,8 as we read in the Gospels; therefore, you should know, my brother, that it is the judgment of divine providence that invites you through the voice of this people to pay vows9 to God in this place and, offering the host in praise, render the calves of your lips10 to the Almighty.” Acquiescing finally to the words of the legate and considering that the divine decisions could not be changed, the young man replied: “If it has been so foreseen by God’s disposition that it cannot be otherwise, then provided that my labor can be of use to the Church, let God’s will, father, and yours, be done.” Thus, the legate went out joyfully to the people and announced that their wishes had been satisfied. The clergy were jubilant, and the people rejoiced and expressing thanks to God and the Holy Roman Church that such a person was given to them, unanimously pressed he should be consecrated bishop as soon as possible. Since the legate was proceeding on his journey of legation, the young man was consecrated by Lawrence, archbishop of Salona;11 and upon his return to the city of Trogir, he was received with joy by all the people.12 Chapter 2 About his zeal for prayer and meditation, and especially the incessant mortification of his body, in which laudable acts John was particularly conspicuous and showed himself worthy to be acknowledged and admired by all. After he was raised to the episcopal see, he did not allow himself to be corrupted by idleness, as many do when they are offered an opportunity for indolent repose; but, given over to constant meditation, spent the entire course of his life in fasting, prayers, vigils, and almsgiving. And he was eloquent in speaking, sublime in wisdom, affable in kindness, truthful in conversation, just in judgment, and rendering unto God the things that were God’s,13 he shunned the fickle wind 13

Cf. Matt. 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25.

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humani favoris auram fugiens, in faciem hominum vestiebat fulgidam vestem & celebrem, super nudo vero intrinsecus asperrimo cilicio utebatur. Nec secus quoque toto vitæ suæ cursu fuit usus thalami proprio cubiculo, quod a cubiculariis ejus egregie paratum spernebat, atque cubiculariis eisdem emissis, & admisso secretius paupere, eum in memorato cubili locabat, ipse autem post longas noctis vigilias pavimento substernens aspersos asparagos nudus desuper, carnem crudelius delicto macerans, pernoctabat.14 Caput III Ex paucis racemis ingentem vini copiam educit. Navim fluctibus illisam atque obrutam naufragio eximit. Sicco, atque inoffenso pede maria calcat. Hæc & his similia longo usu temporum eo faciente, contigit quod anno quodam, tempore jam vindemiarum propinquante, grando superveniens vineas contudit adeo, quod vinitores non uvas, sed racemos rarissimos domum referrent. Episcopi autem vindemiarii, cum & ipsi simili ratione tam paucos reportarent racemos, juxta terræ consuetudinem, ut vix tinam15 possent dimidiare, nunciant ei, quam modicum racemorum de suis vineis reportassent. Quibus ille: Potens est Deus, qui de sicca rupe per Moysen servum suum aquam toti populo Israeli sufficientem eduxit,16 etiam nobis de racemis pauculis vini copiam elargiri. Ite, quod dederit Deus, cui deservio, in ipsius nominis potentia eliquate. Ministri autem euntes fecerunt, sicut eis fuerat imperatum. Et cum eliquare cœpissent, tanta vini prorupit abundantia, quod de vase tam parvulo tria magna usque ad summum sunt repleta dolia, vini Cf. the brief statement on John living “the life of great austerity” in Thomae Archidiaconi Spalatensis Historia, 76–77. 15 Tina: a large container for grapes or wine. Apparently, half of bishop’s grape harvest was conceded to the citizens, since later the bishop rebukes the harvesters saying that they would be answerable both to him and to the whole people. 16 Cf. Ex. 17:1–6. 14

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of human favor. Before men he clothed himself in glittering and distinguished vestments, but underneath he wore the roughest hair shirt upon his bare skin. Moreover, he never, during his entire lifetime, used the bed in his own bedroom, but spurned it even though his chamberlains had prepared it with all comfort; rather, having sent them away, he would secretly let in a poor man and place him in that bed, while he himself would, after long nocturnal vigils, lie down naked on the pavement, after having scattered asparagus needles upon it, and spend the night there, lacerating his flesh more cruelly than any faults required.14 Chapter 3 From a few clusters of grapes, he produces a vast amount of wine. He saves a ship, battered and overwhelmed by waves, from shipwreck. He walks on the sea with dry feet and safe step. As he did this and similar things for a long time, it happened one year that, as the time of the grape harvest was approaching, hailstorms fell upon the vineyards and destroyed them to such an extent that the winemakers did not bring home grapes, apart from a very few single clusters. The bishop’s harvesters, since they for the same reason brought in so few clusters that they could hardly divide a vat in half, as was the custom of the land,15 informed the bishop how few clusters of grapes they had brought in from his vineyards. Upon which he said to them: “If God, through his servant Moses, brought forth water from a dry rock sufficient for the entire people of Israel,16 He has the power to grant us abundance of wine from these very few clusters of grapes. Go and press out what God, whom I serve, has given, by the power of His name.” And his attendants went and did as they were ordered. And as they began to press the grapes, such abundance of wine burst out that from that very small jar they filled three large barrels to the top,

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continua copia effluente. Quod cum viderent cum stupore & admiratione, studuerunt beato viro nunciare dicentes: Domine, mira res & stupenda valde, de tanta paucitate uvarum tres majores replevimus jam vegetes, & quod est mirabilius, idem vini fluxus indeficiens pervenerat. Quibus moderate respondens iniquit: Misereatur vestri, Deus, filioli; quare Dei misericordiam in invidiam convertitis? Ecce vere quod nunc abundat, jam cessavit omnino; & vos reati hujus non modo nobis, verum etiam obnoxii eritis universæ plebi. Illi vero ad opus suum regressi, sicut vir sanctus prælocutus fuerat, invenerunt vinum jam penitus a fluxu quievisse. Alio vero tempore cum navigaret ad oppidum, quod dicitur Sibenicum,17 & in navicula, qua vehebatur Sanctus, veheretur vini etiam dolium, & ventum esset ad locum, qui vulgo Plancha, latine aut Hyllis vel Promontorium Diomedis18 vocatur, motus vehemens factus est in mari. Et quia præfatus locus a terra fere præcisus, & quadam latitudine porrectus in mari, plerumque vero marinis cooperitur fluctibus, navigium memoratum incaute in idipsum ruens saxum, submersum est cum omnibus quæ ferebat. De quo navigio cum alii natando, alii tabulis hærentes, si quas obtulisset casus, exirent, solus Antistes super undas maris quasi super aridam illæsus exivit. Ultimo autem eo jubente navigium ita illæsum cum rebus suis de profundis educitur, ut in suprafatum vini dolium stilla non subrepserit aquæ. Caput IV Colomanus Hungarorum rex Jaderam obsidet, vehementerque oppugnat. Joannes bellicam machinam effusis apud Deum precibus disjecit, urbem ab excidio prohibuit. Lat. Sibenicum, a town halfway between Zadar and Split, at that time within the diocese of Trogir. 18 This name was mentioned as early as the first century B.C. by Varro and subsequently in other classical geographical descriptions of Dalmatia, such as Naturalis historia 3, 141 by Plinius the Elder. Recent archaeological excavations have brought to light remnants of a small sanctuary, presumably dedicated to the hero Diomedes, on the promontory of Planka, today ten meters below the sea level. Cf. Slobodan Čače, 17

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and wine kept flowing continuously. And as they beheld this, in amazement and admiration, they hurried to announce it to the holy man, saying: “Oh master, a strange and most wondrous thing has happened: from that small quantity of grapes we have already filled three great containers and, what is even more wondrous, the same flow of wine was coming out undiminished.” The bishop answered them calmly: “God have mercy on you, my dear sons. Why do you turn God’s compassion into ill will? There, what abounded just a moment ago, now has ceased to flow altogether; and you will be answerable for this offence not only to me, but also to the whole people.” And as they returned to their work, they discovered that the wine had by then completely ceased flowing, just as the holy man had predicted. On another occasion, he was sailing to the town called Šibenik,17 and a barrel of wine was being transported in the same small ship as the holy man. And when they reached a place that in the vernacular is called Planka, and in Latin Hyllis or Promontorium Diomedis,18 there was a great upheaval in the sea. And since the place in question is almost cut off from the land and protrudes into the sea at considerable length, so that the sea billows mostly cover it, the vessel unexpectedly dashed against the rock and sank together with its entire cargo. Some saved themselves from the ship swimming, others by clinging onto planks if any chanced their way; only the bishop walked out safe upon the waves of the sea as if it were dry land. Finally, at his order, the ship was brought out of the depths so unharmed, with all its cargo, that not a drop of water had found its way into the aforementioned barrel of wine. Chapter 4 Coloman, king of the Hungarians, puts Zadar under siege and attacks it fiercely. By copious prayers to God John shatters a war machine and saves the city from destruction. “Promunturium Diomedis (Plin., Nat. hist. 3, 141),” Radovi Filozofskog fakulteta u Zadru 35/22 (1997), 21–44. In 1322, the confraternity of St. John of Trogir financed the construction of a chapel nearby, on the mainland, dedicated to the saint. 19 Cf. Ps. 135 (136):12; Neh. 1:10; Baruch 2:11; Ex. 6:6.

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Per idem tempus Colomanum Pannoniorum regem contigit ad maritimas partes in manu potenti & brachio excelso descendere,19 ut regnum suæ ditioni subjugaret Illyricum, Croatiæ gentibus jam subactis. Et quia civitas Jadratina munitior & potentior ferebatur ceteris civitatibus inferiorum partium Dalmatiæ20 tum natura loci, tum etiam multitudine populi bellicosi, quæ quondam ab Adrio fratre Itali fertur fuisse constructa,21 contra illam primo direxit aciem exercitus universi, quam, cum sibi nollet obtemperare, circumcinxit obsidione, & erectis adversus illam propugnaculis & variis generibus tormentorum, non minimam stragem murorum urbis & turrium faciebat. Eodem modo & cives pro salute certantes adversum exteriorem suam machinam, quæ vulgo T. Artaria22 dicitur, erexerunt. Sed quodam præsagio contigit divino, ut quoscumque lapides vibraret machina civium, aut super suas crates, vel vineas, aut intra muros suos, retorti converterentur; unde perturbati, atque conterriti nullum aliud saluti suæ remedium expectabant, nisi aut præliando cruentum occasum, aut ignominiosæ deditionis eventum. Quibus sic dubitantibus occurrit beatus Joannes Traguriensis Antistes, more solito fatigatus, ut inter Jadratinos & regem exortum sedaret tumultum, & ad pacis normam utriusque populi revocaret errorem.23 Ad cujus adventum gavisi cives, & supra quam dici possit gratulabundi effecti, veluti de suæ salutis auctore, ipsum adeunt gradu festino, consulentes, quid facto sit opus, quidve sit factum pandunt per ordinem. Quos Sanctus blande, leniterque consolatus est, dicens: Nolite turbari, nolite, filii, metuere, nam & me causa Dalmatia inferior encompassed the area between the rivers Raša and Neretva. Cf. Thomae Archidiaconi Spalatensis Historia, 6–7. 22 Turris Artaria: a mobile tower with a ram’s head made of iron suspended on its end. It was drawn near to the fortifications and then used as a pendulum in order to demolish them. This device, as well as the catapult mentioned below, were used by the ancient Romans and described as turris ambulatoria by Vitruvius Pollio, De architectura libri X, and by Flavius Vegetius Renatus, Epitoma rei militaris. Cf. Kažimir Lučin, Život sv. Ivana Trogirskog po izdanju Daniela Farlatija [Life of saint John of Trogir according to the edition by Daniele Farlati] (Trogir and Split: Matica hrvatska and Književni krug, 1998), 55. 20 21

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At that time, it occurred that Coloman, king of the Pannonians, descended upon the coastal region with a strong hand and a stretchedout arm,19 in order to subject to his rule the Illyrian realm, since he had already subdued the peoples of Croatia. But the city of Zadar was reputedly better fortified and more powerful than other cities of lower Dalmatia,20 both by its natural position and because of its large and warlike population; and it is said that Adrius, brother of Italus, built it in former times.21 Therefore, the king first directed the force of his entire army against it; and then, when the city still refused to submit to him, he surrounded it and put it under siege, constructing bulwarks and various types of war machines against it, which inflicted considerable damage on its walls and towers. The citizens, fighting for their deliverance, likewise erected their own machine, which people call T. Artaria,22 against the one outside. But, by some divine omen it happened that all those stones hurled by the machine of the citizens turned back upon them and came down either on their wicker shelters and their wine yards, or within the walls. Perplexed and frightened, they did not hope for other aid to their salvation but awaited either bloody death in battle or shameful surrender. As they wavered in such doubts, the blessed Bishop John of Trogir arrived, who was, according to his ways, eager to settle the conflict that had arisen between the citizens of Zadar and the king and to recall both erring peoples to a peaceful solution.23 The citizens rejoiced at his arrival and, moved more than words can express to offer their gratitude to him as if responsible for their rescue, they approached him in haste and asked him for advice about what should be done, telling him all that had happened, one thing after another. The holy man calmly and kindly comforted them with the following words: “Do not be disturbed, my sons, do not fear, for God has 23 This episode is briefly mentioned by Andreas Dandolo in his Annales Veneti, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Cod. Marc. Lat. X, 11 (3551); cf. Ana Marinković, “Tamquam lupi rapaces: Dynamics of the Image of the Venetian Army in Dalmatian Hagiography,” in Identity and Alterity in Hagiography and the Cult of Saints, ed. Ana Marinković and Trpimir Vedriš (Zagreb: Croatian Hagiography Society Hagiotheca, 2010), 179–200.

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salutis vestræ ad vos transmisit Deus. Ite velociter, & machinam vestram mihi nunciare studete. Abeunt igitur ad locum festini, ubi regia machina tantam jam dederat stragem murorum, quod patebant hostibus intrinseca civitatis, reparantesque suam, velocius Episcopo quæ gesserant nunciant absque mora. Ille vero quantocyus pergit ad locum, & inter crepitantium saxorum turbines intrepidus perseverans, elevatis in cœlum manibus, fixisque in terram genibus hanc orationem fertur fudisse ad Dominum: Omnipotens æterne Deus, cui cuncta famulantur elementa, respice propitius ad preces servi tui, & clementiam tuam exorantem pro salute populi tui civitatis istius, & illius, quorum princeps hunc expugnare nititur, exaudi, & præsta ut sicut uterque populus gaudet unius deitatis cultura, & ejusdem fidei claritate refulget, ita unius ejusdemque terreni rectoris moderamine gubernetur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit & regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus in sæcula sæculorum. Surgens autem ab oratione jussit lapidem sibi offerri: quem ponens in funda inquit: Dominea Deus Sabaoth, qui docet manus meas ad prœlium, & digitos meos ad bellum, qui lapidem fundæ David in Philistæum direxit,24 ipse te dirigat in exteriorem machinam, quæ absque humani generis læsione ictibus attrita tuis ex toto corruat, & dissipetur, ut nec alia loco illius valeat reparari. Et hæc dicens funes universos jussit trahi potenter; & percussa est machina extranea, nec non ictibus ita contrita sequentibus, quod sicut vir orando impetraverat, nulla loco prioris potuit reparari. Caput V Jadrensium causam agit apud regem, qui divina hominis eloquentia delinitus, ac viri sanctitate cognita, illius apud Deum precibus se commendat.

recte Dominus

a

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sent me to you for the sake of your deliverance. Go now swiftly and take care to inform me about your machine.” Thus, they hurried to the place where the king’s machine had already caused such damage to the walls that the enemy could look inside the city, and having repaired their own machine, they quickly and without delay reported to the bishop what they had done. He made for that place as fast as he could and, steadfast and fearless among the showers of whirling stones, with his arms raised towards heavens and his knees set upon the ground, he is said to have directed the following prayer to God: “Almighty, eternal God, whom all elements obey, consider with favor the prayers of your servant and hear him as he begs for your mercy for the deliverance of your people in this city, as well as the other people, whose ruler seeks to conquer this one; and grant that, as both peoples rejoice in the worship of one God and shine with the light of one faith, they may both be governed by the helm of one and the same earthly ruler. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives with you and rules in unity with the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever.” Rising from prayer, he ordered that a stone should be brought to him; and placing it into the catapult, he said: “May the Lord God of Sabaoth, who instructs my hands in battle and my fingers in war, who directed the stone from David’s sling against the Philistine,24 direct you against that machine outside, so that it may be broken down by your blows, without any man getting hurt, and that it may collapse and be demolished entirely so that no other can be erected in its place.” And saying this, he ordered that all the ropes should be tightly drawn; and the machine outside was hit and by further blows demolished so thoroughly, that as the man procured by praying, no other could be erected in its place. Chapter 5 John pleads the cause of Zadar before the king, who is fascinated by the man’s divine eloquence and having learned of his sanctity, commends himself to God through his prayers. 24

1 Sam. 17:40–50.

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Videns autem rex, quia victoria prope adepta de manibus ejus eripiebatur, cœpit cogitare anxius, quo consilio potissime niteretur: cedebat namque majestati regiæ ad ruborem absque victoriæ triumpho ab incœptis desistere, ad detrimentum vero totius sui exercitus ibi potentes vires effundere, ubi cassatæ fuerant jam effusæ. Cumque jam nulla spes superesset de obtinenda victoria, convertit mentis aciem ad partem consilii sanioris; & eos, quos armis non poterat, beneficiis aggreditur expugnare. Mittit itaque legatos cum hujuscemodi mandatis ad cives: Quia si regiæ placet obtemperare clementiæ, ducam vos inter regni primos, & urbem quam incolitis, ut cognoscatis me desiderare magis voluntarios amicos asciscere, quam imperitare coactis. Satisfaciunt igitur cives juxta consilium sancti Præsulis regiæ ditioni, & fit deditio pro civium voluntate.25 Requirente vero rege, quibus essent auxiliis ab ipsius invasione liberati, referunt seriatim se Sancti Joannis Traguriensis Antistitis præsidio & munimine fuisse ab ejus impugnatione defensos. Jussit ergo rex eum præsentari sibi, & sciscitans, cur tantum contra regis præsumpsisset potentiam, tale responsum ab eo recepit. Causa tuæ salutis, bonæa rex, tuique exercitus credas hæc omnia gesta, ne tu, cum sis christianitatis insignitus stemmate, christianorum cruentareris sanguine, & exercitus tuæ clementiæ serenitatique subjectus, eodem cruore fœdatus, humanitatis exuto fræno, crudelitatis incurrisset infamiam; ac per hoc iram Dei omnipotentis contra se tecum pariter excitasset, & sic sanguinem populorum pereuntium innocenter de manu regia requisisset Deus. Nunc autem salvo regis imperio, salva sunt omnia, & ex alto providit Dei clementia, ut & tuæ ditioni subjiceretur populus, & manus tuorum a sanguine ipsius26 mundæ invenirentur. recte bone

a

The surrender took place in 1105, according to an inscription on the above-mentioned chapel and a charter of Vekenega, a nun from the Benedictine nunnery of St. Mary and a daughter of its founder Čika. Venetian chroniclers place the event into later years. Cf. Marinković, “Funkcija, forma, tradicija,” 44ff. 26 That is, of the people of Zadar. 25

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When the king saw that the victory, which was all but won, was being snatched from his hands, he began to think anxiously what design would be best for him. It was, namely, shameful for a king’s majesty to give up his undertaking without the triumph of victory, but it was detrimental for his entire army to expend great force there, where previous efforts had been spent in vain. Since no hope remained that victory might be won, he turned his mind to a more prudent design, and set to conquer by benefactions those whom he could not conquer with arms. Thus, he sent legates to the citizens with the following commission: “If you are willing to bow to the king’s mercy, I will place you and the city that you inhabit among the first in the kingdom, in order that you might understand that I prefer to win for myself willing friends than to rule over the compelled. Thereupon the citizens satisfied the king’s demands, according to the counsel of the holy bishop, and the surrender took place by the will of the citizens.25 When the king inquired by what help they were delivered from his attack, they all explained that they were defended from his assault with the assistance and support of the holy bishop John of Trogir. Then the king ordered that the bishop be brought before him and, seeking to know how he dared so greatly to defy the king’s might, he received from him the following answer: “Good king, believe me that this was all done for the sake of your salvation and that of your army, lest you, who are distinguished by a Christian coat of arms, should stain yourself with Christian blood, and lest the army that is subjected to your mercy and favor should be defiled by the same blood and, having shaken off the reins of humanity, earn an ill name for cruelty; and in so doing provoke the rage of God Almighty on itself and on you alike, for which God would have sought from the king’s hand satisfaction for the blood of people innocently slaughtered. Now, however, since the king’s rule has been saved, all is saved, and God’s mercy has provided from above both that the people should subject themselves to your rule and that the hands of your soldiers should be found clean from their26 blood.”

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Miratus rex in eloquentia sapientiæ illius, factus de ejusdem sanctitate vitæ certior, pronus adoravit eum, & ait: Ut video, amicus Dei es, & verbum ejus in ore tuo verum: & ideo, sancte pater, tuam deposco gratiam, ut pro me famulo tuo ad regem regum preces digneris fundere, quatenus nos in pace custodiens nostri regni habenas dirigat, & post vitæ præsentis cursum cum electis suis regnum nobis indulgeat sempiternum. Caput VI Sibenici dum sacris operatur, columba cælo dimissa ejus capiti insidet, spectante rege, qui sancto Antistiti gratificaturus Traguriensem Ecclesiam novis cumulat privilegiis. Honoravit autem eum muneribus plurimis, & pariter cum illo gradiens pervenit ad oppidum Sibenicum, ubi ecclesia beati Archangeli Michaelis usque ad præsens cernitur esse constructa;27 in qua dum sacra Missarum celebraret mysteria, columba nive candidior, solo rege vidente, descendit super caput sancti Præsulis, & ei tandiu insedit, donec initiata sacrificia consummarentur: quibus peractis elevata est ad cælos nusquam ultro comparens. Quo viso miraculo rex obstupuit, & idipsum circumstantibus revelans ait: Vere nunquam audivi talia, qualia de hoc viro viderunt oculi mei hodie. Post hæc vero rex ingressus Tragurium, dona, quæ ecclesia cathedralis illius loci a Croatiæ regibus, seu a Salonitanis principibus promeruerat, ampliavit, & privilegiorum munimine roboravit; & vale faciens Præsuli sancto, accepta benedictione discessit. Caput VII Morti jam proximus eos, qui sibi aderant, ad christianæ religionis pietatisque studium hortatur, & divino instinctus numine futura multa prædicit.

27

The church of St. Michael on the hill above Šibenik, now within the fortress.

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The king marveled at his wisdom and eloquence and, having ascertained himself of the sanctity of his life, he fell down in adoration before him and said: “I see that you are a friend of God and that His true word is in your mouth. Therefore, holy father, I beg your favor, that you should deign to offer prayers for me, your servant, to the King of Kings, in order that he should keep us safe in peace and guide the reins of our kingdom, and that, after the present life has run its course, he should grant us the eternal kingdom in the company of his elected. Chapter 6 As John holds divine service in Šibenik, a dove descends from heaven and alights on his head before the king’s eyes, so that the latter, wishing to show favor to the bishop, loads the church of Trogir with new privileges. The king honored John with numerous gifts and accompanied with him to the town of Šibenik, where a church had been constructed in honor of Archangel Michael and can still be seen today;27 and as the bishop celebrated in there the holy sacraments of the Mass, a dove whiter than the snow, which only the king saw, descended onto the head of the holy bishop and sat there as long as the service that had begun lasted; and when it was completed, the dove rose into the skies and did not appear again. As the king saw the miracle, he was amazed and, revealing it to those who stood around, said: “Truly, I have never heard such a thing as my eyes saw today regarding this man.” After that, the king entered Trogir and increased the gifts which the cathedral church of that place had received from the Croatian kings or from the leading men of Salona and strengthened them with the benefit of privileges; and bidding farewell to the holy bishop, he departed with his benediction. Chapter 7 As his hour of death approaches, the bishop exhorts those around him to be zealous in the Christian faith and piety and, inspired by God’s power, predicts a great number of future events.

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Non multis autem elapsis annorum curriculis post regis, de quo præfati sumus, recessum,28 tanta molestia corporis subsecuta est sanctum virum, quod membrorum omnium dissolutionem pati videretur. Cumque supernæ vocationis tempus sibi cerneret imminere, convocatis clericorum & laicorum cœtibus in unum, dixit: Fratres, & filii, voluntas Dei fuit usque modo, ut vobiscum viverem peregrinus & advena;29 nunc vero tempus incumbit, ut commendem terræ corpus, & reddam animam Creatori. Considerate igitur dilecti, animadvertite carissimi, quam fragilis, quam sit labilis imago vitæ præsentis. Quæ cum incautis gaudium de præsenti, non spem offerat de futuro, nil aliud exercet, nisi ut cum repentino superveniat interitu; & quos incautos post se male illexerat, male faciat interire: & ita est, ut qui hesterna die quasi flos vernans egrediebatur, hodie tanquam fœnum exeat arefactus. Neque ponatis spem in mundanis opibus, aut gloria, quam cum homo interierit, non sumet aliquid, neque descendet cum illo gloria mundi. Nudi enim sumus egressi de matris utero, nec dubium, quia nudi revertemur illuc,30 nihil nobiscum præter virtutes, seu peccata portantes. Quæcumque enim seminaverit homo, hæc moriendo metet;31 & ut dixi vobis, redemptor vitæ meæ Deus vocare me dignatur de mundi medio, cujus vocationem tam lætus mente concipio, quantum labori perituri sæculi lætabundus finem impono. Vos autem, filii, pacem habete, & Deus pacis & dilectionis erit vobiscum. Apprehendite disciplinam, ne quando irascatur Dominus, & pereatis de via justa.32 Post mortem vero meam de pastoris deliberate successione, cujus vita vobis proficiat, & doctrina. Corpus meum intra corpus terræ occulite; futurum est enim, ut propter peccata post generationem hanc surgentium visitet Deus in virga iræ suæ locum istum,33 & de-

Coloman returned to Hungary in the same or the following year after he asserted his sovereignty over the Dalmatian towns. However, at least six years passed between his departure and John’s death, since the bishop was still alive in 1111, when he signed a privilege granted to the citizens of Rab. 29 Gen. 23:4; Num. 9:14. 30 Job 1:21; Ecc. 5:15. 28

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Not many years had passed after the departure of the king of whom we spoke before,28 when the holy man was seized by such bodily affliction that it seemed as if he were suffering from the dissolution of all his members. When he realized that the moment of his heavenly calling was imminent, he called together the companies of clerics and laymen and said: “Brethren and sons, God’s will was until today that I should live with you, a stranger and a sojourner;29 now, however, the time is nigh to commend my body to the earth and return my soul to the Creator. Therefore, consider, my beloved, and heed, my dearest, how fragile, how unstable is the image of the present life. Since to the heedless it offers joy in the present, but not hope for the future, it does nothing else but surprise with sudden parting; and causes those heedless persons, whom it seduced to evil, to perish evilly; and so it happens that the one who only yesterday came forth like a spring flower, today turns out dry like hay. Do not place hope in the worldly wealth or in glory, since when a man dies, he will neither take anything nor will worldly glory go down with him. Naked came we from our mother’s womb, and there is no doubt that naked shall we return thither,30 carrying nothing else with us but our virtues or sins. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap when dying;31 and as I said to you, the redeemer of my life, God, sees fit to call me out of this world, and I gladly accept his call in my heart, as gladly as I put an end to the sufferings of this transitory life. And you, my sons, keep peace, and the God of peace and love will be with you. Hold to your discipline, lest God should be angry and you go astray from the right path.32 And after my death you should decide about the succession of a bishop whose life and teaching will be of benefit to you. My body you should hide inside the body of the earth; it will happen, namely, that because of the sins of those that will follow this generation, God will visit this place in the rod of his anger33 and, after all its walls Gal. 6:7. Ps. 2:12. 33 Pro. 22:8. 31

32

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structis mœnibus ejus universis, incolæ per aliena loca dispersi tempore non modico exulabunt. Post huc iterum redeuntes civitatem reædificabunt, quæ cultores suos munimine fovebit perpetuæ fortitudinis, protegetque insuperabiles semper. Caput VIII Sanctissime moritur. Ingens totius urbis luctus, maximique ad ejus funus celebrandum concursus. Sepulcri locus, quem multis, illustribusque Deus adornavit miraculis. His dictis pacem sibi dari ab universis expostulat; & duobus familiaribus secum dumtaxat retentis, jubet ceteros pro foribus postulari, & ipse palmas utrasque tendens ad sydera, in hunc modum ultimas fudit preces ad cælos. Domine Deus, in adjutorium meum intende, Domine ad adjuvandum me festina, ne mihi tenebrarum princeps occurrat, non me demergat tempestas aquæ, nec me absorbeat profundum, neque urgeat super me puteus os suum.34 Sed aperi mihi pulsanti januam beatitudinis tuæ,35 quam promisit Jesus Christus filius tuus diligentibus nomen tuum benedictum in sæcula. Recommendo tibi, pastor bone, gregem, quem meæ solicitudini, dum viverem, commendasti. Majestatem tuam pro illis suppliciter exorans, ut eos & in præsenti tuæ conformes gratiæ, & in futuro tuæ gloriæ attribuas esse participes, Salvator & Redemptor mundi, in cujus manus commendo spiritum meum. Et prosternens se super consuetos asparagos, ubi beatam vitam duxerat, preciosam ibidem animam reddidit Creatori. Vociferantibus iis, qui cum eo remanserant, plangore luctuosissimo flentes universi cives adveniunt, completur lamentis civitas omnis, non poterat aliquis abstinere a fontibus lacrymarum. Idem dolor errabat pariter per omnem sexum, ætatem, & conditionem. Dies illa tota ducitur luctu & mœrore confecta. Ps. 68 (69):15. Mat. 7:8; Luke 11:10.

34 35

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are destroyed, its inhabitants will for a considerable time be exiled and live dispersed in foreign places. After that, they will come back and rebuild the city, which will sustain its inhabitants by the defense of its everlasting strength and keep them forever invincible. Chapter 8 John dies in a most saintly way. The whole city is in deep mourning and very many people gather to attend his funeral. About the location of his tomb, which God adorned by many distinguished miracles. After he said that, he asked of everyone to give him peace, and keeping with him only two of his domestics, asked for the others to be summoned in front of the door; and stretching out both his palms towards the stars, he offered his last prayers to the heavens in these words: “God my Lord, come to my aid, my Lord, hurry to assist me, let not the prince of darkness reach me, let not the water flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me, let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.34 Open for me, who am knocking, the gate of your blessedness,35 which your son Jesus Christ promised to those who love him, blessed be your name forever. I commend to you, good shepherd, the flock that you confided to my care for as long as I would live. I humbly entreat your majesty on their behalf, that you may shape them in the present to your mercy and allow them in the future to partake in your glory, O Savior and Redeemer of the world, into whose hands I commend my spirit. And stretching himself on his familiar bed of asparagus, on which he had lived his blessed life, he returned there his precious soul to his Creator. At the crying out of those who had remained with him, all citizens came weeping with heartbreaking sobs, and the whole city was filled with lamentations, since nobody could abstain from shedding fountains of tears. The same pain equally seized both sexes and every age and condition. All that day was spent consumed by mourning and grief.

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Tractantes denique sacrum corpus ut ipsum ad tumulandum christianitatis more componerent, ita plenum liventibus vibicibus inventum est, ut a planta pedis usque ad verticem sanitas in eo vix inveniretur. Etenim sicut demum compertum est, referentibus veridicis testibus, pluries visus est intempestæ noctis silentio in mare, quod vicinum habebat tenus alvo, descendere, & semetipsum duris flagris, durisque castigare cruciatibus. Sepelitur tandem, sicut vivus mandaverat, cum hymnis & laudibus in corpore terræ, in majori basilica, meridionali parte, contra altare Sanctorum martyrum Cosmæ & Damiani. Ad sepulchrum ejus cæci sunt illuminati, paralytici curati, ex obsessis corporibus, quod frequenter evenit, Dæmones ipsius intercessionibus ac meritis effugati. Pars secunda Auctore Treguano Archidiacono Traguriensi De inventione, itemque translatione corporis S. Joannis Caput I Tragurium a Saracenis direptum, ac funditus eversum. S. Joannes semel, iterum, ac tertio sese videndum obtulit Theodoro cuidam eximiæ pietatis viro, eumque de loco sui sepulcri docuit, cujus scilicet memoria penitus interciderat. Ut autem ea, quæ prophetico spiritu prædixerat, implerentur, evolutis paucis annorum circulis post ejus obitum, civitas a Saracenis non modo capta, verum etiam funditus est eversa; cujus incolæ diversi non paucis temporibus exulaverunt.36 Following Lučić, Farlati dates the Saracen incursion in the year 1123, 12 years after the death of Bishop John. At that time, the Venetian fleet was engaged in Syria and pirates were often raiding through the Adriatic. However, the destruction of Trogir is not related in any source contemporary to Treguan, except a charter from the nunnery of St. Nicholas, written in 1194, which mentions cuncta prope olim captæ urbis desolatione penitus abolita & amissa. Many Tragurian exiles found refuge in Split. Cf. Lučin, Život sv. Ivana Trogirskog, 80–82. 36

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Those eventually who were handling the sacred body in order to prepare it for the burial, as was the Christian custom, discovered that it was so full of livid bruises that from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head there was hardly any healthy spot. Namely, as it was revealed only then from the testimonies of credible witnesses, he was frequently observed in the dead of night as he entered the nearby sea to the waist and mortified himself with cruel scourging and cruel torture. At last, he was buried as he had ordered when he was living, with hymns and praises in the body of the earth, in the main church, on the southern side, opposite to the altar of the holy martyrs Cosmas and Damian. At his tomb, the blind regained their sight, the lame were healed, and it happened frequently that demons were banished from the bodies of possessed persons at his intercession and by his merits. Part ii Written by Treguan, archdeacon of Trogir On the invention and the translation of Saint John’s body Chapter 1 Trogir is sacked by the Saracens and demolished. Saint John appears once, and then the second and the third time to Theodor, a man of exceptional piety, and informs him about the location of his tomb, the memory of which has been completely lost. In order that those things, which John had predicted with his prophetic spirit, should be fulfilled, only a few years passed after his death when the city was not only seized by the Saracens, but also totally demolished; and its inhabitants lived scattered in exile for a considerable time.36

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Post multum vero temporis cum & civitatis reficiendæ tempus, & Confessoris esset gloria precanda profutura; nonnulli cives superstites ad propria redierunt, & intendentes propriis & publicis reædificationis usibus, Confessoris memoriam oblivioni penitus tradiderunt.37 Cumque post reædificatam urbem nulla de ipso vel fabula vulgaretur, essetque illo tempore in eadem civitate quidam pauper spiritu, nomine Theodorus, quam ob vitæ ejus innocentiam emancipaverat dominus suus,38 ei per visum Sanctus apparuit, dicens: Theodore frater. At ille in visu respondens ait: Quis es Domine? Cui Sanctus. Ego sum Joannes hujus civitatis quondam Episcopus. Surge, vade, dic Episcopo Traguriensi,39 ut meum educat corpus de loco illo, ubi jacet sepulcro contectum, ut orem pro populo & civitate ista. Quibus dictis repente disparuit. Expergefactus homo surrexit eadem hora, & cœpit intra se visionem tacitus retractare, cogitando non visionem, sed phantasiam sibi aliquam apparuisse, & conticuit. Elapsis autem aliquot diebus, mediæ noctis tempore, præfato viro in hunc modum visio iteratur. Vir veneranda canitie vexillum crucis gestans manibus, fulgenti stola candida velatus, tetigit eum, dicens: Frater Theodore. Cui cum in visu respondisset, Adsum; protinus subjunxit: Quare neglexisti nunciare mandatum meum Episcopo? Surge, vide, considera diligenter, quoniam qui nuper per visum tibi apparuit, ego sum qui loquor tecum. Cave igitur ne admodum negligas nunciare quæ cernis; non phantastico quidem, sed vero habitu loquor tibi. Surgens homo in pavore mentis Episcopum adiit; & ei data copia loquendi, quæ sibi revelata fuerant, patefecit omnia singillatim. Episcopus vero dictis illius fidem non facile faciens, paucis respon The rebuilding of the city probably took place before 1151, when Géza II granted a privilege to the city of Trogir, from which it can be understood that the city had been restored and repopulated. Cf. Lučin, Život sv. Ivana Trogirskog, 82. 38 Lučić mentions the local tradition about a certain Theodor who lived as a hermit in the island of Čiovo, next to an old chapel dedicated to St. Andrew the Apostle. Cf. Lučin, Život sv. Ivana Trogirskog, 84. 39 The name of the bishop is not known, but it was probably Dessa Maccarelli, the third bishop of Trogir (1151/52–1180). 37

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After many years, when the time came for rebuilding the city and for invoking the beneficial fame of the Confessor, some surviving citizens returned to their property but, preoccupied with the private and public work of rebuilding, let the memory of the Confessor fall into complete oblivion.37 Thus, after the city was rebuilt, there was not even a story circulating about him, but there was in that city a certain man poor in spirit, by the name of Theodor, whom his lord had set free because of his honest life,38 and the saint appeared to him in a vision, saying: “Brother Theodor.” And the man answered in the vision: “Who are you, my lord?” The saint said: “I am John, who was once the bishop of this city. Get up and go, tell the bishop of Trogir39 that he should take out my body from the place in which it lies buried in the tomb, in order that I might pray for the people and for this city.” As he said this, he suddenly vanished. Aroused from the vision, the man got up at once and began to recall it in silence, thinking that it was not a vision that had appeared to him, but some sort of ghost, and told nobody about it. Several days had passed when, in the middle of the night, that very man had the same vision, which occurred in the following manner. A man of venerable grey hair, carrying in his hands a banner with the cross and dressed in a shining white garment, touched him and said: “Brother Theodor.” As he answered in the vision: “Here I am,” it added at once: “Why did you neglect taking my message to the bishop? Get up and watch out, think very carefully, for the one who at that time appeared to you in a vision, it is me, who is talking to you now. Therefore, take heed lest you should neglect to announce what you have seen, for I am not speaking to you as a ghost but in reality.” The man got up and went to see the bishop with fearful mind; and when he was given the permission to speak, he related in detail, one thing after another, everything that had been revealed to him. The

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dit dicens. Vade, fili, & super visiones hujusmodi ne sis solicitus ammodo; quoniam attendere ad somnia, tanquam ad visa mendacia, voce prophetica prohibemur. Abiit in domum suam homo, & ad Episcopi dehortationem de visione diffidens, nullam deinde visionem mente sua constituit esse credendam. Quadam vero die, dum consueto more ligna referret solus, fessus onere, quem jam ætatis vetustæ gravarat imbecillitas, deposito fasce resedit; & cum more fatigatorum in cujusdam se nebulæ soporem dedisset, adest Sanctus cum immenso luminis fulgore, tangensque illum vexilli, quod gerebat, cuspide suscitavit dicens: Frater Theodore. Experrectus homo a somno, atque insolita luminis claritate perterritus, non poterat linguam resolvere in responso. Qui tenens ejus manum, blanda & leni allocutione confortavit eum, & ait: Noli timere, fili; non enim soleo percutere, sed sanare percussos; propera igitur, & Episcopo nuncia verum hominem non phantasticum apparuisse; & ei suggeras, ut corpus meum de subterraneo educat sepulcro; ab Omnipotente namque mandatum suscepi, ut pro salute populi civitatis illius coram illo sim medius & perpetuus intercessor. Ille vero, quamvis formidine non adhuc omnino deposita, confisus, familiarius tamen, & domesticæ allocutionis humanitate in his verbis respondens, ait: Ecce, Domine, quod hortaris prosequar. Quærenti ubi sit loculus sepulturæ tuæ, quale dabo responsum? Et ille: In ecclesia martyris Laurentii quærat edicito,40 & ubi fustem laureum terræ affixum invenerit, ibi corpus meum cognoscat esse sepultum. Tu autem ne mea mandata negligas, diligenti cura observa; non enim, si ultra neglexeris, majoris discriminis pœnam evades. His dictis eadem luminis eum immensitate prosequente, discessit.

The cathedral of Trogir.

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bishop did not believe his words easily, but responded briefly, saying: “Go, my son, and do not be too worried about such visions, because the words of the prophet forbid us to pay attention to dreams, since they are visual fallacies.” The man returned to his home and mistrusted the vision according to the bishop’s admonishment, deciding in his mind not to believe in any vision in the future. But one day, when he carried wood alone as usual, tired from the burden as the weakness of the old age was already oppressing him, he laid aside the bundle and sat down; and as he gave himself over to some sort of hazy sleep, as tired people often do, there was the saint in immense brilliance of light, and touching him with the banner that he was carrying, woke him up with its sharp point, saying: “Brother Theodor.” The man, aroused from his sleep and frightened by the unusual intensity of light, could not loosen his tongue in response. The saint held his hand and comforted him in soothing and gentle words, saying: “Fear not, my son; for I never strike people, I rather heal them instead; so hurry and announce to the bishop that it was a real man that appeared to you, not a ghost; and suggest to him that he should take my body out of its subterraneous tomb; for the Almighty has ordered me to be the intermediary and the permanent intercessor before him for the salvation of the people of the town.” The man had not yet cast away his fright, but he confided in the kindness of that friendly address and answered in a more relaxed manner, saying: “There, my Lord, I will do what you are requesting of me. But if someone asks me where the place of your tomb is, what shall I tell him?” And the saint answered: “Direct him to search in the church of martyr Lawrence40 and when he finds a rod of laurel stuck into the ground, he will know that my body is buried in that place. But you should take good care not to neglect my order; for if you continue neglecting it, you will not avoid the punishment of highest degree.” As he said that, he left accompanied by the same immensity of light.

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Abiens igitur homo in domum suam totus luridus, & debiles jam artus sustentans baculo, Episcopum adiit, & linguam vix in hæc verba resolvens, ipsa ei visa reserat pariter & audita. Caput II Episcopus Traguriensis indicatum sibi a Theodoro locum diligenter explorat, & B. Joannis tumbam reperit. Adhibuit tunc demum fidem dictis Episcopus, & ut in ore plurimorum verba recentia starent, jubet sæpefatum hominem pandere seriatim mysteria revelata. Qui cuncta per ordinem revolvens, præsentibus religiosis tam laicis, quam clericis ad hoc vocatis, ut rei gestæ testimonium perhiberent, ne Episcopus narrationis præsumptuosæ posset incurrere reprehensionem, retulit quæ, qualiter, & quo ordine viderit universa. Cœpit Episcopus exinde sciscitari solicite, utrum de Joanne Episcopo fama senior aliquid indicaret. Pauci admodum grandævi jam senio de antiqua destructione superstites referre cœperunt, se a suis prioribus accepisse, quendam Romanum, longe ante civitatis excidium, in eadem civitate fuisse Episcopum, Joannem nomine, per quem Deus multa, dum adhuc viveret, mirabilia faciebat; sed propter urbis occasum oblitos fere omnium, quæ de illo primores suos recitantes audire solebant; relationem quorum libenter amplectens Episcopus, eo quod cum viri testimonio conveniebat, ad locum, quem vir prænarraverat, vadit, & ita inventum est, uti fuerat præmonstratum. Quod ut vidit, grates omnipotenti Deo retulit; & ad elevandum corpus, sacrum indixit jejunium triduanum. Quo puncto subsequentibus clericorum & laicorum turbis, accessit ad locum, & accepto fossorio cœpit fodere primo manibus suis, deinde ceteris, quousque ad tumbam devenirent, qua tegebatur sancta gleba.

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Thus, the man went back home all horrified and then, sustaining his weak members with a walking stick, he went to see the bishop; and barely forming the words with his tongue, he revealed to him both what he had seen and what he had heard. Chapter 2 Bishop of Trogir carefully explores the place that has been indicated by Theodor and finds the tomb of blessed John. This time the bishop finally believed what he had been told and in order that Theodor’s words might be kept in the memory of many people, he ordered the man to unfold the revealed mysteries several times. The man retold them all, just as they had occurred, in the presence of both clerics and laymen, who had been summoned in order to give testimony to the course of the events, lest the bishop should incur upon himself the reproach of spreading presumptuous stories; and he told them what, how, and in which order he saw all those things. After that, the bishop began to investigate with attention whether ancient knowledge gave any indications about Bishop John. Only a few men of great age, who had survived the horror of the ancient destruction, began to tell how they had heard from their ancestors that some Roman by the name of John was the bishop of that city long before its decline, and that God did miracles through him even during his lifetime; but because of the fall of the city almost all that they had heard from their parents was forgotten. The bishop gladly accepted their story, since it corresponded with the man’s testimony, and agreed to visit the place about which he had told him, where he found everything as predicted. As he saw that, he gave thanks to God Almighty and ordered a sacred fast of three days in order to elevate the body. Then, accompanied by a great number of clerics and laymen, he approached the place, took a shovel and began to dig, at first with his own hands and then together with others, until they reached the tomb that had been covered by sacred earth.

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Ea vero reperta quanto plebs gestivit tripudio, non est nostræ linguæ retexere, nec est præsentis evolvere facultatis, cum ad ea prosequenda, quæ protinus sunt subsecuta, e vestigio properemus. Caput III Inventio sancti corporis cælestibus prodigiis celebratur. Reperto igitur, ut diximus, mausoleo tentant revolvere lapidem superpositum, & non possunt; accedentes autem plures prioribus, adjectis ferreis palis & cuneis, submovere illum nullatenus potuerunt. Accessit tandem & dictus Episcopus, atque id ipsum tentans, nil profecit; unde contigit, ut lætitiam, quam novum novæ inventionis miraculum repente pepererat, repentinus admirationis stupendæ pavor superveniens reprimeret, & innata mentibus festina gaudia, desperationis sperati thesauri casus anceps miserabiliter & mirabiliter occuparet. Inito demum, & reperto consilio salutari, jubet Antistes accersiri sæpe dictum Theodorum, sperans per nullum melius digniusque, quam per ipsum posse tanta sibi reserari mysteria; ut qui dignus fuerat electus relationis sacræ indicio, dignus etiam revelationis ejusdem præsumeretur. Accersitus igitur accedit ad tumulum, & lapidem, quem potentum multorum vires, multorumque argumentorum instrumenta submovere non poterant, ipse dumtaxat, cultelli, quem gestabat, submissa cuspide, non secus quam levem paleam, sustulit & erexit. Aperta itaque sacra tumba, tantus, tantæque suavitatis emanavit odor, ut non modo vicina, verum etiam longe distantia loca mirando fragrore compleret. Invenitur sanctum corpus illæsum, & incorruptum, excepto cubito sinistro, ubi lapidis humore summo-tenus tangebatur. Tunc accedentes religiosi viri simul cum præfato Episcopo, elevantes corpus cum hymnis & laudibus posuerunt illud in capsa cupressina, quam cum eodem sacro corpore locaverunt in sarcopha-

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Our tongue can neither describe what kind of exultation seized the people as they uncovered it, nor can I afford to present it here, since I must hurry to tell about those things which happened immediately afterwards. Chapter 3 The invention of the holy body is celebrated through celestial omens. When they, as we have said, discovered the crypt, they tried to turn over the stone that was covering it, but could not; a great number of others joined them, applying iron bars and wedges, but could not move it at all. The aforesaid bishop joined in as well and tried to do it, but without success; so it happened that the joy, produced suddenly by the new miracle of new discovery, was suppressed by the sudden fright at the amazing wonder, while the happiness that had quickly been born in the minds gave way miserably and miraculously to disappointment because of the doubtful outcome regarding the expected treasure. At last, after consideration and salutary deliberation, the bishop ordered that the often-mentioned Theodor should be summoned, expecting that the man could solve those mysteries better and in a more dignified manner than anyone else, since he had been considered worthy to receive the disclosure of the sacred communication. Thus, the summoned man approached the grave and indeed lifted alone the stone that the power of many strong men and the implementation of many tools could not move, turning it upright with the knife that he carried on him by inserting the blade underneath, as if the stone were as light as straw. As they thus opened the sacred tomb, the smell of such sweetness came out of it, and in such abundance, that not only the neighboring places, but also those at long distance were filled with the admirable fragrance. The holy body was found whole and incorrupt, except the left elbow, where it was slightly touching the humid stone. Then the pious men approached together with the aforesaid bishop, elevated the body with hymns and praises, and laid it into a repository made of cypress wood, which they, together with the sacred

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go marmoreo in eadem ecclesia, ubi requievit, præstando invocantibus adjutorium ejus in nomine Domini multa beneficia; cæcis visum, surdis auditum, debilibus gressum, obsessis immundorum spirituum curationem, usque ad tempus, quo civitas a Venetis fuit percussa.41 Caput IV Brachium S. Joannis a Venetis sublatum frustra repetunt Tragurienses. Secundo Veneti namque cum irent in Romaniam contra Chium comparato exercitu,42 divertentes illuc cum triginta galeis ad Traguriensium portum applicuerunt. Cumque civitas nec murorum esset freta circuitu, nec munitione vallata turrium, nec bellicis armis fulta, sed solis sparis ex quibusdam maceriis circumsepta fragilibus; invadentes eam prædones, & manu furibunda cuncta subvertentes invertunt, scrutantes abdita quæque pro thesauris, quos occultos putabant, inveniendis, violato sepulcro, quo sacrum corpus in capsa jacebat, dum thesauros ecclesiæ in ea sperant esse reconditos, ipsam cum ceteris ornamentis tamquam lupi rapaces diripiunt,43 & ad mare irreverenter usque deportant; ibique aperta capsa, in qua speraverant thesaurum reconditum, cum nihil præter corpus sanctum invenirent, non pietate moti, non pœnitentia ducti, quod venerabile corpus tam impie, tamque irreligiose tractaverant; sed videntes se fraudatos desiderio suo ipsum invertunt, & cum nihil præter annulum circa illud rapina dignum invenirent, ipsum extrahere tentant; quod cum pro cupita velocitate non possent educere, manum cum cubito truncantes evellunt, & truncum corpus in litore besitaili feritate relinquunt. In 1171, Doge Michael Vitalis started a sea campaign against Byzantium, which had by that time gained control over almost all of Dalmatia. On their way towards Greece, the Venetians sacked Trogir, which was still lacking proper fortifications or heavy defensive devices. This event was mentioned by the Italian historians Flavio Biondo (1388–1463) and Marco Antonio Sabellico (1436–1506). Cf. Lučin, Život sv. Ivana Trogirskog, 97. The relic was returned around 1174. Cf. Irena Benyovsky Latin, Srednjovjekovni Trogir: Prostor i društvo [Medieval Trogir: Space and the society] (Zagreb: Croatian Institute of History, 2009), 17. 41

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body, deposited in a marble sarcophagus in the same church, where it rested granting many benefits to those invoking it in God’s name: sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, strength to the weak, cure from unclean spirits to the obsessed, until the day came, in which the city was attacked by the Venetians.41 Chapter 4 The Tragurians ask many times for the return of Saint John’s arm, which has been taken away by the Venetians, but in vain. Then, as the Venetians went to Greece, having prepared their army for a war against Chion,42 they turned aside with thirty galleys and landed in the harbor of Trogir. Since the city was neither protected by a belt of walls, nor fortified by defensive towers, or sustained by war machines, but only surrounded by spears of some fragile earthen walls, the plunderers who invaded it turned everything upside down with a raging hand, searching through all hiding places in order to find the treasures that they thought concealed there. They also violated the tomb where the sacred body was lying in its repository because they hoped that the treasures of the church would be hidden in it; they snatched it43 like greedy wolves, together with other decoration, and carried it irreverently down to the sea, where they opened the repository, in which they expected the hidden treasure, finding nothing in it but the holy body. But they were neither moved by piety nor conducted by penitence for treating the venerable body in such an impious way; having realized that they were frustrated in their desire, they turned it over and as they found nothing in that booty that was worth robbing except for a ring, they tried to take it off and since they could not achieve it because of great haste, they detached the arm by cutting it at the elbow and left the mutilated body on the shore like savage beasts.

An island in the Aegean Sea with a city of the same name. Farlati’s edition has ipsum.

42 43

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O nefaria dextra, quæ tale, tantumque scelus perpetrare non horruisti! O sævientum inaudita crudelitas, quæ de Confessore mortuo martyrem facere non timuisti! O ferina non humana ferocitas, quæ pro raptu tam vili & modico universum exercitum defœdasti, ut illud historiographi contra te posset persimiliter retorqueri: Nulla fides, pietasque viris, qui castra sequuntur; Venalesque manus, ibi fas, ubi maxima merces.44 Dimittunt itaque piratæ detestabiles memoratum corpus in litore, & cum cetera rapina sanctum deferentes brachium, via qua cœperant, infausto omine navigarunt. Divinæ namque animadversionis contigit ultione, ut præfatæ galeæ Chium navigantes ex eis aliæ naufragium paterentur, aliæ quidem ab hostibus superarentur; reliquiæ autem aereæ pestilentiæ tanto sint contagio tabefactæ, quod ex triginta vix sex superstites Venetias remearunt.45 Quæ omnia propter piaculum, quod in Sanctum, & venerabile corpus commiserant non est dubium accidisse. Comperto denique de galearum dictarum regressu cives Tragurienses, consilio communicato, legatos pro memorato brachio repetendo Venetias destinarunt. Qui licet satis honeste essent recepti, & honorifice tractati, data publica jussione, ut ubicumque res eorum invenirentur, eas absque difficultate restituerent qui haberent;46 super brachio repetito hujusmodi responsum reportarunt: Nolite, fratres, nolite fatigari, nolite incassum verba fundere, repetendo brachium illud sanctum, quod de corpore illius reverendi viri sublatum est, & apud nos reverentissime collocatum; has enim corporum sanctorum reliquias consuevimus vobis longe melius venerari. Et sic principalis causæ legatione frustrati legati civium ad propria sunt reversi. Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, Pharsalia (Civil War) 10, 407–8, 494–96 in translation by Sir Edward Ridley (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1896). 45 According to Lučić, who drew his information from the Venetian historians, only seventeen galleys were able to return, bringing plague to Venice. It should be noted, however, that the entire story has been questioned by modern historians, among others by Ludwig Steindorff, “Die Vita beati Johannis Traguriensis als Quelle zur Geschichte der dalmatischen Stadt Trogir im 12. Jahrhundert,” Südostforschungen 47 (1988), 17–36. 44

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O, you abominable right hand, which did not shun committing such great crime! O, you unheard of cruelty of raging men, which did not fear to make a martyr out of the dead Confessor! O, you beastly and inhuman ferocity, which defiled the entire army in order to rob something so vile and insignificant, so that the words of a historiographer could be very likely hurled back at you: Those who serve in camps lose faith and love of kin: their pittance earned makes just the deed.44 Thus, the detestable pirates abandoned the memorable body on the shore and, carrying off the holy arm with the rest of the booty, they sailed away under the unfortunate omen on the same way as they had come. It happened, namely, by the avenge of divine punishment, that some of the aforementioned galleys sailing to Chion suffered shipwreck, while others were captured by the enemy; and the rest of them was so afflicted by pestilent air that only six out of thirty survived and reached Venice.45 And there is no doubt that it all happened because of the sacrilege that they had committed against the saint and his venerable body. As the citizens of Trogir were informed about the return of the mentioned galleys, they held a council and sent legates who would request from Venice to return the aforesaid hand. Those were received in quite a proper way and treated with honors, and it was officially ordered that, wherever a thing belonging to them were found, its owner should return it without objection;46 but when they asked for the arm to be returned, they were given the following answer: “No, brethren, do not waste energy, do not dissipate words in vain asking that holy arm in return, which had been taken off the body of that venerable man and placed with us with greatest reverence; for we are used to venerate the remnants of such holy bodies far better than you do.” And thus the legates of the citizens, frustrated in the main aim of their legation, returned home.

This privilege, issued by Doge Sebastian Ziani in 1174, is quoted by Lučić in De regno Dalmatiae et Croatiae III, 10, and Farlati, Illyricum sacrum, vol. 4, 331. Cf. Lučin, Život sv. Ivana Trogirskog, n. 116.

46

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Caput V Brachium Sancti Joannis haud dubio Angelorum ministerio Tragurium Venetiis relatum. Ea de re Tragurienses cælesti signo oblato admonentur. Paucis postmodum temporibus evolutis cum Sancti Confessoris adessent sollemnia, & plebs universa de more pristino ad nocturnas ipsius sollemnitatis celebrandas vigilias convenirent, subito facta est inter ipsa noctis prima crepundia tanti luminis copia, ut videntium se cunctorum reverberaret acies oculorum, & veluti cometa crinitus, qui regum regnorumque mutationes solet portendere, longos tractus terræ scintillari scindens vibramine, totam Istriam, cunctasque inferiores partes Dalmatiæ prætervolans, usque super Traguriensem Ecclesiam visum est coruscis radiis resplenduisse: unde & civitas omnis in admirationis stupore conversa perterrita & attonita pariter mirabatur, quid sibi portenderet luminosa lampas circumfusi fulgoris. Cumque splendore in noctis caliginem resoluto, sacrista more consueto ad luminaria concinnanda sacrarium & locum, in quo jacebat sanctum corpus, introisset, invenit præter solitum supra capsa corporis preciosi quiddam munda sindone involutum. Perscrutato igitur, & quidquid illud esset diligentius recensito, clara luce deprehendit, hunc esse thesaurum desideratum diutius; hoc esse beatas reliquias, hoc esse brachium sanctum, absque dubio angelicis ministeriis reportatum, quod humanis manibus Veneti dudum non dederant referendum. Ad cujus miraculi spectaculum gloriosum concursus fuit populorum laudantium, & glorificantium Deum Salvatorem, qui cum in cunctis sit mirabilis, mirabiliter in Sanctis suis non dedignatur, nec desinit glorificari.47

47

2 Th. 1:10.

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Chapter 5 The arm of Saint John is carried back from Venice to Trogir, doubtlessly by the ministry of angels. The Tragurians are warned about it by a sign given from the sky. After a short time, when the festivities of the holy Confessor had begun and the whole people came together according to the ancient custom in order to celebrate the nocturnal vigils at his feast, suddenly, as soon as the night was announced, there appeared such abundance of light that it disturbed the acuteness of eyesight of all who saw it, and like a long-haired comet, which usually heralds changes of kings and kingdoms, cutting across long stretches of land with a glittering quiver, flying over the entire Istria and all lower parts of Dalmatia down to the church of Trogir, it was seen glowing above it with tremulous rays: thus, the whole city was thrown into the stupor of admiration and wondered, frightened, and amazed at the same time, what the luminous brilliance and the flashes of lightning pouring all over would herald. And as the splendor dispersed in the mist of the night, the sacristan entered the shrine and the place where the holy body was lying in order to arrange the luminaries, as was his custom, and he found, among the usual things, something enveloped in clean cotton fabric lying on the repository of the precious body. Having inspected and most carefully considered what it could be, he clearly discerned that it was the long-desired treasure; that those were the blessed relics, the holy arm, doubtlessly brought back by the ministry of angels, since the Venetians had not allowed it to be carried away by human hands. At the glorious spectacle of this miracle, a great number of people assembled, praising and glorifying God the Savior, who is admirable in all and thus also deigns to be miraculously and permanently glorified in his saints.47

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Exultat plebs universa ineffabili gaudio & immensa lætitia, tanto certior effecta se posse obtinere per suffragia tanti patroni, quæ a Deo juste poposcerit, quanto liquidius per istiusmodi est reperta miraculum, quod apud Altissimum ipsius precibus & meritis valeat in suis necessitatibus exaudiri. Caput VI Praefatio48 Cum autem contingat saepius, ut incredulitate fides elucescat, & per dubitationem solidetur veritas, omnipotens Salvator noster, cujus immensa providentia Sanctum suum extollit, & velut sydus rutilans splendore facit, incredulorum periculo voluit Sancti hujus beatitudinem comprobare. Miraculum I Jordanus vir religiousus pater monasterii ejusdem civitatis, cum die quadam quoddam ambiguum lignum dolandum minus caute tractaret, subtilis festuca ex eodem ligno dexterae ipsius indicem penetrando subrepsit, quam conans educere nulla potuit ratione vellere. Tumescente itaque cum festuca digito, cepit dolore affligere patientem, manus cresceret, cruciatus exarescere,a usque adeo vitam trahere languidus morte multimodios graviorem. Cumque nec unguentis, nec per plures dies appositis medicamentibus, crudelis aliquatenus mansuesceret cruciatus, irruerentque dolores graviores solito, aegro trahente tempore insomni, & omnino irrequieto, ad cruciaminum levamen solius mortis solatium expectabat: haerebat quidem ejus anima, ut votum de recuperanda salute Beato Confessori emitteret: sed obfiabat culpa conscientiae, qua de sanctitate beati viri, dum sanus extiterat, dubitabat. Quia plura? in confinio mortis jam fere positus, votum vovit Domino, & Beato Confessori exarescere Farlati vs. exardescere Lučin

a

As noted in Lucius’ edition, this part contains “the most ancient miracles of St. John, confirmed by the testimonies of sixty men, which Treguan has noted down in writing at the beginning of the thirteenth century.” 48

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All people rejoiced in unspeakable joy and immense cheerfulness, since they were now even more assured that with the favor of such a patron, they could obtain from God whatever they justly begged; for such a miracle made them realize more clearly that they could be granted their wishes in necessity by the Almighty through the entreaties and merits of their saint. Chapter 6 Foreword48 As it so often happens that the faith should shine forth from disbelief and that the truth should become consolidated by doubt, thus our omnipotent Savior, whose immense providence has elevated His saint and made him shine forth like a ruby star, wanted to prove his sanctity by putting the incredulous in peril. Miracle I Jordan, a pious man and the abbot of a monastery in this city, handled one day an unsteadied piece of wood to be hewed with insufficient caution, and he felt a thin splinter of that wood penetrate the index finger of his right hand; and as he tried to extract it, he could not do it by any means. As his finger started to swell up with the splinter, the sick man began to feel pain and his hand grew in size, and he suffered, withering, until it made his life many times worse than death. As neither with ointments, nor with medicine applied through the course of many days the pained man received any relief of his tortures, and the pain became more severe than usual, so he could barely get through the times of insomnia, he only expected death as a release of his suffering. He thought of praying for health to the Blessed Confessor, yet his remorse prevented him from doing so, as he had doubted in the sanctity of the blessed man while he was healthy. What then? As he was already on the threshold of death, he vowed to God, and to the Blessed Confessor John, that if

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Joanni, ut si ejus meritis ac precibus ab instanti liberaretur periculo, ad honorem ejus digitum argenteum offerret corpori sancto suo. Nocte vero e vestigio subsecuta, dum aurora futurae diei daret initium, & saepe fatus aeger in cujusdam nebulae umbra se sopori dedisset, qui ab exordio ingruentis doloris somnum nequaquam noverat, vidit per somnum quendam nobilem ejusdem civitatis virum Joannem cognomine Casolinum ad se visitationis gratia ingredientem, qui quasi condolens, & passioni ejus graviter compatiens, manum languidam coepit leniter demulcere, ligamina medicamentorum evolvere, digitum, cui festucam impressam diximus, propriis manibus & digitis suaviter demulcere, acerbumque dolorem, quem per novem dies continuos irrequietus homo passus fuerat, mitigare. Expergefactus autem languidus leniorem sensit manum, & resolutis ligaturis digitum laesum aspiciens vidit festucam ad summan jam fere progressam, & ut eam educerent, quasi oretenus proclamantem. Quam eductam secutus est ipse passivus maeror (3), dolor & cruciamina sunt omnino sedata, & ut ab ejusdem religiosi viri ore dicidimus, modici temporis interjecto spatio pristina redditur sanitati. Qua recepta non ut prius incredulus, sed in fide sanctitatis Beati Confessoris solidatus & stabilis ad loculum, quo corpus venerabile jacebat, tam devote, quam reverenter accessit, votum quod in tribulatione sua os ejus locutum fuerat, obtulit, benedicens & laudens Domunum, qui est mirabilis in Sanctis suis. Miraculum II Nec fuit huic dissimile quod alio quoque tempore contigit, sicut quidam ejusdem civitatis nobilis Duymus Galaderlus agnomine nobiscum positus de se ipso saepius referebat. Qui cum similiter de virtutibus Sancti esset ambiguus, coepit aestivo tempore vi febrium laborare, & caloris sensim crescente vi, magis coepit totum corpus aestuare, quasi ardore ignium, atque in acutum morbum transire. Quem physici hemitritaeum physico consueverant vocabulo nun-

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the latter should free him by his merits and the man’s prayers from imminent danger, he would make an offer of a silver finger to his holy body. As the night, however, was coming to an end, and the dawn indicated the beginning of a new day, and the above-mentioned sick man fell into a deep slumber, as in some sort of haze, after he had barely had any sleep owing to the excruciating pain, he saw in his dreams a nobleman from that city, John by the family name of Casolina, enter in order to pay him a visit, and that man, in the manner of condolence and serious compassion with his suffering, began to stroke his ailing hand gently, to untie the bandages containing medicine, and to stroke tenderly the finger in which the splinter was stuck, as we have said, with his own hands and fingers, soothing the sharp pain from which the man had suffered for nine days continuously and without repose. As the ailing man stirred from his slumber, he felt that his hand was now calmer and as he untied the bandages and looked at his wounded finger, he saw that the splinter had already come up and almost called aloud to be extracted. And as it was extracted, the misery that tortured him passed, the pain and the torment subsided completely, and as we have learned from the mouth of that same pious man, within a brief period of time he was restored to his previous health. And as he regained it, he was no longer incredulous as before, but fortified and persistent in his faith in the sanctity of the Blessed Confessor; he approached the place where the venerable body was lying, devotedly and reverently, and fulfilled the vow that his mouth had pronounced in his tribulations, saying blessings and praising God, who is wonderful in his saints. Miracle II A rather similar story happened another time, as a nobleman from this city by the name of Doimus Galaderlus, who took orders together with us, often told us about himself. He was also doubtful about the Saint’s virtues and was seized in summertime by strong fever; and as his bodily temperature was gradually rising, his entire body started to burn as if in the heart of fire, and passed into the state of acute illness, which the doctors call “semi-tertian ague” in

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cupare. Cui cum per plures dies effusum nullum proficeret medicamentum, expectarentque circumsedentes mortis illius eventum, quem quodam modo cernebant finitimum, subito per portas narium sanguis fervere, & tribus diebus, totidemque noctibus pariter effluere sedula quantitate. Quo fluxu tanta debolitate laborare coepit aeger, ut aditu fere vocis intercluso non modo de salute, verum etiam de vita penitus desperaret. Idem ipse ad se rediens voce qua poterat Sanctum interpellat Joannem, & poenitens incredulitatis, spondet mente pariter & animo, si ei dignaretur salutis praestare remedium, quod de sanctificatione illius ab inde nullatenus dubitaret. Denique se sequentis noctis, cujus die praecedenti Sancti opem advocaverat, instante medio, eo quoque in extasi posito, adest Christi Confessor, ut videbatur in somnis, & his aegrum vocibus increpat dicens: Ut quid duro corde, filii hominum, usque adeo de misericordia diffiditis Creatoris, quod ipsum non creditis precibus servorum suorum vobis salutaria commoda ministrare? Credite Omnipotenti nihil esse difficile, ipsumque nobis peccatoribus, dum adhuc misera & caduca vita in hoc mundi fungimur ad ipsius accincti obsequium, tantam conferre gratiam, ut evecti post corpus ad sedes aethereas in exemplum vitae melioris, incommoda tam corporum, quam etiam animarum vestrarum in ipsius nomine relevemus pariter, & effugemus: nihilominus vero pro vobis fragilitati nostrae ab Omnipotenti indulta nomina sanctitatis, cum per gratiam nobis collatam gloria nec minui valeat, nec augeri; sed ut vos credentes ad virtutum culmen erigatis animam, per quam salutem quoque corporum consequi valeatis. Et haec dicens caput ejus per quatuor partes inter manus proprias astringens, & fluxim cohibuit sanguinis, & aegrum restituit pristinae sanitati. Evigilans autem languidus percunctari coepit a circumsedentibus, quis ille fuerit qui ad ipsum intraverat visitandum. Cumque respondissent neminem se vidisse, intellexit homo

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medical terminology. And as in the course of many days no medication showed any effect, those who were sitting around the man expected that he would die, which was somehow considered imminent considering the unremitting quantity and surge of blood that gushed from his nostrils for three days and also during the night. Because of this bleeding, the sick man became so weak that he could no longer speak, and he was desperately fighting not for his health alone, but even for his life. Then he, coming to his senses, invoked Saint John as loudly as he only could, and repenting for his incredulity, he solemnly promised, both in his mind and in his spirit, that if he should be deemed worthy of obtaining remedy, he would thence by no means doubt the saint’s holiness. Eventually, in the following night, after he had implored for the Saint’s action on the preceding day, right there he was thrown into ecstasy and there was the Confessor of Christ, as is seen in dreams, and he rebuked the sick man, saying: “Why do you, son of men with hardened hearts, defy even the mercy of your Creator as you disbelieve that salutary benefits could be administered to you by means of prayers to his servants? You should trust that nothing is difficult for the Omnipotent, even to bestow such mercy upon us sinners, as we are still busy with our miserable and blind lives in this world, that when taken from this body into the ethereal abode, for the sake of better life and in sign of complaisance to Him, we relieve and remove all ailments, both of your bodies and of your souls: and also that the names of sanctity have been assigned to our fragility by the Omnipotent, whose glory will neither diminish nor grow for the grace bestowed upon us, in order that you, believers, should elevate your soul to the pinnacle of virtues, by which you should also achieve the health of your bodies.” And while he was saying that he pressed the sick man’s head with his own hands in four places, thus stopping the flow of blood and restoring the man to his previous health. And as the ailing man woke up, he began asking those who were sitting around him who was that man who had come to visit him. And as they responded that they had seen nobody, he understood that the man was the

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beatum Sanctum Dei fuisse virum, cujus se voverat devotioni hesterna die. Gavisus itaque de incolumitate sibi reddita, gavisus est multo magis de visione tam mirabili, laudesque magnificas coepit exolvere Creatori. Exsurgens autem sanus & incolumis die tertia corpus sanctum adiit, grates immensas Deo & Sancto Ioanni retulit; & ab illo tempore nomen sanctum ejus, & diem festivitatis ipsius quoad vixit, summa coluit semper & vigili devotione. Haec omnia, sicut superius leguntur, idem nobilis nobiscum positus semper cum lacrymis referebat. Miraculum III Mencogna vero ejusdem civitatis accola cum haberet unicum filium a nativitate caecum, ipsum domi fovebat, utpote quem caecitas non sinebat exterius pervagari. Tempore autem, quo gloria Domini fuerat in puero revelanda, coepit oculorum doloribus affligi, & cruciari adeo, quod stridore ululatus continui non modo domum propriam, verum etiam diebus pluribus viciniam vexaverat universam. Quid faceret homo, cui humanum consilium nullum poterat remedii solatium adhibere? Quadam nocte puerum accipiens, & ipsum ad oratorium, quo sanctum jacebat corpus, deferens, ante januas projecit, nam & ostia sera solidata prohibebant ingressum, cum quarta jam dictae noctis vigilia praeterisset; commendans autem pater filium Deo & Beato Joanni, coepit ibidem pernoctare. Mane vero adveniente coepit puer silere, & qui per plures dies somnum non coeperat, nec viderat, dormivit. Pater vero rem tacitus considerans, pro quiete illius Creatori rependens gratiam, intellexit dolorem pueri mitigatum. Evigilans denique puer coepit aperire oculos, trepidare rerum, quas nunquam viderat, novitate, quae omnia ei stupenda & mirabilia, sicuti qui nunquam oculos aperuerat, videbantur. Retulit siquidem

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blessed Saint of God, to whose devotion he had vowed on the previous day. Happy that he has been thus freed from the harm, he was even far happier because of such a wondrous vision, and he began directing magnificent praises to the Creator. As he rose from his bed healthy and unharmed, on the third day he went to visit the holy body, showing huge gratitude to God and Saint John; and from that time, as long as he lived, he always showed supreme and observant devotion to the name of that saint and to his feast day. All this, which can be read above, that nobleman who took orders together with us always told us with tears in his eyes. Miracle III And Mencogna, an inhabitant of this city, had an only son who had been blind from his birth, and he took care about him at home as blindness did not allow the boy to wander about outside. But at the time when the glory of God was to be revealed in the boy, he became afflicted with pain in his eyes, and he was tortured so much that the shrillness of his continuous lamentations plagued not only his own home, but also the entire neighborhood for many days. What should a man do, as human counsel could offer no solace of remedy? One night he took the boy and carried him to the oratory where the holy body was lying, and he laid him down in front of the door, as the locked and secured gates prevented them from entering, since the fourth vigil of that night had already passed; the father commended his son to God and to Blessed John, and he lay down to spend the night there. As the morning approached, the boy fell silent, and although he had not been able to catch or even approach sleep for many days, he now fell asleep. His father watched him in silence, offering thanks to the Creator for his peacefulness as he realized that the boy’s pain had subsided. Eventually, the boy awoke and began opening his eyes and to tremble at the novelty of things that he had never seen before, as everything seemed astonishing and marvellous since he had never opened his eyes. His father returned home with him, as he saw that

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domum pater videntem pariter & sanum meritis S. Joannis in simul & virtute, qui eum caecum attulerat scientibus omnibus & infirmum, pro tantis collatis sibi beneficiis gratiarum actiones referens Creatori, quemadmodum divina tradunt volumina. Epilogus Sicuti regis terreni secretum silentio tegere bonum est, ita caelestis regis occulta pandere dignum dicitur & honestum, evangelica tuba testante, qua dicitur: Quod in aure auditis, praedicate super tecta.49 Ideo ego Treguanus, humilis Lector, natione Tuscus, patria Florentinus, licet indignus in eadem Traguriensi Ecclesia gerens Archidiaconatus ministerium, rogatus a fratribus, & a venerabili viro Domino meo Michaele ejusdem Ecclesiae praesule, sicut de Vita Sancti Confessoris in quibusdam codicibus iam ex majori parte vetustate deletis inveni, in praesens opus ad honorem Dei Sanctaeque Romanae Ecclesiae reformavi, de inventis nihil minuens, de meis nihil adjiciens. Quae autem de ipsius translatione, & brachii velatione scripta leguntur, ideo praenotavi diligenter, ne essent occulta de divinis miraculis, quae ex sexaginta bonorum assertione virorum fuisse vera probatum est. Scripta sunt haec omnia anno Dominicae Incarnationis MCCIII. tempore Domini Innocentii Papae III. pontificatus ejus anno sexto.

Mat. 10:27.

49

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he had been healed by the merits and the virtue of Saint John, as he had brought the boy blind and sick, as everybody knew, and he offered his thanks to the Creator for all these acts of mercy that had brought him so many benefits, in the way as the holy books tell us. Epilogue As good as it is to keep silent about the secrets of earthly kings, thus it is said to be worthy and honest to disclose the occult things of the heavenly king, as the sound in the Gospel attests when it says: That which you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops.49 Therefore I, Treguan, a humble lector, Tuscan by origin, Florentine by homeland, who albeit unworthy hold the ministry of archdeacon in the church of Trogir, as asked by my brethren and by the venerable man, my lord Michael, the bishop of this church, took what I have found about the Life of the Saintly Confessor in some books, for the most part damaged by age, and restored it in the present work to the honor of God and the Holy Roman Church, whereby I did not leave out anything of what I found and added nothing of my own. What is written about his translation and the theft of his arm, I have noted down diligently so that the divine miracles should be revealed, which the testimonies of sixty good men prove to be true. All this has been written in the year of the Lord’s Incarnation 1203, at the time of Pope Innocent III, during the sixth year of his pontificate.

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SAINT STANISLAUS OF CRACOW

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PREFACE Stanislava Kuzmová Bishop Stanislaus (in Poland known as Stanislaus of Szczepanów) was killed in the conflict with King Boleslaus II of Poland in 1079. Some devotion towards him probably existed since then, especially in the milieu of the cathedral chapter, but the sources are silent about his fame of sanctity until the turn of the thirteenth century. The life translated in this volume, traditionally called the Vita minor, originated in the thirteenth century and represents the most widespread hagiographical work on St. Stanislaus, disseminated above all in legend collections. The thirteenth-century lives of St. Stanislaus, known as Vita maior and Vita minor, belong to the oldest examples of Latin hagiography in Polish lands, which flourished especially from the second half of the thirteenth century and by the end of the fourteenth century produced besides these vitae also lives of St. Adalbert, a translation legend of St. Florian, and lives of St. Hyacinth, St. Kinga, and St. Salomea. The first hagiographical account of the death of St. Stanislaus, and thus the first clear evidence of his fame of sanctity, is a chapter in the Chronica Polonorum by Master Vincent, called Kadłubek, from the early thirteenth century. In the times of Master Vincent (Bishop of Cracow in 1208–1218, then retired to the Cistercian abbey of Jędrzejów, 1218–1223), the fame of Stanislaus’ sanctity was quite modest: it was founded on his martyrdom in 1079 and the miraculous phenomena which immediately followed his death. The bishop chastised King Boleslaus II for his cruel behavior towards his subjects, for which he was killed at Skałka (Rupella) near Cracow by the furious king. His body was cut into pieces and scattered, but was miraculously reintegrated on the following day. The king had to flee and ended his life in exile; while a miraculous light radiated from the bishop’s tomb at Skałka until

[ 515 ]

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the translation of his remains to the cathedral at Wawel (according to later lives, ten years after his death, in 1088/89).1 The gap between the events and the first sources about them has puzzled historians and led to debates whether the cult originated shortly after 1079 or was only a late development. The only earlier record of a conflict between the king and the bishop, who is not even mentioned by his name, is a short and vague account explaining how Boleslaus was expelled from Poland, found in chapters 27–28 of the First Book of the Cronicae et Gesta principum Polonorum (1110– 1114) written by an anonymous author, who is widely known as Gallus Anonymus.2 On the basis of these two chronicles, historians have tried to reconstruct the factum sancti Stanislai, i.e., the events that had led to the death of Bishop Stanislaus.3 However much Master Vincent drew on local tradition and on hagiographic models, the basic tendency was clear: Stanislaus belonged to the martyr bishops, Magister Vincentius, Chronica Polonorum, ed. Marian Plezia, Monumenta Poloniae Historica Series Nova (hereafter MPH SN) 11 (Cracow: Nakładem PAU, 1994), 55–60. 2 Gallus Anonymus, Cronicae et Gesta Ducum sive Principum Polonorum, MPH SN 2, ed. K. Maleczyński (Warsaw: PAU, 1952), 52–53, and an English translation in Gesta Principum Polonorum / The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles, transl. Paul W. Knoll and Frank Schaer (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2003), 96–99. 3 Tadeusz Wojciechowski constructed a whole theory about the bishop’s involvement in a plot against Boleslaus II together with his younger brother Wladislaus Herman; Szkice historyczne XI. wieku [Historical sketches of the eleventh century] (Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1970), esp. pp. 260 ff.; cf. Marian Plezia, Dookoła sprawy świętego Stanisława: Studium źródłoznawcze [Concerning the affair of St. Stanislaus: A study of sources] (Bydgoszcz: Wydawnictwo Homini, 1999), 105–27; Gerard Labuda, Święty Stanisław, Biskup krakowski, patron polski: Śladami zabójstwa—męczeństwa—kanonizacji [Saint Stanislaus, bishop of Cracow, the Polish patron saint: Murder—martyrdom—canonization] (Poznań: Instytut historii Uniwersytetu Adama Mickiewicza, 2000). See also Jerzy Rajman, “Przedkanonizacyjny kult św. Stanisława biskupa” [The cult of St. Stanislaus the bishop before the canonization], Nasza Przeszłość 80 (1993), 5–49; Gerard Labuda, “Wznowie­nie dyskusji w sprawie męczeństwa i świętości biskupa krakowskiego Stanisława” [Renewed discussion concerning the martyrdom and sanctity of Stanislaus, bishop of Cracow], Nasza Przeszlość 108 (2007): 5–57; Tadeusz Grudziński, Boleslaus the Bold, Called Also the Bountiful, and Bishop Stanislaus: The Story of a Conflict (Warsaw: Interpress Publishers, 1985), 89–207; Przemysław Wiszewski, Domus Bolezlai: Values and social identity in dynastic traditions of medieval Poland (c. 966–1138) (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2010), especially 225–41. 1

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a type popular especially after the canonization of Thomas Becket (1173). The chronicler did not provide biographical details about the bishop, nor his characteristics, but his description of the scene of martyrdom and the cutting of his body into pieces, in poetic language with many biblical allusions, inspired later hagiographers. In the thirteenth century the cult of Bishop Stanislaus started to take shape in Cracow.4 Drawing on Master Vincent’s account, proper hagiographic vitae of the bishop were related to his canonization and originated around its time or shortly afterwards. The bishop with the cathedral chapter and the mendicant orders worked together for the canonization of their native. The first step towards the official cult was the elevatio of the relics by Prandota, bishop of Cracow (1242–1266), and the cathedral chapter, which took place most probably in 1244.5 Several miraculous apparitions allegedly preceded and prompted the event. For example, a knight had a vision in which he met the late Bishop Wislaus (1229–1242), who was not allowed to enter the cathedral because he had neglected the veneration of his saintly predecessor. He urged the knight to go to his successor, Bishop Prandota, in order to amend this and elevate his relics, by virtue of which more miracles could be accomplished.6 Agnieszka Rożnowska–Sadraei, Pater Patriae: The Cult of Saint Stanislaus and the Patronage of Polish Kings 1200–1455 (Cracow: Unum, 2008); Stanislava Kuzmová, Preaching Saint Stanislaus: Medieval Sermons on Saint Stanislaus of Cracow, His Image and Cult (Warsaw: DiG, 2013). 5 The elevation is described in the Vita sancti Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis (Vita maior), ed. Wojciech Kętrzyński, MPH 4 (Lviv: Nakładem Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie, 1884) (hereafter Vita maior), Part III, chapter 7, 399–400; Maria Starnawska, Dominikanie, św. Jacek i elewacja szczątków św. Stanisława przez bis­ kupa Prandotę [The Dominicans, St. Hyacinth and the elevation of the remains of St. Stanislaus by Bishop Prandota], in Mendykanci w średniowiecznym Krakowie, ed. T. Gałuszka, K. Ożóg, and A. Zajchowska (Cracow: Esprit, 2008), 407–24; eadem, Świętych życie po życiu: Relikwie w kulturze religijnej na ziemiach polskich w średniowieczu [The life of saints after life: The relics in religious culture in Polish lands in the Middle Ages] (Warsaw: DiG, 2008), 204–7, 285–93, 297. 6 The miracles are recorded in the miracle collection, Miracula sancti Stanislai, ed. Woj­ciech Kętrzyński, in MPH 4 (Lviv: Nakładem Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie, 1884) (hereafter Miracula); and the Vita maior; the vision of Count Falus in Miracula, Art. 35, 311; and Vita maior, III/4, 395–96. Another apparition of the bishop to a German noblewoman appears in Miracula, Art. 27, 305–6; and Vita maior III/5, 397–98. 4

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After the Church dignitaries petitioned for canonization in Rome in 1250, a board of investigators with papal mandate was constituted and started the local enquiry in partibus.7 The first report with the depositions of the beneficiaries and witnesses of the attested miracles (which is not extant) did not achieve immediate success in Rome in 1251. A new commission was constituted and its head, the papal legate, the Franciscan friar James of Velletri, was instructed in the delegation bull (Licet olim venerabili, May 26, 1252) to investigate the case—both the miracles and the sanctity of the candidate’s life. A detailed scrutiny of the written sources was required as well: namely, a liber cronicorum (quo ad Capitulum pertinens ad negotium memoratum ex Archiuo. . . Ducis Polonie editum, i.e., presumably Master Vincent’s Chronica), a liber annalium (i.e., the Old Annals of the Cracow Chapter, now lost), and an epitaph on the bishop’s tomb.8 This was the practice in the case of saints who had died long before—as witnesses could not provide direct testimonies about the candidate’s life, the examination had to rely on written sources and authentic archival documents.9 The second For the canonization process, see the studies by Aleksandra Witkowska, “The thirteenth-century miracula of St. Stanislaus, Bishop of Krakow,” in Procès de canonisation au Moyen Âge: Aspects juridiques et religieux, ed. Gábor Klaniczay (Rome: École Française de Rome, 2004), 149–63; eadem, “Miracula małopolskie z XIII i XIV wieku: Studium źródłoznawcze” [Miracula of Little Poland in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries: A source study], Roczniki Humanistyczne 19, no. 2 (1971): 43–52; Otfried Krafft, Papsturkunde und Heiligsprechung: Die päpstlichen Kanonisationen vom Mittelalter bis zur Reformation; Ein Handbuch (Cologne–Weimar– Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, 2005), 500–18. A description of the canonization process is included also in Vita maior, III/7, 399–400. 8 Kodeks dyplomatyczny katedry krakowskiej ś. Wacława [The Codex Diplomaticus of the Cracow Chapter of St. Wenceslaus]. Monumenta Medii Aevi Historica Res Gestas Poloniae Illustrantia 1, ed. Franciszek Piekosiński (Cracow: Akademia umiejętności Krakowska, 1874) (hereafter KDKK 1), no. 33, 41–42. Another edition and a Polish translation by Roman M. Zawadzki, “Innocentego PP. IV Bulla Kanonizacyjna Swietego Stanislawa oraz Bulla Delegacyjna dla Jakuba z Velletri” [The bull of canonization of St. Stanislaus of Pope Innocent IV and the bull of delegation for James of Velletri], Analecta Cracoviensia 11 (1979), 42–45; cf. Roberto Paciocco, Canonizzazioni e culto dei santi nella christianitas (1198–1302) (Assisi: Edizioni Porziuncola, 2006), 94–95. 9 For this practice, see André Vauchez, Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 46–47; Gábor Klaniczay, “Raccolte di miracoli e loro certificazione nell’Europa centrale,” in Notai, miracoli e culto dei 7

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investigation committee of James of Velletri produced the judicial protocol of the Miracula sancti Stanislai (1252).10 The miracle accounts date back mostly to the period 1242–52. They are the evidence that by the time of the canonization, the tomb of Stanislaus in the cathedral was the center of devotion and he was renowned as miracle-worker, healer, and intercessor. Certain doubts were said to have arisen in the Curia, especially because Stanislaus had lived almost two hundred years before, as a letter of Cardinal John of Gaeta, the auditor of the case, to the Cracow Chapter documented.11 But finally Bishop Stanislaus was canonized by Pope Innocent IV in Assisi on the feast of the Nativity of Virgin Mary on September 8, 1253. The bull of canonization, Olim a gentilium of September 17, 1253, succinctly described St. Stanislaus as a good shepherd who offered his life for his sheep, a martyr, a patron, and an intercessor.12 This was the context in which the earliest lives of the saintly bishop were needed and came into being. The works known nowadays under the names of Vita minor and Vita maior are ­closely connected. Although in the present volume only the former is published and translated, it is inevitable and necessary to discuss the two legends together. Their names come from the nineteenth century and were introduced into historiography by Wojciech Kętrzyński, their nineteenth-century editor. Unfortunately, there is no modern crits­ anti: pubblicità e autenticazione del sacro tra XII e XV secolo, ed. Raimondo Michetti (Milano: Giuffré, 2004), 259–87. 10 Miracula, 285–318. Edited bilingually with a Polish translation and attempted reconstruction of the missing articles, as “Cuda świętego Stanisława” [The miracles of St. Stanislaus], ed. Zbigniew Perzanowski and transl. Jana Pleziowa, Analecta Cracoviensia 11 (1979): 68–140. A contemporary copy in the form of a scroll (rotulus) is kept in the Archives of the Cathedral Chapter in Cracow, MS. 228; the beginning and the end is missing, it contains 42 miracle testimonies; cf. Witkowska, “The thirteenth-century miracula,” 149–63; eadem, “Miracula małopolskie,” 43–52, 67–71, 82–84, 88–96 et passim. 11 KDKK 1, no. 37, 46–48. It is often related with a decisive miracle of healing of Cardinal Reginald (Rinaldo) of Ostia, the future Pope Alexander IV (1254–1261) who succeeded Innocent IV, “De modo canonizacionis beati Stanislai et sanacione Domini Reynaldi Hostiensis episcopi, videlicet domini pape Alexandri,” in the Vita maior, III/55, 434–36. 12 KDKK 1, no. 38, 48–51; Zawadzki “Bulla,” 23–45.

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ical edition up to date. Future thorough studies of the manuscript tradition of these texts may bring new results and correct the traditional patterns, which have prevailed since Kętrzyński’s edition. The Vita minor is the shorter of the two thirteenth-century vitae.13 Their mutual relation, dating, and relative chronology have been extensively debated in Polish historiography. The editor Wojciech Kętrzyński was convinced that the Vita minor had been written (not by the same author as the later Vita maior, Vincent) early, around 1230. His main arguments were the lack of description of canonization and later miracles, and, secondly, the mention of the wooden church in Szczepanów, the birthplace of Stanislaus, which the bishop himself was said to have consecrated— the author of the Vita says that he he had seen it and preached there.14 Marian Plezia dated the Vita minor shortly after 1242, or at the very latest in connection with the canonization efforts and perhaps specifically for the petition to the papacy. Among his arguments was his textual comparative analysis with the bull of the canonization of St. Peter the Martyr (canonized in 1253, on March 9)—he explained their textual relation by the hypothesis that the bull of Peter’s canonization, its description of the martyrdom, drew on the Vita minor of Stanislaus, a copy of which was available at the curia because the Poles had brought it there together with their supplication.15 However, as scholars have argued later, their textual relationship could have developed from the opposite direction. If we suppose that the Vita minor was written later, its author could Vita sancti Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis (Vita minor), ed. Wojciech Kętrzyński, MPH 4, 283–317 (BHL 7832). Polish translation: “Żywot mniejszy św. Stanisława” [The Vita minor of St. Stanislaus], in Średniowieczne żywoty i cuda patronów Polski [Medieval lives and miracles of patrons of Poland], transl. Janina Pleziowa, ed. and introduction by Marian Plezia (Warsaw: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1981), 97–150. 14 Wojciech Kętrzyński, Introduction to: Vita minor, MPH 4, 238–53 and Introduction to: Vita maior, ibid., 319–54. Cf. Vita minor, 254. (see below at 534–35). 15 Marian Plezia, “Wincenty z Kielc, historyk polski z 1. połowy XIII. wieku” [Vincent of Kielce, a Polish historian from the first half of the thirteenth century], Studia żródłoznawcze 7 (1962), 22; idem, Od Arystotelesa do Złotej legendy [From Aristotle to the Golden Legend] (Warsaw: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1958), 431–53. 13

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have used the canonization bull of St. Peter the Martyr (as Gerard Labuda suggested), or even his legend, spread especially in Dominican circles (as Grażyna Klimecka has argued).16 Thus, the arguments for the early dating of the Vita minor are not conclusive. Gerard Labuda proposed that it was composed only after the canonization, in the same period as the Vita maior. The position nowadays accepted by most scholars is that the two vitae originated in the same years (one after the other), within a relatively short period after the canonization, around 1260 (but there is no general consensus on their relative chronology as of now).17 Nevertheless, Aleksandra Witkowska maintained that the Vita minor was the oldest life, written shortly before 1250—the decisive argument for her pre-canonization dating was the conviction that “a” life had to be presented together with the request.18 The supplication for the canonization must have been indeed supported with some kind of an account of the saint’s life; however, it could have been an extract based on the passage in Master Vincent’s Chronica Polonorum, describing the conflict, the martyrdom, and subsequent miracles. This is the only extant hagiographic account about the saint which can safely be dated to the period before the canonization. The delegation bull of James of Velletri mentions a liber cronicarum and a liber annalium, but no life, and neither does the bull of canonization (moreover, they do not mention the miracle of Piotrawin either, which both vitae recount; Plezia, Od Arystotelesa, 448–51; Gerard Labuda, “Twórczość hagiograficzna i historiograficzna Wincentego z Kielc” [The hagiographic and historiographic work of Vincent of Kielce], Studia żródłoznawcze 16 (1971): 111–12; Grażyna Klimecka, “Legenda o świętym Stanisławie i dominikanie polscy” [The legend of St. Stanislaus and Polish Dominicans], Przegląd Tomistyczny 6–7 (1997), 35–37. 17 Labuda, “Twórczość,” especially 111–12. Wojciech Drelicharz has accepted this dating in his Idea zjednoczenia królestwa w średniowiecznym dziejopisarstwie polskim [The idea of the unification of the kingdom in Polish medieval historiography] (Cracow: Towarzystwo naukowe Societas Vistulana, 2012), 117–23. Similarly, Maciej Zdanek, “Kultura intelektualna dominikanów krakowskich w średniowieczu” [The intellectual culture of Cracow Dominicans in the Middle Ages] (PhD dissertation, Jagiellonian University: Institute of History, 2005), 268–79. 18 Witkowska, “The thirteenth-century miracula,” 150. 16

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neither do they talk much about the saint’s vita et conversacio). Still, we cannot exclude a possibility that there was “a pre-canonization life,” now lost, which was reworked into the later extant vita. The situation of the Vita maior is clearer and less complicated: its authorship and dating have been established and generally accepted. After the canonization, between 1257 and 1261, frater Vincencius de ordine fratrum predicatorum (as he calls himself at the outset), wrote a life of St. Stanislaus, the so-called Vita maior,19 at the request of Bishop Prandota and the cathedral chapter (rogatu venerabilis patris domini Prandote Cracoviensis episcopi et capituli sui), on the basis of the witnesses’ testimonies (those who knew the saint or knew those who knew him) and of what he had seen and heard himself.20 Friar Vincent has been identified as Vincent of Kielcza (previously identified in historiography as of Kielce), canon of Cracow and later a Dominican friar (Vita maior, III/54, mentions that he used to hear confessions in the Church of Holy Trinity in Cracow).21 He was closely associated with Bishop Prandota and probably also with his predecessor Bishop Iwo from the same Odrowąż family and labored indefatigably on behalf of the cult of Stanislaus. Besides the hagiographical vita of the saint, he composed the first proper breviary office, rhymed historia, Dies adest celebris, shortly after the canonization.22 After his successful career in Cracow, he 19 Vita maior, 319–438. It is listed in BHL under nos. 7833–35—according to its parts 1–3. A Polish translation “Żywot większy św. Stanisława” [The Vita maior of St. Stanislaus], appears in Plezia, Średniowieczne żywoty i cuda, 247–344. 20 Vita maior, 363. 21 Wojciechowski, Plezia, and Labuda have identified canon and friar Vincent in various documents with placename variants de Kelcza/Kielcza/Kelcze/Kyelcze/Kielcyensis, which was first identified as Kielce in Little Poland, east of Cracow. Labuda convincingly argued that Wincentius Kyelcensis, the author of the life had come from Silesian Kielcza near Opole, from the same region as the Odrowąż family, which also explains his close ties with Bishop Prandota Odrowąż. Cf. Agata Siwczyńska, “Spór o biografię Wincentego dominikanina” [The dispute over the biography of Vincent the Dominican], Studenckie Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego 13. Studenckie Zeszyty Historyczne, no. 4 (2000): 35–54. 22 He is identified as its author by Dlugossius, Liber Beneficiorum, vol. 3, Opera omnia 9, 447–48. The office was first edited by W. Kętrzyński (MPH 4, 355–62). Cf.

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most probably returned to his native Silesia as a friar and became the prior of the Dominican convent of Racibórz. Vincent’s personality and work naturally connected both the cathedral chapter and the Dominican milieux. The Vita maior has been dated according to its content between 1257, when St. Hyacinth, whose tomb is mentioned in one of the miracle accounts, died, and 1261, i.e., the death of Pope Alexander IV, who was mentioned as (formerly) Cardinal Reginald and the contemporary pope in one of the accounts.23 It is divided into three parts, all named in the prologue: vitae processus, passionis cursus, victorie triumphus.24 The third part describes the elevation, the canonization process, the miracles (mostly based on the miracula protocol), and the canonization ceremony—this is what lacks from the Vita minor completely. The Vita minor and the corresponding part of the Vita maior are otherwise akin and very similar, in parts identical word for word. Let us first describe the structure of the Vita minor; then we will point out some other differences between two texts. The life starts without any prologue with the origin of Stanislaus. It does not provide details about the parents of Stanislaus but mentions their noble origin in the village of Szczepanów (Vita minor, c. 1). The author also describes here the already mentioned wooden church of Mary Magdalene in the village, consecrated by Stanislaus himself, which he saw earlier, but since then has fallen apart. As usual in the saints’ legends, the etymology of the holy man’s name follows (c.2). The life describes the virtues of the saint Kazimierz Szymonik, Oficjum rymowane o św. Stanisławie Dies adest celebris i hymn Gaude mater Polonia w polskich antyfonarzach przedtrydenckich: Studium muzykologiczne [The rhymed office about St. Stanislaus, Dies adest celebris and the hymn Gaude mater Polonia in Polish pre-Trent antiphonals] (Niepokalanów: Wydaw­nic­ two Ojców Franciszkanów, 1996). 23 For the dating, see Kętrzyński in the introduction to the Vita maior, in MPH 4, 333–34; and Labuda, “Twórczość hagiograficzna i historiograficzna,” 107; the passages mentioning St. Hyacinth and the pope are found in the Vita maior, III/54–55, 433–36. 24 Vita maior, 362: “Gloriosi martiris sancti Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis vite processum, passionis cursum, victorie triumphum . . .”

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since his youth, using the usual topoi—he was a puer docilis, sagax puerulus, and his parents sent him to study.25 According to this legend, he studied arts, canon law, and theology at a studium generale, which is another contemporary topos (c. 3–4). He became a canon of the Cracow cathedral under Bishop Lambert (1061–1071), and after his death was elected his successor (c.5). The vita describes him as a virtuous bishop who had the courage to chastise king Boleslaus, who was an able administrator of his diocese through visitations, he was preaching, correcting the priests and the faithful, hearing their confessions, doing works of mercy, flourishing with many virtues (c. 6–10). The life also recounts an episode about a single miracle which the saint accomplished in his life: the bishop defended the ownership of a village called Piotrawin for his diocese by raising from the dead three years after his death a certain knight Peter who donated his hereditary village to the bishopric, in order to produce a testimony in front of the king (c. 11–18, in c. 17–18 mentioning two analogies from the legend of St. Maternus and from the miracle of St. Spyridon in the Historia ecclesiastica of Eusebius of Caesarea).26 Stanislaus is portrayed, congruent with the thirteenth-century episcopal ideals, as an ideal bishop, virtuous and ascetic, but

The description of the youth of Stanislaus in the Vita minor resembles the Life of St. Dominic by Peter Ferrandi, which was reworked and came to be used for the lessons in the Dominican liturgy under Humbert of Romans. Cf. Danuta Borawska, Z dziejów jednej legendy: W sprawie genezy kultu św. Stanisława biskupa [From the history of a legend. The origins of the cult of St. Stanislaus the bishop] (Warsaw: Towarzystwo miłośników historii, 1950), 48; Plezia, “Wincenty z Kielc,” 23, 33; Klimecka, “Legenda,” 33. Simon Tugwell, “Petrus Ferrandi and His Legend of St. Dominic,” Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum 97 (2007): 19–100. 26 Vita minor, 260–65 (cf. below at 548–61, chapters 11–16). Vita maior, 374–79 (Part II, chapters 1–6,); The story appears neither in the earlier sources, nor in the canonization bull. Historians have seen the story as a reflection of a later, thirteenth-century, legal and social status quo and the echoes of hagiographical literary models, as the motif appears elsewhere, for example, in the works of James of Vitry and Stephen of Bourbon; Borawska, Z dziejów, 43 ff.; Klimecka, “Legenda,” 27–32. An overview of this motif in hagiography is provided in Henryk Fros, “A mortuis suscitati, ut testimonium perhibeant veritati,” Analecta Bollandiana 99 (1981): 355– 60. Plezia, Dookoła, 145–46 and idem, Od Arystotelesa do Złotej legendy, 446–47. 25

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at the same time an able administrator of his diocese and a zealous defender of the Church.27 A considerable portion of the life consists of an unusually lengthy historiographic digression on the history of Poland up to the rule of King Boleslaus II—providing a comparison with Boleslaus I the Brave/Chrobry (992–1025) (including the Gniezno summit with Emperor Otto III at the relics of St. Adalbert), then the reign of his son Mieszko II, followed by an interregnum and a civil war, which ended with an invitation of Casimir (1034–1058) to the throne (first exiled with his mother, then becoming a monk who needed a dispensation from the pope) (c. 19–24). These were meant to describe the context for the martyrdom of Stanislaus as a significant event in Polish history and to contrast Boleslaus II with the first glorious holder of that name.28 The narrative of the rule and wars of Boleslaus II (1058– 1079), who changed from a generous and brave sovereign to a sinful incorrigible tyrant (c.25–29), based on Master Vincent’s chronicle, is followed by an account of the bishop’s conflict with the king and his martyrdom, based on the same source (c. 30–32). Like in Master Vincent’s hagiographical narrative, the martyrdom is followed by the first miracles—radiating lights above his limbs scattered outside and guarded by four eagles and the reintegration of his body on the following day (c.33). The translation of his remains into the cathedral ten years after his death is mentioned, prompted by some apparitions at the place of his martyrdom and of his first burial at St. Michael’s at Skałka (c. 34). The work closes with the expulsion and infamous ending of the life of King Boleslaus and his lineage, who lost the crown as punishment for his sin (c.35).

For the contemporary ideals of episcopal sainthood, see Vauchez, Sainthood, 285–91. 28 The chapters devoted to this historiographical information are distributed differently in the two works: Vita minor, 267–77 (Chapter 19–29); Vita maior, 365–66 (Part I, Chapter 2–3), 380–83 (Part II, Chapter 9–14). The differences in the presentation of historical events in the two lives are analyzed in Drelicharz, Idea zjednoczenia, esp. 123–26, 157–60. 27

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Although the description of the life, martyrdom, and historical context are similar in the two related lives, there are some differences in the extent of development of some parts and their place in the composition. The historiographic concept of the story of St. Stanislaus, formulated in the milieu of the cathedral chapter in Cracow, is more developed and mature in the Vita maior. The Vita minor ends in a pessimistic way with the punishment of King Boleslaus and his lineage, the loss of the crown, and the disintegration of the kingdom, whereas the Vita maior adds a prophecy of its subsequent renovation, presented as a simile of the saint’s body cut into pieces and miraculously restored.29 The saint’s cult and canonization had not only a religious but also a political dimension already at that time—further evidence is the celebration of the canonization and the first feast of Stanislaus in Cracow on May 8, 1254, when a number of lay and ecclesiastical dignitaries gathered in Cracow, and the gift of the arm relic of St. Stanislaus by Bishop Prandota to the Bohemian king, Přemysl Ottokar II. Additionally, in the Vita maior a paragraph entitled De archiepiscopatu Cracoviensis ecclesie refers to an alleged privilege from Pope Benedict to Bishop Aaron, dated to the reign of Casimir I in 1046, which served as a pretext for the archdiocesan ambitions of the bishopric of Cracow.30 The stylistic analogies between two texts have led scholars to suppose that they are the two redactions of the same text or two For the concept of the loss and restoration of the kingdom in the hagiography of St. Stanislaus, see e.g., Jacek Banaszkiewicz, “Sicut corpus sancti Stanislai Deus reintegravit oraz Bulla delegacyjna dla Jakuba z Velletri,” Novum 21 (1979): 213– 18; Piotr Węcowski, “Strata korony królewskiej po śmierci św. Stanisława w opinii pisarzy póżnego średniowiecza” [The loss of the royal crown after the death of St. Stanislaus in the view of late medieval writers], in Christianitas Romana: Studia ofiarowane prof. Romanowi Michałowskiemu, ed. Krzysztof Skwierczyński (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2009), 274–99; and the monograph on the topic by Drelicharz, Idea zjednoczenia. For the political functions of the cult, see also Wojciech Mrozowicz, “Die politische Rolle des Kultes des hl. Adalbert, Stanislaus und der hl. Hedwig im Polen des 13. Jahrhunderts,” in Fonctions sociales et politiques du culte des saints dans les sociétés de rite grec et latin au Moyen Âge et à l’epoque moderne: Approche comparative, ed. Marek Derwich and Michel Dmitriev (Wrocław: Lahrcor, 1999), 111–25. 30 Vita maior, II/14, 383. 29

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attempts of one author, with some parts left out or expanded; the differences may not have to do with the quality of the composition, the maturity of the ideological concepts, or the timing of when the work was finished, but rather with its function and use. The Vita minor appeared exclusively within manuscript collections of legends, from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, namely the Polish redaction of the Legenda aurea.31 Customarily, the whole Vita minor (or its variant) was included in the collections for the feast day on May 8 as the “Legend for the martyrdom of St. Stanislaus.” Labuda proposed to rename the Vita minor as the “Legend of St. Stanislaus,” which he considered more precise.32 Some parts of the Vita maior (or based on it) concerning the miracles, translation, and canonization were usually used for the September feast of the translation (September 27)33—and could be perhaps called accordingly the “Legend for the translation.”34 The manuscript transmission of the Vita minor (and its Dominican connections) also point at the work’s function as a preaching aid. The respective legends were meant to be read on the feasts of the martyrdom and the translation of St. Stanislaus, and were often read out after a sermon. In this light, it is possible to say that the Vita minor, as the legend for the feast of martyrdom, sought to emphasize certain aspects of the saint’s biography in order to present a message that would be more fitting for the pastoral and preaching activities of the Dominican friars. As compared to the corresponding part of the Vita maior, 31 Pierre David, Les sources de l’ histoire de Pologne à l’ époque des Piasts (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1934), 133; Plezia, “Na marginesie, 430–57. For the list of manuscripts, see ibid., 438–42—Plezia lists 14 manuscripts of the Vita minor. Kętrzyński knew 10 copies; MPH 4, 239–43, the manuscripts with the Vita maior, ibid., 319– 26. The manuscripts contain various full or abbreviated versions of the lives, and further research of the manuscript tradition is needed. 32 Labuda, “Twórczość,” 114–15; Klimecka, “Legenda,” 26. 33 Jakub de Voragine, Złota legenda: Wybór [Golden Legend: A Selection], ed. Marian Plezia and Janina Pleziowa (Warsaw: Instytut Wydawniczy PAX, 1955), 260, 532. 34 Labuda, “Twórczość,” 113–14. David, Les sources, 129–33. The question is whether these two legends ever formed an organic whole together, as an alternative to the Vita maior, as David argued.

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the political-ideological aspects (especially those concerning the renovatio regni Poloniae) became less important than the more pessimistic moral lesson implied in the fate of King Boleslaus and his descendants, who were punished for their sins. In the situation when the arguments for the dating of the Vita minor prior to the Vita maior are inconclusive and can also be explained in a different way (in the case of the need of a life for the canonization request) or even to the contrary (composition and structure, its being a source for the bull of canonization of Peter the Martyr), the function of the Vita minor and its presence in manuscripts needs to be thoroughly considered. It is generally accepted that the two lives originated shortly one after each other in the same period of time. Already Labuda considered the possibility that the Vita minor was only an extract of the Vita maior,35 and Grażyna Klimecka took his hypothesis even further.36 According to them, the Vita minor, or the legend (for the martyrdom), could have been a shortened and adapted version of the earlier saint’s life, the Vita maior (or a different text), precisely for being used in a collection of legends, a genre needed and spread by the mendicant orders and used primarily as an aid for preachers. Among many collections of abridged legends, mostly of Dominican provenance, the Legenda aurea of James of Varazze was the most widespread example. Preachers in the region of Central Europe, especially Dominicans and Franciscans, needed abridged legends of local Polish, Czech and Hungarian saints, which were added or interpolated into local versions of legend collections such as the Legenda aurea.37 It would be fruitful to reconsider and analyze the textual relation of the Vita maior and the Vita minor, which have been treated as two self-contained entities in modern historiography, on the Labuda, Święty Stanisław, 136. Klimecka, “Legenda,” 25–44. While Drelicharz has remained with the traditional relative chronology of the two lives, Zdanek (“Kultura intelektualna,” 268–79) has accepted her thesis. 37 Klimecka claims that the Vita minor in the form that we know was composed specifically to meet these needs. 35

36

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basis of a thorough examination of the manuscript evidence and related function of their copies.38 (Not the differences in content but the transmission and function may be crucial in understanding the relation between the two texts.) As the lives of St. Stanislaus spread as parts of the codices containing legend and sermon collections, the image of St. Stanislaus, in the way it was presented in the thirteenth-century lives, kept spreading in the fifteenth century.39 Although the thirteenth-century lives remained the main hagiographic sources on St. Stanislaus, new versions, redactions, and texts, drawing on these, originated later and enriched his hagiography with new motifs, or served various different uses, to mention only the most important ones: a fourteenth-century redaction of the Vita maior, so-called Tradunt, after its beginning word (Tradunt annales Polonorum historie),40 the new expanded life in humanist style, Vita sanctissimi Stanislai Cracoviensis episcopi by It was only when the manuscript of our volume was about to be submitted to CEU Press, that we could get access to the excellent new bilingual (Latin-German) edition by Eduard Mühle, Heilige Fürstinnen und Kleriker: Lebensbeschreibungen und Wunderberichte von polnischen Heiligen des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts. Darmstadt: WBG Academic, 2021. We could not take in consideration his several valuable insights here. 39 The legend for the feast of the martyrdom of St. Stanislaus was included in some copies of the redaction of the Golden Legend of Bohemian provenance as well; Vidmanová mentions 14 manuscripts which contain the legend, in several versions; see Jakub de Voragine, Legenda aurea, ed. and transl. A. Vidmanová and V. Bahník (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1984), 53; Anežka Vidmanová, “La branche tchèque de la Légende dorée,” in Legenda aurea, sept siècles de diffusion, ed. Brenda Dunn-Lardeau (Montréal: Bellarmin–Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 1986), 291–98. The prints of the compendium of the Legenda aurea for the Hungarian Kingdom (Legende sanctorum regni Hungarie in Lombardica historia non contente, Strasbourg 1483, Venice 1498, 1512) included a version of the legend of St. Stanislaus, listed in BHL as no. 7838 (incipit as Vita maior) as well. 40 Edition in Martini Galli chronicon [...] denuo recensuit [...] vitamque sancti Stanislai..., adiecit J.V. Bandtkie (Warsaw, 1824), 321–80. No critical edition has appeared to date. A comparison with the Vita maior by W. Kętrzyński in MPH 4, 350–52. It is listed in BHL no. 7836. Most recently the work was analyzed by Drelicharz, Idea zjednoczenia, 316–26. 38

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John (Jan) Długosz (1415–1480) in the 1460s,41 not to speak about various minor redactions and shortened biographies included in preachers’ manuscripts and collections of legends and sermons.42 By the fifteenth century, St. Stanislaus had become the patron-saint of Poland, and his cult had spread throughout the Polish dioceses and to some extent into neighboring lands, the main places of devotion and pilgrimage being the place of his martyrdom at Skałka in Cracow and his tomb in the cathedral at Wawel.43

Joannes Dlugossius, Vita sanctissimi Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis, Opera omnia 1: 1–181, ed. Ignatius Polkowski and Żegota Pauli (Cracow: Typographia Ephemeridum “Czas” Fr. Kluczycki, 1887). The Vita appeared in early print, Vita sanctissimi Stanislai necnon Legendae sanctorum Poloniae, Hungariae, Bohemiae, Morauiae, Prussie et Silesie patronum in lombardica historia non contentae (Cracow: Joannis Haller, 1511), and in Polish translation by Nicholas (Mikołaj) of Wilkowiecko from the Pauline Order in the late sixteenth century: Historia o św. Stanisławie, biskupie krakowskim, patronie polskim [The history about St. Stanislaus, the Bishop of Cracow and the patron of Poland] (Cracow: M. Szaffenberg, 1578). An earlier edition is included in the Acta sanctorum series: Joannes Dlugossius, Vita sancti Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis, Acta Sanctorum Maii 2:202–76 (Antwerp: Michael Cnobarus, 1680; Facsimile reprint, Turnhout: Brepols, 1968). The Vita is listed in under nos. BHL 7839–7841. 42 For more on these, see Kuzmová, Preaching Saint Stanislaus, 172–77, and eadem, “Kazania o św. Stanisławie a hagiografia” [Sermons on St. Stanislaus and Hagio­ graphy], in Kaznodziejstwo średniowieczne—Polska na tle Europy: Teksty, atrybucje, audytorium, ed. Krzysztof Bracha and Andrzej Dąbrówka (Warsaw: DiG, 2014), 72–77. 43 Aleksandra Witkowska, Kulty pątnicze piętnastowiecznego Krakowa [The pilgrimage cults in fifteenth-century Cracow] (Lublin: Towarzystwo naukowe KUL, 1984). 41

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VITA SANCTI STANISLAI EPISCOPI CRACOVIENSIS (Vita Minor)

q

LIFE OF SAINT STANISLAUS, BISHOP OF CRACOW (Minor Legend)

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VITA SANCTI STANISLAI EPISCOPI CRACOVIENSIS (Vita Minor) De Sancto Stanislao Martire et Pontifice 1. Beatus1 igitur2 Stanislaus, ut annales principum Polonie et gestorum tangunt hystorie,3 nacione Polonus ex prouincia Cracouiensi processit oriundus; de cuius progenitoribus uel eorum nominibus4 ideo in hoc opere non fit mencio, quia antiquitas temporis, negligencie nutrix, mater ingratitudinis hanc deleuit obliuio.a 5 Sunt tamen superstites quidam de Raba et Stepanov,b 6milites genere nobiles, qui dicuntur patris beati Stanizlai et antecessorum eius ueri heredes et legittimi successores. In Stepanov etenim uilla prefata negligencie – oblivio : ≈ LD 46 (ed. Tugwell, 355) sczepanow L J1 J2 J3

a

b

I have made no attempt to distinguish in translation between beatus and sanctus; both attributes are used in the text of the Vita s. Stanislai interchangeably (often in relation to the same individual) to mean simply “saint.” 2 I have attempted to preserve in the present translation the somewhat awkward beginning of the original. The presence in the very opening of the first paragraph of the word igitur, which normally introduces a conclusion or marks a transition between two parts of the same text, has been interpreted by some as an indication that originally the VMi might have contained an initial part, now lost. This could have been, some have argued, a supplication letter addressed to the Pope requesting the canonization of the hero of the vita; see the note ad loc. in Średniowieczne żywoty i cuda patronów Polski [Medieval lives and miracles of the patron saints of Poland], trans. Janina Pleziova, introd. and notes by Marian Plezia (Warsaw: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1987), 139, n. 1 and Gerard Labuda, “Twórczość hagiograficzna i historiograficzna Wincentego z Kielc” [The hagiographic and historiographic work of Vincent of Kielce], Studia źródłoznawcze 16 (1971): 113–14. This view has been convincingly refuted and, more recently, scholars have proposed other explanations for the presence of igitur, such as a possible trace of editorial work on an earlier version of the VMi; see Grażyna G. Klimecka, “Legenda o świętym Stanisławie i dominikanie polscy” [The legend of St. Stanislaus and Polish Dominicans], Przegląd Tomistyczny 6–7 (1997): 25–44 at 27. Stanislava Kuzmová has suggested that igitur may refer to a sermon; see her Preaching Saint Stanislaus: Medieval Sermons on Saint Stanislaus of Cracow: His Image and Cult (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo DiG, 2012), 35, n. 67. 3 The unnamed sources mentioned here are the early twelfth-century Gesta principum Polonorum by the unknown author conventionally known as Gallus Anony­ mus and the early thirteenth-century Chronica Polonorum by Master Vincent Kadłubek, which the present work often quotes verbatim. Other than the scarce 1

[ 532 ]

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LIFE OF SAINT STANISLAUS, BISHOP OF CRACOW (Minor Life) On Saint Stanislaus, Martyr and Bishop 1. Saint1 Stanislaus, then,2 was a Pole by birth and hailed from the region of Cracow, as it is mentioned in the annals of the Polish rulers and in the histories of their deeds.3 In the present work no mention will be made of his forebears or of their names,4 because the passing of time, which fosters neglect and breeds ingratitude, has consigned them to oblivion.5 In Raba and Szczepanów,6 however, information contained in these texts, the author of the Vita s. Stanislai had very little to go by when composing his account of St. Stanislaus; for a detailed discussion of the extant evidence, see Marian Plezia, Dookoła sprawy św. Stanisława: Studium źródłoznawcze [Concerning the problem of St. Stanislaus: A study of the sources] (Bydgoszcz: Wydawnictwo Homini, 1999). 4 In his vita of St. Stanislaus (composed ca. 1464), the Polish historian Jan Długosz identified the saint’s parents as Wielisław and Bogna, but what sources he drew on for this information is unclear. 5 Given the scarcity of available information on St. Stanislaus’ early years, Vincent of Kielcza, the presumed author of both the VMi and the VMa, constructed his account on the model of and borrowing from the Life of St. Dominic, the founder of the religious order to which he himself belonged. Several textual parallels linking the Legenda S. Dominici [LD] and the two vitae of St. Stanislaus have been identified; see Danuta Borawska, Z dziejów jednej legendy: W sprawie genezy kultu św. Stanisława biskupa [The history of a legend: Concerning the origins of the cult of St. Stanislaus the bishop] (Warsaw: Towarystwo miłośników historii, 1950), 37–39. It is still unclear which version of the LD the Polish author used as a source; the likeliest candidate is the legend by Petrus Ferrandi (d. between 1254 and 1259), either in its original version composed ca. 1238–1241 [BHL 2216] or in its ultimate and authoritative reworking by Humbert of Romans (d. 1277) [BHL 2219], of which later two successive versions were produced, the first some time after 1246, and the final one after 1255/1256. On these, see Simon Tugwell, “Petrus Ferrandi and his Legenda of St. Dominic,” Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum 77 (2007): 19–100, esp. 98–99 and his critical edition, Petri Ferrandi, Legenda sancti Dominici (Rome: Angelicum University Press, 2015). See also Humbertus de Romanis, Legendae Sancti Dominici necnon materia praedicabilis pro festis sancti Dominici et testimonia minora de eodem: Adiectis miraculis Rotomagensibus Sancti Dominici et Gregorii IX bulla canonizationis eiusdem, ed. Simon Tugwell (Rome: Institutum historicum ordinis fratrum praedicatorum, 2008). For the present musings on the passing of time cf. LD 46, ed. Tugwell, 355: plura uero per negligentiam aboleuit obliuio, mater ingratitudinis, gratie inimica. 6 Szczepanów is a village in southern Poland, ca. 50 km. east of Cracow. Raba (no longer extant) was probably a medieval settlement named after the river which flows through the area, west of Szczepanów. [ 533 ]

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adhuc congesti monticuli et apparencia fundamenta ostendunt, ubi domus beati Stanizlai stetit quondam edificata. Ibidem eciam fuit ecclesia lignea, quam ipse in honore beate Marie Magdalene fabricauit et manu propria consecrauit, que nuper ante paucos annos pre uetustate corruit.7 Nos quoque eandem ecclesiam uidimus et in ea uerbum Dei populo predicauimus, incolis terre adiacentibus hec ipsa protestantibus. Sed ad uite eius narracionem transeamus. 2. Stanizlaus, ut pretulimus, secundum seculi dignitatem non solum ex honestis parentibus progenitus, sed et quodam presagio sui nominis exstitit uir nobilis et preclarus. Hoc etenim uocabulum Stanizlaus in sacro baptismate sibi collatum diuinitus ex Latino uerbo ethimologizatum et Polonico, stans laus siue stacio laudis uel eciam instans laudi8 potest dici et congrue interpretari. Stetit enim uir Dei Stanizlaus in laude Dei propensius et laus Dei stetit in corde ipsius, qui ex omni corde suo laudauita Dominum, dilexit Deum, qui fecit illum, institit laudi diuine, dum secundum apostolum9 Domino psallebat spiritu, psallebat et mente. Stetit eciam laus Dei in ore eius, qui dicere potuit cum propheta b 10: Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore, semper laus eius in ore meo.11 Perstitit nichilominus laus Dei in opere12 illius,c qui usque ad mortem pro iusticia Dei clamavit L, clamavit ad J1 J3 J4 verius suppleui e textu VMa c opere illius ed. Kęntrz. : ore ipsius J1 J2 J3 J4Cz2 (cf. ore ipsius codd. IX, XII VMa in apparatu ed. Kęntrz., MPH 4, 367) a

b

In the VMa I 4, this is dated more precisely to “the time of lord Ivo of blessed memory, bishop of Cracow” (MPH 4, ed. Kętrzyński, 367), i.e., during the episcopate of Iwo Odrowąż (1218–1229). 8 The multiple etymological interpretations of the saint’s name proposed here are one of the standard features of similar hagiographic texts as illustrated by those collected in Giaccomo da Varazze’s Legenda aurea; see Anders Winroth, “‘Thomas interpretatur abyssus vel geminus’: The Etymologies in the ‘Golden Legend’ of Jacobus de Varagine,” in Symbolae septentrionales: Latin Studies Presented to Jan Öberg, ed. Monika Asztalos and Claes Gejrot (Stockholm: Sällskapet Runica et Mediaevalia, 1995), 113–35. In both Latin and Polish the lexical roots for “stand” (Lat. stare, Pol. stać) and “glory, fame, praise” (Lat. laus, Pol. sława) can be identified in the saint’s name (Stanislaus/Stanisław); see Rick Derksen, Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2008), s.v. *slava, *stàti, *stojati. 7

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there still live some people, knights of noble birth, who are thought to be true heirs and legitimate descendants of the father of Saint Stanislaus and of his forefathers. And, indeed, in the said village of Szczepanów some mounds of earth and traces of foundations show to this day where the home of Saint Stanislaus had once stood. In the same place there used to be a wooden church which he himself built and consecrated with his own hands in the honor of Saint Mary Magdalene; it was only recently, just in the last few years,7 that this has fallen into ruin because of its old age. I have seen that church myself and have preached the word of God to the people in it, as those living in the neighborhood can testify. Let me return, however, to telling the story of his life. 2. Stanislaus, as I have already indicated, was not just born of honorable parents in worldly dignity but was foretold to be a noble and outstanding man by his very name as if by an omen. In fact, the name Stanislaus, which was given to him providentially at holy baptism, can be interpreted etymologically and understood fittingly both in Latin and in Polish as “steadfast praise,” or “the place of praise,” or even “standing steadfast in praise.”8 For Stanislaus, the man of God, stood steadfast in his praise of God and in his heart the praise of God stood always, for he kept praising his Lord from all his heart, loved God, his Creator, and steadfast in His praises as he kept singing to the Lord with the spirit and kept singing also with the understanding, as the apostle says.9 Also, the praise of God stood in his mouth, so he could quite truthfully10 say with the words of the prophet: I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be always in my mouth.11 Equally the praise of God was longstanding in his deeds;12 for he was not afraid to fight steadfastly unto death for Based on 1 Cor. 14:15 (psallam spiritu; psallam et mente). I have imported verius from the text of the VMa in order to restore the rhyme at the end of the colon. 11 Ps. 33:2. 12 Or, possibly, “in his mouth” (ore ipsius), a textual variant attested by mss. J1 J2 J3 J4 Cz2 as well as some of the mss. of the VMa; this would be in keeping with the wording of the biblical passage quoted above (see previous note). 9

10

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agonizare non timuit et stolam glorie13 in consumacione uirtutis promeruit. Digne ergo sanctus Stanizlaus in Domino laudabilis, digne Deus in sancto suo predicatur mirabilis,14 digne laus eius recolitur in ecclesia sanctorum,15 cuius laus nunquam deficiet de ore hominum. 3. Hic primum beneficio creatoris benediccionibus preuentus dulcedinis animam16 a Deo sortitus bonam,a quoniam in oculis Domini inuenit graciam;17 accepit quoque benediccionem et misericordiam in donis gratuitis et naturalibus, quibus optime ab inicio fuisse dinoscitur institutus. Fuit etenim eleganter natus, locuplex rebus, in cultu Christiane religionis educatus, Deo deuotus, mente pudicus, corpore castus, habitu reuerendus, moribus maturus, ingenio acutus, sermone discretus et ad omne bonum abilis et promptus. Sicut enim cera liquida sigilli impressam ymaginem recipit et seruat, sic puer docilis Stanizlaus bonum, quod audire uel intelligere poterat, memorie commendabat. Proinde parentes eius uidentes puerum racione preditum, animo studiosum, decreuerunt ipsum scolasticis disciplinis subiciendum.18 4. Traditus autem literarum studiis cepit puer bone indolis non segniter agere, pueriles ludos deuitare, iuuenum lasciuiam fugere, studio cui commendatus erat,19 intendere,b leccioni uacare et exercitatione studii ad habendam scienciam totis uiribus anhelare.

benediccionibus – bonam : ≈ LD 4 (ed. Tugwell, 270): qui sortitus animam bonam a domino in benedictionibus dulcedinis est preuentus. b cepit – intendere : ≈ LD 6 (ed. Tugwell, 273): cepit autem sancte puer indolis [...] non segniter agere, eruditioni cuius gratia missus erat diligenter intendere. a

A biblical expression; see, for instance, Eccli. 6:30, 32, 15:5, 50:11. Inspired by Ps. 67:36 (mirabilis deus in sanctis suis). 15 Adapting Ps. 149:1 (laus eius in ecclesia sanctorum). 16 Much of the wording of this passage was taken from LD 4, ed. Tugwell, 270, which reworks two biblical passages, Wisd. 8:19 (sortitus sum animam bonam) and Ps. 20:4 (praeuenisti eum in benedictionibus dulcedinis). 17 A common biblical turn of phrase; see, for instance, Gen. 18:3, 33:10. 13 14

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God’s justice and was found worthy to receive the robe of glory13 as a reward for his virtuous endurance. It is only right, then, that Saint Stanislaus should be celebrated as worthy of praise in the Lord; only right that God should be celebrated as wonderful in His saint14; only right that His praise should be renewed in the church of the saints,15 whose praise will never grow faint in the mouths of humankind. 3. Foreordained with blessings of sweetness by the grace of the Creator, Stanislaus received, above all else, a good soul,16 having found favor in the sight of the Lord.17 God’s blessing and mercy was also given to him through the natural and freely given gifts with which we know he was richly endowed from the beginning. For he was, indeed, born in comfort and plentiful means, raised in accordance with the Christian faith, devoted to God, of pure mind and chaste body, inspiring respect by his appearance, of mature disposition and sharp mind, wise in his speech, and always ready and skilled to do good. For just as molten wax receives and keeps the image of the seal stamped on it, so, too, Stanislaus, a child quick to learn, would impress in his mind whatever good thing he had heard or learned. His parents, therefore, seeing how their child was endowed with good understanding and eagerness to learn, decided to send him off to school for further instruction.18 4. Once he had started his studies, the talented boy immediately cast away all laziness, stayed away from the games other boys played, shunned youthful frolicking, applied himself to whatever studies he was assigned,19 gave his time over to reading, and devoted all his This description of St. Stanislaus’ youth resembles in many ways the corresponding account in the Life of St. Dominic by Petrus Ferrandi; see Kuzmová, Preaching, 37 with n. 77 for further bibliography. 19 Cf. LD 6, ed. Tugwell, 273 (Cepit autem sancte puer indolis [. . .] non segniter agere, eruditioni cuius gratia missus erat diligenter intendere). The variant bone indolis is attested both in the earliest literary depiction of St. Dominic’s life by Jordan of Saxony, the Libellus de principiis Ordinis Praedicatorum 8 [BHL 2210] (ca. 1221/1222), and in the textual tradition of the LD, for which see the apparatus in Tugwell’s critical ed., 273, ad loc. Either of these could have served as a source for the text of the Vita s. Stanislai in this passage. 18

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Hec autem ideo faciebat sagax puerulus, ut proficeret et magis ac magis proficiens se ipso melior fieret et ad scienciam ueritatis perueniret. Nec est fraudatus a desiderio suo gracie diuine adiutus magisterio. Nam quod ei etas puerilis denegabat, hoc in eo omnipotentis Dei gracia supplebat. Puerilibus tandem rudimentis sufficienter fundatus, cum iam esset iuuenis adultus, digne fertur ad locum, ubi generale florebat studium,20 conuolasse et in facultate liberalium arcium tempus non modicum exegisse.a In iure quoque canonico ac diuino conprobatur studuisse, quia in eadem Polonorum cronica21 uir litteratus et in diuinis rebus illuminatus dicitur fuisse. 5. Cuius famam sedulo percunctatus Lampertus 22 Cracouiensis episcopus et odore bone opinionis illius delectatus, de studio cum honore accersitum, fecit eum in ecclesia Cracouiensi fratrem et canonicum. Qui statim inter suos concanonicos b 23 quasi stella in medio nebule 24 et quasi iubar inter sydera emicuit singulare.c 25 fertur – exegisse : ≈ LD 6 (ed. Tugwell, 272): missus est Palentiam ut sibi liberalium artium compararet studii exercitatione peritiam. ibi enim tunc temporis generale florebat studium. b canonicos J1 J2 J3 c cuius – singulare : ≈ LD 8 (ed. Tugwell, 279): cumque honestate eius late patens preconium oxomensis episcopi Didaci attigisset auditum, percunctata diligentius ueritate atque comperta, continuo accersitum fecit eum in sua ecclesia canonicum regularem. qui statim inter canonicos uelut singulare iubar emicuit. a

An obvious anachronism, because universities where young Stanislaus could have studied liberal arts and canon law did not exist in the eleventh century. This passage reflects the features and career expectations typical of a thirteenth-century episcopal model in line with the reform policies in the years following the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). See Kuzmová, Preaching, 36. The author of the Vita s. Stanislai has taken over information accurate about St. Dominic as well as some of the formulation from LD 6, ed. Tugwell, 272 (missus est Palentiam ut sibi liberalium artium compararet studii exercitatione peritiam. ibi enim tunc temporis generale florebat studium.) 21 The source referred to here has not been identified. 22 Lambert II Suła was bishop of Cracow between 1061 and 1071. 23 Or “among the canons” (inter canonicos) as in mss. J1 J2 J3 , in the text of the VMa, and in most mss. of Petrus Ferrandi’s LD 8. I have retained Kętrzyński’s text here; concanonicos is attested both in Jordan of Saxony’s Lib. 12 and in the textual tradition of Petrus Ferrandi’s LD 8 (see ed. Tugwell, 279, apparatus ad loc.) 20

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energy to acquiring knowledge through study. All this the perceptive young boy undertook in order to make progress and, by doing so, to improve, and draw nearer to the knowledge of the truth. And with the help and guidance of divine grace he was not cheated [in his ambition] to achieve his desire. For whatever his young age denied him, the grace of almighty God made up. In the end, after he had laid solid enough foundations as a child, as a grown up young man he was duly transferred to a place with a flourishing university,20 to spend no little time in the faculty of liberal arts. It is known that he studied canon and divine law, because the said Polish chronicle21 describes him as an educated man, enlightened in divinity. 5. Lambert,22 the bishop of Cracow, having made thorough inquiries about his reputation, and satisfied with all the indications of good opinion, summoned Stanislaus from the university and appointed him with all the honors as a brother and canon in the church of Cracow. Immediately he began shining among his fellow-canons23 just as a star in the midst of a cloud 24 and like the lone morning star among the other constellations.25 So, then, it was not Adapting Eccli. 50:6 (quasi stella matutina in medio nebulae). As pointed out by Borawska, Z dziejów jednej legendy, 39, this passage was inspired by LD 8, ed. Tugwell, 279 (Cumque honestate eius late patens preconium oxomensis episcopi Didaci attigisset auditum, percunctata diligentius ueritate atque comperta, continuo accersitum fecit eum in sua ecclesia canonicum regularem. Qui statim inter canonicos uelut singulare iubar emicuit). The double comparison does not occur as such in the text of Petrus Ferrandi’s legend or in its version by Humbert of Romans but is present in Jordan of Saxony’s Lib. 11 (inter quos quasi stella matutina in medio nebule per uite innocentiam rutilabat) and Lib. 12 (inter suos concanonicos uelut singulare iubar emicuit) as reproduced in the critical apparatus to LD 8, ed. Tugwell, 278. If the author of the Vita s. Stanislai has not combined the two images by joining the biblical quotations on his own authority, it is possible that he took the two from Jordan’s Libellum. This possibility has already been noted by Jacek Banaszkiewicz, “Prolog do Rocznika kapituły krakowskiej, św. Stanisław i czas historyczny” [The prologue to the Annals of the Cracow chapter, St. Stanislaus and historical time], in Przeszłość w kulturze średniowiecznej Polski [The past in the culture of medieval Poland], ed. Jacek Banaszkiewicz et al., vol. 1 (Warsaw: Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk and Wydawnyctwo Neriton, 2018), 307–52, here 313, n. 17. 24 25

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Igitur Stanizlaum uirum inclitum non solum secularis potestas honorabilem, uerum et ecclesiastica dignitasa reddebat auctorizabilem. Hic clericali honoratus priuilegio magis ac magis diuino se conferebat famulaturum obsequio, quippe qui erat optime ecclesiastico imbutus officio. Denique Lamberto Cracouiensi episcopo per mortem mediam26 de medio sublato27 Stanizlaus canonice28 et concorditer in episcopum Cracouiensem eligitur et in sede pontificalis dignitatis29 sublimatur.b Quem diuina prouidencia quasi lucernam posuit super idem candelabrumc 30 et quasi uas auri solidum decorauit omni precioso lapide uirtutum.31 6. Suscepto itaque cure pastoralis ministerio, super gregis Christi custodiam presul Stanizlaus peruigil excubabat et sibi commissam ecclesiam sollicite gubernabat. In culmine pontificali positus, cum esset omnium prelatus,32 tamen propter Christum omnibus erat subiectus. Superbiam enim in corde suo nunquam dominari permisit, que Luciferum de celo eiecit et de angelo dyabolum fecit, primum uero hominem de paradyso expulit. Erat in coreccione seuerus et in uigore iusticie rectus; culpas enim delinquencium, cuiuscunque

auctoritas J1 J2 J3 J4Cz2 anno incarnacionis domini MLXXII add. J2 c quem – candelabrum : ≈ LD 8 (ed. Tugwell, 280): ipse autem quasi lucerna super candelabrum. a

b

I have translated in this way the expression per mortem mediam, misinterpreted by Woś (“una morte pietosa”) and omitted by Pleziowa from her translation. The medieval scribes also found it difficult to understand; seven out of nine mss. on which Kętrzyński’s ed. is based omitted the word mediam. The expression has classical roots; see, for instance Seneca, De ira 42.3. 27 On August 22, 1071. 28 I have translated Lat. canonice, used here in the standard formula canonice et concorditer, well attested in connection with episcopal and abbatial elections, as referring to the election of Stanislaus canonically, i.e., in accordance with the decision of the canons. The term was interpreted by both Woś (in his translation, 30, n. 8) and Plezia (in his notes to Pleziowa’s translation, 141, n. 2 to ch. 5) as an anachronistic 26

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just his worldly status that made Stanislaus a noble and illustrious man, but also his ecclesiastical dignity which conferred on him authority. Honored with such a privileged position, he kept devoting himself more and more to the service of God, for he had been thoroughly instructed in the duties of his ecclesiastic office. Then, after death stepped in26 and took bishop Lambert of Cracow from this world,27 Stanislaus was unanimously elected bishop of Cracow in accordance with the canons28 and elevated to episcopal dignity.29 Divine providence placed him [there] as a candle upon this candlestick30 and as a massy vessel of gold adorned him with every precious stone of virtue.31 6. Thus, once he had taken over the office of pastoral care and the custody of Christ’s flock, bishop Stanislaus would always keep vigil and would administer the church entrusted to him with utmost dedication. Placed at the top of the church hierarchy, although he was above all,32 he was, nevertheless, subject to all for the sake of Christ. For he never allowed his heart to be ruled by pride, which cast Lucifer out of heaven and turned him from an angel into a devil and expelled the first man from Paradise. Stanislaus was stern when chastising, yet fair in his vigorous administering of justice; he would never turn a blind eye to the transgressions of anyone, of

reference to Stanislaus’ election as bishop “by the canons” of the local chapter as opposed to the designation of the bishop by the ruler, which was the current practice in the eleventh century. A bishop’s election by the canons (of Cracow) is first attested in Poland in 1207. 29 In 1072, as indicated by an addition in one of the mss. (the fifteenth-century J2) of the VMi and in a fifteenth-century list of the bishops of Cracow. 30 Echoing the words of Christ in the sermon upon the mount (see Matt. 5:15, Mark 4:21, Luke 8:16, 11:33). The biblical quotation was taken over from a passage of St. Dominic’s legend, which provided the inspiration for this passage; see LD 8, ed. Tugwell, 281 and Borawska, Z dziejów jednej legendy, 39. 31 Quoting and adapting a passage from the praises of Simon, the high priest (Eccli. 50:10). 32 The Latin text plays upon the double meaning of prelatus, both “prelate” and, etymologically, “placed before (all).”

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dignitatis essent uel auctoritatis, non dissimulabat, sed secundum tempus et personam oportune33 arguebat. 7. Tempore illo regem Boleslaum,34 qui Polonie imperabat et cuius uita enormis erat, ut se corrigeret, frequenter admonebat; paterna quoque sollicitudine tamquam prodigum filium ad penitenciam prouocabat. Et quia incorrigibilis erat, letiferas inimicicias et persecuciones propter iusticiam ab eo sustinebat. Vnde et colloquium ipsius et contubernium eius propter iniquas leges et pauperum oppressiones, quas uidebat, ne tacens quasi consentire uideretur, vir sanctus uitabat. Abhominabatur quoque execrabile genus rapine, prata et annonas hominum depascere, quod ipse et complices eius dicebant esse ius terre commune.35 Propter hec et hiis similia, consiliis et tractatibus eorum sese subtrahebat, sed in ecclesia sua frequens residebat, officium diuinum intente et alacriter explebat et sacrosancta Christi ministeriaa deuote et frequenter celebrabat,b oracioni, leccioni, contemplacioni, prout poterat, libentissime uacabat et pro sibi commissis Deum gemitibus exorabat. 8. Parrochias suas uisitabat36 et que in eis corrigenda erant, corrigere curabat. Ministrorum ecclesie Christi et maxime sacerdotum mundiciam zelabat et ad uite sanctimoniam, sine qua Deum nemo uidebit,37 misteria J1 J2 Cz1 ministrabat J1 J2 J3 J4Cz2

a

b

33 Unlike the present text, the corresponding passage in the VMa I 9 (MPH 4, ed. Kętrzyński, 370) strikes a different, more critical note here, mentioning that Stanislaus delivered his criticism both when this was called for and when not (opportune et inopportune). 34 Bolesław II the Bold (Śmiały), b. 1039, d. 1081/1081, duke (1058–1076), then king of Poland (1076–1079). On his life and reign, see Tadeusz Grudziński, Boleslaus the Bold, Called Also the Bountiful, and Bishop Stanislaus: The Story of a Conflict (Warsaw: Interpress, 1985), 15–88. 35 The corresponding passage in the VMa I 10 (ed. Kętrzyński, MPH 4, 371) implies that such abuses were committed on occasions when the king and his entourage would “come together in order to transact their business” and implies that the practice was still current in the days when that text was written.

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whatever social status or rank, but would always rebuke them in ways appropriate33 to the occasion and the person concerned. 7. In those days, he repeatedly reprimanded King Bolesław,34 who ruled Poland and who led an immoderate life, to mend his ways, and with fatherly concern he kept urging him, like a prodigal son, towards repentance. Yet, as the king was beyond mending, Stanislaus often drew upon himself his mortal enmity and persecution on account of his standing up for justice. Because of this, the holy man would avoid the king’s company and conversation, because of his unjust laws and his oppression of the poor, which the saint could see all too plainly, so that he would not be accused of being in tacit accord with this. He detested most of all that odious type of depredation which consisted of plundering the properties and crops of the people, something that the king himself and his accomplices claimed to be their sovereign right throughout the land.35 It was because of such and other similar things that he kept avoiding their meetings and councils, and would reside most of the time in his own church, where he would complete his divine office with care and zeal, celebrate the holy sacraments of Christ frequently and devoutly, dedicate himself to prayer, reading, and contemplation with utmost joy whenever he could, and implore God with groaning heart on behalf of the flock entrusted to him. 8. He visited his parishes regularly36 and took care to put right whatever needed to be put right there. He promoted purity among the servants of Christ’s church relentlessly, and especially among the priests, and exhorted all by his own example towards a life of holiness, without which no man shall see God.37 And whatever he Such regular visits are unlikely in Stanislaus’ eleventh-century context, when the network of parishes must have been still in the early stages of its development. Lacking concrete information about his hero, the author of the Vita s. Stanislai projected back in time information about early thirteenth-century ecclesiastical structures and episcopal attributions and duties. 37 Heb. 12:14. 36

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exemplo suo inuitabat. Que de fontibus Saluatoris38 haurire poterat, per uerbum predicacionis et exhortacionis subditis habundanter effundebat. Qui clericali gaudebant priuilegio et ecclesiastico utebantur beneficio, astringebat eos, ut in eis decor honestatis, pudor castitatis et bone conuersacionis redoleret opinio. Quos uero paterna preibat admonicio, si filialis non sequeretur correccio, eos et beneficio spoliabat ac de suo episcopatu propellebat. Quia uero decorem domus Dei39 supra modum diligebat, per suam dyocesim, ubi oculus sue sollicitudinis40 attingere non ualebat, archidyaconos, presbyteros, decanosa 41 duces populo Dei preponebat, ut errata corrigerent et ad uiam ueritatis errantes reducerent.42 9. Sanctus Stanizlaus, cum esset uir iustus et seuerus, tamen peccatores ad penitenciam redeuntes sinu misericordie43 excipiebat et confessiones eorum sepius per semet ipsum audiebat. In causis matrimonialibus discuciendis industrius erat et causam, quam nesciebat, diligenter inuestigabat. Ad clamorem pauperum aures suas non obturabat,44 oppressos quoque, quibus non erat auxilium, de manu uiolentorum eruebat,45 viduas, pupillos et orphanos suis elemosinis sustentabat,46 super afflictos pietatis uisceribus affluebat.47 Mensa dyaconos J4

a

Isa. 12:3. Inspired by Ps. 25:8 (dilexi decorem domus tuae). 40 Such an elaborate ecclesiastic structure is unlikely to have existed in eleventh-century Poland. 41 An expression (oculus sollicitudinis) taken from Gregory the Great; see Moralia in Iob 8.31 and Hom. in Hiezechielem prophetam 1.7. 42 Echoing Wisd. of Sol. 5:7 (errauimus a uia ueritatis). None of the mss. of the VMi used by Kętrzyński have errantes, which he supplied from the corresponding passage in the VMa I 11. 43 Lit. in sinu misericordiae “in his bosom of mercy,” another expression that goes back to Gregory the Great; see for instance, Hom. in Hiezechielem prophetam 1.12 and 2.8. 44 A reference to Prov. 21:13 (qui obturat aurem suam ad clamorem pauperis); cf. also Ps. 9:13 (non est oblitus clamorem pauperum). 45 Another mixture of biblical allusions: Job 5:15 (saluum faciet [. . .] de manu uiolenti pauperum), Jer. 21:11 (eruite ui oppressum de manu calumniantis) and 22:3 (liberate ui oppressum de manu calumniatoris). 38 39

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could draw from the founts of the Savior,38 he would deliver to those in his care in rich outpours of preaching and exhortation. He would compel those who enjoyed clerical privileges and ecclesiastic benefices to behave in such a way as to inspire admiration for their dignified character and respect for their chastity, and to be held in good repute for their excellent lifestyle. Those, however, who, in spite of such paternal guidance, failed to exhibit filial remorse, he would deprive of their benefices and send away from his bishopric. And since he loved above all else the beauty of the house of God,39 he would appoint archdeacons, priests, and deans40 as guides for the people of God all through his diocese, wherever his watchful eye41 could not reach, to set right whatever was wrong and to bring back those who had erred from the way of truth.42 9. Saint Stanislaus, although a just and stern man, would nevertheless receive back into his merciful embrace43 all sinners who would renounce their ways, and quite often he would hear their confessions personally. When it came to judging matrimonial affairs, he would take particular care and investigate conscientiously any case with which he was unfamiliar. He would never stop his ears against the cry of the poor,44 and he would deliver the oppressed, who were defenseless, out of the hands of the violent.45 He would support widows, orphans, and wards with his charitable donations,46 and his heart would overflow with compassion for those who were suffering.47 His This list of charitable actions and beneficiaries is inspired by biblical passages such as Isa. 1:17 and Jer. 22:3. 47 A very similar expression is used in Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.16 of King Bolesław I (pietatis uisceribus affluebat). The formulation of the VMi differs considerably from the corresponding passage in the VMa I 12 (super afflictos pietatis et compassionis viscera gestabat) and cannot be derived from it. Both versions, however, have very close textual parallels in the Vitae fratrum Ordinis Praedicatorum composed by Gérard de Frachet ca. 1260; ch. 5.9 describes the Dominican Guillaume de Sissac (d. 1238) as affluens uisceribus pietatis while ch. 3.2 refers to Jordan of Saxony as super miseros et afflictos pia gestans uiscera. If due to an acquaintance with Gérard de Frachet’s work and not to mere chance, these textual parallels, taken together, may suggest a late composition date for both versions of the vita of St. Stanislaus and their common dependence on a lost original version, reworked by both authors in slightly different ways. 46

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eius splendida erat et communis maxime hospitibus et spiritualibus uiris. Longas consessiones ad mensam non in usu habebat, nocturnas autem potaciones, cum esset uir sobrius, quasi ueneni poculum abhorrebat. Has enim introduxit uetus error gentilis et abusio praue consuetudinis. Vnde in conuiuiis Slauorum adhuc cantilene gentilium, plausus manuum mosque salutanciuma 48 seruantur usque in diem hodiernum.49 Absit autem, ut hec corruptela locum habuerit in pontificis et martiris Christi mensa, quem nunquam in desideriis et concupiscenciis tenuit carnis cura. 10. Peculiarem familiam ac domesticam clientelam sanctus uir sub omni castitate seruabat et honestate. Curiales ipsius50 et benefici exemplo uite domini sui prouocati, nulli penitus erant onerosi. Ipse enim erat quasi uitis fructificans suauitatem odoris et ideo sui palmites proferebant fructus honoris et honestatis.51 Decimas suas uel uendi uel colligi faciebat per prouisores dyocesis sue sine pauperum et messis lesione oportuno tempore, quod non a plerisque seruari uidetur hodie.52 Equum pondus, equam mensuram, equum habebat et modium, quia sciebat, quod pondus et pondus, mensura et mensura esset utrumque abhominabile aput Deum.53 Non sectabatur auariciam, que est ydolorum seruitus,54 uir Deo deditus sciens, quod auaro nichil est scelestius, qui ut dicit Ieronimus, et obolo salutacionum J1 J2 J3 J4 , saltacionum Cz1 Cz2

a

This is the most probable interpretation of the expressions mos salutancium or mos salutacionum (the alternative reading in mss. J1, J2 , J3 , J4); whereas mos saltacionum (as in mss. Cz1 and Cz2 and in one of the mss. of the VMa) would refer to “habitual dances.” 49 A rare mention of pre-Christian Slavic customs, possibly associated with ritual practices. 50 Although information about the existence and organization of such an episcopal court in Cracow is available for the times of bishops Vincent Kadłubek (1208–1218) and Iwo Odrowąż (1218–1229), it is unlikely that anything similar would have existed in the eleventh century. 51 Quoting and adapting Eccli. 24:23, but also referring through the keyword palmites “branches” to the familiar passage from John (15:1–2): “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch (palmitem) in me that bears no fruit he 48

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table was sumptuous and of most easy access to his guests and to religious people. It was not his way, however, to sit at a long table, and he abhorred, like a poisoned cup, those drinking bouts lasting well into the night, for he was a man of sobriety. Such [drinking bouts] were taken over from the old and erroneous ways of the pagans and became inveterate through frequent use and abuse. So it came to pass that to this very day the pagan songs, the clapping of hands, and the habit of proposing toasts48 at feasts have been kept alive among the Slavs.49 Far be it, however, that such depravity should find place at the table of a bishop and martyr of Christ, whom the care for his body never could enslave to carnal desires and debauchery! 10. The holy man kept his own servants and those of his episcopal house in perfect purity and decorum. The officials of his court50 and those who held benefices, stimulated by the exemplary behavior of their master, never vexed anyone with burdensome behavior. He himself as a vine kept bringing forth a pleasant odor and, because of that, his branches kept bringing forth the fruit of honor and riches.51 He would have the tithes he was entitled to sold or collected by the provisors of his diocese at the right time,52 without any damage to the poor or to the harvest. This is a habit rarely seen in our own days. He kept fair weights and fair measure, and fair was his measuring-bushel, because he knew that diverse weights and diverse measures, both are abominable before God.53 As a man dedicated to God, he did not embrace covetousness, which is the service of idols,54 for he knew that there is nothing more wicked than an avaricious will take away, and every one that bears fruit, he will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Through such skillful use of biblical quotes and allusions the author of the Vita s. Stanislai construes St. Stanislaus as a perfect follower of Christ, “the true vine” (vitis vera). 52 As peasants were not allowed to gather their crops until after the tithe had been collected and any delay would have kept the harvest in the field exposed to weather changes and destruction, the timely collection of tithes is understandably a practice praised here by the author. 53 Prov. 20:10. 54 Quoting almost verbatim Col. 3:5 (with ydolorum instead of simulacrorum).

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indiget 55 et animam suam uenalem habet.56 Ecce quomodo uir beatus Stanizlaus ordinate dies suos ad bonum finem deduxit, qui sibi sobrie, proximo sociabiliter, Deo humiliter uiuere studuit. Sic, inquam, statum suum adherens Deo rexit in mundo, ut non deciperetur a mundo; licet multis curis ligatus corpore teneretur in seculo, tamen mente conuersabatur in celo. Sic et in procellis persecucionum anchoram uite sue fixam tenuit, quod e naufragio hic quidem nudus euasit, quia pro Christo animam suam posuit, sed nauiculam suam celestibus diuiciis plenam ad portum salutis perduxit et in eterne quietis litore57 collocauit. 11. Quodam tempore presul Stanizlaus Cracouiensis ecclesie uolens reditus ampliare, quandam uillam super ripam Wisle positam, Potrauina dictam, a Petro comite denominatam,58 taxatab 59summa pecunie, appenso argenti publico pondere, emit eam ab eodem milite. Quo superuiuente possedit eam episcopus multis annis quieto iure. Tandem Petro uiam uniuerse carnis 60 ingresso et in territorio eiusdem uille sepulto, fratres eius uel amici propinquiores tanquam defuncti legittimi successores ceperunt episcopum impetere de restituenda eis hereditate. Iam quidem rex Bolezlaus sinistram

Pyotrawin J3 , a Petro comite Pyotrawin Cz1 Cz2 taxata scripsi (cf. textum VMa, ed. Kentrz., MPH 4, 374) : taxatam ed. Kentrz.

a

b

55 An almost verbatim quotation from Jerome, Ep. 53.11, where the subject is the “unbeliever” (infidelis), not the avaricious person (avarus). In the form quoted here this phrase appears in the longer version (textus conflatus) of the Summa quae dicitur verbum adbreviatum of the twelfth-century author Peter the Chanter, where it is not, however, attributed to Jerome. The text printed by Kętrzyński and reproduced here is that of the VMa; all the mss. of the VMi transmit a corrupt text (see the critical apparatus ad loc.). 56 Eccli. 10:10 (nihil est iniquius . . . et animam suam uenalem habet), adapted to provide the framework into which the quote from Jerome was inserted. 57 A metaphor that goes back to Gregory the Great, Ep. 8.2 (MGH Epp. vol. 2, ed. Hartmann, 4); see also his Hom. in ev. 2.24.2. 58 Today Piotrawin, a settlement on the River Vistula, in the Lublin Voivodeship. In Polish the similarity of sound between the name of the owner (Piotr) and the name

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person, who, as Jerome put it, feels the lack of even one penny55 and puts even his own soul to sale.56 Behold the way that Stanislaus, the holy man, brought his life in good order to a good end, striving to lead a life of moderation for his own sake, of cordiality for the sake of his fellow-humans, and of humility for God’s sake! In such a way, cleaving firmly to God, did he exercise the power of his rank in this world that he managed not to be deceived by this world; although bound by many cares and through his body a prisoner of this world, in his mind he dwelled in heaven. In such a way, too, did he keep the vessel of his life firmly moored throughout the tempests of various persecutions, that, even though in this world he escaped from the shipwreck [of this world] with nothing [on him], because he had laid down his soul for Christ, he nevertheless sailed his little vessel heavy with celestial riches to the port of salvation and fastened it on the banks of eternal peace.57 11. Once, wishing to increase the income of the church of Cracow, bishop Stanislaus bought a village called Piotrawin, situated on the banks of the river Vistula and named after a certain count Peter.58 He bought it from the said knight for an agreed59 sum of money, paying in silver at the current rate. The bishop enjoyed the ownership [of that village] undisturbed for many years while its former owner was still alive. Then, after Peter finally had taken the way of all flesh60 and had been buried in the said village, his brothers or, rather, some closer friends claiming to be the legitimate heirs of the deceased, began importuning the bishop for restitution of their inheritance. King Bolesław had already become ill-disposed towards the bishop because the holy man kept reproving him for his sins, but

of the village in its later form (Piotrawin or Pyotrawin as it appears in mss. J3 , Cz1, Cz2) is more marked than in English or in the Latinized form (Potrauin) given by most mss. of the VMi. 59 I have changed the Latin text to read taxata, as in most mss. of the VMa, rather than taxatam printed by Kętrzyński. 60 A biblical phrase; see, for instance, Gen. 6:13, 19, Lev. 17:14, Num. 16:22.

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uoluntatem contra episcopum gerebat, quia eum uir sanctus de suis sceleribus arguebat, sed nondum uirus cordis eius contra eum eferbuerat. Fratres itaque et cognati defuncti exspectato biennio et amplius, quousque ira regis excandesceret feruidius, captato oportuno tempore, premissa admonicione, episcopo quoque nolente de suo iure cedere, rege suggerente compulsi sunt episcopum ad presenciam regis et principum ipsius citare. Quid plura? Coram rege sistitur, querimonia deponitur, partes hinc inde audiuntur, causa litis discutitur, iudicium uentilatur et ut litigancium penitus cessaret controuersia, in hoc regis et iudicum resedit sentencia, quod episcopus a iure possessionis cederet, nisi aut eum, qui ei uendidit, statueret aut instrumentum uendicionis et empcionis exhiberet aut ydoneos et omni accepcione dignos testes produceret. Ex premissa igitur sentencia regis et iudicum presul Stanizlaus, prout mos est, conscriptos testes recitat in publicum. Quibus approbatis accepit episcopus in mandatis, ut in Potrauina compareat in futuro colloquio61 cum testibus nominatis. Appropinquabat terminus, quo testes erat producturus episcopus; at illi timore tyranni constricti nec in termino comparere b 62 nec testimonium ferre ausi sunt ueritati.63 12. Videns seruus Dei Stanizlaus, quod humanum sibi defecit auxilium, ne perderet ecclesie predium, ad diuinum tamquam turrim fortissimam64 confugit presidium. Venit tamen ad colloquium et stetit in termino prefixo et hoc regi uerbo querulauitc 65 in ­concilio: Pyotrawin J1 J2 J3 Cz1Cz2 presenti suppleui e textu VMa c hoc regi uerbo querulauit J1 : hec regi uerba perorauit ed. Kęntrz. a

b

A periodical meeting of the nobility of a given region, where the ruler himself or his representative would hold court. 62 I have supplied and translated here the word presenti attested unanimously by the mss. of the VMa. This is likely to have been the original text, as it provides a rhyme for constricti and ueritati as required by the strict rhyming prose used by the author of the vita. 63 Echoing Jesus’ words in John 18:37 (ut testimonium perhibeam veritati). 61

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the venom in his heart had not yet boiled over. So the brothers and the relatives of the deceased man, having waited for two years and (even) beyond until the rage of the king reached its boiling point, found an appropriate occasion and gave notice to the bishop. However, as he would not give up his rightful possession, urged by the king, they had no other option but to summon him before the king and his magnates. Need I say more? They appear before the king, the complaint is made, both parties are heard, the matter in dispute is investigated, judgement is discussed and, so as to put an end to the quarrel between the disputants (once and for all), the king and his judges arrive at the following verdict: the bishop should relinquish his rights of ownership unless he can bring forth the vendor, or produce a document of sale, or produce appropriate and entirely credible witnesses. Following this sentence of the king and of the judges, bishop Stanislaus, as required by the custom, read out the list of witnesses that he intended to summon. These were approved and a summons was issued for the bishop to appear in a future assembly61 in Piotrawin together with the named witnesses. The due date was approaching when the bishop was supposed to produce his witnesses, but they, intimidated by their fear of the tyrant, did not dare appear in court on this62 date or bear witness to the truth.63 12. The servant of God Stanislaus, unwilling to lose the property of the church, and seeing that human help had failed him, placed his hope in divine assistance as if in a very strong tower.64 He came nevertheless to the judicial meeting, and stood in court at the assigned date, and pleaded65 with the king in full hearing of all as

Inspired by Prov. 18:10 (turris fortissima nomen Domini; ad ipsum currit iustus et exaltabitur). 65 I have retained and translated here the text of ms. J1: hoc regi verbo querulauit against the text printed by Kętrzyński, which is that of all the other mss. of the VMi and the VMa. In addition to being the lectio difficilior, this version restores the missing rhyme in the passage and employs the verb quaerulare with a technical meaning (“to plead a cause before a judge”) well attested in Polish usage; see LMILP, vol. 7.11, s. v. querulo. 64

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“O,” inquit, “regia dignitas et principum Polonie communis equitas, ex quo in terra non inuenitur ueritas, date michi uel trium dierum inducias, ut ponam eum coram uobis, qui michi uendidit et testetur, cuius est hec hereditas.” Quibusdam stupenda, aliis admiranda, multis uero quasi quedam deliramenta uisa sunt pontificis uerba. Consilium tamen affuit commune, ut usque ada tercium diem sibi darentur optateb 66 inducie. Tunc Stanizlaus Dei pontifex electus, Christi fide confortatus dixit hiis, qui aderant, uiris deuotis ac deum timentibus: “Fratres et commilitones! Vos scitis, quod negocium Dei est et ecclesie, quod gerimus, patrimonium crucifixi, pro quo certamus; Deo, a quo iudicium egreditur singulorum,67 nostram causam committamus. Nos uero hiis tribus continuis diebus, quibus inducias impetrauimus, ieiuniis, uigiliis et oracionibus operam demus et faciem Domini in confessione preoccupemus;68 quod si fidem sicut granum sinapis habuerimus,69 ut ait Dominus: Quicquid orantes pecierimus et non hesitauerimus, scitote, quia accipiemus. Petamus igitur fiducialiter, queramus instanter, pulsemus perseueranter, ut quod petimus fideliter, consequamur efficaciter.”70 13. Interim dies tercius imminebat et episcopus diuina celebraturus Potrauiensemc ecclesiam cum suis intrabat. Ibidem quoque rex et principes et populi multitudo ad colloquium confluxerant.d  71 ad L J1 J2 J3 J4Cz1Cz2VMa : in ed. Kęntrz. optate J2VMa : om. ed. Kęntrz. c Pyotrawiensem J1 J2 J3 J4Cz1 d confluxerant J1 J2 J4Cz1Cz2VMa : confluxerunt ed. Kęntrz. a

b

66 Against Kętrzyński I have restored to the text the reading optate, attested in J2 and the VMa. 67 Quoting from Prov. 29:26, an apposite reference in the context, as it contrasts human (in)justice (multi requirunt faciem principis “Many seek the face of the prince . . .”) with the universal judgement of God. 68 Ps. 94:2 (praeoccupemus faciem eius in confessione); I have slightly altered the traditional translation of this passage, which renders faciem as “presence,” in order to keep the contrast intended by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai between the faciem principis “the face of the prince” (see the previous note) and faciem Domini “the face of the Lord” as symbols of human (in)justice vs. divine justice.

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follows: “O, your Royal Majesty and all of you, fair and impartial Polish magnates, since truth can no longer be found here on earth, grant me a reprieve of at least three days, so that I may produce before you the very man who sold me [the property], and he will bear witness as to whose property this is!” Some listened to the words of the bishop with amazement, others in awe, while many thought they were utter nonsense. They nevertheless agreed that he should be granted the requested66 reprieve of three days. Then Stanislaus, the elect bishop of God, strengthened by his faith in Christ, spoke to those faithful and God-fearing men who were present: “Brothers and comrades! You know well that the business we are transacting is that of God and of the Church; the inheritance we are fighting for, is that of the crucified [Christ]! Let us entrust our case to God, from whom the judgement of every one comes forth!”67 As for us, throughout these three days for which we have obtained this reprieve, let us devote ourselves to fasting, vigils, and prayer, and let us come before the face of the Lord with thanksgiving!68 Because, if we should have faith like a grain of mustard seed,69 as the Lord said, know that whatever we should ask for in our prayers and waver not, we will receive! Let us, then, ask confidently, let us seek insistently, let us knock persistently,70 so that we obtain effectively what we ask for faithfully! 13. Meanwhile, as the third day was fast approaching, the bishop with his retinue entered the church in Piotrawin to celebrate divine service. The king, too, and his magnates and a great crowd had gathered71 there for the hearing. After finishing the service, bishop

Luke 17:6. Alluding to Luke 11:9 (petite, et dabitur vobis; quaerite, et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis). 71 Against Kętrzyński I have restored to the text the reading confluxerant attested by a majority of the mss. of the VMi as well as by the VMa, which in this passage preserves the rhyming prose and the fuller text of the lost original (rex et milites et populi multitudo aderant, qui ad colloquium confluxerant). 69 70

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Cumque diuina conplesset pontifex Stanizlaus, ut erat pontificalibus infulatus, egreditur ante ostium ecclesie, ubi erat Petrus defunctus tumulatus et fecit terram de tumulo eici et sepulchrum eius aperiri. Tunc flexis genibus cum lacrimis dixit ad Dominum: “Miserere nostri Deus omnium, qui uiuorum dominaris simul et mortuorum,72 defende causam tuam73 et deduc ad uictoriam iudicium tuum,74 quoniam diminute sunt ueritates a filiis hominum.75 Reuoca, quesumus, Domine, de morte ad uitam hunc tuum famulum Petrum, uidelicet suscitans de puluere egenum76 post decursum trium annorum, ut ueritati perhibeat testimonium, qui suscitasti Lazarum de monumento iam fetentem et quatriduanum,77 ut laudetur et glorificetur nomen tuum in secula seculorum.” Cumque hii, qui cum ipso aderant respondissent: “amen,” surgens ab oracione, pontificali baculo cadauer tetigit et clara uoce dixit: “In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti! Petre, surge, qui dormis et exsurge a mortuis,78 ut manifestetur in te uirtus et operacio sancte trinitatis. Surge,” inquit, “et sta in medium!79 Da honorem Deo ueritati perhibendo testimonium, ut augeatur fides credencium et obstruatur os hominum iniqua loquencium.”80 Qui continuo coram omnibus surrexit dansque illi manum de sepulchro uiuum alleuauit et ad concilium perduxit.81 14. Stans autem beatus Stanizlaus in colloquio dixit coram rege: “En,” inquit, “est Petrus ille, qui mortuus fuerat et ecce coram uobis uiuus asstat, cuius uiue uocis magis debet uobis ualere protestacio, quam testium produccio uel instrumentorum ostensio. Requirite, A liturgical borrowing; the words come from the third collect for the living and the dead on the fourth Sunday of Lent (omnipotens sempiterne deus, qui vivorum dominaris simul et mortuorum). 73 Inspired by Jer. 50:34 (iudicio defendet causam eorum). 74 Echoing Job 23:7 (perveniat ad victoriam iudicium meum). 75 Ps. 11:2. 76 Adapting 1 Kings 2:8 (suscitat de pulvere egenum). 77 John 11:38. 78 Ephes. 5:14. 72

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Stanislaus, in full episcopal attire, went out before the entrance of the church, where the deceased Peter lay buried, and ordered that the earth should be removed, and his tomb opened. Then he fell on his knees and, all in tears, said to the Lord: “Have mercy on us, Lord of all, you who have dominion over both the living and the dead,72 defend your cause73 and let your judgement come to victory,74 because truths are decayed from among the children of men!75 We beg you, Lord, bring back to life from death this servant of yours, Peter; raise up the needy from the dust76 after three years have gone by, that he may bear witness to the truth, you who have raised from his tomb Lazarus who was already stinking after four days,77 so that your name may be praised and glorified forever and ever!” And after those who were with him answered: “Amen!” rising from his prayer, he touched the corpse with his crozier and said in a loud voice: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost! Peter, rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead,78 so that all may see plainly in you the power and the working of the Holy Trinity!” “Arise,” he said, “and stand forth in the midst!79 Render unto God honor by bearing witness to the truth, so that the faith of the believers may grow and the mouth of those who speak wicked things may be stopped up!”80 And he instantly rose up in plain sight of all. The bishop offered him his hand, raised him from the grave, and led him to the hearing.81 14. And standing up in that assembly, Saint Stanislaus spoke before the king as follows: “Here he is, that same Peter who had died and, behold, stands here alive before all of you! The testimony of his living tongue should carry more weight with you than any other Luke 6:8. Inspired by Ps. 62:12 (obstructum est os loquentium iniqua). 81 The resurrection of Peter of Piotrawin is, perhaps, the most well-known and often depicted episode from the Vita s. Stanislai; see Kuzmová, Preaching, 74–76. For a discussion of this and other similar resurrection miracles, see Henryk Fros, “A mortuis suscitati ut testimonium perhibeant ueritati,” Analecta Bollandiana 99 (1981): 355–60. 79

80

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si ipse est, qui michi uillam uendidit et taxatam pecuniama 82 pro ea recepit.b 83 Persona multis uestrum est nota, sepulchrum patens, ueritas oculata, resuscitacio eius per uirtutem Dei nuper sub oculis uestris celebrata. Procul sint tenebre infidelitatis, pellatur ab oculis uestris omne nubilum ambiguitatis, nec putetis fantasma esse, quia spiritus carnem et ossa non habet, sicut hunc uidetis habere.”84 Rex autem et omnis populi multitudo85stabant stupefacti et suspensi nouitate miraculi. Amici quoque ipsius et propinqui et qui nouerant eum, uidentes, que sub oculis eorum de ipso contigerant, nec tergiuersacionis locum nec spiritum ultra habebant. Postmodum Petrus, qui mortuus fuerat, nunc veroc 86uiuus stabat, allocutus est amicos suos, ut eum recognoscerent. Deinde monuit eos, ut penitenciam agerent pro eo, quod uirum sanctum et iustum multis laboribus et iniuriis affecissent et nisi desisterent, multa eos supplicia in tormentis manerent, et adiecit: “Vos,” inquit, “scitis, quod nichil commune mecum in meo patrimonio, quod uendidi Stanizlao episcopo, hactenus habuistis.” 15. Item conuersus ait ad regem et ad reliquam populi multitudinem: “Ego,” inquit, “precibus et meritis beati uiri huius a mortuis sum suscitatus et uoluntate Dei missus huc ueni, ut testimonium perhibeam ueritati.87 Protestor ergo coram uobis omnibus me Stanislao Cracouiensi episcopo Potravind quondam meum patrimonium uendidisse et pecuniam taxatam pro eo recepisse et propinquos meos nichil in eo iuris habuisse. Testes autem, qui huic taxatam pecuniam O1Cz1Cz2 : taxatum precium ed. Kęntrz. VMa, taxatam summam pecunie C2 , argentum J1 J2 J3 J4 , om. C1 L b recepit L J1 J2 Cz1Cz2VMa : accepit ed. Kęntrz. c nunc vero J1 J2 J4Cz1 : et nunc ed. Kęntrz. d Pyotrawin J1 J2 J4Cz1Cz2 a

82 Reading recepit with most mss. of the VMi and the VMa against Kętrzyński’s accepit. 83 Rather than import from the text of the VMa the reading taxatum precium, as Kętrzyński did in his edition, I have kept the expression taxatam pecuniam attested by three mss. of the VMi; this is probably the original wording of the lost original, since it occurs in two other passages of the VMi (ch. 11 and 15).

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witness or written deed. Ask him whether he is the one who sold me the village and received82 in exchange the agreed sum of money!83 Many of you know the man; there is the open grave; the truth is patent, and his resurrection has just happened through the power of God before your very eyes! Far be from you the darkness of disbelief, may the clouds of doubt no longer overshadow your eyes! Do not think him to be a ghost, because a spirit has no flesh and bones, as you see him to have!”84 And the king and all the multitude of the people85 stood awestruck and hanging in disbelief at such an unheard-of miracle. Even the friends of that man and his relatives who knew him, seeing what had just happened to him before their very eyes, were left with neither place of refuge, nor any will to drag the matter out. After that, Peter, who had been dead but86 now was standing there alive, spoke to his friends, so that they could recognize him. Then he urged them to do penance for having caused a holy and just man so much trouble and so much injustice, warning them that, unless they ceased and desisted, the harshest of torments were awaiting them. And he added: “You know well that you never had anything to do with my property, which I sold to bishop Stanislaus!” 15. Then, turning to the king and the rest of the crowd, he said: “I have been raised from the dead through the prayers and the merits of this holy man, and, through God’s will, I have been sent here to bear witness to the truth.87 I hereby declare in front of you all that I sold my former property of Piotrawin to Stanislaus, the bishop of Cracow, and received the agreed sum of money in exchange, and my relatives have no right whatsoever in this matter. As for the wit-

Luke 24:39. Luke 1:10. 86 I have changed the Latin text to read nunc vero as in mss. J1 J2 J4 Cz1 instead of Kętrzyński’s et nunc, where et is not attested in any of the mss. of the VMi. 87 See above, n. 63. 84 85

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affuerunt commercio et se subtraxerunt ab hoc testimonio timore, munere, gracia uel odio, nisi penitenciam egerint de commisso, sciant se ueritatis, que Deus est, priuatos esse consorcio.” Rex autem et sui assideia 88 comprobata ueritate fidei et assercione tanti testimonii, de consilio communi dederunt episcopo palmam iusticie et posuerunt eum in plena possessione uille sine omni contradiccione. Qualiter autem uilla predicta a iurisdiccione ecclesie sit alienata,89 non est temporis instantis parabola.90 Hiis peractis dixit beatus Stanizlaus ad Petrum militem: “Si tibi placet et uidetur expedire, uis, et pro tuo labore et merito per aliquot annos a Domino uite tue inducias impetrabo.” Respondit Petrus: “Sanctitati tue, pater uenerande, gracias ago, magis uero gratum habeo, ut meo me restituas tumulo, quia tempore adhuc modico pro meis commissis adiciendus sum purgatorio et sic letus ad requiem per Dei misericordiam transibo.” Probabile est, quod iste Petrus de diuina dispensacione multorum questionibus potuit satisfacere, bona bonis, mala malis, secundum quod eorum status exigebat, prenunciare et ut sese corrigerent, premunire, quia beati uiri fide et sanctitate suscitatus fuerat pro tuenda ueritate.91 16. Sanctus Stanizlaus cognita Petri uoluntate, comitante secum populi multitudine reduxit eum ad locum sepulture; deinde uidentibus omnibus sepulchrum introiuit, membra sua composuit, pro se Deum exorari rogauit, se terra operiri fecit et spiritum Domino reddidit. Super cuius exequias sanctus Stanizlaus commendacionem anime fecit et facta ad populum exhortacione, data quoque a sui assidei scripsi (cf. textum VMa, ed. Kęntrz., MPH 4, 377) : assidei eius ed. Kęntrz.

I prefer to read sui assidei, as in the text of the VMa, which preserves the rhyme at the end of the colon, rather than assidei eius as printed by Kętrzyński, which does not. 89 In fact, the first secure attestation of Piotrawin as the property of the chapter of Cracow is a donation of Duke Władysław I Łokietek (1261–1333) from 1310. The present passage of the Vita s. Stanislai suggests that even after the successful reclaiming of the village by St. Stanislaus, by mid-thirteenth century it was no longer the property of the bishops of Cracow. 88

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nesses who had witnessed this transaction, but then, whether compelled by fear, bribes, favor, or prejudice, withdrew their testimony, they should know that, unless they repent of it, they shall have no part in the truth, which is God himself!” Then the king and those who sat in judgement with him,88 having established the truth and authority of so great a testimony, all in one voice declared that the bishop had won the case and restored to him the full possession of that village without any further objection. How since then the rights of the church over the said village came to be given away89 is not a parable of the time present.90 After all this was done, Saint Stanislaus said to Peter the knight: “If you want, and if you think it will be of any use to you, say so, and I will ask the Lord to grant you a reprieve of a few years for all your trouble and your meritorious deed!” Peter replied: “I thank Your Sanctity, venerable father, but I would rather that you returned me to my grave, because I still have to spend a little time in purgatory for my sins, and after that, by God’s mercy, I will go on to find joy and rest.” It is likely that this Peter, who had been raised from the dead through the faith and sanctity of the holy man in order to protect the truth, was able to answer many questions concerning God’s dispensation, good things [reserved for] the good and bad things to the bad people, as deserved by their status, and to warn them to mend their ways.91 16. Saint Stanislaus, after learning what Peter wanted, took him back to the place of his burial accompanied by a large crowd. Then, in full sight of all, he climbed in the tomb, composed his limbs, asked the people to pray to God on his behalf, told them to cover him with earth, and gave up the ghost in the Lord. Saint Stanislaus said the Mass for the dead over his remains, delivered a speech of exhortation to the gathered people, gave them his episcopal bless-

Heb. 9:9. In the VMa II 6 this last sentence appears at the end of the next chapter (ed. Kętrzyński, MPH 4, 378) as a logical conclusion to the story of Peter’s resurrection. 90 91

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pontificali benediccione reuersus est ad propria cum comitatu suo gracias agens omnipotenti Deo. 17. Nec moueat aliquem Petri prodigium, quod suscitatus est post triennium ad ferendum ueritati testimonium.a 92 De sancto Materno legimus in gestis sanctorum93 quasi simile miraculum per beatum Petrum apostolum perpetratum circa sanctum Maternum94 discipulum suum. Siquidem cum isdem apostolus eundem Maternum metropoli Treuirensi95 destinasset archiepiscopum, misit cum eo Marcialem condiscipulum eidem populo uerbum Dei ad predicandum. Qui cum itinere triginta dierum a Roma fuissent digressi, contigit beatum Maternum grauiter infirmari et eadem infirmitate mori. Quo sepulture tradito regressus est Marcialis Romam itinere, quo uenerat, mortem eius renunciare beatob 96 Petro. Beatus autem Petrus apostolus dans ei baculum suum iussit, ut rediret apertoque sepulchro baculum super corpus defuncti poneret ac diceret: “Magister tuus Petrus apostolus precipit tibi, Materne: ‘surge, accipe baculum meum, ad urbem Treuirensem perge et ministerium tuum, ad quod missus es, imple.’” Qui continuo surrexit et Treuerim ueniens mandatum apostolicum compleuit. Libet intueri oculo fidei, fratres karissimi, quomodo omnipotens Deus, qui facit mirabilia magna solus,97 per beati Petri apostoli meritum ad uitam reuocauit Maternum et sancti Stanizlai martiris pulsatus precibus a mortuis sus nec – testimonium huc transposui beato J1 J2 J3 J4 : om. ed. Kęntrz. cum cett. codd.

a

b

Following the textual structure attested in the mss. of the VMa II 7, I have moved the present sentence to the beginning of ch. 17, to which it serves as a logical introduction; in Kętrzyński’s ed. it is printed as a conclusion to ch. 16. 93 It is uncertain from which of the available sources the author of the Vita s. Stanislai derived his information on the death and resurrection of St. Maternus; in the Vita SS. Eucharii, Valerii, Materni [BHL 2655] of uncertain date, the narrative of these events differs in several details. The episode is also mentioned, with significant differences of detail, in Iacopo da Varazze’s Legenda aurea (ch. 89, “On St. Peter the Apostle”) and in earlier similar hagiographic compilations, such as that by the Dominican Jean de Mailly (ca. 1225–1230). Grażyna G. Klimecka, “Legenda o św. Stanisławie i dominikanie polscy,” Przegląd Tomistyczny 6–7 (1997): 25–44, esp. 26–27 has argued for the author’s dependence on the Legenda aurea. 92

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ing, and then returned home with his retinue, giving thanks to almighty God. 17. No one should be astonished to hear this miracle of Peter, namely, how he was raised from the dead after three years, to bear witness to the truth.92 In the lives of the saints93 we can read about Saint Maternus94 a somewhat similar miracle accomplished by Saint Peter the apostle for his disciple, Maternus. Namely, after the apostle had chosen this Maternus as archbishop of the metropolitan see of Trier,95 he sent him there, together with Martial, another one of his disciples, to preach the word of God to the people of that city. They were thirty days’ journey away from Rome when Saint Maternus fell ill and died of the disease. Martial buried him and returned to Rome by the same road, in order to make his death known to Saint96 Peter. But Saint Peter the Apostle gave him his own staff and told him to go back, to open the grave, and, after placing the staff over the corpse, to say as follows: “Maternus! Your master, Peter the Apostle, commands you: ‘Rise, take my staff, and proceed to Trier, and fulfill your ministry, for which you were sent there!’” Right away Maternus rose and, coming to Trier, fulfilled the mission given to him by the apostle. Dear brothers, to contemplate with the eye of faith, it is a delight how almighty God, who alone does great wonders,97 through the merits of Saint Peter recalled to life Maternus and, moved by the prayers of Saint Stanislaus the martyr, raised Peter from the dead:

Maternus (d. 328) is the first historically attested bishop of Cologne (in 313 and 314), so not a contemporary of St. Peter. The hagiographic tradition that makes him also the third bishop of Trier appears for the first time in sources composed between the eighth and the tenth centuries. 95 An anachronism: Trier (Augusta Treverorum) is securely attested as the seat of a bishop at the beginning of the fourth century and became an archbishopric only in the eighth century. 96 Against Kętrzyński I have restored to the text the word beatus on the authority of mss. J1 J2 J3 J4 . 97 Ps. 135:4. 94

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citauit Petrum, illum post XXX dierum decursum,98 istum post trium annorum spacium, illum, ut iniunctum sibi predicacionis explereta 99 officium, istum, ut ueritati perhiberet testimonium,100 utrumque salutis et fidei negocium. 18. Aliud quoque simile miraculum narrat Eusebius Cesariensis in ecclesiasticis hystoriis,101 quod sanctus Spiridon,b 102episcopus Atheniensis,c 103 genuit unicam filiam adhuc secularis, que erat uirgo sanctimonialis et ob meritum prudencie et uirtutis gubernabat domum104 episcopi ac familiam patris. Hanc quidam ciuis diues ciuitatis Atheniensis ad limina sancti sepulchri Iherosolimam ire uolens adiit et magnum pondus auri penes eam custodiendum sub cyrographo deposuit petiuitque quod nulli daret nisi ei uita comite cum rediret et, si ipsum in uia mori contingeret, quod illus pondus auri pueris suis et aliis, quibus in testamento delegatum erat, assignaret. Que acceptam pecuniam in terram fodit et secretum commissi fideliter tenuit. Euolutis autem paucis diebus uirgo sanctimonialis moritur. Ille uero ciuis uisitatis sanctorum liminibus post annum ad propria reuertitur. Inueniens autem feminam sanctimonialem mortuam uenit ad patrem puelle et depositum cepit expleret J3 : impleret ed. Kęntrz. e textu VMa Spiridon J4Cz1Cz2 : Spiridion ed. Kęntrz. c episcopus Atheniensis om. Cz1Cz2 a

b

An improbable figure, albeit needed for rhetorical purposes to provide a contrast to the three years since Peter’s death. According to the author of the VMi, St. Maternus died after a thirty-day long journey from Rome, so his resurrection could have happened only some two months later, assuming that it took Martial, his companion, the same time to travel back to Rome and return with St. Peter’s staff needed for the miracle. The corresponding passage in the VMa II 8 (ed. Kętrzyński, MPH 4, 371) gives here “forty days,” the same figure as in the Legenda aurea, ch. 89.36; see Iacopo da Varazze, Legenda aurea, ed. Givanni Paolo Maggioni (Florence: SISMEL-Edizioni del Galluzzo, 1998), vol. 1, 561. 99 I have changed the Latin text to read expleret, as in ms. J3 ; Kętrzyński’s ed. has a reading imported from the text of the VMa (impleret). 100 See above, n. 63. 101 The fourth-century Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea (d. 339/340), composed originally in Greek, was translated into Latin by Rufinus of 98

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the former after thirty days,98 the latter after the lapse of three years; the former, so that he could fulfill99 the mission of preaching enjoined upon him, the latter, so that he could bear witness to the truth,100 in both instances for the sake of salvation and of the faith. 18. Eusebius of Caesarea recounts another similar miracle in his Ecclesiastical History,101 namely, that Saint Spyridon,102 the bishop of Athens,103 fathered one single daughter while he had still not taken orders; she was a consecrated virgin and, because of her wisdom and virtue, was entrusted to govern the house104 of the bishop and her father’s retinue. Some rich citizen of Athens, wishing to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, approached her and placed in her custody a large quantity of gold against a written promissory letter. He asked her not to return it to anyone else but himself, if he should be so lucky as to return; if, however, it should so happen that he died on his journey, she should return that quantity of gold to his children and to others whom he had mentioned in his testament. She received the money, buried it deep in the ground, and kept this commission in deep secrecy. A few days passed, and the consecrated virgin died. One year later, that citizen, after having visited the places of the saints, returned home. When he found out that the consecrated lady had died, he came to her father and asked to have his money back. The father answered Aquileia (d. 410) at the beginning of the fifth century. The episode retold here in a much amplified version teaming with anachronisms comes not from the Eusebian part of the text, but from its continuation (ch. 10.5), which was an original work by Rufinus; see The Church History of Rufinus of Aquileia: Books 10 and 11, trans. Philip R. Amidon (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 12. This second resurrection miracle does not appear in the VMa. 102 His name is given as Spyridion by most mss.; I have adopted in the text the variant reading Spiridon present in J4 Cz1 Cz2 . 103 Spyridon was bishop of Trimithus on the island of Cyprus, not bishop of Athens, as stated here by all but two of the mss of the VMi. In Rufinus’ version of the story the hero is described as Cyprius episcopus; his reassignment to a better known and more impressive episcopal see could be the work of the author of the VMi himself or of some intermediary source, from where he picked up the story. 104 Gen. 39:4.

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exposcere. Quo respondente quod nichil sciret de deposito pecunie, cepit homo cum magno eiulatu coram eo flere. Cui sanctus Spiridon compaciens ex intimo corde, monuit eum de rehabenda pecunia bone spei esse et ait: “Vade,” inquit, “ora Dominum hac nocte et cras ueni ad me mane et ostendet nobis Dominus opera misericordie sue.” Sancto autem Spiridone pernoctante in oracione adest homo indicto tempore. Quo assumpto iuit sanctus episcopus ad tumulum filie et ait clara uoce: “Audi filia! In uirtute Dei et obediencie, sicut semper fuisti michi obediens a puero, tibi precipio, ut respondas patri tuo.” At illa inquit de sepulchro: “Quid iubes, pater mi?” “Vbi est,” inquit “pondus pecunie, quam tibi commendauit Talis ciuis sub testimonio Ihesu Christi et fidei tue?” At illa respodit: “Pater, ora pro me, ut non imputentur hec iniquitati, sed ignorancie mee, quia oblita sum tibi dicere in exitu uite mee de indicio huius pecunie. Ecce fossa humo iacet in tali loco, redde eam domino suo.” Quod et factum est. Notandum, quod in hiis et consimilibus miraculis, si diuine uirtutis pensatur operacio, nullum est miraculum, quia omnia possibilia sunt aput Deum.105 Si autem sanctorum meritum attenditur et fidei donum,106 Deus, a quo cuncta bona procedunt,107 hoc per eos operatur bonum, ut impleatur illud dictum ewangelicum: Qui in me credit, opera, que ego facio, et ipse faciet et maiora horum faciet.108 19. Rex uero Bolezlaus, ut erat in arcum prauum conuersus,109 neque timore Dei a 110 neque presenti miraculo compunctus, neque paterna monicione correctus, in suis sceleribus persistebat

tactus suppleui e textu VMa : captus J2 , om. ed. Kęntrz.

a

Mark 10:27. Wisd. of Sol. 3:14. 107 A liturgical formula from a prayer used on the fourth Sunday after the close of Easter; see Jean Deshusses, Le sacramentaire grégorien: ses principales formes d’après les plus anciens manuscrits, vol. 1, Le sacramentaire, Le supplément d’Aniane, 3rd revised ed. (Fribourg: Éditions Universitaires, 1992), 388, no. 1123. 108 John 14:12. 105

106

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that he knew nothing about any such entrusted money; the man broke down, all in tears and loud wailing. Saint Spyridon felt for him from the bottom of his heart, encouraged him to have good hope that he would get his money back, and told him: “Go, pray to the Lord tonight, and come back to me tomorrow, and God will reveal the workings of His mercy!” Then Saint Spyridon spent all night in prayer, and the man came back at the agreed hour. The holy bishop went with him to the tomb of his daughter and cried out loud: “Listen to me, my daughter! By the power of God and by your obedience, just as you were always obedient to me ever since you were little, I ask you to answer your father!” And she replied from the grave: “What do you want, father?” He said: “Where is that mass of gold which our fellow-citizen so-and-so entrusted to you in the name of Jesus Christ and on your faith?” She answered: “Father, pray for me, that this should not be counted as my sin, but as a proof of my ignorance! As I lay dying I forgot to tell you where to find this money. Look, it lies buried in the ground in such-and-such place, give it back to its owner!” Which was then done. We should note that in the case of such and other similar miracles, if one thinks of the way divine might works, there is actually no miracle, for all things are possible with God.105 If one considers the merit of the saints and the gift of faith,106 it is through these that God works this good thing, He from whom all good things come,107 so that the words of the Gospel may be fulfilled: Who believes in me the works that I do he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do.108 19. But King Bolesław, who had turned (into a) crooked bow,109 who was neither touched110 by the fear of God nor stirred to contrition by this miracle, and whom fatherly admonition could not set straight, stubbornly persisted in his wicked deeds. We should not An image borrowed from Ps. 77:57 (conversi sunt in arcum pravum). I have supplied here tactus from the text of the VMa; the word is required to produce a rhyme and its probable presence in the original is suggested by a variant reading (captus) in a single ms. ( J2) of the VMi. 109 110

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obstinatus. Nec putare debemus, quod hic sit ille Bolezlaus, qui fuit rex Polonie primus.111 De illo enim legitur in cronica Polonorum,112 quod a Danubio usque ad Solauam113 dilatauit sue gentis imperium. Regnum autem suum non solum uiriliter gubernauit, sed et sua probitate Poloniam deaurauit. Ipse Bohemiam et Morauiam suo dominio subiugauit et in Praga sedem ducalem obtinuit et frenum tributi de manu ducum Bohemie et Morauie tulit.114 Ipse Pomeranos et Pruthenos adhuc in gentilitatis errore positos contriuit et sibi tributarios fecit. Ipse Sclauos et Ungaros sepius in certamine deuicit et terram eorum usque ad Danubium possedit.a 115 Deinde descendens in Russiam et intrans Kyouiam per portam, que uocatur aurea, in signum waluas eius suo gladio percussit et ibi regni Polonie fines terminauit.b 116 Ipse Saxones indomitos manu potenti117 edomuit et in media Solaua columpnam figens ferream fines limitauit.118 Ipse beatum Adalbertum, Pragensem episcopum, a rebelli Bohemorum gente multis iniuriis lacessitum, de longa peregrinacione honorifice suscepit et eius salutaribus exhortacionibus et institucionibus deuote obediuit.c 119 Cuius eciam ille ductus uite

regnum – possedit : cf. Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.6 (ed. Maleczynski, 16). deinde – terminauit : cf. Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.7. (ed. Maleczynski, 22). c ipse – obediuit : cf. Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.6. (ed. Maleczynski, 17). a

b

Bolesław I Chrobry (“the Brave”), b. 967, duke of Poland from 992; he was crowned in 1025 and ruled as king for a short time until his death on June 17 the same year. 112 The chronicle mentioned here is that of the so-called Gallus Anonymus (1.6); see Gesta Principum Polonorum / The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles, trans. and annotated by Paul W. Knoll and Frank Schaer (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2003), 30ff. 113 Much of what follows contains either information or expressions lifted verbatim from the chronicle of Gallus (1.6), here and there rewritten to fit into the strict rhymed prose system practiced by the author of the Vita S. Stanislai; such adaptation renders impracticable the verbatim italicizing of textual borrowings—a solution adopted elsewhere in this volume. In what follows, the texts borrowed by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai from other sources will be signaled simply by references to the passages quoted and adapted. In the case of Gallus, the English translation reproduces that by Knoll and Schaer, adapted when necessary. 111

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think, however, that he was [the same as] that famous Bolesław, the first king of Poland.111 About him one can read in the Chronicle of the Poles112 that he extended the rule of his people from the Danube up to the river Saale.113 Not only did he govern his kingdom valiantly, his valor gilded the whole of Poland. He added to his realm Moravia and Bohemia and won the seat of the duchy in Prague and took the bridle of the tribute of the hand of the dukes of Bohemia and Moravia.114 He also crushed the Pomeranians and the Prussians, who were still holding onto the error of their pagan ways, and made them his tributaries. The Slavs and the Hungarians he defeated time and again in battle and possessed their land all the way to the Danube.115 Then he descended into Rus’ and entered Kiev through the Golden Gate, symbolically striking its doors with his sword and establishing there the boundaries of the Polish kingdom.116 With a mighty hand117 he tamed the untamed Saxons and fixed [Poland’s] borders with an iron column set in the middle of the river Saale.118 With due honors he received Saint Adalbert, the bishop of Prague, whom his rebellious Bohemian flock had subjected to all manner of indignities and driven into a long exile, and to whose beneficial instructions and sermons he paid faithful obedience.119 Inspired by his saintly life and by the power of his miracles, the king founded a This last phrase, the author’s own contribution to the heroic profile of King Bolesław, associates the Polish king with David, a biblical paragon of royal virtue, by means of a quotation from 2 Kings 8:1 (et tulit David frenum tributi de manu Philistim). 115 Summarizing information contained in Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.6. 116 This paragraph summarizes the longer account in Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.7. 117 Ps. 135:12. 118 Quoting and adapting Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.6; in the present translation I tried to suggest the intricate alliteration (columpnam figens ferream fines limitauit) present in the Latin text of the VMi, but not in its source. 119 Summarizing Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.6. St. Adalbert (b. ca. 956, d. April 23, 997) occupied the episcopal see in Prague on two occasions (983–989 and 992–994). For his life and troubled episcopal career, see the “Life of Saint Adalbert Bishop of Prague and Martyr” [BHL 37], in Saints of the Christianization Age of Central Europe (Tenth-Eleventh Centuries), ed. Gábor Klaniczay, trans. and ann. Cristian Gașpar and Marina Miladinov (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2013), 95–181. 114

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sanctitate ac miraculorum operacione, in sua Gneznensi metropolitana ciuitate cathedram instituit et eum archiepiscopatus honore sublimauit.120 Qui tempore modico transacto, diuino inspiratus consilio commilitonem et socium suum fratrem Gaudencium121 loco sui archiepiscopum instituensa et per Pomeraniam nauigio in Pruziam transiens et ibidem predicans uerbum fidei,122 consumatus in breui123 a Pruthenis occisus optinuit a Domino palmam martirii. Ipse est Bolezlaus, qui episcopatus fundauit, donis regalibus dotauit ac limitauit.124 20. In diebus illis crebrescentibus miraculorum signis uenit Otto Romanorum imperator, qui cognominatus est Rufus,125 in Gneznam ad limina beati Adalberti martiris126 deuocionis ductus flumine, quem magnifice suscepitb 127 rex Bolezlaus cum suis optimatibus.c Videns itaque cesar inclitum Bolezlaum et circa ipsum frequenciam regii apparatus, opulenciam diuiciarum et excellenciam ipsius admiratus, ait suis principibus: “Utique decet uirum tam magnificum nostre maiestatis fratrem et consortem fieri, qui – instituens : cf. Legenda de sancto Adalberto episcopo 11 (ed. Perlbach, MGH SS 15.2, 1182) b suscepit J3VMa : excepit ed. Kęntrz. c uenit – optimatibus : cf. Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.6. (ed. Maleczynski, 18). a

The inaccurate information about St. Adalbert as the first archbishop of Gniezno most probably goes back to an anonymous hagiographic text of Polish provenance on St. Adalbert known as the Perlbach vita or Tempore illo [BHL 42], composed in the last decades of the twelfth or, possibly, in the first half of the thirteenth century. This unlikely tradition, which sees Gniezno rather than Gdańsk as the initial location for St. Adalbert’s missionary activity, originates with Bruno of Querfurt (974–1009), who first made the claim in his Vita s. Adalberti 24 [BHL 38] based on his erroneous interpretation of a corrupt form of the unfamiliar place name present in some manuscripts of his source. See Saints of the Christianization Age, 169, 3. 121 Another instance of inaccurate information taken over from the vita Tempore illo. Gaudentius (b. 970, d. ca. 1006), the younger brother of St. Adalbert and his faithful companion, became the first archbishop of Gniezno only after Adalbert’s death, as soon as the new archbishopric was established in 1000 (he is attested earlier with the unusual title of archiepiscopus sancti Adalberti “archbishop of St. Adalbert”). On the foundation of the bishopric, see Roman Michałowski, The Gniezno Summit: The Religious Premises of the Founding of the Archbishopric of Gniezno (Leiden: Brill, 2016). 120

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metropolitan see in Gniezno, his capital, and raised Adalbert to the rank of archbishop.120 After a little while, inspired by divine council, the saint appointed Gaudentius,121 his companion and brother in arms as well as in real life, as archbishop and, sailing to Prussia by way of Pomerania, preached there the word of faith.122 Being made perfect in a short space,123 he was killed by the Prussians, and obtained the palm of martyrdom from the Lord. Now, this is that King Bolesław who founded bishoprics, endowed them with royal gifts, and set their boundaries.124 20. In those days, as miracles were growing in number, the Roman Emperor Otto—the one nicknamed the Red125—came to Gniezno to the tomb of Saint Adalbert,126 drawn by his overflowing devotion for the martyr; and he was received127 with great ceremony by King Bolesław and his nobles. And so, when the emperor saw that illustrious Bolesław as well as the numerous regal retinue which surrounded him, in wonder at his great wealth and at his excellent character, he said to his magnates: “Surely, such a magnificent man deserves to have a share in our majesty, to be called friend and ally

Rom. 10:8. Wisd. of Sol. 4:13. 124 Bolesław I is credited with establishing bishoprics in Gniezno, Cracow, Wrocław, and Kołobrzeg following his meeting with Emperor Otto III in Gniezno in the year 1000. 125 Emperor Otto III (980–1002), who visited Gniezno, is confused here with his father, Otto II (955–983), who was nicknamed Rufus “the Red.” This confusion goes back to the source of this passage, namely Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.6. 126 In the year 1000; on this pilgrimage and the political events that surrounded it, see now Michałowski, The Gniezno Summit, where most of the abundant literature on the topic is quoted and discussed. 127 I prefer to read suscepit with ms. J3 and the text of the VMa (and their ultimate source, the Chron. Pol.) instead of the excepit printed by Kętrzyński. 122 123

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Romanorumque imperii socium et amicum appellari ac regio dyademate insigniri.” Inde est Bolezlaus autem consecratus in regem. Secundum magnificenciam regalem tribus continuis diebus cum suis omnibus in conuiuio tenuit cesarem. Imperator uero dedit pro regalibus insigniis regi Bolezlao lanceam beati Mauricii et clauum Domini. Cui rex Bolezlaus ob reuerenciam imperialis dignitatis et in signum mutue dileccionis ac pie deuocionis redonauit brachium beati Adalberti martiris.a Acceptis quoque ab eo multis muneribus, uasis aureis et argenteis in patriam suam est reuersus.b Hic est ergo rex ille magnus Bolezlaus, qui cognominatus est pius, istius Bolezlai proauus, qui dictus est seuus, largus et bellicosus.128 Ille Mesconis filius, qui fuit de Polonia dux primus baptizatus,129 iste de duce Kasimiro fuisse dinoscitur procreatus, qui de monasterio Cluniacensi sancti Benedicti130 per dispensacionem pape Benedicti131 terre Polonie dux est restitutus.132 21. Post mortem etenim magni regis Bolezlai,133 quasi alterius Salomonis potentissimi et sapientissimi, surrexit Mesco filius eius,134 sensu minoratus et probitate patris. Qui cum deliciis resolutus rem publicam segnius administraret et propriis, non communibus utilitatibus intenderet, ceperunt extere naciones, que patri suo uectigales fuerant, minus timoris et honoris eidem deferre et tributa regionum denegare.

uidens – martiris : cf. Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.6. (ed. Maleczynski, 19-20). acceptus – reuersus : cf. Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.6. (ed. Maleczynski, 21).

a

b

128 Bolesław II is variously referred to in the Polish tradition as the Bold (Śmiały), the Bountiful (Szczodry), and the Cruel (Okrutny). 129 Mieszko I (b. ca. 935–d. 992), ruled Poland as duke from ca. 960 until his death; his baptism took place in 966. 130 The Vita S. Stanislai is the first source to mention Casimir’s monastic career at the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny; it is uncertain on what authority the claim is made.

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of the Roman Empire, and to be dignified by a royal diadem!” And so it was that Bolesław was consecrated as king. For three whole days he entertained the emperor and his retinue with continuous feasting as it befitted his royal majesty. The emperor, in turn, gave King Bolesław the lance of Saint Maurice and one of the Lord’s nails as royal insignia. To honor his imperial dignity, and as a sign of mutual affection and faithful devotion, King Bolesław gave him in return the arm of Saint Adalbert the martyr. And after he had received from him even more gifts, vessels of gold and silver, [Otto] returned home. This is, then, that great King Bolesław, called the Pious, the great-grandfather of this other Bolesław, who is known as the Cruel, the Bountiful, and the Warlike.128 The former was the son of Mieszko, the first ruler of Poland to be baptized129; the latter was— as it is well known—duke Casimir’s son, who was formerly at the monastery of St. Benedict in Cluny130 and then, with the dispensation of Pope Benedict,131 returned to rule Poland as duke.132 21. And, in fact, after the death of the great King Bolesław,133 who was most powerful and most wise, like a new Solomon, his son Mieszko134 arose, inferior by much to his father both in wisdom and in integrity. As he, given over to pleasures, was ruling the country with neglect and paying more attention to his own affairs rather than to the public good, the foreign nations which had been his father’s tributaries started to accord him less fear and honor and to withhold the due tribute.

Benedict IX, who was Pope on three different occasions between 1032 and 1048. Duke Casimir I the Restorer (b. 1016, d. 1058) ruled Poland from 1034 until 1058. 133 On June 17, 1025. 134 Mieszko II Lambert, king of Poland (1025–1031). 131

132

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22. Quo ignominiose mortuo et Kasimiro135 filio eius paruulo cum matre136 in Almaniam expulso, stirps ducalis et regia in regno Polonie omnino perierat et unusquisque quod sibi rectum uidebatur in illis diebus faciebat.137 Tunc surrexerunt quasi lupi rapaces138 per circuitum reges et principes et ceperunt uastare regnum Polonie,139 monasteria comburebantur et ecclesie, perimebantur monachi et ecclesiastice persone,140 senes et iuuenes gladio iugulabantur, uirgines et uidue ac maritate uiolabantur et in captituitatem cum ignonimia deducebantur. Consumpta autem per incendia subitosque gentilium incursus iam pene tota Polonia, cum aliunde non esset auxilium, maiores natu inierunt consilium, ut inquirerent et inuenirent et reducerent in regnum exulem et eiectum ducem Kazimirum. Hic quidem dudum a matre studiis litterarum traditus141 et hiis competenter instructus, cum iam esset iuuenis robustus, ex Almania in Gallias transiens et ut supra dictum est, Cluniacum ueniens sancta conuersacione monachorum ibidem Deo famulancium illectusa et spiritu Dei inflamatus uitam mutauit et sub habitu sancti Benedicti Deo militare cepit.142 23. At uero legati Polonorum assumpto comitatu multo, uariis quoque muneribus in auro et argento profecti sunt ad requirendum ducem Kazimirum. Tandem post longam peregrinacionem

illectus scripsi e textu VMa : allectus ed. Kęntrz., electus C1 L

a

At the time of his father’s death (May 10, 1031), Casimir would have been a nineteen-year-old youth rather than a small boy; the expression filio paruulo used by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai in this passage mirrors the similar designation (puer parvulus) in his source (Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.18). 136 Richeza (b. ca. 995, d. 1063), daughter of Ezzo of Lorraine and Mathilda, the sister of Otto III. She had married Mieszko II in 1013. 137 Jdg. 17:6, 21:24. 138 Matt. 7:15. 139 This picture of devastation by foreign enemies echoes that in Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.19. One such notable incursion happened in the summer of 1039, when a Bohemian army led by Duke Břetislav I (ruled 1035–1055) sacked Gniezno and Poznań and removed the relics of St. Adalbert to Prague. 135

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22. He died covered in ignominy, and his little boy, Casimir,135 was expelled together with his mother136 to Germany. In those days the royal and ducal lineage had perished completely from the Polish realm, and every one did that which seemed right to himself.137 Then kings and princes arose all around like ravening wolves138 and began to lay waste to the Polish realm;139 monasteries and churches were being burned down, monks and ecclesiastics killed,140 old and young murdered by the sword, and virgins, widows, and married women raped and led into dishonorable captivity. After almost all of Poland had been destroyed by fires and sudden pagan raids, as help was not forthcoming from anywhere, the elders took counsel to search for and find and bring back to the realm Casimir, their exiled and expelled duke. As for him, he had by then been sent by his mother to study letters141 and, having completed his education with good results, and being young and in full strength, he went from Germany to France and, as it has already been said above, came to Cluny. There, drawn by the holy life of the monks living at that place in God’s service and kindled by God’s spirit, he exchanged his life for a new one dedicated to God in the habit of Saint Benedict.142 23. Envoys from Poland, however, with a great accompaniment and many and various gifts of gold and silver, set off to find duke Casimir. Eventually, after long wandering, they discovered him at In Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.19, the killing of bishops and priests is blamed on rebellious servants, rather than the foreign invaders; the responsibility for the devastation of the country is shared by “foreigners and her own people, [who] had between them reduced Poland to such desolation that she was stripped of almost all her wealth and population.” (ibid., trans. Knoll and Schaer, 79). 141 In Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.18, Casimir is said to have acquired a liberal education through his mother’s care while they were still in Poland, not abroad (see also the following note). 142 According to Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.21 (trans. Knoll and Schaer, 87), the duke’s devotion to and his patronage of the Church and its servants was due to the fact that “when he was a child his parents had offered him to a monastery, and there he had received a broad education in the Scriptures.” The story of Casimir’s stay at Cluny in the Vita s. Stanislai may have been influenced by its author’s incomplete or inaccurate understanding of this source, according to Plezia, Średniowieczne żywoty, 146, n. 3 ad loc. 140

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peruenientes [in]a Cluniacum inuenerunt eum sub habitu monastico iam septimum ibidem agentem annum.143 Expositisque causis itineris, apertis thesauris suis optulerunt ei et abbati suo preciosa munera, uasa aurea et argentea,144 subinferrentes quot clades et quanta mala propter ipsius absenciam sustineat Polonia. Denique petunt dominum abbatem, ut eis ducem suum restitueret, supplicant nichilominus Kazimirum,b ut Poloniam rediret et regnum gubernaret et populum suum ab hostibus liberaret. Abbas autem habito prudentum uirorum consilio145 respondit, se non posse peticioni ipsorum annuere et desiderio, quia is, qui renunciauit seculo, redire non posset ad seculum, nisi prouida summi pontificis ad hoc accederet dispensacio. Tunc legati responso accepto, gradu concito Romam adeunt, summo pontifici legacionem proferunt, dispensacionem petunt, allegant quoque calamitates Polonie, prophanacionem fidei Christiane, incendia monasteriorum,c  146 subuersionem urbium, uiolacionem uirginum, oppresionem uiduarum, occisionem et effusionem sanguinis innocentum et multitudinem Christianorum utriusque sexus deductam in captituitatem et redactam in seruitutem paganorum. 24. Denique papa Benedictus auditis Polonie desolacionibus, Christiane fidei compassus casibus, gentique orbate principe miseratus, ducem Kazimirum ad tenenda regni Polonie gubernacula redire decreuit. Ne uero stirps regia uel ducalis omnino deperiret et Polonia successore careret cum eodem duce Kazimiro, ut matrimonium legittime possit contrahere, misericorditer dispensauit. Ob cuius dispensacionis beneficium ac recordacionis memorabile signum indictum est Polonis, ut in tonsura rotunda conformar in delevi (cf. textum VMa, ed. Kęntrz., MPH 4, 381) Kazimiro J1 J4 Cz1Cz2VMa c ecclesiarum VMa a

b

According to this chronology, Casimir stayed at Cluny between ca. 1033 and ca. 1040, when he returned to Poland. 144 1 Kings 10:25. But also, notably, echoing the words of Matt. 2, describing the visit of the Magi to Christ and their offering of gifts. 143

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Cluny, where he had been living in monastic habit for seven years.143 They revealed the reason for their journey, and opening their chests they offered presents to him and to his abbot, vessels of silver and of gold144; and they accompanied these with an account of the many woes and great tribulations that Poland was going through because of his absence. Finally, they asked the lord abbot to return their duke to them; they also begged Casimir to return to Poland, rule over his realm, and free his people from its foes. The abbot, however, following the counsel of some expert men,145 replied that he could not grant their wish and supplication since a person who had given up the world could not return to the world without the judicious dispensation of the Holy Father. Then, after receiving this answer, the envoys traveled quickly to Rome, brought their case before the Holy Father, asked for his dispensation, spoke also of Poland’s suffering, of the desecration of the Christian faith, the burning of monasteries,146 the destruction of cities, the rape of virgins, the harassment of widows, the killing and blood-spilling of innocent people, and the throngs of Christians, both men and women, taken in captivity and pressed into servitude by the pagans. 24. In the end Pope Benedict, having heard of the desolation of Poland, moved by the afflictions of the Christian faith, took pity on a people orphaned of its ruler and decreed that Duke Casimir should return to govern the Polish realm. Also, lest the royal or ducal lineage should entirely perish with him and Poland should be deprived of a successor to him, he gave his merciful dispensation that the same Duke Casimir could lawfully enter into marriage. In perpetual reminder of this beneficial dispensation it was instituted for the Poles that they should have their heads half shaven,

The expression habito prudentum uirorum consilio appears often in administrative and juridical style and suggests that the people consulted may have been experts in ecclesiastic law. 146 Or “of churches” according to the text of the VMa II 11. 145

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ent se moribus religiosorum.147 Statutum est nichilominus, ut censum soluerent, quod uocatur swatopetrse,a beati Petrib ecclesie Rome pro alendo lumine.148 Executi negocium, assecuti propositum, legati Polonorum leti ac alacres redeunt Cluniacum et exinde suscipientes ducem suum Kazimirum, ueniunt adc  149 Almaniam ad imperatorem Ottonem, auunculum suum.150 Vbi cum exercuisset magne probitatis audaciam, sexcentorum151 uirorum armatam miliciam ad eum deducendum transmisit imperator in Poloniam.152 Hinc ueniens, licet cum difficultate tandem hostibus expugnatis, cum pace regnum possedit Polonie. Post hec accepit uxorem vnam de Rusie principibus nobiliorem, nomine Dobronegam dictam,153 cognomine Mariam, ex qua genuit quatuor filios,154 primogenitum Bolezlaum,155 secundum Wladizlaum,156 tercium Mesconem,157 quartum Odonem.158

swantopetrzce L, om. J1 J2 J3 J4 Cz1Cz2 , id est sanctum beati Petri add. VMa denarius add. J1 J2 J3 J4Cz1Cz2 c ad J1 J2 J4 Cz1Cz2 : om. ed. Kęntrz., in VMa a

b

The connection established by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai between ecclesiastic/monastic tonsure and secular hairstyles such as the Polish half shaven head (czupryna) is likely to be as spurious as the story of Casimir’s monastic career at Cluny. The similarity in outlook was also noted in the anonymous early fourteenth-century Descriptio Europae Orientalis: “In earlier times all Poles used to go about with heads shaved (tonsi) just like the Cistercian brethren (conuersi), but recently some have started growing their hair long”; see Tibor Živković et al., eds., Anonymi Descriptio Europae Orientalis (Belgrade: The Institute of History, 2013), 147. 148 Contrary to the claims made here, the exact date of the introduction of the świętopietrze “Peter’s pence,” an annual tax owed to the papacy by all the inhabitants of the kingdom of Poland, remains uncertain, but its collection was probably not systematic before the beginning of the fourteenth century. See Paul Milliman, “The Slippery Memory of Men”: The Place of Pomerania in the Medieval Kingdom of Poland (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2013), 124; and Markus A. Denzel, “Kleriker und Kaufleute: Polen und der Peterspfennig im kurialen Zahlungsverkehrssystem des 14. Jahrhunderts,” VSWG: Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte 82, no. 3 (1995): 305–31, esp. 305, n. 2 with references to earlier scholarship. 149 Against Kętrzyński’s ed. I have retained ad, attested by several mss., in the text. 147

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in conformity with the practice of the religious.147 It was nevertheless decreed that they should pay the church of Saint Peter in Rome a tax called świętopietrze [“Peter’s pence”] for the upkeep of one candle.148 Once they had fulfilled their mission and achieved their goal, the Polish envoys returned swiftly and joyfully to Cluny and, taking their Duke Casimir with them, went on to149 Germany, to Emperor Otto, his uncle.150 There, the duke gave proof of great bravery and the emperor assigned him an army of six hundred soldiers151 to escort him to Poland.152 He made his way there and, after he finally expelled his enemies (not without some difficulty, though), he took possession of the Polish realm in peace. Then he took a wife, one of the most noble women from among the nobility of Rus’, Dobronega by name,153 later called Maria; she bore him four sons154: Bolesław, the first born155; then Władysław,156 the second; Mieszko,157 the third; and Otto,158 the fourth.

This would have been impossible, as Emperor Otto III, Casimir’s uncle, had died in 1002. Casimir’s second stay at the imperial court and his return to Poland can be placed during the reign of Henry III (1039–1056). In Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.19, the source of this passage of the Vita s. Stanislai, the emperor is not named. 151 Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.19 gives a different figure (quingentis “five hundred”) and implies that these were chosen by Casimir rather than assigned to him by the emperor. 152 The corresponding text of the VMa II 12 (MPH 4, ed. Kętrzyński, 382) contains a significant addition (et in regnum intronizandum “and to restore him to the throne”), which casts this military expedition in a different light. 153 Dobronega/Maria (b. ca. 1011, d. 1087), a daughter of Vladimir the Great of Kiev. The exact date of their wedding is unknown, but it probably took place ca. 1040. 154 In addition to the four sons mentioned below, the couple also had a daughter, Świętosława (b. ca. 1046/1048, d. 1126). 155 Bolesław II the Bold (see above, n. 34). 156 Władysław Herman (b. 1040, d. 1102) ruled as duke between 1079 and 1102. 157 Mieszko (b. 1045, d. 1065). 158 Otto (b. 1047, d. 1048). 150

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25.159 Hic est Bolezlaus, qui propter excellenciam largitatis anthonomasice dictus est largus,160 ob insignem audaciam uirtutis appellatus est bellicosus. Tante namque prodigalitatis erat, quod sine liberalitate nullam hominis libertatem estimabat.161 Dicebat autem quod liberalis homo egere non possit omnino, nisi cum ei dandi non subpetit occasio.a Hic dum quadam die census uectigales dispensari iuberet, dum prestantissima queque larga manu magnifice militibus erogaret, quidam de circumstantibus nunc exilem tenuitatem sue fortune, nunc regie splendorem coniectans opulencie, gemebundis infremit suspiriis, tacitis immurmurat labellulis:162 Non locus hic loculis,163 non uenter ydropicus arche Te premit, ymmo nitet cunctis tua copia cordis;164 Sola beans alios, soli michi gracia solis Alget, hyems Geminos sole tenente tenet, Solus ego sub sole tuob solacia ueris Demerui, solum demeruisse pudet.c Rex proinde causam suspiriorum coniciens amictumque sinuosissime clamidis sibi detrahens ac illius humeris inferens ait: “Tolle,” inquit, “auri quantumcumque libet tuisque uiribus quantitatem metalli compensa. Malumus enim te tuam inualitudinem causa qui propter – occasio ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.16.1 (ed. Plezia, 50) tua J2 J4 c hic – pudet ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.16.4 (ed. Plezia, 50-51)

a

b

The following lengthy description of the rule of King Bolesław II (chapters 25 to 31) is taken, with omissions and some adaptation, from the Chronica Polonorum of Vincent Kadłubek composed at the end of the twelfth century or the beginning of the thirteenth. Although much of Kadłubek’s text is here quoted verbatim, the author of the Vita s. Stanislai has consistently rearranged his source in order to fit it into the rigid framework of his rhyming prose; for this reason, indicating textual borrowing in the Latin text and the present translation would have been impractical, if not impossible. In what follows, textual dependence is indicated at the beginning of every chapter; thus the present chapter reproduces, with some omissions, Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.16–18, which goes back to Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.26. 160 VMa II 15 (MPH 4, ed. Kętrzyński, 384) omits the passages illustrating the king’s generosity with the following justification: “it is not necessary to recount, with detailed examples, how generous and how worthy he was.” 161 I have attempted to render into English as much as possible the many intricate wordplays of the original, such as the pair liberalitas and libertas here; these are a 159

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25.159 It is this Bolesław who, on account of his outstanding generosity, was named the Bountiful,160 and, on account of his remarkable bravery and warlike nature, the Bold. For so great was his generosity, that he reckoned that without liberality there is no human liberty.161 And he was in the habit of saying that a generous person can never lack anything, except if they should lack the opportunity to freely give. One day, after he ordered the tribute that had come in to be distributed, he was making gifts of the choicest items to his soldiers with splendid largesse, when one of those present began grumbling and muttering with barely moving lips162 and inward groans, comparing both his own scant and meagre fortune and the king’s spectacular opulence. Small cases here? That is not the case!163 Nor does one swollen chest contain you; nay, your heart’s treasury lies open wide to all!164 Consoling solely others, Your Solar Grace is solely frigid towards me; I am in freezing winter even when the solar chariot enters Gemini. Solely from me the solar solace of your spring you have withheld, and solely I the shame of this must bear. From this the king guessed what was causing the man’s groans; he took off his amply-folded cloak, placed it on the man’s shoulders, and told him: “Here, take as much gold as you please and as much as your strength can bear! For I would rather you blamed your incharacteristic feature of Kadłubek’s ornate, often verbose, Latin prose and verse. Many such passages were taken over by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai and, as a result, the final part of his text stands in marked linguistic and stylistic contrast to the rest. 162 Cf. Catullus, Carm. 64.103 (tacito . . . labello) and Sedulius Scotus, Carm. 2.23 (tacitis . . . labellis). 163 I have attempted to convey into English the intricate word plays in this verse fragment, which was taken over with one minor change (see next footnote) from Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.16.4. 164 Instead of te premit, immo nitet tua copia cordis in arce, which in Kadłubek rhymes with the first verse, the author of the Vita s. Stanislai has te premit, ymmo nitet cunctis tua copia cordis, which rhymes with v. 3 and 5, leaving the first verse to stand alone.

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ri, quam nostre liberalitatis angustias uideri.” Tum ille sui oblitus, auri cupidus, dum turgentissime uestis insarcinat sinum, dum suis uiribus non compensat onus, dum a terra attollere nititur auri immensum pondus,a Heu miser, exspirat metalli pondere pressus.165 Ab166 insano uero non dissidet, qui prefert pecuniam uite, non uitam pecunie. Quod uecordie genus quendam adeo deuinxerat, ut dum ambiguis in mari iactatur fluctibus, dum alii metu naufragii preciosissima eciam supellectile nauem exonerant, se suis ille alligatum sarcinulis precipitem mitti iubet, pociorem astruens in morte opulenciam, quam in uitam egestatemb. Non sic ille, non sic, qui ut curarum nutrices167 diuicias semel amputaret, suas opes auri et argenti in unam massam conflat, in profluentem precipitat: “O,” inquiens, “pessime diuicie, ite in profundum pessime, submergam uos, ne submergar a uobis; perdam uos, ne perdar a uobis.”168 Leuior est enim rerum quam temporis iactura, Dampna mouent rerum, plus ledunt dampna dierum. Quisque potest rebus succurrere, nemo diebus.c Adeo perfunctoria uisa est [regi]d Bolezlao opum copia, diuiciarum gloria, ut nichil in illis iocundum putaret, nisi habendi facultatem et dandi facilitatem, quarum potissimam aiebat custodiam saccum pertusum, eumque omnino indignum esse principatu, qui se rerum sacciperium esse malit quam principem.e 169

rex – pondus ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.16.5-6 (ed. Plezia, 51) ab insano – egestatem ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.17.1 (ed. Plezia, 51-52) c non sic – diebus ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.17.4 (ed. Plezia, 52) d regi seclusi (om. L J1 J2 J3 Kadł.) e adeo – principem ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.1 (ed. Plezia, 52) a

b

This verse is an original contribution by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. In Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.26, the man, who is described as a foreign clerk, is not brought down by his greed, but on the contrary leaves with his newly-acquired treasure. 166 The following part of this chapter reproduces, with some omissions, Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.17.1 and 2.17.4. 167 A poetic tag going back to Ovid, Metamorph. 8.79 (curarum maxima nutrix). 165

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sufficient strength than my generosity should seem to be lacking.” Then that man, heedless of his own limitations, and only desirous of gold, went on loading the fold of his cloak until it was ready to burst and did not seem to mind that the load outmatched his strength; as he was trying to lift from the ground that huge quantity of gold, He died—poor wretch!—crushed under the metal’s weight.165 He166 was, then, no different from a madman, who puts riches above his own life, rather than his life above riches. This sort of insanity had once so overcome some man, that, as he was sailing on stormtossed seas, while his companions, fearing shipwreck, were all trying to make their ship lighter by dumping even the most precious cargo, tied around himself his own miserable baggage and asked to be tossed overboard with it, claiming that an opulent death was preferable to life in poverty. Not so, not so, indeed, the one who had all his gold and silver melted down into one mass, which he then threw into the river, so as to rid himself once and for all of riches, the nursemaid of cares.167 “O riches,” he said, “most wretched riches, go down most wretchedly! Let me drown you, so that you may not drown me! Let me consign you to ruin, lest you be the ruin of me!”168 For the loss of one’s goods is more bearable than the loss of one’s time: The loss of goods may do us harm, the loss of time hurts even more; Mere chattels each man can replace, but not bring back the days of yore! To such an extent did Bolesław regard material possessions and the renown that came with riches as dispensable, that he considered they brought him no joy other than the capacity to own and to give them away; he used to say that the best store for such riches is a bag full of holes, and that whoever would rather be a money-filled pocket than a ruler is completely unfit to rule.169 An anecdote attributed variously to philosophers such as Crates of Thebes, Socrates, or, as here, to an anonymous protagonist; the text enjoyed a great popularity with patristic authors and with authors of sermons and is attested in various versions. It is noteworthy that the author of the Vita s. Stanislai has combined in this passage two different versions of the philosopher’s words: perdam uos, ne perdar a uobis, which occurs in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.17.4 and submergam uos, ne submergar a uobis, taken from an unknown source. 168

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26.170 Iste Bolezlaus proaui sui magni regis Bolezlai audaciam emulatus, prout erat uir belligerandi studiosus, terminos, quos amiserant patres sui, uolens recuperare et ad suum dominium reducere, decreuit in waluis Kyouiensibus limites regni Polonie reformare. Vnde Rusie partibus imperiose peragratis, omnibus copiis diuiciarum capi dedignatus, solo uictorie triumpho, spretis opibus, erat contentus. Tandem consopita ibidem omni rebellione, quendam sui suffraganeum imperii, qui principibus Russie preesset, regem171 instituit.a 172 Qui ut coram sibi subiectis appareret gloriosior, regi supplicat Bolezlao, ut eum sui dignacione occursus amplectatur, auri talenta173 secundum numerum passuum recepturus. Indignatur a se peti Bolezlaus, quod regie celsitudini non competit, absurdumque uideri imperialem maiestatem ad questum inclinari, absurdius esse graciam uenalitate censeri,b precibus tamen uictus, non precio nec muneribus id se spondet facturum. Gracie uero augmentumc 174 uenienti quale putas exhibet? regis etenim barbamd  175 uenientis apprehendit, quam diuellicans creberrime concutit. “Hoc,” inquit, “est hoc tremendum caput, quod uos, o Rutheni, contremiscere conuenit.” Item itemque uehemencius concuciens ait:

unde – instituit ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.2 (ed. Plezia, 52) qui ut – censeri ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.3 (ed. Plezia, 52-53) c augmentum L J1 J2 J3 J4 Kadł. : argumentum ed. Kęntrz. d bursam C1 L J4 a

b

This paragraph reproduces, with a few additions, the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.1. 170 This chapter reproduces, with a few additions, the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.2-4. 171 Although referred to here and in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.2 as “king” (regem), the ruler of Kievan Rus’ (knjaz’) is more usually known as a Grand Prince (or Grand Duke); the source for the term in both texts is the mention in Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.23 of a kingdom (regnum) and its royal throne (in sede regali). 172 Iziaslav (b. 1025, d. 1078), Bolesław II’s uncle, ruled Kievan Rus’ (with interruptions) between 1054 and 1078; he was restored to his throne with Bolesław’s help in 1069 and 1077. 169

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26.170 This same Bolesław, in an attempt to rival the boldness of his great-grandfather, the great King Bolesław (for he was a man most keen to fight wars), wished to recover and bring back under his rule the territories that his predecessors had lost; he determined that the boundaries of the Polish realm should once again stretch up to the very gates of Kiev. So he swept through the land of Rus’ with lordly might, but he thought it beneath him to be ensnared by any prospects of plunder; he turned a blind eye to money and contented himself only with the triumph that came with victory. Finally, after he had put down every uprising there, he appointed as king171 a deputy to rule in his stead over the princes of Rus’.172 That man, wishing to appear more prominent in the eyes of his own subjects, entreated King Bolesław to come out and meet him and honor him with his embrace; he promised to pay him a talent of gold173 for every single step he would take. Bolesław was outraged by this request as unfitting his royal dignity; he thought it preposterous that his imperial majesty should appear to bow before profit, and even more so that one should put a price on his grace. He did give in, eventually, and promised he would do it, but in response to their entreaties, not for any money or gifts. What greater sign174 of his grace, though, do you think he gave the man who came out to meet him? He grabbed the approaching king by the beard,175 tugging it and striking it over and over again. “This,” he said, “o people of Rus’, is the fearsome head before whom you all need to bow!” And then, pulling at his beard again and again, he said:

Instead of the classicizing auri talenta given by Kadłubek and the Vita s. Stanislai, the original, somewhat obscure account in Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.23, does not mention the promise, just the payment in gold marks (auri marcas). 174 I print and translate augmentum here, with mss. L J1 J2 J3 J4 and Kadłubek’s Chron. Pol. 2.18.3, instead of argumentum printed by Kętrzyński. 175 Or “by his purse,” according to a variant reading in mss. C1, L, and J4 , where Bolesław’s shocking gesture is thus somewhat attenuated. 176 In its original formulation, in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.4, this verse combines and slightly adapts two Vergilian formulae, hic uir, hic est quem (Aen. 6.791) and dignor honore (Aen. 1:335). 173

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Hic uir adest, nostro quem nos dignamur honore.176 Aspice, quantum gracie in Bolezlai conspectu auri gracia meruerit.a 27.177 Deinde Hungariam adire parat,178 uolens eciam super Danubium renouare metas regni Polonie. At illi primos aditus eidem armis obstruere contendunt, sed illorum truncata corpora plus impedimento fuere ingressuris, quam arma. Nam cruentus ianitor ensis, ianuas introitus et aperiendo clausit et claudendo aperuit. Trunci enim obices cadauerum gladio prostrati eciam uias fecerunt inuias,179 ut non sine difficultate transmeandi patuerit facultasb. Vi­ dens autem rex Vngarie Salomon180 tam sibi quam suis prelii imminere discrimen, pacem deprecatur,181 pacis offert conciliamina C milia talenta. Cui Bolezlaus: “Polonos,” inquit, “non delectat aurum habere, sed habentibus aurum imperare.c  182 Turpius enim est,” inquit, “precio uinci, quam prelio succumbere. Nec regibus conuenit institoria commercia tractare, quibus opus est armis, non opibus.”183 Victus itaque Salomon tam bello quam regno excessit;184 in locum cuius alumpnus Polonie Wladizlaus 185 munere Bolezlai in regnum successit.d 186

c d a

b

precibus – meruerit ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.4 (ed. Plezia, 53) deinde – facultas ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.5 (ed. Plezia, 53) uidens – imperare ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.6 (ed. Plezia, 53) turpius – successit ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.7 (ed. Plezia, 53)

This chapter reproduces with some additions, the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.5–7. 178 In 1077. 179 An image taken probably from Virgil, Aen. 3. 383 (longa procul longis uia diuidit inuia terris). 180 Solomon (d. 1087) ruled from 1063 to 1071. 181 The Vita s. Stanislai has a different text here than its source, Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.6, which reads prelium deprecatur “avoided the battle.” 182 Quoting from Cicero, De senect. 55. 183 I have tried to render in this way the wordplay in Latin between opus est “there is need for” and opibus “money.” 177

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Here is the man whom we have decided to weigh down with honors!176 So, you can see how much grace gracious gold did find in the eyes of Bolesław! 27.177 Then he made preparations to march to Hungary,178 wishing to restore the boundaries of the Polish realm on the Danube as well. However, the locals tried at first to hinder his approach by force of arms; but their dismembered corpses proved much more of a hindrance to his advance than their weapons. That is to say, the sword is a bloody gatekeeper, both opened the gates before him by closing them and closed them by opening them; the mutilated corpses of those felled by the sword turned even the pathways impassable,179 so that [the Poles] could make their way through with no small difficulty. When King Solomon of Hungary180 saw that the outcome of war was against both himself and his people, he sued for peace,181 offering as compensation one hundred thousand talents. Bolesław’s reply was: “Having gold gives no pleasure to the Poles, ruling over those who have gold does!182 Because yielding to bribery is much more of a disgrace than defeat falling in battle. Nor does it befit a king to engage in a salesman’s trade; his business should be arms, not money!”183 Therefore, Solomon, defeated, abandoned both the war and his kingdom184; through Bolesław’s favor, Ladislaus, whom Poland had fostered,185 took his throne.186

Another instance where the Vita s. Stanislai has a slightly different text than its source (Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.7), which reads tam regno quam opibus excessit “lost both the war and his money.” King Solomon was defeated, with Polish help, by his cousins Ladislaus, Géza, and Lampert in 1071. 185 Ladislaus had spent the first two decades of his life in exile in Poland and, according to Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.27, “had almost become a Pole in his ways and life” (trans. Knoll and Schaer, 97). 186 In fact, Solomon was succeeded by Géza (1071–1077). Ladislaus I (Hung. László) only became King of Hungary in 1077 and ruled until 1097. 184

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28. 187 Accidit interea instructissimas Australium ac Bohemorum Morauorumque188 acies in campestribus Polonie castra metari.189 Quos rex impiger a tergo precipiens omnem redeundi adimit facultatem. Cumque incautos occupare potuisset: “Absit, absit,” inquit, “ne nostre tytulus uictorie quodam insidiarum latrocinio furuescat.”a Sese presto nunciat, non improuidos iubet esse crastino secum bellum commissuros. At uero ille leo190 Bohemicus mox leonis feritatem deponens, vulpina induitur astucia. “Indignum est,” inquit, “ut tanti regis ad tam exiguos inclinetur dignacio, quinpocius in suorum tranquilitate castrorum crastinum a Bohemicis prestolari non dedignetur obsequium.” b Noctis igitur protecti clipeo fugam ineunt pro prelio. Quos trans Morauie fines insectatus aper dente insequitur fulmineo,191 non etati parcens, non generi, non condicioni, omnes autc 192 morti mancipat aut uinculis.d 29. 193 Rursus Pomoranis in confiniis Polonie predam agentibus,194 tamquam de reditu eius dubitantibus, preceps aduolat Bolezlaus, predones spaciosi fluminis interiectu iam securos conspicatur et accidit – furuescant ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.8 (ed. Plezia, 54) sese – obsequium ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.9 (ed. Plezia, 54) c aut J1 Kadł. : autem ed. Kęntrz. d noctis – uinculis ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.10 (ed. Plezia, 54) a

b

This chapter reproduces with some additions, the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.8–10. 188 The Moravians were added to the list by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai; they are not mentioned in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.8, which speaks only of Austrensium et Bohemorum acies. Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.24, the ultimate source for this narrative, mentions only the Bohemians. It is unclear who the Australes of the Vita s. Stanislai and the Austrenses of Kadłubek were. 189 The date of this expedition is not known. 190 Vratislav II, duke of Bohemia from 1061, then king (1085–1092). The animal metaphor is probably intended as an ironical (and anachronistic) allusion to the presence of a lion on the coat of arms of the Přemyslids after 1158, when Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa granted Vladislav II the title of King of Bohemia and the silver lion as a new device; see Dalimil’s Chronicle 48 (FRB 3, ed. Jireček, 98). In Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.24, the invading Czechs are compared to wolves. 187

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28.187 In the meanwhile it came to pass that the armies of Austrians, Bohemians, and Moravians,188 fully prepared for combat, had set their camps in the Polish plains.189 The energetic king fell upon them from behind, thus cutting off all possibilities for retreat. Yet, even though he could have caught them unawares, he thought: “Far be it that the glory of our victory should be clouded by any thievish subterfuge!” He immediately made his presence known and challenged them to battle the next day in full knowledge. That famous Bohemian lion,190 though, at once turned from a fierce lion into a crafty fox. “It hardly befits,” he said, “so great a king to lower himself (to approach) such mean people; he should, rather, deign to receive the next day the homage of the Bohemians in his own camp, at his ease.” Then, under the cover of the night they chose flight rather than fight. Like a boar with lightening tusks191 [Bolesław] pursued them well beyond the boundaries of Moravia, and showed no mercy for age, sex, or rank, but led them either192 to their death or in captivity. 29.193 When the Pomeranians once again crossed the borders of Poland and were driving away plunder,194 as if doubting that [the king] would ever return, Bolesław went back like lightning. He saw

For this expression, see Phaedrus, Fab. 1.21 (aper fulmineis ad eum uenit dentibus). I prefer to read here aut as in ms. J1 and in Kadłubek’s text against the autem printed by Kętrzyński. 193 This chapter reproduces, with omissions and some additions, the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.11. 194 The date of this attack is disputed, and the late 1060s and 1075 have been proposed; see, for instance, Gerard Labuda, “Zatargi z Czechami i Pomorzanami w pierwszym okresie rządów Bolesława Śmiałego (1058–1073)” [Battles with Czechs and Pomeranians in the first period of the reign of Bolesław the Bold (1058–1073)], Zapiski Historyczne 50 (1985): 33–49. The internal logic of the narrative here would favor a later date. 191

192

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rapidissimo inhesitantera 195 insiliens torrenti: “Amor,” inquit, “catulorum feras uenabulis impingit,”196 exclamat singulis:197 Occupet extremos scabies, me turpe relinqui!198 Multi ergo armorum pressi mole fluctibus inuoluuntur, perpauci cum rege uix enatant et licet inhermes de armata multitudine triumphant.b Ob hanc causam Poloni plenis armis uti de cetero obmiserunt.199 30. 200 Factum est autem, cum rex Bolezlaus exteras regiones suo stipatus exercitu peragraret et contra rebelles prelia multa committeret, iam septimus annus uertebatur,201 quo pro recuperandis terminis regni Polonie rarus in patria, continuus in castris, semper uero aput hostes morabatur. Que res reipublice quantum commodi et utilitatis attulit, tantum postmodum discriminis ingessit; quantumcunque in se honesti habuit exercitaminis, tantum fede peperit insolenciecac dissolucionis. Rege siquidem, ut dictum est, perdiutissime extra patriam immorante, interim uxores et filias dominorum serui ad sua uota inflectunt, quasdam exspectacione maritorum

inhesitanter Cz1 Kadł. : om. ed. Kęntrz. rursus – triumphant ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.11 (ed. Plezia, 54) c factum est – insolencie ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.12 (ed. Plezia, 54-55) a

b

Against Kętrzyński I have restored to the text inhesitanter, attested by ms. Cz1 and the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.11. 196 A slightly rewritten quote from Seneca, Ad Lucillium 74.21 ( feras catulorum amor in uenabula inpingit). 197 Unlike Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.11, where the following versified battle cry is attributed to every single soldier (exclamant singuli), the text of the Vita s. Stanislai transforms it into an exhortation addressed by the king to all his followers (exclamat singulis). This seems intentional, as suggested by the changes to the text of the battle cry itself (see next footnote). 198 Taken from Horace, Ars poetica 417, but reworked in significantly different ways in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.11, where Horace is quoted verbatim, and here in the Vita s. Stanislai, which changes the syntax (with extremos and me instead of the original extremum and mihi) and attributes these words to the king alone, who takes center stage and is construed as a fearless leader. 195

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that the robbers had already crossed back to safety, to the other side of a great river. He darted without hesitation195 into the fast-flowing stream, saying: “Love for their young makes even wild beasts jump straight into the hunter’s spear!”196 Then he shouted back to each one of [his soldiers]197: Whoever’s last, the devil take them! And shame on those who fall behind me!198 So, many were dragged under by the weight of their armor and swept away by the waves; only a few swam over together with the king, and, although barely armed, they defeated a great multitude of enemies in arms. This is why from that day onward the Poles no longer went to battle in full armor.199 30.200 And it came to pass that, as King Bolesław with his army was making his way through foreign lands and fighting many battles against rebels, he had now spent seven years201 restoring the boundaries of the Polish realm, being rarely at home, forever in the army camp, and always close to his enemies. But just as much as this brought to the state advantage and benefit, it would equally cause discord afterwards; just as much as it gave his noble bravery a chance to shine, in the same way it allowed shameful arrogance and dissoluteness to flourish. For while the king was tarrying so very long out of the country, as it has already been said, the servants

This aetiological addition by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai, not present in the corresponding account of Kadłubek, summarizes the similar explanation in the narrative of these events in Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.25. 200 This chapter reproduces with some additions, the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.12–14. 201 Like most of this sentence, such precise chronological information (of unknown provenance) is absent from Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.12–13, which served as the source for most of the present chapter; there Bolesław is said to have spent a very long time (perdiutissime) abroad. If based on a reliable tradition, the figure in the Vita s. Stanislai would suggest that the series of military conflicts detailed in the previous chapters should be dated to the period ca. 1071–1078. 199

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fessas, alias desperacione deceptas, vi nonnullas ad seruiles amplexus pertractas.a Denique serui, ut scriptum est,202 delicate enutriti, proteruientes in dominos suos lares ipsorum et cubilia occupant, municipia contra reuersuros firmant et non solum municiones exstruunt, uerum eciam reuersuris bellum infliguntb  203. At uero nobiles Poloni, qui cum rege fuerant in castris multo tempore demorati, comperta fama tante prodicionis ac sceleris perpetrati, zelo iniurie uindicande animis concitati, contra regis imperium reuersi sunt in Poloniam illicenciati. Tandem seruorum municionibus uix expugnatis204 pro singulari temeritate singularibus eos et inauditis perdiderunt suppliciis. Sed et feminas, que ultro seruis consenserant ac legittimi thori preuaricatrices extiterant, propter facinus atrocissimum et nulli prorsus flagicio conferendum penis atrocissimis peremerunt.c 31. 205 Extunc olea in oleastrum et fauus uersus est in absintium.d 206 Bolezlaus etenim intermisso studio uirtutume sentina factus est omnium uiciorum et carnis sue sequens luxuriam, gloriam suam in ignominiam et naturalem usum mutauit in eum usum, qui est c d e a

b

rege – pertractas ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.13 (ed. Plezia, 55) in dominos – infligunt ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.14 (ed. Plezia, 55) pro singulari – peremerunt ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.14 (ed. Plezia, 55) extunc – absintium huc transtuli extunc – uirtutum ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.1 (ed. Plezia, 56)

Cf. Prov. 29:21. As it was noted long ago, this account of the servants’ rebellion in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.13–14 is based on a similar narrative in Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.19, which, however, refers to events during the troubled period preceding the reign of Casimir I the Restorer. See Paweł Żmudzki, “New Versions of the Tales of Gallus Anonymus in the Chronicle of Master Vincentius,” Acta Poloniae Historica 112 (2015): 141–57, here 142–43. 204 There is no corresponding passage detailing the reaction of the nobles in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.18.14 205 This chapter reproduces, with some changes and significant additions, the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.1–2. At this point, I have not followed Kętrzyński’s division of the text, which, in the absence of chapter divisions in the manuscript 202 203

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[of the noblemen] forced the wives and the daughters of their masters to satisfy their wishes: some of the women because they had grown tired of waiting for their husbands, others because they had fallen prey to despair, while some others were coerced into their servants’ embraces. In the end the servants, becoming spoilt by their circumstances, as it is written,202 grew insolent against their masters, occupied their hearths and their beds, fortified the cities against their return, and, not content with building defenses, even took up arms against their returning masters.203 As for the Polish nobles, who had spent a long time abroad campaigning with the king, once the news of such great treason and of the crimes committed had reached their ears, their spirits were inflamed with the urge to avenge such injury, so they returned to Poland against their king’s order and without permission. At last, they managed with great effort to seize the strongholds of their servants,204 and their singular audacity was punished with singular and unheard-of tortures followed by death. The women, too, who had gone along with their servants and had become defilers of their nuptial beds, were punished with terrible punishments for their most wicked crime, which bears no comparison with any other infamy. 31.205 And it was then that the good olive tree grew wild and the honeycomb turned into wormwood.206 In fact, once Bolesław had abandoned his pursuit of virtue, he became the bilge of all vices; and, following the wantonness of his flesh, he exchanged his glory for infamy and changed natural use into that use which is against tradition of the VMi, seems arbitrary. I have attached the last sentence of his ch. 31 to the beginning of ch. 32; as suggested by the structure of the corresponding text in Kadłubek’s chronicle and by the very logic of the narrative, the two belong together. In the VMa, on whose structure Kętrzyński based his chapter division of the VMi, the passage in question does not occur. 206 An elaborate biblical allusion; see Rom. 11:24: “For if you were cut out of the wild olive tree (oleastro), which is natural to you, how much more shall they that are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree (oliuae)?” and Prov. 5:3–4: “For the lips of a harlot are like a honeycomb ( fauus) dropping [. . .], but her end is bitter as wormwood (absinthium).”

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contra naturam.207 Post multas quoque cedes et uictorias eleuatus in superbiam,208 belue rugientis induens seuiciam, efferatis animis in Poloniam rediit et in suos ab hostibus bellum intorsit; fingit illos iniurias suas non in plebe ulcisci, sed in rege regiam maiestatem persequi. “Gloria enim,” inquit, “principis in multitudine plebis;209 plebe uero remota, rex quid erit?” Ait eciam sibi non placere uiros uxorios, quibus plus placeat causa feminea quam principis obsequela. Conqueritur nichilominus se non tam aput hostes ab ipsis desertum, quam hostibus ultro et studiose expositum.a Proinde maiores et precipuos capitis abscisione dampnat et quos aperte capere et perimere ueretur insidiis aggreditur. Mulieres quoque, quibus mariti pepercerunt ducti humana mansuetudine,210 tanta insectatus est inhumanitate,b 211 ut ad earum ubera catulos applicare non horruerit, infantulis abiectis,212 quibus eciam hostis pepercisset, si Scita uel gentilis fuisset.213 Astruebat enim oportere pocius exstirpari quam scortorum scandala foueri.c Quot mulieres ingenue, quot matrone nobiles, quot maritate pudice seruili prostitute sunt incestui, habite hostentui, denique quot seruorum in dominos conspirata est malicia, quot capita suppliciis exposita, hoc de illa exiciali uena emanauit,d hoc de fonte amaritudinis eius processit.214

in suos – expositum ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.1 (ed. Plezia, 56) inhumanitate J2 J3VMaKadł. : immanitate ed. Kęntrz. c proinde – foueri ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.2 (ed. Plezia, 56) d quot – emanauit ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.12 (ed. Plezia, 56) a

b

Rom. 1:26. This moral explanation for the king’s behavior is an original contribution of the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. 208 Cf. Deut. 17:20 (nec eleuetur cor eius in superbiam). 209 This dictum is an independent addition by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. 210 This justification was added by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai to Kadłubek’s account. 211 Reading inhumanitate as in mss. J2 and J3 and the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.2 instead of immanitate printed by Kętrzyński. 212 A similar image appears three times in Cosmas of Prague, Chron. Boh. 11.10, 12, 13 (MHG SS rer. Germ. n.s. 2, ed. Bretholz, 24, 27, 31). 207

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nature.207 After so many battles and victories, he was lifted up with pride,208 took on the ferocity of a bellowing beast, returned to Poland with raging mind, and instead of his enemies began waging war against his own people. He claimed that [his nobles] were no longer avenging their injustices on the commoners, but attacking the king and his royal majesty. “What makes a ruler glorious,” he said, “is the number of his people;209 once the people are done away with, what is left of the king?” He also told them that he did not like his men to be under their women’s heel, putting their women’s interests above the obedience they owed their king. He then complained that they had not so much as left him to face the enemy alone, as they had betrayed him outright and with ill intent. He then condemned the first and foremost among his nobles to capital punishment; those whom he did not dare capture and put to death openly he attacked stealthily through subterfuges. Even those women whom their own husbands, moved by humane compassion,210 spared, he persecuted with such inhumanity211 that he did not shrink from having their babies snatched from their breasts and replaced with the young of dogs.212 Even an enemy—nay, even a Scythian or a pagan!213— would have taken pity on them! His justification for this was that such scandalous prostitution should be eradicated, not tolerated. So many highborn women, so many noble matrons, so many chaste wives were forced into prostituting themselves with their servants, then held up to public scorn, so many wicked servants conspired against their masters, so much pain was inflicted on so many people! This was the nefarious fount from which all this poured forth, the spring of bitterness from whence it all flowed!214 213 A rhetorical addition by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. As often in works influenced by the Graeco-Roman tradition, the Scythians function here as a classicizing paragon of barbaric Otherness, whose distinctive features include, among other things, beast-like appearance and lifestyle as well as excessive cruelty, even cannibalism; see, for instance, Benjamin Isaac, The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2004), 207–8. 214 This elaborate invective reproduces, with significant rhetorical amplification, Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.12; unlike here, however, in the original these recriminations do not serve as a justification leading to the bishop’s murder, but as a passionate self-defense after the fact by King Bolesław right before his death in exile.

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32. 215 Quem sanctus Stanizlaus Cracouiensis episcopus216 cum ab hac truculencia paterne non posset reuocare, premissa ammonicione prius quidem illi regni comminatur excidium, tandem anathematis intentat gladium, ecclesie quoque denegat introitum.217 At ille, ut lignum tortuosum et aridum, quod facilius frangi potest quam dirigi, inmaniori uesania induitur,a maiori obstinacione induratur. Itaque in ecclesia sancti Michaelis deb Rupella218 sancto presule Stanizlao diuina misteria celebrante et patrocinia sanctorum implorante, iuxta aram inter infulas, non ordinis, non loci, non temporis, non sanctorum, non diuinam reueritus maiestatem,219 corripi et ab ara trahi iubet antistitem. Ad quem satellites atrocissimi quociens irruere temptant, tociens cadunt, tociens compuncti ruunt, tercio prostrati mansuescunt.220 Quos tyrannus obiurgans indignantissimec: “O,” inquit, “ignaui et degeneres, non potestis unum sacerdotem trahere?” Deinde irruens ut Dohec Ydumeus221 in Christum222 dominum223 manus iniecit uiolentas.224 Ipse sponsum quem – induitur ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.3 (ed. Plezia, 56-57) in J3 J4 Cz1Cz2 c itaque – indignantissime ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.4 (ed. Plezia, 57)

a

b

The present chapter reproduces, with considerable rhetorical amplification and significant independent additions, Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.3–5. In this form, the text provided what would become the standard depiction of St. Stanislaus’ martyrdom at the hands of King Bolesław II and his henchmen throughout the Middle Ages and well into the modern times. 216 This replaces the superlative formulation sacerrimus pontifex “the most holy bishop” of Kadłubek’s original. 217 The references to paternal guidance, preliminary admonition, and to the interdiction from the church are independent additions by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai meant to emphasize both the prelate’s patience and his strict adherence to correct procedure here contrasted to the king’s disregard for any rules in his rage. 218 The identification of the place of martyrdom as the Church of St. Michael on the Rock (de Rupella/Skałka) is another one of the many independent additions of the author of the Vita s. Stanislai in this chapter, possibly based on a local tradition. Kadłubek did not identify the place of martyrdom but provided the information that the Church of St. Michael was the first resting place of the murdered bishop (see Chron. Pol. 2.20.8, repeated below, in ch. 33 of the VMi). Skałka (“little rock”) is a small outcrop in Cracow on what used to be an island on the river Vistula, south of Wawel, the larger limestone outcrop on which the royal castle and the cathedral were built. 215

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32.215 Saint Stanislaus, the bishop of Cracow,216 tried to recall the king from his truculent ways through paternal guidance, but to no avail; he then reprimanded him, threatening him at first with the downfall of his rule, then, in the end, wielding against him the sword of excommunication and prohibiting him from entering the church.217 The king, however, like a crooked and dried up tree which is more easily broken than straightened, descended into ever more terrible madness, and into ever harder obstinacy. And so, at the very time as the holy bishop Stanislaus was celebrating the divine mysteries in the church of Saint Michael on the Rock,218 he ordered him, in full liturgical garb, and even as he implored the protection of the saints, to be seized and dragged from the altar, despite the bishop’s rank and despite the solemnity of the place and time, with no regard for the sanctity of God and his saints.219 His murderous henchmen tried to fall upon [the bishop], but every time they fell down, every time they collapsed stricken with regret, [until] after the third attempt they lay prostrate, their anger tamed.220 Furious with anger the tyrant rebuked them: “O you worthless and degenerate knaves! Can’t you drag away one single priest?” And then he himself charged and laid [on him] his murderous221 hands just as Doeg the Edomite222 had done against Christ223 our Lord.224

The reference to God and his saints was added by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. In the corresponding passage in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.4 there is no mention of three failed attempts, just a statement that the would-be assassins were overcome by compunction and lay prostrate after every single attempt. 221 This replaced the much stronger formulation (manus sacrilegas “sacrilegious hands”) in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.4. 222 See 1 Kings 22:18–19; Following the orders of King Saul, Doeg the Edomite killed eighty-five priests and butchered the entire population of the priestly city of Nob along with all their animals, thus becoming a paragon of murderous cruelty. 223 In fact, against David, the ancestor and often, in theological interpretation, a type of Christ; see, for instance, Matt. 1:1. 224 The words attributed here to Bolesław and the biblical comparison are independent additions by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. Stanislaus was martyred on April 11, 1079. 219

220

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a gremio sponse, pastorem ab ouili ,a 225 ipse patrem inter filie amplexus et filium in maternis pene obtruncat uisceribus.b O luctuosum, oc transfunebre funeris spectaculum!226 Sanctum prophanus,227 pium sceleratus, presulem sacrilegusd crudeli gladio prosternit et diris vulneribus impressis, saciato sanguine ense,228 hostiam Christi efficit. Sic iustus cadit coram impio,229 sic bonus pastor moritur pro grege suo,230 sic granum frumenti cadens in terram231 surgit in uberem spicam232 et transit in horreum Domini233 excussa palea, sic miles Christi, sic athleta Domini agonizat pro iusticia,234 sic Naboth uerus moritur in area, ne in ortum olerum transeat uinea.235 Clamat in celum uox fusi sanguinis,236 terra non silet sudans aspersione rosei cruoris, ipse quoque gladius parricide cruentatus martiris sanguine perpetrati sceleris uindictam expetit in auctore. Sic cruentissimus innoxium scelestis manibus martirem237 gloriosum interimit, membratim discerpit,238 singulos artus perminutissime

abstrahit suppleuit Kęntrz. e textu Chronicae Kadł. deinde – uisceribus ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.4 (ed. Plezia, 57) c o Cz1Cz2VMaKadł. : om. ed. Kęntrz. d o luctuosum – sacrilegus ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.5 (ed. Plezia, 57) a

b

225 The verb abstrahit is missing from all mss.; Kętrzyński supplied it from the corresponding passage of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.4. 226 Unlike Kętrzyński, I have kept in the text the repeated interjection as in mss. Cz1 and Cz2 and the mss. of the VMa and Kadłubek’s Chron. Pol. 2.20.5. 227 The extensive denunciation that follows, with its vivid imagery, elaborate theological framework, and numerous biblical allusions, is an independent addition by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. 228 As indicated by these verbatim quotations, the author of the Vita s. Stanislai used the already existing account of the martyrdom of St. Peter of Verona (d. April 6, 1252), a Dominican friar canonized on March 9, 1253, to supplement the account of St. Stanislaus’ martyrdom he borrowed from Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.5. Cf. Iacopo da Varazze, Legenda aurea 61.59, ed. Maggioni, vol. 1, 426: diris in ipsum impressis uulneribus et satiato sanguine iusti ense. 229 Prov. 25:26 (iustus cadens coram impio).

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He  himself dragged away225 the husband from the bosom of his wife, the shepherd from his fold; he himself cut down the father in his daughter’s embrace and the son almost in his mother’s womb. O sorrowful sight, 226 atrocious beyond all atrocity! The holy man cut down by a profane villian’s cruel blade, the righteous man227 inflicted with gruesome wounds by a wicked murderer, whose sacrilegious sword was satiated with blood228 only once it had turned the bishop into a sacrificial victim to Christ. So falls a just man before the wicked,229 so the good shepherd lays down his life for his flock,230 and so the grain of wheat, falling on the earth,231 rises once again as a fruitful ear,232 and after it is threshed and separated from the chaff it passes into the granary of the Lord!233 So the soldier of Christ, so the athlete of the Lord strives for justice,234 so the true Naboth dies on the ground, rather than let his vineyard be turned into a vegetable garden!235 The voice of the spilt blood cries out to heaven,236 the earth does not remain silent as it oozes the red blood spilt unto it; and the very sword of the parricide, running with the martyr’s blood, clamors for revenge against the perpetrator of the crime. So did that most blood-thirsty murderer kill the glorious and blameless martyr237 with his own wicked hands, tearing limb from limb238 and cutting each into the smallest pieces which he then scattered

Cf. John 10:11. Cf. John 12:24. 232 Cf. Mark 4:28. 233 Cf. Matt. 3:12, Luke 3:17. 234 Cf. Eccles. 4:33. 235 Cf. 3 Kings 21:1–14. 236 Cf. Gen. 4:10. 237 The reference to Stanislaus as a martyr is not present in the corresponding passage in Kadłubek’s Chronicle (for which, see below n. 240). 238 Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.27 described the dismemberment of the dead bishop as a truncacio membrorum “cutting off of the limbs,” which he regarded as a shameful act of retribution against the “traitor bishop” (traditorem episcopum). 230 231

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dissecans bestiis et uolucribus celi in omnem dispergit uentum,239 acsi a singulis membrorum partibus pena exigi debuisseta et memoriam nominis eius auferre de sub celo credidisset.240 33. Sed Deus omnipotens, qui in suis operibus semper est laudabilis et gloriosus,241 ad declarandas et custodiendas martiris exequias celestes et terrenas deputauit creaturas.242 Ex quatuor namque mundi partibus a Deo misse243 quatuor aduolare uise sunt aquile, que sublimius locum passionis circinantes a contactu sacri corporis244 abigerent vultures aliosque sanguipetas alites. Cuius in custodele reuerencia peruigili diem nocti et noctem continuant diei. Noctem appellem an diem? diem pocius dixerim quam noctem. Hec enim altera nox est, de qua scriptum est: et nox sicut dies illuminabitur.b  245 Mire quoque rutilancie tot in singulis locis celitus diuine fulserunt lampades, quot sacri corporis disperse sunt partes. Videres tunc ipsum celum dedisse246 terre suum ornatum et gloriam, quam quorundam decore syderum et quibusdam putares solis radiis distinctam.c Hac uero alacritate miraculi animati ac zelo deuocionis quidam patrum247 accensi sparsas membrorum minu sic – debuisset ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.5 (ed. Plezia, 57) ex quatuor – illuminabitur ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.6 (ed. Plezia, 57) c mire – distinctam ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.7 (ed. Plezia, 57) a

b

The image of the body scattered to the winds to become the prey of various predators is an independent addition by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. 240 The last sentence of the present chapter reproduces and considerably enlarges Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.5. The very last words, another independent addition by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai, are an adaptation of Exod. 17:14 (delebo memoriam Amalech de sub caelo). 241 Cf. Dan. 3:26 (laudabilis et gloriosum nomen tuum). 242 This introductory sentence is an independent addition by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. The rest of this chapter reproduces, with a few changes, Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.6–8. 243 “Sent by God” is an addition to Kadłubek’s text. 244 The reference to the “holy body” is an addition by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. A similar story about an eagle keeping watch over a saint’s relics is told at the end of the anonymous Passio of Tegernsee of St. Adalbert of Prague [BHL 40], a hagiog239

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to the four winds for the wild beasts and the birds of prey [to devour],239 as if he had to exact punishment from every single part of his body and to wipe the memory of his name from under heaven.240 33. But Almighty God, who is always worthy of praise and glorious in his works,241 entrusted the creatures of the earth and of the sky with revealing and guarding the relics of the martyr.242 So from the four corners of the earth there came four eagles sent by God,243 which circled high above the place of martyrdom and kept away the vultures and other birds of prey from the holy body.244 They mounted guard over it with watchful reverence day and night, night and day. Was it truly night, though, or was it day? I should rather call it day than night, because it seemed like that other night, of which the Scripture says: And night shall be light all the day.245 Divine lights shone forth from the sky with wondrous brilliance over every single spot where a part of the holy body had been scattered. One could then have seen that the sky had lent246 its beauty and its glory to the earth, which seemed resplendent as if enveloped in both starlight and sunlight all at once. Prompted by this sudden miracle and driven by their fervent devotion, some of the fathers247 were raphic text of probable Polish provenance composed in the first quarter of the eleventh century. For this text, see the editions by Anna Rutkowska-Płachcińska, “Pasje świętych Wojciecha i Brunona z tzw. kodeksu z Tegernsee” [The Martyrdoms of SS. Adalbert and Bruno in the so-called codex of Tegernsee], Studia Źródłoznawcze 40 (2002): 19–41, here 40 and Miłosz Sosnowski, “Anonimowa Passio s. Adalperti martiris (BHL 40) oraz Wiperta Historia de predicatione episcopi Brunonis (BHL 1471b)—komentarz, edycja, przekład” [The anonymous Passio s. Adalperti martiris (BHL 40) and Wipert’s Historia de predicatione episcopi Brunonis (BHL 1471b): Commentary, edition, translation], Rocznik Biblioteki Narodowej 43 (2012): 5–74, here 68–70. 245 Ps. 138:12. 246 Both versions of the Vita s. Stanislai read dedisse. But this is based on a misreading of the Latin in Kadłubek’s Chron. Pol. 2.20.7, which served as starting point for the present passage; there the sky is said to “be envious” (inuidisse) of the earth. 247 The precise identity of these anonymous “fathers,” taken over by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai from his source, is unknown; according to Plezia (in his notes to Pleziowa’s translation, 149, n. 3 to ch. 33), they could be the canons of the local cathedral chapter.

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cias colligere gestiunt, pedetentim ad locum passionis accedunt, corpus integerrimum eciam sine cicatricum notamine reperiunt, tollunt, asportant et aput eandem basilicam sancti Michaelis iuxta introitum248 diuinis conditum aromatibus recondunt. Vnde usque ad translacionis diem, quo sacrosanctum corpus eius delatum est ad ecclesiam maiorem,249 iugis dictarum splendor lampadum non discessit.a 250 34. 251 Per decennium, quo gleba corporis beati Stanizlay martiris ad basilicam sancti Michaelis sepulta quieuit,252 celestium ibidem luminum fulgor crebro de nocteb multis apparuit.253 In eadem basilica ipse beatus Stanizlaus a plerisque uisus est pontificalibus indutus cum personis uenerabilibus ad aram stare et diuina sacramenta peragere ac pontificalem benediccionem asstantibus dare. Visus est eciam stans in medio choris alternantibus psalmos Dauiticos decantare et uocibus altisonis laudes et ymnos Domino resonare. Sepulchrum eius quibusdam uiris et feminis asstantibus et furtiuas uigilias facientibus ibidem interdum in oracione pernoctantibus beatus uir frequenter apparuit et de multis, que ad salutem pertinent, edocuit. Tumbam ipsius deuote contingentibus et aliquid de puluere capientibus tactus huiuscemodi et multas infirmitates curauit et morbos turgentes depulit. Postquam uero anno decimo hac – discessit ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.8 (ed. Plezia, 57-58), unde – discessit huc transtuli b deuotis J1 J2 J3 J4 Cz1Cz2 a

248 The exact location is not given in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.8; the author of the Vita s. Stanislai specified it possibly on the basis of a local tradition concerning the saint’s initial burial place. 249 The mention of the greater church, i.e., the Wawel Cathedral, does not occur in Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.8. 250 Following the structure of Kadłubek’s Chron. Pol. and the chapter division of the VMa, I have moved this sentence here from the beginning of ch. 34, where it is printed in Kętrzyński’s ed. 251 The entire present chapter, as printed here, is an original contribution by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. 252 The chronology of this translatio is still a disputed topic; according to both the vitae and the Shorter Cracow Annals, it occurred in 1088/1089. M. Plezia has ar-

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eager to gather the scattered remains of the saint’s body. Step by step they drew near the place of the martyr’s passion, and found his body whole and sound without even the least trace of a wound; they lifted it, carried it away, and laid it to rest, covered in holy spices, in the same church of Saint Michael, near the entrance.248 And since then and up to the day of his translation, when his sacred corpse was moved to the greater church,249 the light of the luminaries mentioned above continued unextinguished.250 34.251 For ten years, during which time the earthly remains of Saint Stanislaus the martyr lay entombed in the church of Saint Michael,252 the radiance of celestial lights often appeared at night253 to many people at that place. It was in the same church that Saint Stanislaus himself appeared to many, clothed in episcopal garb, standing at the altar in reverend company, celebrating the divine sacraments and giving his episcopal blessing to those present. He also appeared standing in between the two choirs, chanting the psalms of David and singing in resounding tones hymns of praise to the Lord. The holy man also appeared often to the men and women who kept secret vigil and passed the night in prayer at his tomb, instructing them about many things leading to salvation. For those who touched his tomb with devotion and collected a little dust [from it] he cured many illnesses and chased away many raging diseases by his touch. And ten years later, when his corpse was translatgued against such an early date and suggests that the transfer of the relics could only have happened after 1142, when the so-called Second Romanesque Cathedral on the Wawel Hill was consecrated. Finally, a third scenario would have the relics translated twice: first from Skałka to the Church of St. Gereon on Wawel Hill in 1088, then from there to the newly-consecrated cathedral in 1142. On this, see the discussion and the literature quoted in Agnieszka Rożnowska-Sadraei, Pater Patriae: The Cult of Saint Stanislaus and the Patronage of Polish Kings 1200–1455 (Cracow: Unum, 2008), 17–26. 253 Most mss. have a significant variant here, according to which the saint appeared not at night, but rather “to [many of] the faithful (deuotis).” Both readings are likely to go back to a fuller version of the Vita s. Stanislai, which has survived in VMa II 21 (ed. Kętrzyński, 389), where both de nocte and deuotorum hominum appear in a passage whose rhymed prose structure is still intact.

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ad ecclesiam beati Wencezlai254 corpus ipsius translatum fuit, longum est enarrare, quot et quantis signis similibus et multo maioribus Dominus sanctum suum mirificauit.255 35. 256 At uero Boleslaus parricida cruentissimus,257 quem non malicie consciencia fecit humilem, sed sceleris audacia reddidit contumacem, factus sicut Kayn uagus et profugus258ac diuina ulcione perterritus, non minus patrie quam patribus inuisus secessit in Ungariam259 expulsus.a Hic quidem ab inicio bonum uirtutis iecisse uidetur fundamentum, sed terra sabulosa dehiscente omne opus, quod uidebatur esse de genere uirtutum,260 corruit in abyssum.b Nam quod strennuitatis in illo fuit, profundo uiciorum inuoluitur, quod uero liberalitatis extitit, uento ambicionis exsufflatur.c Deinde non multo post inaudito languore correptus et in amenciam cecidit et mortem sibi consciuit.261 Mesco uero filius eius in primo pubertatis flore ueneno interiit262 et sic tota domus Bolezlai corruit263 quem non – expulsus ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.9 (ed. Plezia, 58) hic – abyssum ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.21.1 (ed. Plezia, 59-60) c nam quod – exsufflatur ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.21.2 (ed. Plezia, 60) a

b

As Plezia noted in his notes to Pleziowa’s translation, 149, n. 4 to ch. 34, this first account of the miracles of the saint is remarkably vague and generic, and its source is unknown. This might reflect the fact that prior to the production of the first collection of miracles as part of the canonization procedure in 1252, which contains only contemporary or recent miracles, no such accounts were available. See the discussion in Kuzmová, Preaching, 27–32. 255 The Cathedral on the Wawel Hill was dedicated to St. Wenceslas. 256 For the last chapter of the VMi, its author has combined the text of Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.9, 2.21.1–2, and 2.20.15 (in this order) and added a few contributions of his own. 257 This characterization of King Bolesław is independent of Kadłubek’s chronicle. 258 Gen. 4:12. The reference to Cain is the addition of the author of the Vita s. Stani­ slai. 259 In 1079, probably soon after the murder of St. Stanislaus. For Bolesław’s reception in Hungary by King Ladislaus I and his death there, see Gallus, Chron. 1.28. 260 This phrase is another independent addition by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. 261 In 1082, according to the Annals of the Cathedral Chapter in Cracow. This account of the king’s death goes back partly to Kadłubek (the unprecedented disease 254

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ed to the church of Saint Wenceslas, it would take long to tell how many and how great were the miracles similar to these (and others even greater!)254 through which the Lord glorified his saint.255 35.256 As for Bolesław, that most blood-thirsty parricide,257 who was not made any humbler by consciousness of guilt, but rather even more obstinate by the audacity of his wickedness, he became similar to Cain, a fugitive and a vagabond,258 in dread of divine retribution; and becoming odious no less to his homeland than to the grandees of his realm, he was expelled, and withdrew to Hungary.259 This man, to be sure, seemed at the start to lay the solid fundament for a virtuous life, but the ground proved to be nothing but quicksand; it opened up and all his work, virtuous only in appearance,260 crumbled into the abyss. Whatever zeal there was in him was overwhelmed by his vices, whatever goodness he had was blown away by the gusts of his ambition. In the end, not long after, he fell prey to a disease unknown until then, lapsed into madness, and took his own life.261 Then Mieszko, his son, perished by poison262 in the first bloom of his youth; and so the entire house of Bolesław fell to ruin,263 and thus paid the price for [the martyrdom of] Saint Staniand suicide) and partly to information provided independently from unknown sources by the author of the Vita s. Stanislai (the insanity); both are topoi associated with a well-established rhetorical tradition, which ascribes to persecutors the most gruesome deaths imaginable. Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.28 implies that the Hungarians had a hand in the king’s death. 262 Mieszko returned to Poland in 1086 and died in 1089 in questionable circumstances; the information that he was poisoned goes back to Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.29. 263 The word corruit “fell into ruin” is an independent addition of the author of the Vita s. Stanislai. While it ostensibly serves the purpose of creating a rhyme with exsoluit at the end of the next colon, it introduces into the text an image absent from Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.9, which contains only the general idea of paying the price for the bishop’s murder. In fact, even after the death of Bolesław II, Poland continued to be ruled by members of his lineage; he was succeeded by his brother, Władysław I Herman (b. 1042, d. 1102), who ruled as duke from 1079 to 1102, and then by his son, duke Bolesław III Wrymouth (b. 1086, d. 1138), from 1102 to 1138. In the VMa II 26, the political implications of the king’s demise are clearly articulated by reference to “the loss of the crown of Poland” and the fact that Bolesław II’s successors ruled as dukes, not as kings.

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et beato martiri Stanizlao penas exsoluit.a Notandum264 quoque quod sicut per modestiam et pietatem magni regis Bolezlai corona Polonie aucta creuit, sic per istius Bolezlai seuiciam et impietatem regnum decreuit et corona Polonie tandem prorsus cecidit. Et quemadmodum ille sue gentis imperium dilatauit, sic iste nobiles Polonie et populum perimendo non solum regni gloriam minorauit, sed et Poloniam in solitudinem265 redegit. Et sicut ille reditus ecclesie limitando donis regalibus ampliauit et pontificale ius honorauit, sic iste sanctum Dei presulem Stanizlaum crudeliter mactando regale sacerdocium prophanauit.266

non multo – exsoluit ≈ Kadłubek, Chron. Pol. 2.20.15 (ed. Plezia, 59)

a

The last part of this chapter, where the author of the Vita s. Stanislai returns to the comparison of the first two Polish kings named Bolesław is not dependent on Kadłubek’s chronicle. 265 A biblical phrase; see, for instance, Gen. 47:19, Exod. 23:29, Lev. 26:31, Jer. 50:3. 266 Possibly inspired by the terminology used in Gallus, Chron. Pol. 1.27, which describes Stanislaus’ murder in terms of an anointed man (christus) taking bodily retribution on another anointed man (in christum) for some wrong (peccatum). 264

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slaus. It264 should also be remembered that just as the Polish crown grew and increased through the moderation and piety of King Bolesław the Great, so the Polish realm decreased, and the Polish crown was eventually brought down through the cruelty and the impiety of this other Bolesław. And just as the former had increased the power of his nation, the latter, by killing Poland’s nobles and its people, did not only diminish the glory of his rule, but also turned Poland into a wilderness.265 And just as the former established firmly the income of the church, enlarged it through royal gifts, and respected the rights of its bishops, the latter, by cruelly murdering God’s holy bishop Stanislaus, desecrated the royal priesthood.266

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SECONDARY LITERATURE Aigrain, René. L’ hagiographie: Ses sources, ses méthodes, son histoire. Paris: Bloud & Gay, 1953. Reprinted with updated bibliographical references by Robert Godding, Bruxelles: Société des Bollandistes, 2000. Bácsatyai, Dániel. “Az Imre-legenda Konrád-csodájának hagiográfiai forrásai” [The hagiographic sources of the Konrad miracle of the Emeric legend]. Magyar Könyvszemle (2014): 141–62. Bagi, Dániel. Divisio Regni: The Territorial Divisions, Power Struggles and Dynastic Historiography of the Árpáds of 11th and early 12th century Hungary. Budapest: Research Centre of the Humanities, 2020.  ———. Gallus Anonymus és Magyarország [Gallus Anonymus and Hungary]. Budapest: Argumentum, 2005. ———. “Gallus Anonymus und die Hartvik-Legende über den Erwerb der Alleinherrschaft von Bolesław III. bzw. Koloman dem Buchkundigen.” Frühmittelalterliche Studien: Jahrbuch des Instituts für Frühmittelalterforschung der Universität Münster 43 (2009): 453–59. Bak, János M. “‘Linguistic Pluralism’ in Medieval Hungary.” In The Culture of Christendom: Essays in Medieval History in Commemoration of Denis L. T. Bethell, edited by Marc Anthony Meyer. London: The Hambledon Press, 1994: 269–79. ———. “Hagiography and Chronicles.” In Promoting the Saints: Cults in Their Contexts from Late Antiquity until the Early Modern Period; Essays in Honor of Gábor Klaniczay for His 60th Birthday. Edited by Ottó Gecser, József Laszlovszky, Balázs Nagy, Marcell Sebők, and Katalin Szende. Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2011: 51–58. Balogh, József. “Saint Gerard of Csanád and the ‘Symphonia Ungarorum.’” Music and Letters 29 (1948): 356–65. ———. “Szent István ‘Intelmei’-nek forrásai” [Sources of the Admonitions of Saint Stephen]. In Emlékkönyv Szent István király halálának kilencszázadik évfordulóján, edited by Jusztinián Serédi. Budapest: MTA, 1938: vol. 2, 235–65. ———. “‘…unius linguae uniusque moris regnum imbecille et fragile est’: Riflessioni sugli ammonimenti di Santo Stefano, primo re d’Ungheria.” Corvina, N. S. 7 (1944): 46–64. Banaszkiewicz, Jacek. “Prolog do Rocznika kapituły krakowskiej, św. Stanisław i czas historyczny” [The prologue to the Annals of the

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———. “Ransanus krónikája Géza–Szt. István fejezetének forrásproblémája” [The problem of the source of the chapter on Géza and Saint Stephen in Ranzanus’ Chronicle]. Magyar Könyvszemle 106 (1990): 99–112. ———, ed. Szent István és az államalapítás [Saint Stephen and the foundation of the state]. Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, 2002. Vidmanová, Anežka. “La branche tchèque de la Légende dorée.” In Legenda aurea, sept siècles de diffusion, edited by Brenda Dunn-Lardeau. Montréal: Bellarmin–Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 1986: 291–98. Vlasto, Alexis P. The Entry of the Slavs in Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970. Warner, David. A., ed. Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001. Węcowski, Piotr. “Strata korony królewskiej po śmierci św. Stanisława w opinii pisarzy póżnego średniowiecza” [The loss of the royal crown after the death of St. Stanislaus in the view of late medieval writers]. In Christianitas Romana: Studia ofiarowane prof. Romanowi Michałowskiemu, edited by Krzysztof Skwierczyński. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2009: 274–99. Wieczorek, Alfried, and Hans-Martin Hinz, eds. Europas Mitte um 1000: Beiträge zur Geschichte, Kunst und Archäologie, vol. 2. Stuttgart: Theiss, 2000. Wihoda, Martin. “Sázavský klášter v ideových souřadnicích českých dějin 11. věku” [The Sázava monastery in the thought system of Czech history of the eleventh century], in Der heilige Prokop, Böhmen und Mitteleuropa, edited by Petr Sommer. Prague: Filosofia, 2006: 257–72. Winroth, Anders. “‘Thomas interpretatur abyssus vel geminus’: The Etymologies in the ‘Golden Legend’ of Jacobus de Varagine.” In Symbolae septentrionales: Latin Studies Presented to Jan Öberg, edited by Monika Asztalos and Claes Gejrot. Stockholm: Sällskapet Runica et Mediaevalia, 1995: 11–35. Wiszewski, Przemysław. Domus Bolezlai: Values and social identity in dynastic traditions of medieval Poland (c. 966–1138). Leiden–Boston: Brill, 2010. Witkowska, Aleksandra. Kulty pątnicze piętnastowiecznego Krakowa [The pilgrimage cults in fifteenth-century Cracow]. Lublin: Towarzystwo naukowe KUL, 1984.

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———. “Miracula małopolskie z XIII i XIV wieku: Studium źródłoznawcze” [Miracula of Little Poland in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries: A source study]. Roczniki Humanistyczne 19, no. 2 (1971): 43–52. ———. “The thirteenth-century miracula of St. Stanislaus, Bishop of Krakow.” In Procés de canonisation au Moyen Âge: Aspects juridiques et religieux, edited by Gábor Klaniczay. Rome: École française de Rome, 2004: 149–63. Wojciechowski, Tadeusz. Szkice historyczne XI. wieku [Historical sketches of the eleventh century]. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1970. Wood, Ian N. The Missionary Life: Saints and the Evangelisation of Europe (400–1050). London: Longman, 2001. Zalán, Menyhért. “Árpád-kori magyar vonatkozású kéziratok az osztrák kolostorok kézirattáraiban” [Manuscripts related to Árpádian Hungary held in the archives of Austrian monasteries]. Pannonhalmi Szemle 1 (1926): 60–62. Zawadzki, Roman M. “Innocentego PP. IV Bulla Kanonizacyjna Swietego Stanislawa oraz Bulla Delegacyjna dla Jakuba z Velletri” [The bull of canonization of St. Stanislaus of Pope Innocent IV and the bull of delegation for James of Velletri]. Analecta Cracoviensia 11 (1979): 42–45. Zdanek, Maciej. “Kultura intelektualna dominikanów krakowskich w śred­niowieczu” [The intellectual culture of Cracow Dominicans in the Middle Ages], PhD dissertation, Jagiellonian University: Institute of History, 2005. Zečević, Nada, and Daniel Ziemann, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Central Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022. Zerbi, Piero. Papato, Impero e “Respublica christiana” dal 1187 al 1198. Milan: Vita e Pensiero, 1955; second edition 1980. Żmudzki, Paweł. “New Versions of the Tales of Gallus Anonymus in the Chronicle of Master Vincentius.” Acta Poloniae Historica 112 (2015): 141–57. Zsoldos, Attila. “Elveszett források, paraszt urak és Ottó herceg: Somogy (és Zala) megye korai történetének ismeretéhez” [Lost sources, peasant lords and Prince Otto: Contribution to the early history of Somogy and Zala county]. Századok 142 (2008): 494–97. ———. The Legacy of Saint Stephen. Budapest: Lucidus Kiadó, 2004. ———. Magyarország világi archontológiája 1000–1301 [A lay archontology of Hungary: 1000–1301]. Budapest: História, MTA Történettudományi Intézete, 2011.

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639

———, ed. Saint Stephen and His Country: A Newborn Kingdom in Central Europe; Hungary—Essays on Saint Stephen and His Age. Lucidus Kiadó, 2001. ———. “Somogy megye korai történetének forrásairól” [About the sources on the early history of Somogy county]. In Szent István és az államalapítás [Saint Stephen and the foundation of the state], edited by László Veszprémy. Budapest: Osiris, 2002: 454–60. ———. “Somogy megye kialakulásáról” [On the formation of Somogy county]. In Szent István és az államalapítás [Saint Stephen and the foundation of the state], edited by László Veszprémy. Budapest: Osiris, 2002: 431–38.

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SELECT HAGIOGRAPHY OF THE SAINTS IN THIS VOLUME

Abbreviations: EP=Editio princeps CE=Critical edition TR=Modern translations

ST. STEPHEN VITA (LEGENDA) MAIOR [BHL 7918] Written between 1077 and 1083, or according to other views around the middle of the 1090s. Its concluding part is probably lost, perhaps included into the text of the Hartvic legend. Four manuscripts preserved this legend, the earliest is from the twelfth century. Inc. Omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum… a patre luminum; neque enim quidpiam boni potest, des. deinde monuit paterne fidem orthodoxam servare. EP Ed. [Antal Mancini], Primi Hungarorum regis apostolici S. Stephani vita (Posonii, 1781), 7–41. CE Ed. Emma Bartoniek, Legenda maior, in SRH 2, 377–92. TR English: Cristian Gaşpar in the present volume. Hungarian: Károly Szabó, “Szent István magyar király nagyobb legendája” [The Major Legend of King Saint Stephen of Hungary], in Emlékiratok a magyar kereszténység első századáról [Memorials from the first century of Hungarian Christianity] (Pest: Ráth Mór, 1865), 1–22, 2nd ed., Budapest: Ráth Mór, 1887. Elemér Varju, Legendae Sancti regis Stephani (Budapest: Singer és Wolfner, 1928), 30–38. [ 641 ]

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642

SELECT HAGIOGRAPHY

Cecilia [Cecile] Tormay, “Szent István, Magyarország királyának nagyobb legendája” [Major legend of Saint Stephen, king of Hungary], in Kis magyar legendárium és Szent István királynak intelmei [Minor collection of Hungarian legends and Admonitions of King Saint Stephen] (Budapest, 1930), 15–40 = Magyar legendárium [Collection of Hungarian legends] (Budapest: Könyvbarátok Szövetsége, 1931), 57–80. Ágnes Kurcz, “Szent István legendák, Nagyobbik legenda” [Legends of Saint Stephen, Major legend], in István király emlékezete [The memory of King Stephen], ed. György Györffy (Budapest: Magyar Helikon, 1971), 41–51; 2nd ed. 1973; 3rd, revised edition ed. by László Király, Budapest: Európa, 1987, 101–10 = Árpád-kori legendák és Intelmek [Legends and Admonitions of the Arpadian age], ed. Géza Érszegi (Budapest: Szépirodalmi, 1983), 23–33, with notes by Géza Érszegi, 192–98; 2nd ed., Budapest: Osiris, 1999, 17–27, 181–86 = Szöveggyűjtemény a régi magyar irodalom történetéhez: Középkor (1000–1530) [Sourcebook on the history of ancient Hungarian literature: Middle Ages], ed. Edit Madas (Budapest: Tankönyvkiadó, 1992), 32–38. Bertalan Biró, “Szent István nagyobbik legendájából” [From the Major legend of Saint Stephen], in idem, ed., Magyar legendák és geszták [Hungarian legends and chronicles] (Budapest: Argumentum, 1997): 41–44 (partial tr.). Klára Kisdi, “Szent István király nagyobbik legendája” [The Major legend of King Saint Stephen], in Az államalapítás korának írott forrásai [Written sources from the age of the foundation of the state], ed. Gyula Kristó (Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely, 1999), with notes by Gábor Thoroczkay, 268–98. Czech: Jana Nechutová and Dagmar Bartoňková, “Větší legenda svatého Štěpána krále” [The Major legend of King Saint Stephen], in Legendy a kroniky koruny uherské [The legends and chronicles of the Hungarian Crown], ed. Richard Pražak (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1988), 79–87 (partial tr.), with notes by Richard Pražak, 74–78, 87–91. Slovak: Richard Marsina, “Väčšia legenda svätého Štefana král’a” [The Major legend of King Saint Stephen], in Legendy stredovekého Slovenska: Ideály stredovekého človeka očami cirkevných spisovatel’ov [The legends of medieval Slovakia: The ideals of medieval man through the eyes of the Church writers], ed. Richard Marsina (Nitra: Vydavatel’stvo Rak, 1997), 49–59, with notes by Richard Marsina, 47–8, 349–53.

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SELECT HAGIOGRAPHY

643

VITA (LEGENDA) MINOR [BHL 7920] Written a few years after 1095, certainly after the Vita maior. Its manuscript tradition is identical with that of the Vita maior. Inc. Cum intelligamus sanctorum merita, des. in theca argentea signaverunt. EP Ed. [Antal Mancini], Primi Hungarorum regis apostolici S. Stephani vita (Posonii, 1781), 41–56. CE Ed. Emma Bartoniek, Legenda maior, in SRH 2, 393–400. TR English: Cristian Gaşpar in the present volume. Hungarian: Károly Szabó, “Szent István magyar király kisebb legendája” [The Minor legend of King Saint Stephen of Hungary], in Emlékiratok a magyar kereszténység első századáról [Memorials from the first century of Hungarian Christianity] (Pest: Ráth Mór, 1865), 23–36; 2nd ed., Budapest: Ráth Mór, 1887. Elemér Varju, Legendae Sancti regis Stephani (Budapest: Singer és Wolfner, 1928), 38–44. Cecilia [Cecile] Tormay, “Szent István, Magyarország királyának kisebb legendája” [Minor legend of Saint Stephen, king of Hungary], in Kis magyar legendárium és Szent István királynak intelmei [Minor collection of Hungarian legends and Admonitions of King Saint Stephen] (Budapest, 1930), 41–57 = Magyar legendárium [Collection of Hungarian legends] (Budapest: Könyvbarátok Szövetsége, 1931), 81–96. Ágnes Kurcz, “Szent István legendák, Kisebbik legenda” [Legends of Saint Stephen, Minor legend], in István király emlékezete [The memory of King Stephen], ed. György Györffy (Budapest: Magyar Helikon, 1971), 55–61; 2nd ed. 1973; 3rd, revised edition ed. by László Király, Budapest: Európa, 1987, 112–17 = Árpád-kori legendák és Intelmek [Legends and admonitions of the Arpadian age], ed. Géza Érszegi (Budapest: Szépirodalmi, 1983), 16–22; 2nd ed., Budapest: Osiris, 1999, 11–17, 178– 81 = Szöveggyűjtemény a régi magyar irodalom történetéhez: Középkor (1000–1530) [Sourcebook on the history of ancient Hungarian literature: Middle Ages], ed. Edit Madas (Budapest: Tankönyvkiadó, 1992). Bertalan Biró, “Szent István kisebbik legendája” [The Minor legend of Saint Stephen], in idem, ed., Magyar legendák és geszták [Hungarian leg-

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ends and chronicles] (Budapest: Argumentum, 1997), 33–40. Klára Kisdi, “Szent István király kisebbik legendája” [The Minor legend of King Saint Stephen], in Az államalapítás korának írott forrásai [Written sources from the age of the foundation of the state], ed. Gyula Kristó (Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely, 1999), with notes by Gábor Thoroczkay, 299–314. German: Gabriel Silagi, “Legenda minor,” in Die heiligen Könige, ed. Thomas v. Bogyay, János Bak, and Gabriel Silagi (Graz–Vienna–Cologne: Styria, 1976), 61–71, with notes by Thomas v. Bogyay, 176–77. Czech: Jana Nechutová and Dagmar Bartoňková, “Menší legenda svatého Štěpána krále” [The Minor legend of King Saint Stephen], in Legendy a kroniky koruny uherské [Legends and chronicles of the Hungarian Crown], ed. Richard Pražak (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1988), 96–99 (partial tr.). Slovak: Richard Marsina, “Menšia legenda svätého Štefana král’a” [The Minor legend of King Saint Stephen], in Legendy stredovekého Slovenska: Ideály stredovekého človeka očami cirkevných spisovatel’ov [The legends of medieval Slovakia: The ideals of medieval man through the eyes of the Church writers], ed. Richard Marsina (Nitra: Vydavatel’stvo Rak, 1997), 65–71. VITA (LEGENDA) AUCTORE HARTVICO EPISCOPO [BHL 7921] Its composition can be dated to the end of the eleventh century, with the greatest probability to between 1097 and 1099. Its author was Hartvic, bishop of Győr. It merged and completed the texts of the Vita maior and the Vita minor. Ten manuscript copies are known of it. Inc. Domino suo Colomanno regi precellentissimo, des. ubi ipsum irradiat… splendor unius summeque deitatis… Amen. EP Legendae Sanctorum regni Hungariae in Historia Lombardica non contentae (Strassburg, 1486), fol. 27–41 (54–84). CE Ed. Emma Bartoniek, Legenda S. Stephani regis ab Hartvico episcopo conscripta, in SRH 2, 401–40.

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645

TR English: Nora Berend, “Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary,” in Medieval Hagiography: An anthology, ed. Thomas Head (New York: Garland, 2000), 379–96, with notes by Nora Berend, 396–98, and in the present volume. Hungarian: Ágnes Kurcz, “Szent István legendák, Hartvik püspök legendaszerkesztménye” [Legends of Saint Stephen, Legend of Bishop Hartvic], in István király emlékezete [The memory of King Stephen], ed. György Györffy (Budapest: Magyar Helikon, 1971), 65–84; 2nd ed. 1973; 3rd, revised edition ed. by László Király (Budapest: Európa, 1987), 119–37 = Árpád-kori legendák és Intelmek [Legends and admonitions of the Arpadian age] (Szépirodalmi: Budapest, 1983), 34–53, with notes by Géza Érszegi, 198–201; 2nd ed., Budapest: Osiris, 1999, 27–46, 186–89 = Szöveggyűjtemény a régi magyar irodalom történetéhez: Középkor (1000– 1530) [Sourcebook on the history of ancient Hungarian literature: Middle Ages], ed. Edit Madas (Budapest: Tankönyvkiadó, 1992), with notes by Edit Madas, 42–55. Bertalan Biró, “Hartvik püspök: Szent István magyar király élete” [The Life of King Saint Stephen of Hungary by Bishop Hartvic], in idem, ed., Magyar legendák és geszták [Hungarian legends and chronicles] (Budapest: Argumentum, 1997), 49–77. Klára Kisdi, “Hartvik: Szent István király legendája” [The legend of King Saint Stephen by Hartvic], in Az államalapítás korának írott forrásai [Written sources from the age of the foundation of the state], ed. Gyula Kristó (Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely), 1999, with notes by Gábor Thoroczkay, 315–43. (partial tr.) German: Gabriel Silagi, “Stephansvita des Bischofs Hartwick,” in Die heiligen Könige, ed. Thomas v. Bogyay, János Bak, and Gabriel Silagi (Graz–Vienna–Cologne: Styria, 1976), 29–60, with notes by Thomas v. Bogyay, 166–76. Czech: Jana Nechutová and Dagmar Bartoňková, “Legenda o svatém Štěpánu králi sepsaná biskupem Hartvíkem” [The legend of King Saint Stephen written by Bishop Hartvic], in Legendy a kroniky koruny uherské [Legends and chronicles of the Hungarian Crown], ed. Richard Pražak (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1988), 108–14 (partial tr.). Slovak: Richard Marsina, “Legenda o svätom Štefanovi král’ovi napísaná biskupom Hartvikom” [The legend of King Saint Stephen written by

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Bishop Hartvic], in Legendy stredovekého Slovenska: Ideály stredovekého človeka očami cirkevných spisovatel’ov [The legends of medieval Slovakia: The ideals of medieval man through the eyes of the Church writers], ed. Richard Marsina (Nitra: Vydavatel’stvo Rak, 1997), 101–21, with a preface and notes by Richard Marsina, 97–9, 367–71.

ST. EMERIC VITA (LEGENDA) EMERICI DUCIS [BHL 2528] Composed between 1108 and 1113 or after 1131 or in the mid-twelfth century by an anonymous author. The text survived with three different introductions. Sixteen manuscript copies and incunabula are known, the earliest is from the late twelfth or early thirteenth century. Inc.1 Postquam unigenitus omnipotens dei filius post assensionem suam per apostolice predicationis... Inc.2. Gloriosus rex primus Stephanus ducatum Ungarie tenuit annis octo… Inc.3. Inclitus dux Hemericus ex illustri prosapia, sicud “cedrus ex Lybano,” a beato Stephano, primo rege Ungarie exortus... des. Qui cum deo patre vivit et regnat in secula seculorum. EP Legende sanctorum regni Hungarie in Lombardica Historia non contente, [Strasbourg]: [Johann Prüss], [ca. 1484/87]. CE Ed. Emma Bartoniek, Legenda S. Emerici Ducis, in SRH 2, 449–60. TR English: Cristian Gaşpar in the present volume. Hungarian: Károly Szabó, “Szent Imre herczeg legendája” [The legend of Duke Emeric of Hungary], in Emlékiratok a magyar kereszténység első századáról [Memorials from the first century of Hungarian Christianity] (Pest: Ráth Mór, 1865), 37–48; 2nd ed. (Budapest: Ráth Mór, 1887). Elemér Varju, Legendae Sancti regis Stephani (Budapest: Singer és Wolfner, 1928), 30–38. Szegedy János, “Szent Imre legendája” [The legend of Duke Emeric of Hungary] with notes by László Erdélyi (Budapest: Athenaeum, 1930). Cecilia [Cecile] Tormay, “Szent Imre herceg Legendája” [Legend of Saint

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Emeric, Duke of Hungary], in Kis magyar legendárium és Szent István királynak intelmei [Minor Collection of Hungarian legends and admonitions of King Saint Stephen] (Budapest, 1930), 58–72 = Magyar legendárium [Collection of Hungarian legends] (Budapest: Könyvbarátok Szövetsége, 1931), 97–110. Csóka J. Gáspár, “Szent Imre herceg legendája” [The legend of Duke Emeric of Hungary], in Árpád-kori legendák és Intelmek [Legends and Admonitions of the Arpadian Age], ed. Géza Érszegi (Budapest: Szépirodalmi, 1983), 62–67; 2nd ed. (Budapest: Osiris, 1999), 56–62, 192–4 = Szöveggyűjtemény a régi magyar irodalom történetéhez: Középkor (1000–1530) [Sourcebook on the history of ancient Hungarian literature: Middle Ages], ed. Edit Madas (Budapest: Tankönyvkiadó, 1992), 55–59. Bertalan Biró, “Szent Imre legendája” [The legend of Saint Emeric], in idem, ed., Magyar legendák és geszták [Hungarian legends and chronicles] (Budapest: Argumentum, 1997), 79–85. Ferenc Piti, “Szent Imre herceg legendája” [The legend of Duke Emeric], in Az államalapítás korának írott forrásai [Written sources from the age of the foundation of the state], ed. Gyula Kristó (Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely, 1999). Slovak: Richard Marsina, “Legenda o vojvodovi svätom Imrichovi” [The legend of Duke Emeric], in Legendy stredovekého Slovenska: Ideály stredovekého človeka očami cirkevných spisovatel’ov [The legends of medieval Slovakia: The ideals of medieval man through the eyes of the Church writers], ed. Richard Marsina (Nitra: Vydavatel’stvo Rak, 1997), 79–84.

ST. GERARD LEGENDA MINOR (PASSIO BEATISSIMI GERARDI) [BHL 3426] Abridgment of a lost original vita prepared for liturgical purposes, probably during the second half of the twelfth century, by an anonymous author. Preserved in two manuscripts from the thirteenth and the fifteenth century. Inc. Gaudia, que Christi participibus, des. per miraculorum exhibitionem largius coruscat. Praestante ... Amen.

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EP Legende sanctorum regni Hungarie in Lombardica Historia non contente, [Strasbourg]: [Johann Prüss], [ca. 1484/87]. CE Ed. Emericus Madzsar, Legenda S. Gerhardi episcopi I, in SRH 2, 471–79, and Cristian Gașpar in the present volume. TR English: tr. Cristian Gașpar in the present volume Hungarian: Flóris Szabó, “Szent Gellért püspök kis legendája” [The minor legend of St. Gerard the bishop],” in Árpád-kori legendák és intelmek [Legends and admonitions of the Arpadian Age], ed. Géza Érszegi (Budapest: Szépirodalmi, 1983), 68–73; 2nd ed. (Budapest: Osiris, 1999), 63–68, 195–97. German: Gabriel Silagi, “Legenda minor,” in Die heiligen Könige, trans. and annotated by Thomas von Bogyay, János Bak, and Gabriel Silagi (Graz: Verlag Styria, 1976), 77–85 with notes on pages 177–78 (based on the SRH edition by Madzsar). Czech: tr. Jana Nechutová, “Menší legenda svatého biskupa Gerarda” [The minor legend of St. Gerard the bishop], in Legendy a kroniky Koruny uherské, ed. Richard Pražák (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1988), 118–31 (partial translation based on the SRH edition by Madzsar). 2. LEGENDA MAIOR (DE SANCTO GERHARDO EPISCOPO MOROSENENSI ET MARTYRE REGNI UNGARIE) [BHL 3424] Composed in the second half of the fourteenth century, probably at Csanád by an anonymous author; it probably integrated parts of the lost original vita, as well as one or more (now lost) sources. Four manuscript copies are preserved from the fifteenth century. Inc. Gerardus natione Venetus, des. in veteri Buda in claustro monialium, quod ipsa fundaverat. EP Ed. Ignác Batthyány, “Acta Sancti Gerardi ex ms. Lunaelacensis monasterii nunc primum edita: Seu Legenda maior,” in idem, ed., Sancti Gerardi episcopi Chanadiensis scripta, et acta hactenus inedita, cum serie

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649

episcoporum Chanadiensium (Albo-Carolinae [Alba Iulia, RO]: Typis episcopalibus, 1790), 301–59. CE Ed. Emericus Madzsar, Legenda S. Gerhardi episcopi II, in SRH, vol. 2, 480–506. CE Ed. Florio Banfi, “Vita di San Gerardo da Venezia nel codice 1622 della Biblioteca Universitaria di Padova,” Benedictina 2 (1948): 262–330, at 288–318. TR English: János Bak in the present volume. Hungarian: Flóris Szabó, “Szent Gellért püspök nagy legendája” [The major legend of St. Gerard the bishop],” in Árpád-kori legendák és intelmek [Legends and admonitions of the Arpadian Age], ed. Géza Érszegi (Budapest: Szépirodalmi, 1983), 68–73; 2nd ed. (Budapest: Osiris, 1999), 68–88 with notes on pages 197–99. Tibor Almási, tr., “Szent Gellért püspök nagyobbik legendája” [The major legend of St. Gerard the bishop], in Az államalapítás korának írott forrásai [Written sources from the age of the foundation of the state], ed. Gyula Kristó (Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely, 1999), 409–30 (partial translation based on Madzsar’s ed. in the SRH). German: tr. Gabriel Silagi, “Legenda maior,” in Die heiligen Könige, 86– 119, with notes on pages 178–81. Romanian: Documente privitoare la istoria mitropoliei Banatului [Documents related to the history of the metropolitan archbishopric of Banat], vol. 1 (Timișoara: Editura Mitropoliei Banatului, 1980), 22–63. 3. VITA MUTATA ET INTERPOLATA AUCTORE ARNALDO WION [BHL 3425] Composed at the end of the sixteenth century by the Flemish Benedictine monk Arnold Wion (1554–1610); this is a composite vita, which fuses the texts of the Legenda minor and maior taken from various sources and occasionally altering their original wording. The work was commissioned by members of the Sagredo Venetian noble family and used a (now lost) early fifteenth-century ms. of the Legenda maior.

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Inc. Cuius pater Gerardus nomine de familia Sagredo, des. in veteri Buda in claustro monialium, quod ipsa fundaverat. EP Sancti Gerardi Sagredo, patricii veneti, ex monacho et abbate S. Georgii Majoris Venetiarum, ordinis S. Benedicti, episcopi Canadiensis primi ac Hungarorum, protomartyris apostoli vita, ex antiquissimis authenticis manuscriptis, tum etiam excusis codicibus optima fide collecta, et annotationibus illustrata, per D. Arnoldum Wion..., Venice: apud J. B. et J. B. Sessa fratres, 1597. 4. VITA AUCTORE IULIO SIMONE SICULO [NOT LISTED IN THE BHL] A hagiographic text composed by Giulio (de) Simone (fl. 1520) in Rome, ca. 1519; this vita rewrote extensively a (possibly fourteenth century) ms. of the Legenda maior sent to him from Csanád. EP Iulii Simonis Siculi Divus Gerardus episcopus et martyr (Rome: Marcello Silber, 1519). 5. VITARUM EPITOMAE VARIAE a. Legendae minoris epitome auctore Petro Calò Largely identical in content and form with the version of the Legenda minor contained in the Venice ms. (V); the text was transcribed by the Dominican Pietro Calò (d. 1348) into his own hagiographic compilation, a multi-volume Legendary [BHL 9039] he compiled before 1340. EP Florio Banfi, ed., “Vita di S. Gerardo da Venezia, vescovo di Csanád nel Leggendario di Pietro Calò,” Janus Pannonius 1 (1947): 224–42. b. Legendae minoris epitome auctore Petro de Natalibus Abbreviated vita produced on the basis of the Venice version of the Legenda minor by Pietro Nadal (b. ca. 1330–d. ca. 1406) between 1369 and 1372.

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EP Catalogus sanctorum et gestorum eorum ex diversis voluminibus collectus... Vicenza: Enrico di Ca’ Zeno, 1493, ch. 145, Gerardus episcopus.a c. Legendae maioris epitome auctore Pelbarto de Themeswar An abridgment of the Legenda maior produced at the end of the fifteenth century, probably on the basis of a ms. of Hungarian origin, by the Franciscan friar and preacher Pelbartus of Temesvár (1430–1504). EP Sermones pomerii fratris Pelbarti de Themeswar divi ordinis sancti Francisci de sanctis, Pars aestivalis, Hagenau: Heinrich Gran for Johann Rynman, 1499, Sermo LXVI, De sancto Gerardo episcopo et martyre. Appendix Conspectus siglorum A.1. Manuscripts V [Madzsar: Ven.]

C M

Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale di San Marco, Cod. Lat. 28 cl. IX (2798), ff. 192–200. Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine, Ms. 1733 (olim 1329), ff. 417r–418v. Milan, Biblioteca Braidense, Gerli ms. 26, ff. 180r–182v.

A.2. Early printed editions A [Madzsar: L] Legende sanctorum regni Hungarie […] [ Johann Prüss], [ca. 1484/87].

a Now available in a reprint edition: Petrus de Natalibus, Catalogus sanctorum et gestorum eorum ex diversis voluminibus collectus, ed. Emore Paoli, Spoleto: CISAM, 2013.

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Ven.

Crac.

Surius

Wion

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Legende sanctorum regni Hungarie in Lombardica Historia non contente. Venice: [ Johann Hamman], 1498. Vita beatissimi Stanislai Cracouiensis episcopi : nec non legende sanctorum Polonie, Hungarie, Bohemie, Morauie, Prussie et Slesie patronorum in Lombardica historia non contente / [per ... Joannem Dlugosch]. Cracow: Johannes Haller, 1511. De probatis sanctorum historiis, partim ex tomis Aloysii Lipomani, doctissimi episcopi, partim etiam ex egregiis manuscriptis codicibus, quarum permultae antehac nunquam in lucem prodiere, nunc recens optima fide collectis per F. Laurentium Surium Carthusianum, vol. 5. Köln: Apud Geruinum Calenium & haeredes Quentelios, 1574. Sancti Gerardi Sagredo, […] vita, […] per D. Arnoldum Wion... Venice […], 1597.

A.3. Manuscript readings reported in modern printed editions Calò Banfi, “Vita di S. Gerardo […] di Pietro Calò”.

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653

B.1. Manuscript Breviaries Breviarium Zagrabiense. Zagreb, BrZG Knjižnica Metropolitana MR 29, ff. 282v–283r (ed. Andrea Kovács and István Miklós Földváry, “Egy ismeretlen Szent-Gellért officium” [An unknown office of Saint Gerard], Magyar Könyvszemle 126, no. 1 (2010): 14–22). Breviarium Dominici Kálmáncsehi BrDK praepositi ecclesiae B. M. V. Albaregalensis. Budapest, OSZK CLMAe 446, ff. 451v–452r. Breviarium per anni circulum BrSN Stephani de Nagylak canonici Albaregalensis et Bachiensis. Budapest, OSZK CLMAe 343, ff. 410r–v. Breviarium per anni circulum ecclesiae Br132 Hungariae Superioris. Budapest, OSZK CLMAe 132, ff. 434r, 435v. Breviarium Strigoniense Georgii BrGS Szatmári archiepiscopi Strigoniensis. Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, cod. lat. 8879, ff. 425v–427r. B.2. Manuscript Lectiones reported in early printed editions BrLV Lectiones antiqui officii ecclesiae Strigoniensis ex codice saeculi XIII bibliothecae ecclesiae Leutschoviensis. Ed. Ignác Batthyány, Sancti Gerardi Episcopi Chanadiensis Scripta et acta hactenus inedita, cum serie episcoporum Chanadiensium, Karlsburg [Alba Iulia]: Typis Episcopalibus, 1790, 360–1.

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BrMU

Lectiones officii antiqui ecclesiae M ­ uranae. Ed. Flaminio Corner, Ecclesiae Torcellanae antiquis monumentis nunc etiam primum editis illustratae authore Flaminio Cornelio senatore Veneto, vol. 2, Venice: Typis Jo. Baptistae Pasquali, 1749, 74–8.

B.3. Printed Breviaries BrZagr BrStrig 1484 BrStrig 1558 BrBen

Breviarium Zagrabiense. Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 1484. Breviarium Strigoniense. Nürnberg: [Georg Stuchs], pro Theobaldo Feger, 1484. Breviarium secundum usum almae et metropolitanae ecclesiae Strigoniensis. Vienna: Raphael Hofhalter, 1558. Breviarium Ordinis Sancti Benedicti de novo in monte Pannonie Sancti Martini ex rubrica patrum Mellicensium summa diligentia extractum. Venice: in edibus Petri Lichtenstein, 1519.

ST. PROCOPIUS 1. VITA MINOR [BHL 6952g] Probable origin in the reign of Abbot Diethardus (1097–1133). There are 26 known manuscript variants, among them also fragmentary copies or translations into Old Czech (in eight manuscripts). The preserved descriptions were made in the 14th–15th centuries, while the entire text of the VM is preserved only in the manuscript of the library of the Metropolitan Chapter in Olomouc No. 54, which is dated to 1410. The legend probably began with two prologues to Bishop Šebíř and to the reader, but these are preserved only in copies of the younger Vita maior Procopii.

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655

Inc. (first prologue) Domino sanctissimo Severo, summi gracia Opificis sancte Pragensis ecclesie secundum utriusque hominis habitum decentissimo ponitifici, Inc. (text of legend) Fuit itaque beatus abbas Procopius, nacione Bohemus, des. ... episcopis, qui presentes fuerant, predictum locum commendans, ad matrem mundi, videlicet Romam, est regressus. EP Ed. Václav Chaloupecký and Bohumil Ryba, Vita sancti Procopii minor, in Středověké legendy prokopské [Medieval Procopian legends] (Prague: Československá akademie věd, Sekce jazyka a literatury, 1953), 129–61. CE Ed. [ibidem] TR Czech: Bohumil Ryba, “Život svatého Prokopa,” in Václav Chaloupecký, Na úsvitu křesťanství [At the dawn of Christianity] (Prague: Česká grafická unie, 1941), 170–83; Bohumil Ryba, “Život svatého Prokopa,” in Oldřich Králík, Nejstarší legendy přemyslovských Čech [The oldest legends of Přemyslid Bohemia] (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1969), 200–14; Bohumil Ryba, “Život svatého Prokopa,” in Jaroslav Kolár, Středověké legendy o českých světcích [Medieval legends about Czech saints] (Prague: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 1998), 167–91; Bohumil Ryba, “Život svatého Prokopa,” in Jaroslav Kolár and Markéta Selucká, Středověké legendy o českých světcích [Medieval legends about Czech saints] (Brno: Nakladatelství Host, 2011), 171–96. English: Christian Gaşpar in the present volume. 1. EXORDIUM ZAZAVENSIS MONASTERII [BHL 6953h] Dating probably from the mid-twelfth century, preserved in the Chronicle of the Sázava Monk, who wrote during the reign of Sobeslaw II of Bohemia (1173–78). There remained two manuscript copies of it. Inc. Hoc in loco congruum videtur non debere pretermitti, des. immo in ampliorem honorem enceniavit. EP Bertold Bretholz, ed., Die Chronik der Böhmen des Cosmas von Prag, MGH SSrG NS 2, (Berlin: Weidmann, 1923), 242–49. CE Ed. Václav Chaloupecký and Bohumil Ryba, Vita sancti Procopii minor, in Středověké legendy prokopské [Medieval Procopian legends] (Prague: Československá akademie věd, Sekce jazyka a literatury, 1953), 176–80.

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TR Czech: Karel Hrdina and Marie Bláhová, in Kosmova kronika česká [The Czech Chronicle of Cosmas], ed. Zdeněk Fiala and Marie Bláhová (Prague: Svoboda, 1972), 210–16 (then published more than once). English Petra Mutlová and Martyn Rady, in Cosmas of Prague: The Chronicle of the Czechs, ed. János M. Bak and Pavlína Rychterová, Central European Medieval Texts 10 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2020), 432–53. 2. VITA ANTIQUA [BHL 6953g] Although Václav Chaloupecký considered it the oldest Latin legend, the present consensus dates it to the later thirteenth century. It is preserved in two manuscripts from the second half of the thirteenth century and from the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century. CE Ed. Václav Chaloupecký and Bohumil Ryba, Vita sancti Procopii minor, in Středověké legendy prokopské [Medieval Procopian legends] (Prague: Československá akademie věd, Sekce jazyka a literatury, 1953), 112–20. 3. VITA MAIOR [BHL 6952] A developed version of the Vita minor, probably written at the beginning of the fourteenth century. It contains the canonization “addendum,” the same addendum that is attached to the Vita minor, and a series of post canonisationem miracles that took place at the grave of St. Procopius or other places. It is preserved in 32 manuscripts. CE Ed. Václav Chaloupecký and Bohumil Ryba, Vita sancti Procopii minor, in Středověké legendy prokopské [Medieval Procopian legends] (Prague: Československá akademie věd, Sekce jazyka a literatury, 1953), 246–66. TR Czech: Antonín Ludvík Stříž, Život svatého Prokopa, zakladatele Kláštera sázavského a patrona země české [Life of St. Procopius, founder of the Sázava Monastery and Patron saint of the Czech lands] (Prague: Družstvo přátel studia, 1923); Bohumil Ryba, “Život svatého Prokopa,” in Legendy o českých patronech [Legends about Czech patrons], ed. Antonín Matějček and Jindřich Šámal (Prague: Evropský literární klub, 19402), 105–14 (selected parts).

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657

ST. LADISLAUS LEGENDA SANCTI LADISLAI REGIS [BHL 4671] (Legenda Minor) Based on an original legend, probably prepared shortly after the canonization of Ladislaus in 1192, this version was probably prepared around 1204. Ten manuscript copies are known, the earliest is from the fourteenth century. Inc. Beatus rex Ladislaus christianae fidei cultor eximius, des. Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. EP Legende sanctorum regni Hungarie in Lombardica Historia non contente, [Strasbourg]: [Johann Prüss], [ca. 1484/87]. CE Ed. Emma Bartoniek, Legenda S. Ladislai regis, in SRH 2, 507–27. CE Ed. István Hajdú, “Vita sancti Ladislai confessoris regis Hungariae (†1095),” Cahiers de l’Institut du Moyen-Âge Grec et Latin (Université de Copenhague), 77 (2006): 28–32, 36–39. TR: Since all the known translations are based on the edition by Emma Bartoniek which prepared a combined, merged text of the Legenda minor and the Legenda maior, the tranlations are listed after the latter. 2. LEGENDA SANCTI LADISLAI REGIS [BHL 4670] (Legenda Maior) Based on an original legend, probably prepared shortly after the canonization of Ladislaus in 1192, this version was probably prepared around 1217. Three manuscript copies are known from the fifteenth century. EP Legende sanctorum regni Hungarie in Lombardica Historia non contente [Strasbourg]: [Johann Prüss], [ca. 1484/87]. CE Ed. Emma Bartoniek, Legenda S. Ladislai regis, in SRH 2, 507–27. CE Ed. István Hajdú, “Vita sancti Ladislai confessoris regis Hungariae (†1095),” 33–35, 45–50. TR English: Cristian Gaşpar in the present volume.

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Hungarian: Károly Szabó, “Szent László király legendája” [The legend of King Saint Ladislaus], in Emlékiratok a magyar kereszténység első századáról [Memorials from the first century of Hungarian Christianity] (Pest: Ráth Mór, 1865), 89–102; 2nd ed. (Budapest: Ráth Mór, 1887). Cecilia [Cecile] Tormay, “Szent László király Legendája” [Legend of King Saint Ladislaus], in Kis magyar legendárium és Szent István királynak intelmei [Minor Collection of Hungarian Legends and Admonitions of King Saint Stephen] (Budapest, 1930). Kurcz Ágnes, “Szent László király legendája” [The legend of King Saint Ladislaus], in Árpád-kori legendák és Intelmek [Legends and admonitions of the Arpadian Age], ed. Géza Érszegi (Budapest: Szépirodalmi, 1983), 95–102, 215–19; 2nd ed. (Budapest: Osiris, 1999), 89–96, 200–202 = Szöveggyűjtemény a régi magyar irodalom történetéhez: Középkor (1000–1530) [Sourcebook on the history of ancient Hungarian Literature: Middle Ages], ed. Edit Madas (Budapest: Tankönyvkiadó, 1992), 59–64. Bertalan Biró, “Szent László király legendája” [The legend of King Saint Ladislaus], in idem, ed., Magyar legendák és geszták [Hungarian legends and chronicles] (Budapest: Argumentum, 1997), 113–19. Klára Kisdi, “Szent László király legendája” [The legend of King Saint Ladislaus], in Írott források az 1050–1116 közötti magyar történelemről [Written sources from Hungarian history between 1050–1116], ed. Ferenc Makk and Gábor Thoroczkay (Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely, 1999), commented by László Szegfü, 342–61. German: János M. Bak, “Ladislauslegende,” in Die heiligen Könige, ed. Thomas v. Bogyay, János Bak, and Gabriel Silagi (Graz–Vienna–Cologne: Styria, 1976) 147–65. Czech: Jana Nechutová and Dagmar Bartoňková, “Legenda o svatém Ladislavu králi” [The legend of King Saint Ladislaus], in Legendy a kroniky koruny uherské [The legends and chronicles of the Hungarian Crown], ed. by Richard Pražak (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1988), 132–44. Slovak: Richard Marsina, “Zivot uhorského král’a svätého Ladislava” [The life of the Hungarian King Saint Ladislaus], in Legendy stredovekého Slovenska: Ideály stredovekého človeka očami cirkevných spisovatel’ov [The legends of medieval Slovakia: The ideals of medieval man through the eyes of the Church writers], ed. Richard Marsina (Nitra: Vydavatel’stvo Rak, 1997), 129–35.

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3. LEGENDA SANCTI LADISLAI REGIS [BHL 4671d] A variant of the Legenda minor and the Legenda maior, dependent on them or on the same archaic version of the Ladislaus legend. Four manuscript copies are known of it, the oldest from the fourteenth century. EP Ed. László Szelestei Nagy, “A Szent László-legenda szöveghagyományozódásáról (Ismeretlen legendaváltozat)” [On the textual tradition of the Saint Ladislaus legend: An unknown legend variant], Magyar Könyvszemle 100 (1984): 176–203. CE Ed. István Hajdú, “Vita sancti Ladislai confessoris regis Hungariae (†1095),” 32–33, 39–44. 4. SEQUITUR DE SANCTO LADISLAO REGE INTR [BHL vacat] A shorter version, abbreviated for the Breviaries, from the Legenda minor and the Legenda maior, dependent on them or on the same archaic version of the Ladislaus legend. EP Ed. Adrienne Fodor, “László-legendák XV–XVI. századi magyarországi breviáriumokban” [Ladislaus legends in fifteenth and sixteenth-century Hungarian breviaries], in Athleta Patriae: Tanulmányok Szent László történetéhez [Athleta Patriae: Studies on the history of St. Ladislaus], ed. László Mezey (Budapest: Szent István Társulat, 1980), 57–72. CE Ed. István Hajdú, “Vita sancti Ladislai confessoris regis Hungariae (†1095),” 50–54.

ST. JOHN OF TROGIR VITA S. IOANNIS EP. TRAGURIENSIS [BHL 4441] Composed probably in the 1170s in the milieu of the cathedral chapter of Trogir, before the official papal inquiry into the cult in the 1190s. Extended in 1203 by Treguan, Archdeacon of Trogir, with an introduction and post mortem episodes, including three miracle accounts plausibly related to the papal legate’s investigation. The 1203 redaction is preserved in the

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single known manuscript (BNCF, Conv. Soppr. G.5. 1212, 151v-155v), and a radically abbreviated version in a Martyrologium romanum entry (Chapter archives in Trogir, sign. 76, 75v), both dating roughly from the fourteenth century. In the 1430s–1440s several contemporary miracle accounts were composed, and are preserved in Johannes Lucius’s manuscript (NSK, R6608). Inc. Conditor humani generis Dominus noster volens ecclesiæ, quam filii sui Jesu Christi dormientis in cruce sanguine dedicaverat, des. Scripta sunt haec omnia anno Dominicae Incarnationis MCCIII. tempore Domini Innocentii Papae III. pontificatus ejus anno sexto. EP Johannes Statileus, Vita beati Ioannis episcopi & confessoris Traguriensis & eius miracula. Vienna: per Hieronymum Vietorem, 1516. CE Ed. Kažimir Lučin, Život sv. Ivana Trogirskog po izdanju Daniela Farlatija [Life of saint John of Trogir according to the edition by Daniele Farlati] (Split and Trogir: Matica Hrvatska and Književni krug, 1998) [bilingual edition with a facsimile of Farlati’s edition: Daniele Farlati et al., Illyricum sacrum, 8 vols, Venice: Apud Sebastianum Coleti, 1751–1819, vol. 4. Ecclesiae suffraganeae metropolis spalatensis (1769), 310–29, based on the first critical edition by Johannes Lucius, Vita b. Ioannis Confessoris episcopi Traguriensis, et eius miracula, Rome: Typis Thomae Colinii, 1657]. TR: English: Marina Miladinov (Schumann) in this volume. Croatian: Kažimir Lučin, Život Sv. Ivana Trogirskog, see above .

ST. STANISLAUS VITA MINOR (LEGENDA) [BHL 7832] Written after 1242 before the canonization (as argued by some, as the earlier life) or after the canonization (as a shortened version, legenda, based on the Vita maior), preserved in more numerous manuscripts than the Vita maior. Inc. Beatus igitur Stanislaus, ut annales principum Poloniae et gestorum tangunt historie, natione Polonus ex provincia Cracoviensi processit oriundu, des. Sic iste sanctum Dei presulem Stanizlaum crudeliter mactando regale sacerdocium prophanauit.

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CE Ed. Wojciech Kętrzyński, Vita sancti Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis (Vita minor), in MPH 4 (Lviv: Nakładem Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie, 1884), 283–317. TR English: Cristian Gaşpar in the present volume. TR Polish: Janina Pleziowa, Wincentego z Kielc, “Żywot mniejszy i Żywot większy św. Stanisława,” Analecta Cracoviensia 11 (1979): 148–64; Janina Pleziowa, “Żywot większy św. Stanisława,” in Średniowieczne żywoty i cuda patronów Polski, ed. Marian Plezia (Warsaw: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1987), 111–50. Italian: Jan Władysław Woś, La ‘Vita minor’ di s. Stanislao vescovo (Florence, 1979); 2nd revised ed. (Siena: Edizioni Cantagalli, 1983), 25–69. VITA MAIOR [BHL 7833–35] Composed after the canonization of St. Stanislaus, ca. 1257–1261, by Dominican Vincent of Kielcza (or Kielce, as argued previously and still maintained by a part of the historians), includes miracle accounts based on the canonization investigation materials and a description of the canonization. Several manuscript copies are known (at least 6). Inc. Gloriosi martyris sancti Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis vite processum, des. cui honor et imperium cum patre et spiritu sancto permanet in secula seculorum. CE Ed. Wojciech Kętrzyński, Vita sancti Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis (Vita maior), in MPH 4 (Lviv: Nakładem Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie, 1884), 319–438. TR Polish: Janina Pleziowa, and Wincentego z Kielc, “Żywot mniejszy i Żywot większy św. Stanisława,” Analecta Cracoviensia 11 (1979): 165– 213; Janina Pleziowa, “Żywot większy św. Stanisława,” in Średniowieczne żywoty i cuda patronów Polski, ed. Marian Plezia (Warsaw: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1987), 235–344. German: Eduard Mühle, in Heilige Fürstinnen und Kleriker: Lebensbeschreibungen und Wunderberichte von polnischen Heiligen des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts, ed., tr., comm. by Eduard Mühle (Darmstadt: WBG Academic, 2021), 45–179.

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VITA TRADUNT [BHL 7836] Composed most probably in the milieu of Cracow cathedral in the fourteenth century, earlier dated to around 1340, subsequently moved to around 1320. Based on the earlier lives, with some additions and modifications and a different composition of chapters. Seven manuscript copies (out of that 3 reworked) are known. Inc. Tradunt annales Polonorum historie, quod Mesco, des. cui hec sunt deposita. Tu autem domine miserere nobis. EP Ed. Joannes Vincentius Bandtkie, in Martini Galli Chronicon […] denuo recensuit […] vitamque sancti Stanislai … adiecit (Warsaw, 1824), 321–80. VITA SANCTISSIMI STANISLAI AUCTORE JOANNI DLUGOSSII [BHL 7839–7841] Written by Jan Długosz (1415–1480) between 1461–65, new literary life, lengthy with numerous additions, consists of 3 parts, including a miracles account, with new miracle accounts added from the fifteenth century. Preserved in a manuscript produced under the author’s auspices – Ms. 214 (220) in the Archives of the Cathedral Chapter in Cracow, one lost manuscript. Inc. Subierat diebus superioribus animum, Venerande Pater, des. meritis et intercessione beatissimi Stanislai, quem invocabat, usque ad unum rehabuit. Old print edition: Vita beatissimi Stanislai Cracoviensis episcopi Necnon legende sanctorum Polonie Hungarie Bohemie Morauie Prussie et Slesie patronorum in lombardica historia non contente, Cracoviae: Haller, 1511. EP Ed. Decus Polonorum S. Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis et martyris vita olim a I. Dlugossio, canonico Cracoviensi typis edita, Cracoviae 1666. As well as Acta Sanctorum Maii, t. 2, Antwerpiae: Michael Cnobarus, 1680, 202–76. CE Ed. Ignatius Polkowski et Żegota Pauli, Ioannis Dlugossii, Vita sanctissimi Stanislai, Cracoviensis episcopi, in Joannis Dlugossii, Opera omnia, t. 1, Cracoviae: Typographia Ephemeridum “Czas” Fr. Kluczycki, 1887, 1–181.

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TR Polish: Old print: Historya o ś. Stanisławie, Kraków 1578, 1585; Ludwik Feliks Karczewski, Jan Długosz, Żywot Świętego Stanisława, biskupa krakowskiego, oraz żywoty świętych patronów polskich, węgierskich, czeskich, morawskich, pruskich i szlązkich nie umieszczone w historyi lombardzkiej, Kraków 1865; Stanisław Bełch, Jan Długosz, Życie świętego Stanisława, biskupa krakowskiego, London 1948. MIRACULA SANCTI STANISLAI Judicial protocol of miracle depositions from the second canonization investigation by the commission led by James of Velletri, 1252, including 42 miracle accounts, missing beginning and end, scroll preserved in the Archives of the Cathedral Chapter in Cracow (Ms. 228). Inc. De filio Richardi a morte suscitato, des, sedens in equo cursu veloci quasi per portam latissimam, ut sibi videbatur, penitus illesus exivit. EP Ed. Wojciech Kętrzyński, “Miracula sancti Stanislai,” in MPH 4, 285–318. CE Ed. Zbigniew Perzanowski, “Cuda św. Stanisława,” Analecta Cracoviensia 11 (1979): 47–141. TR Polish, Janina Pleziowa, “Cuda św. Stanisława,” Analecta Cracoviensia 11 (1979): 66–141; Janina Pleziowa, Średniowieczne żywoty i cuda patronów Polski, ed. Marian Plezia (Warsaw: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1987), 151–234.

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Appendix Conspectus siglorum Manuscripts of the Vita minor of St. Stanislaus of Cracow Manuscripta

Cracow, Chapter Library, ms. 147 Lviv, Library of of the University, ms. XLI B 5 (olim Przemyszl) Wrocław, Bibliotheca Ossoliniana, ms. 2209 II Cracow, Chapter Library, ms. 175c Cracow, Jagellonian Library, ms. 1550 Cracow, Jagellonian Library, ms. 1768 Cracow, Jagellonian Library, ms. 3408 Cracow, Jagellonian Library, ms. 271 Cracow, Czartoryski Library, ms. 2767 Cracow, Czartoryski Library, ms. 3064 Vita maior Cracow, Jagellonian Library, ms. 4246* Gdańsk, Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ms. 2153* Warsaw, National Library, ms. BOZ 54* Wrocław, Bibliotheca Ossoliniana, ms. 5439 II*

Siglum used in the present ed.

Siglum used in the MPH ed.b

C1

I

L

II

O1 C2 J1 J2 J3 J4 Cz1 Cz2 VMa J5

III IIIa IV V VI VII VIII IX X

G W O2

a Manuscripts marked by * were not used by Kętrzyński in his edition (see next footnote); they were listed in Vincenzo da Kielce, O. P., La “Vita Minor” di San Stanislao vescovo, introduction, Italian translation, and notes by Jan Władysław Woś, 2nd revised ed. (Siena: Edizioni Cantagalli, 1983), 22. Woś intended to publish a new critical edition based on fourteen mss., but this never materialized. b Vita S. Stanislai episcopi Cracoviensis (Vita minor), ed. Wojciech Kętrzyński in Monumenta Poloniae Historica = Pomniki dziejowe Polski, vol. 4 (Lwów: Księgarna Gubrynowicza i Schmidta, 1884; repr. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnicztwo Naukowe, 1961), 238-85. c Woś, ibid., lists it as no. 157.

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W Warsaw, National Library, ms. BOZ [Biblioteka Ordynacji Zamoj­ skiej] 54, fifteenth century (1454): Historiae sanctorum, ff. 1-463r Le­ genda aurea; ff. 251v-257v (Stanislaus). Provenance: klasztor kanoników regularnych (Czerwińsk). Available online at: https://polona.pl/ item/1219967/510/. L Warsaw, National Library, ms. akc. 10473, olim Lviv/Lwów, Library of of the University (Uniwersytet Jana Kazimierza), ms. XLI B 5, fifteenth century (first half ): [Legenda aurea]. Provenance: klasztor dominikanów w Przemyślu. See info in Inwentarz rękopisów do połowy XVI wieku (2012) s. 201. Microfilmed: mf. 46015.

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CONTRIBUTORS TO THE VOLUME

János M. Bak (2929–2020) was founding member and Professor Emeritus at the Department of Medieval Studies at the Central European University (CEU), and the founder of the bilingual source edition series Central European Medieval texts. He began his studies in history in Budapest, he emigrated after the 1956 revolution. He earned a medieval studies doctorate in Göttingen, as a pupil of Percy Ernst Schramm. He worked at the University of Marburg, then, after 1966 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and after 1992 at CEU, Budapest. His principal research interests related to comparative history of nobility, medieval chronicles, legal codes, symbols of royalty, and medievalism. His publications include Königtum und Stände in Ungarn im 14–16. Jahrhundert (1973); Studying Medieval Rulers and Their Subjects: Central Europe and Beyond (2010); Chronicon: Medieval Narrative Sources: A Chronological Guide with Introductory Essays, ed. with Ivan Jurković (2013); Crown and Coronation in Hungary 1000–1916, co-authored with Géza Pálffy (2020). Nora Berend is Professor of European History at the Faculty of History, University of Cambridge, UK, and the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Stockholm. She is interested in medieval religious and cultural interaction, the formation of identity, and uses of the medieval past in the present. Her publications include At the Gate of Christendom: Jews, Muslims and “pagans” in medieval Hungary (c.1000–c. 1300) (2001); the edited volume Christianization and the rise of Christian monarchy: Central Europe, Scandinavia and Rus’ c. 950–c. 1200 (2007); Central Europe in the High Middle Ages, c. 900–c.1300, co-authored with Przemysław Urbańczyk and Przemysław Wiszewski (2013); Minority Influences in Medieval Society, guest editor, Special Issue of Journal of Medieval History 45, no. 3 (July 2019). [ 667 ]

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CONTRIBUTORS

Gábor Bradács is historian and medievalist. MA degrees in History, German language and literature at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, Medieval Studies at CEU, Budapest, Ph.D. degree in History at a joint program of the University of Debrecen and University of Rostock, Germany. His research interest includes medieval church history, medieval and early modern historiography, hagiography, medieval and early modern intellectual history, as well social history (with a focus on social peripheries and people with disabilities), and theory of history. Between 2010 and 2020, he worked as an assistant lecturer at the Department of History of the University of Debrecen, in 2016 as Visiting Lecturer at the University of Bamberg (Germany), and in 2017–18 as Visiting Lecturer at the University of Prešov (Slovakia). Since 2020 he has been working as an independent scholar. Ildikó Csepregi is historian of religion, trained as a Classicist and a Medievalist, with a PhD in Medieval Studies from CEU, Budapest (2007) on late antique and medieval incubation dreams. Her research focuses on hagiography, early medieval sainthood, sacred places, healing cults and miracles as well as the Christianization of pagan rituals. Her previous work related to this topic was co-editing in the CEMT series the Latin-English critical edition of the miracles of St. Margaret of Hungary and materials related to her canonization. She is a Maria Zambrano research fellow at the University of Vigo, Spain and member of the Geaat (Grupo de Estudos de Arqueoloxía, Antigüidade e Territorio). Cristian Gaşpar is lecturer at the Department of Medieval Studies at CEU, and instructor of Classical and Medieval Latin in the Source Language Teaching Group. He has a PhD in Medieval Studies (2006). He is author of various studies and articles on patristics, early medieval hagiography in Central Europe, late antique intellectual history, monastic sexualities, and same-sex relationships in Late Antiquity. Translator (into Romanian) of Porphyry’s Vita Plotini (1998), and of the Minor Prophets for the New Romanian Septuagint: Osea, Amos, Michea, Ioel, Abdias, Iona, Naum,

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Avacum, Sophonia, Aggeu, Zaharia, Malachia (2009). He also prepared an annotated translation of the Life of Saint Adalbert for the CEMT 6 volume (2012). He is Senior Fellow at the Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies at CEU. Gábor Klaniczay is University Professor at the Department of Medieval Studies, CEU, Vienna/Budapest. He is also titulary professor at the Department of Medieval History of the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. His principal field is the historical anthropology of medieval Christianity (sainthood, miracle beliefs, stigmata, visions, healing, magic, witchcraft). He also deals with the modern uses and abuses of the Middle Ages, with phenomena of medievalism and politically biased memory politics. His books include The Uses of Supernatural Power (1990); Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses (2002); the edited volume Discorsi sulle stimmate dal Medioevo all’età contemporanea—Discours sur les stigmates du Moyen Âge à l’ époque contemporaine, in Archivio italiano per la storia della pietà, 26 (2013); Santità, miracoli, osservanze: L’Ungheria nel contesto europeo (2019). Stanislava Kuzmová is researcher at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava (Department of Slovak History). She worked on research projects at CEU in Budapest and at the University of Oxford.  She is the author of the monograph  Preaching Saint Stanislaus: Medieval Sermons on St. Stanislaus of Cracow, His Image and Cult (2013). Her research interests include medieval preaching and manuscript sermons, cults of saints and hagiography and late medieval social and religious history of Central Europe.  Ana Marinković is Assistant Professor at the Art History Department, University of Zagreb, holding a PhD in Medieval Studies from CEU, Budapest (2013). She has published in the fields of urban, architectural and church history, and participated in a series of research projects, presently as a researcher at the ERC project Architectural Culture of the Early Modern Eastern Adriatic and the ANR project Histoire et archéologie des monastères et des sites ecclé-

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CONTRIBUTORS

siaux d’Istrie et de Dalmatie (IV e–XII e siècle). She was co-founder and president of the Croatian Hagiography Society Hagiotheca (2009–2020), and is co-leader of the research workshop Discovering the Old Dubrovnik Cathedrals (2015–). Her current research focuses on church reforms and the issues of control and interaction of public and ecclesiastical space in the medieval and early modern cities of the Eastern Adriatic. Marina Schumann (Miladinov until 2015) received her doctorate in 2003 from the Medieval Studies program at CEU Budapest, and since 2005 she has been teaching at the University Center for Protestant Theology (former Faculty of Theology) “Matthias Flacius Illyricus” in Zagreb, since 2013 as an Assistant Professor. In addition to various courses in Church History, she teaches English and Latin. She is the author of a number of scholarly articles in the field of medieval and early modern history, as well as two books: Margins of Solitude: Eremitism in Central Europe between East and West (2008) and Matija Vlačić Ilirik: Historiograf s predumišljajem [Matthias Flacius Illyricus: Historiographer with an Agenda] (2017). She also works as a freelance translator and is a member of the Society of Croatian Literary Translators and the Croatian Association of Independent Artists. Petr Sommer Prof. PhDr. CSc., DSc., is researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences/Centre for Medieval Studies of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Charles University. He studied archaeology and history. His entire professional life has been devoted to research on medieval sacral buildings and monasteries, as well as medieval spiritual culture and its reflection in written and material sources. Among other things, he has conducted long-term research on the Sázava Monastery and focused on the personality of its founder, Abbot Prokop. He edited Der heilige Prokop, Böhmen und Mitteleuropa (2006) and The Benedictines and Central Europe (2021), together with Dušan Foltýn and Pavlína Mašková.

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CONTRIBUTORS

671

Gábor Thoroczkay is Associate Professor with Habilitation (2015) at the Department of Medieval History, Faculty of Humanities, Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest). His main research interests are church history, legend-literature and historiography of the Árpád period, especially of the eleventh century, but he also deals with Hungarian prehistory (ninth to tenth centuries), and the history  of the early Angevin period. His most important works are Írások az Árpád-korról: Történeti és historiográfiai tanulmányok [Studies on the Arpadian period: Essays on history and historiography], (2009); Ismeretlen Árpád-kor (Püspökök, legendák, krónikák) [Unknown Arpadian age: Bishops, legends, chronicles] (2016); A középkori Magyarország. Állam és ideológiák [Medieval Hungary: State and Ideologies] (2020).   Dorottya Uhrin is Assistant Professor at the Medieval History Department, Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest). In her PhD dissertation (2019) she dealt with the medieval Hungarian cult of the Virgines Capitales. Besides medieval history she studied Mongolian language and Buddhism, and she also has an MA degree in Medieval Studies from CEU (2018). Her research focuses on medieval church history and religiosity. Her specific interests are the ordeals, the cult of saints and the Mongol Invasion of Europe. She is the secretary of the Hungarian Association for Hagiographical Studies, and a review editor of the Historical Studies on Central Europe.

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CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 672

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INDEX

A Aachen, 34 Aaron, Bishop of Cracow, 526 Abraham, 241, 243, 245 Adalbert, Saint; Bishop of Prague, 12, 27, 47–51, 59n, 86n, 113, 117, 279n, 281, 349, 515, 525, 567, 568n, 5569–71, 572n Adriatic, 486n Adrius, 475 Agag, King of the Amalekites, 121 Agnes of Bohemia, Saint, 12 Aigrain, René, 3 Ajtony (Ahtun), 285, 289–95, 331 Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvár), 71, 93, 180 Alba Regia. See Székesfehérvár Alcuin, 423n Alexander II, Pope, 464n Alexander III, Pope, 352, 451, 452, 455n Alexander IV, Pope (Cardinal Reginald [Rinaldo] of Ostia), 519n, 523 Álmos, Duke, 27, 44n, 102n, 182–83, 209, 333n Anastasius I, Pope, 76n, 153n Anastasius, abbot. See Ascricus Andrew I, King of Hungary, 37, 102n, 162, 258n, 259n, 263, 319–21, 323–25, 416n, 417 Andrew II, King of Hungary, 12, 416n Andrew-Zoerard, Saint, 13, 54n, 55, 125, 179, 224, 413, 429

Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, 9 Anian, Saint, 325n Anonymus Gallus, 33, 412, 516, 566n Árpád, 86n, 44n Arpadian dynasty, 21, 32, 38, 51n, 87n, 190, 235 Ascricus (Aserik, also Anastasius), 34, 52n, 53–55, 56n, 123–31, 135, 279, 281, 285 Assisi, 519 Athanasius, 208n Athens, 563 Austria, 161, 357 B Babylon, King of, 397 Bakonybél (Bél), monastery of, 13, 14, 69, 143, 223, 243n, 287, 299 Balkans, 422n Bartoniek, Emma, 103n, 190, 228n, 408–9 Bavaria, 26, 27, 58n, 59n, 68n, 71n, 184n, 341 Becket, Thomas, 15, 234–35, 455n, 517 Bédier, Joseph, 229 Bél. See Bakonybél Béla I, King of Hungary, 102n, 162n, 319, 417 Béla II, King of Hungary, 183 Béla III, King of Hungary, 251n, 407, 412, 420n, 439n

[ 673 ]

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 673

2023. 04. 19. 5:50:22

674

INDEX

Béla IV, King of Hungary, 11, 12 Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár), 92n, 417n Bellona, 387 Benedict IX, Pope, 526, 571, 575 Benedict of Nursia, Saint, 16, 273, 325, 341, 347, 350, 371, 573 Benedict of Szkalka, Saint, 13, 54n, 55, 125, 179, 224, 413, 429 Benedictine Abbey of Scheyer, 59n Beneta, bishop, 261n, 321–23 Berchtold, prince of Andechs-Meran, 12 Berend, Nora, 44n, 51n, 108n Berettyó (Sâniob), 172n Bernard of Clairvaux, 449 Bernard, archbishop, 44 Bestrid (Beztricus, Boztricus), bishop, 261n, 321, 323 Bethlehem, 275, 282n Bihar; bishopric, 55n; county, 172n Biograd by the Sea, 462n Biondo, Flavio, 496n Black Hungarians, 54n Blasius, abbot of Sázava, 345, 352, 399, 401 Boesch Gajano, Sofia, 3 Bohemia, 2, 9, 10, 15, 47, 69, 113, 143, 341–42, 345, 348, 349, 350, 353, 355, 356n, 357, 358, 369, 376n, 380n, 381, 411, 431, 526, 567, 568n, 587 Bökény clan, 163n Bökénysomlyó, 163 Bolesław (Boleslaus) I, Chrobry, King of Poland, 71n, 127n, 525, 545n, 561–71, 583, 605 Bolesław (Boleslaus) II, King of Poland, son of Casimir, 15, 234, 515–16, 524, 525–26, 528, 543, 549, 565, 571, 577–605,

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 674

Bolesław (Boleslaus) III, Wrymouth, 603n Bollandists, 3 Bollók, János, 201n Bologna, 235, 273 Bongars, Jacques, 189 Boniface, abbot, 53, 54n, 123 Bozetech, abbot, 351 Břetislav I, Duke of Bohemia, 343, 344, 349, 356, 377, 381, 385, 572n Břevnov, 242, 345 Bruno of Querfurt, Saint, 54n. See also Boniface, abbot. Buda, 237, 321, 355 Budi (Buldi), bishop, 261n, 321, 323 Budin. See Vidin Bulgaria, 2, 99, 149, 284n, 288n, 294n Byzantium (Byzantine Empire), 2, 28, 121n, 163, 183, 205n, 422n, 464n, 496n. See also Greece C Caesarea, 209, 210, 211, 524, 536 Cain, 349, 603 Callixtus, Saint, 352, 403 Calò, Pietro, 227, 250n, 251n Carinthia, 448n Caritas, recluse, 163 Carpathian Basin, 86n, 284n Carthusian Anonymus, 35 Casimir I the Restorer, Duke of Poland, 525, 526, 571–77, 590n Casolina, John, 505 Celestine III, Pope, 451, 453–54 Cevins, Marie-Madeleine de, 4 Chaloupecký, Václav, 17, 339 Charles I, King of Hungary, 333 Chartuirgus, 30, 109n

2023. 04. 19. 5:50:22

INDEX

Chiesa, Paolo, 447 Chion, 497 Christian, monk, 8 Clement of Gyula, canon of Csanád, 233 Clermont, council of, 430n Cluny, 570n, 571, 573, 575, 576n, 577 Coloman the Learned, King of Hungary, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29–30, 102n, 109, 182–84, 186, 209n, 246n, 333n, 425n, 437, 448, 450, 456n, 463, 464n, 473–74, 482n Coloman, Duke of Galicia, 12 Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, 71, 73, 78n, 102n, 145, 147 Conrad, provost of Fehérvár, 287 Constance of Hungary, 12 Constantinople, 28, 64n, 65, 94n, 139, 182–83, 209 Contra-Aquincum, 324 Corsendonk, 228, 231 Corvey, 341 Cosmas of Prague, 340, 357 Cosmas, Saint, 487 Cracow (Kraków), 9, 12, 15, 515, 517, 522, 524, 526, 530, 533, 539, 541, 557, 569, 595; cathedral chapter in, 518, 519, 526, 558n, 602n Crates of Thebes, 581n Crescentio, Gregory de, cardinal legate, 453 Croatia, 2, 4, 30, 205n, 422n, 462n, 475, 481 Csanád (Cenad), town and county, 9, 233, 237, 243n, 255, 319, 325, 327; bishopric of, 14, 55n, 223, 229, 258n, 263n, 299, 301, 325 Csanád, warrior, 291–97, 299, 313 Csóka, Lajos, 224, 410

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 675

675

Cunegond (Kinga), Saint, 12, 515 Cyprus, 563n Cyril (Constantine), Saint, 369 Czech state and Church, 4, 69n, 228, 303, 341, 342, 344, 345, 347–48, 352, 357, 528 D Dalmatia, 227, 448, 449, 453, 459, 462n, 463, 472n, 475, 482n, 496n, 501 Damian, Saint, 487 Damiani, Peter, monk, cardinal, 449 Daniel, Bishop of Prague, 356 Daniel, prophet, 396n Danube river, 251n, 259n, 261, 262n, 283, 285, 288n, 303, 321, 323, 567, 585; Lower Danube, 70n, 284n, 422n David, 97, 131n, 477, 567n, 595n, 601 Delehaye, Hippolyte, 3 Dethard, Abbot of Sázava, 339, 340 Diomedes, 472n Diósd (Diód), 259n, 321 Długosz, Jan (John), 530, 533n, 662n Dobronega (Maria), daughter of Vladimir the Great, 557 Doeg the Edomite, 595 Dominic, Saint, 524n, 537n, 538n, 541n Dominicus, Archbishop of Esztergom, 55n Domnius, Saint, 463n E Eger, 55n Elizabeth of Thuringia, Saint, 12 Elizabeth, Queen, widow of Charles I of Hungary, 237, 333

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676

INDEX

Emeric (Henricus, Heinricus), Saint, 8, 11, 21, 75, 102n, 151, 179–219, 223, 224, 287, 413, 414, 429 Emmeram, son of Procopius, 341, 350, 381, 391, 393 Endlicher, Stefan Ladislaus, 190 Erdélyi, László, 182 Esterházy, Prince, 37 Esztergom, 55, 87, 90n, 117, 181, 259n; archdiocese of, 27, 34, 56n, 127, 135; synod of, 29, 185–86 Eusebius of Caesarea, 89n, 211n, 524, 536n, 563 Eusebius, Saint, 184, 188, 211 F Fabian, chancellor, provost, 217 Falics, Duke, 44n Farlati, Daniele, 447, 448n, 486n Fehérvár. See Székesfehérvár Ferrandi, Peter (Petrus), 524n, 533n, 539 Fischa river, 73n Florence, 447, 449 Florian, Saint, 515 Fodor, Adrienne, 409 France, 431, 573 Franks, 429 Frederick I Barbarossa, 457n, 586n Fulbert of Chartres, 247n Fulco, hospes, 182 G Galaderlus, Doimus (nobleman), 505 Garinus, OP, 9 Gaşpar, Cristian, 8, 108n Gaudentius, Archbishop of Gniezno, 448, 569 Gdańsk, 568n

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 676

Gelasius I, Pope, 130n Gellért-hegy (Mount of Gerard), 260n, 323n George of Lydda, Saint, 53, 121, 188, 269, 293, 295; churches dedicated to, 187, 203, 245, 297, 301, 319, 327, 331; monasteries dedicated to, 14, 16, 241n, 269n, 299, 305, 313 Gerard (Gerhardus) of Csanád, Saint, 9, 13–14, 15, 16, 21, 69, 143, 179, 223–335, 413, 429 Gérard de Frachet, 545n Gerics, József, 6, 235, 410 Germans, 48n, 71, 73, 86n, 145, 188, 213, 253n, 303, 305, 329, 344, 345, 387n Germany, 71n, 416n, 431, 573, 577. See also Holy Roman Empire Géza I Magnus, King of Hungary, 32–33, 162n, 333n, 411, 417, 462n, 585n Géza II, King of Hungary, 488n Géza, Grand Duke of Hungary, 25, 26, 28–29, 35, 45, 46n, 47, 48n, 50n, 51n, 57n, 86n, 87n, 102n, 111, 113, 119n, 193n, 198n, 275n Gisela, Queen of Hungary, 26, 27, 59, 68n, 87n, 131 Gniezno, 349, 525, 568n, 569, 572n Goodich, Michael, 5 Gorze, 345 Gratian (Gratianus), 423n Graz, 409 Great Moravia. 2, 368n. See also Moravia. Greece, 496n, 497 Greeks, 153, 210n, 211, 291, 295, 297, 299, 462n Grégoire, Réginald, 3

2023. 04. 19. 5:50:22

INDEX

Gregory de Crescentio, cardinal legate, 453, 455n, 456 Gregory de Sancto Apostolo, papal legate, 449, 451 Gregory I the Great, Pope, 77n, 382n, 544n, 548n Gregory VII, Pope, 15, 28, 31, 161n, 188, 213, 349, 417n, 450 Gubbio, 457n Guido of Monte Cassino, 185 Guido of Santa Maria Trastevere, 352, 355, 356n, 403 Guillaume de Sissac, 545n Gumpold of Mantua, 8 Günther of Niederaltaich, 69, 143, 243n Gyöngyösi, Gregorius, 171n Győr, 30, 46n, 55n, 90n, 109n Györffy, György, 53n Gyula, warrior, 295 Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia), 70, 92n H Hajdú, István, 409 Halecki, Oscar, 1 Hartmann of St. Gall, 157n Hartvic (Arduin), bishop of Győr, 8, 23–24, 29–31, 34, 56n, 109; Legend written by, 22, 26–35, 37, 44n, 78n, 107–75, 183–84, 195n, 210n Head, Thomas, 3 Hedwig of Silesia, Saint, 12 Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, 58n, 59, 68n, 71, 103, 131, 145, 152n, 184–85, 210n Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, 235, 255n, 416n, 577n Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, 162n, 416n

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 677

677

Henry, Duke of Bavaria, 59n Herman, Wladislaus Hermann, bishop of Metz, 161n Hilary of Poitiers, 208n Hildebrand. See Gregory VII, Pope Holy Land, 182, 208n, 235, 271, 277 Holy Mountain, 57, 121, 199, 201 Holy Roman Empire, 23, 31, 184, 235. See also Germany Holy See, 31, 55, 127, 161, 213 Horváth, János, 224 Hradisko, 355 Humbert of Romans, 524n, 533n, 539n Hungarians, 25, 26, 28, 43, 45, 48n, 51n, 54n, 61, 65, 70n, 71, 85, 86n, 87, 111, 135, 139, 145, 219, 236, 246n, 279, 289n, 311, 319, 425, 427, 429, 431, 567. See also Pannonians Hungary, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10–12, 14, 15, 21–38, 43, 45n, 49, 50–53, 54n, 58n, 59, 71n, 72n, 73, 78n, 115, 117, 123, 131, 134n, 144n, 145, 147, 150n, 163n, 167, 171, 173, 180, 181, 183, 186, 187, 189, 193, 198n, 207, 217n, 225, 227, 229, 233, 234, 235, 246n, 253n, 258n, 259n, 265n, 281, 283, 288n, 289n, 304n, 315, 319, 325, 340, 358, 407, 417, 423, 431, 437n, 441, 482n, 585, 603. See also Pannonia Huns, 387, 389 Hyacinth, Saint, 515, 523 I Illyria, 447, 475 Innocent III, Pope, 11, 130n, 345, 351, 352, 357, 358, 400n, 401n, 451, 511 Innocent IV, Pope, 519

2023. 04. 19. 5:50:22

678

INDEX

Iron Mountain (Vashegy), 55, 125 Israel, Israelites, 115n, 283, 391, 427, 471 Istria, 170n, 501 Italus, 475 Italy, 13, 14, 275, 281, 448 Iwo (Ivo) Odrowąż, Bishop of Cracow, 522, 524n, 526n Iziaslav, 582n J James of Varazze (Jacobus de Voragine), 228, 528 James of Velletri, 518–19 James of Vitry, 524n Jean de Mailly, 560n Jędrzejów, 515 Jerome, Saint, 275, 283, 549 Jerusalem, 26, 27, 64n, 65, 94n, 95, 139, 185n, 188, 215, 271, 277, 283–87, 429, 563 Jessolo, 227n Jews, 277, 396n. See also Israel John of Gaeta, cardinal, 519 John of Trogir, Saint, 14, 447–59, 463–511 John the Baptist, Saint, 165, 207, 301; monastery/church dedicated to, 291, 295, 297, 319, 327, 371, 399 John, Archdeacon of Gorica, 205n John, cardinal, apostolic legate, 463 Jonas, prophet, 279 Jordan of Saxony, 537n, 538n, 539n, 545n Jordan, abbot in Trogir, 503 K Kadłubek, Vincent. See Vincent, Master Kadłubek

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 678

Kalocsa, 34, 127, 135, archbishopric of, 31, 34, 55n, 56n, 127n, 135n Kalocsa-Bács, 229, 245n, 249n, 259n, 260n Karácsonyi, János, 35 Kelen (Kelen-hegy), 260n, 323 Kelenföld (Kreinfeld), 323 Kętrzyński, Wojciech, 517n, 519–20 Kielce, 520n–521n, 522, 532n Kielcza, 522, 533n Kiev, 567, 583. See also Rus’ Kinga, Saint. See Cunegond Klimecka, Grażyna, 521, 524n, 527n, 528, 532n, 560n Knauz, Nándor, 37 Kökényér, 293 Kołobrzeg, 569n Koppány, Chieftain, 26, 35, 36, 51n, 90n, 91n, 294n Koszta, László, 56n, 127n Kouřim, 342, 348, 369, 393 Krešimir III, King of Croatia, 205n Krešimir IV, King of Croatia, 463n Kriş river, 291 Kubín, Petr, 353–58 Kuznetsova, Anna, 303n L Labessa, 349, 389 Labuda, Gerard, 521, 522n, 527, 528 Ladislaus I, King of Hungary, Saint, 6, 11, 21, 24, 27, 32, 33, 105, 162n, 163, 171, 172n, 185, 188, 217–19, 263, 333, 407–14, 416–43, 462n, 585, 602n Lambert II Suła, Bishop of Cracow, 524n, 539, 541 Lampert, duke, 416n, 333n, 585n

2023. 04. 19. 5:50:22

INDEX

Lawrence, Archbishop of Salona, 469, 491 Lawrence, Bishop of Csanád, 263, 333 Lawrence, Saint, 185, 401 Lazarus, 213, 555 Leclercq, Jean, 241n Leitha river, 73n Levente, son of Vazul, 258n, 259n, 319–321 Levites, 115n Liudolfings, 68n Lotharingians, 429 Louis I, King of Hungary, 6, 236 Louis II, King of Hungary, 447 Lovato, Antonio, 455n Lublin Voivodeship, 548n Lucas, Archbishop of Esztergom, 234n Lucius, Johannes (Lučić, Ivan), 447, 453n, 463n M Macarelli, Dessa, Bishop of Trogir, 452n Machinatura, Gregory, Bishop of Trogir, 455n Madzsar, Imre, 181, 228–21, 232, 233, 234, 249n, 279n Magnus Billung, Duke of Saxony, 170n Mancin, Paolo, 226n Marcellus, O.P., 204n Margaret of Hungary, Saint, 9, 11, 12, 21, 204–5n Marin, Olivier, 4 Marinković, Ana, 14 Maros (Mureş) river, 245, 285n, 289, 305, 327

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 679

679

Marosvár (Morisena, Cenad), 55n, 69n, 235, 245, 255, 263, 285n, 289, 291, 295, 299, 303, 305, 317, 331; bishopric of, 223, 287 Marsicanus, Leo, 184, 185n Martin of Tours, Saint, 26, 53, 57, 91, 121, 123, 198n; monastery dedicated to, 91, 123, 133, 181, 199, 275 Mary Magdalene, Saint, 523, 535 Maternus, Saint; Bishop of Cologne/ Archbishop of Trier, 524, 560n, 561, 562n Mathilda, granddaughter of King Ladislaus’ sister Sophia, 170n, 171 Mathilda, sister of Otto III, 572n Matthew the Apostle, Saint, 121 Matthias, King of Hungary, 37 Mátyás, Florian, 35, 190 Maurice, Saint, 69n, 243n, 571 Maurus (Mór), Bishop of Csanád, 243, 263n, 325 Maurus (Mór), Bishop of Pécs, 54n, 182, 188, 201, 203, 279–85 Mencogna, 509 Ménfő, 255n Menno, 343, 373 Mercurius, 171, 172n Merhautová, Anežka, 345 Merseburg, 185 Methodius, Saint, 368n Michael, Archangel, Saint; church dedicated to, 481, 525, 595, 601 Michael, Bishop of Trogir, 451–52, 511 Michael, brother of Grand Duke Géza, 102n Międzyrzecz, 52n Mieszko I, Duke of Poland, 127, 571 Mieszko II Lambert, King of Poland, 205n, 525, 571n, 572n

2023. 04. 19. 5:50:22

680

INDEX

Mieszko, son of Bolesław II, 603 Mieszko, son of Casimir, 577n Mikó, Gábor, 36, 37 Miladinov [Schumann], Marina, 8 Milan, 228 Modestus, bishop, 261n Mondsee, 32n, 180, 232–33, 409n Monte Cassino, 185, 341 Mór. See Maurus Moravia, 353, 567, 587. See also Great Moravia Morosini, family, 240n Morosini, Giovanni, 240n Moses, 185n, 413, 471 Mount of Saint Martin, 181, 198n. See also Pannonhalma Mügeln, Heinrich von, 37 Muhammad, 271 Munich, 32n, 181, 232 Murano, 227 Mureş. See Maros N Nándorfehérvár. See Belgrade Nebuchadnezzar, 396n Nechutová, Jana, 232 Neretva river, 474n Niederaltaich, 68n, 69n, 243n, 345 Nitra (Nyitra), 13, 299n, 425n Normans, 28 Nova Kanjizha, 293 Novigrad, 279 O Óbuda, 187, 355 Odrowąż family, 522 Oldřich, Prince, 356 Olomouc, 355

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 680

Opole, 522n Oradea (Nagyvárad), 327n, 425n, 437n. See also Várad Oroszlámos (Banatsko Aranđelovo), 293, 299 Orsini family, 448n Orsini, John. See John of Trogir, Saint Osor, 448 Ostrov, 345 Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, 45n Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor, 569n Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, 58n, 195n, 525, 569, 571, 572n, 577 Otto of Brunswick, 351 Otto Orseolo, Doge of Venice, 78n, 102n, 253n Otto, son of Casimir, 577 Otto, son of Saint Stephen, 35. 37. 195n P Palestine, 211 Pannonhalma, Abbey, 26, 57n, 91n, 121n, 131n, 134n, 181, 182, 186, 187, 198n, 201n, 203n, 224, 273n, 224, 273n, 275n, 281n, 299 Pannonia, 13, 43, 45, 51, 57, 71, 111, 121, 123, 127, 145, 159, 161, 163, 195, 197, 199, 211, 215, 217, 243, 247, 253, 261, 265, 307, 315, 323, 333, 417, 463. See also Hungary Pannonians, 85, 99, 105, 149, 257, 317, 475. See also Hungarians Parnassus, 85 Paul the Apostle, Saint, 83, 187, 246n, 283 Paul the Hermit, Saint, 171n, 237 Pechenegs, 26, 27, 28, 71, 95, 97, 99, 145, 149, 163n, 422n, 427

2023. 04. 19. 5:50:22

INDEX

Pécs, 54n, 55, 182, 201n, 202n, 203, 279, 285n Pécsvárad, 54n, 125n, 279, 283, 299 Pegasus, 85 Pelagius, 188, 208n Pelbartus of Temesvár, O.F.M., 233n Pest, town, 236, 243n, 259n, 260n, 262n, 319, 321, 325, 329 Peter I Orseolo, King of Hungary, 78n, 79, 102n, 157, 223, 235, 253, 257n, 258n, 315, 319 Peter of Blois, 247n Peter of Piotrawin, count, 514, 549, 555–61 Peter of Tarentaise, 454 Peter of Verona, Saint, 596n Peter the Apostle, Saint, 27, 65, 127, 139, 187, 213, 283, 448, 561, 577 Peter the Deacon, 185 Peter the Martyr, Saint, 520–21, 528, 596n Philip of Swabia, 351 Philip, Abbot of Csanád, 263n, 325, 317–29 Philippart, Guy, 3 Philistines, 97, 477 Piotrawin (Pyotrawin/Potrauin), 521, 524, 549, 551, 553, 555, 557, 558n Planka (Hyllis, Promontorium Diomedis), 458, 473 Plezia, Marian, 520, 522n, 540n, 599n, 600–601n, 602n Pleziowa, Janina, 519n Plinius the Elder, 472n Poland, 2, 3, 13, 15, 55, 102n, 125, 228, 318n, 319, 416n, 515, 516, 517n, 525, 528, 530, 541n, 543, 544n, 567, 571–77, 583, 585, 587, 591, 593, 603n, 605

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 681

681

Poles, 127, 129, 303, 520, 596, 575, 576n, 585, 589 Polgárdi, 163n Pomerania, 567, 569, 587 Poncelet, Albert, 190 Poznań, 572n Prague, 351, 361, 567, 572n Prandota, Odrowąż, Bishop of Cracow, 517, 522, 526 Přemysl Ottokar I, 12, 351 Přemysl Ottokar II, 526 Přemyslid dinasty, 12, 586n Priam, 421n Priscian, 109 Procopius of Sázava, Saint, 9, 16, 339–58, 360–403 Prussia, 51, 117, 569 Prussians, 13, 50n, 567, 569 Pula, 422n R Rab, 482n Raba, 533 Racibórz, 523 Radim, Saint, 357n Radla, tutor of St.Stephen, 134n, 275n Rainer, Archbishop of Split, 452 Raša river, 474n Rasina, abbot, 134n, 275–79, 283 Ráskai, Lea O.P., nun, 205n Ravenna, 55n Red Sea, 391 Regensburg, 341, 345 Reginard of Metz, abbot, 355 Rein Abbey (Reun), 180 Richeza, 472n Roman See. See Holy See Romania, 2, 70n, 143n, 172n, 179, 180, 285n, 295n

2023. 04. 19. 5:50:22

682

INDEX

Rome, 26, 27, 28, 43, 65, 93, 95, 127n, 139, 233, 333, 352, 399, 403, 463, 518, 561, 562n, 575, 577 Romuald, 13, 448 Rosenberg family, 448n Rus’ (Kievan Rus’, Rus’ of Kiev), 2, 567, 577, 582n, 583 Ryba, Bohumil, 339 S Saale river, 567 Sabaria (Savaria, Szombathely), 57n, 198n Sabellico, Marco Antonio, 496n Sagredo family, 233n, 240n Salome, 12 Salomea, Saint, 515 Salona, 469, 481 Samuel Aba, King of Hungary, 13–14, 15, 223, 234, 235, 253n, 254n, 255n, 257n, 315 Saracens, 277, 451, 458, 487 Sarolt, wife of Duke Géza, 87n, 115n Saul, 91, 121, 131n, 595n Saxony, 170n, 341, 567 Sázava, 9, 16, 339, 340–58, 369, 389, 391, 397 Scandinavia, 9–10 Schimmelpfennig, Bernard, 357 Schwandtner, Johann Georg, 189 Scythians, 593 Sebastian (Sebastianus), Archbishop of Esztergom, 34, 55n Sebastian, monk, 133–35 Seitz, 32n 181, 409 Serafin, Archbishop of Esztergom, 182 Serbia, 2, 299n Severin (Szörény), 233, 291 Severus (Šebíř), Bishop of Prague, 340, 344, 350, 354, 361, 383

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 682

Šibenik (Sibenicum), 473, 480n, 481 Sibrik-Hill, 325n Sicily, 30 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, 410n, 448n Silagi, Gabriel, 231, 251n Silesia, 12, 522n, 523 Silvester, Abbot of Sázava, 353, 355–56 Simon of Kéza, 86n, 236 Simone, Giulio (Iulius Simon Siculus), 233 Skałka (Rupella), 515, 525, 530, 594n, 601n Slavnik family, 12 Slavs, 340, 341, 358, 547, 567 Šmahel, František, 345, 346n Socrates, 581n Solomon, 89, 119, 571 Solomon, King of Hungary, 32–33, 162n, 163, 164n, 165, 417, 421n, 422n, 423, 427n, 585 Somlyó hill, 163n Somogy county, 36, 51n, 91n Sophia, sister of St. Ladislaus, 170n Split, 449, 452, 453, 455n, 462n, 468n, 486n Spyridon (Spiridon), Saint; Bishop of Trimithus, 524, 563, 565 Spytihněv II, Duke, 344, 350, 380n, 381, 385, 389 Spytihněv, Duke of Bohemia, 340 St. Gallen, 45n, 190n St. Stephen’s Basilica, 168n Stanislaus, Bishop of Cracow, Saint (Stanislaus of Szczepanów), 7, 9, 15, 234, 515–30, 532–605 Statileus, Johannes (Statilić, Ivan), 447, 448n

2023. 04. 19. 5:50:23

INDEX

Stephen I of Hungary, Saint, 5, 8, 10–11, 13, 21–38, 41–175, 179, 186, 187–88, 211, 215–19, 223, 243–47, 251, 253, 279n, 283, 289, 291n, 294n, 297, 305, 307, 309, 315, 318n, 319n, 325, 407, 412, 413, 414, 417, 425n, 429 Stephen II, King of Hungary, 183, 437 Stephen of Bourbon, 524n Stephen, Saint, Protomartyr, 65, 95, 115, 117, 139, 261n, 323 Strasbourg, 180, 228n, 529n Sulpicius Severus, 208n Šumava, 69 Surius, Laurentius, 229 Świętosława, daughter of Casimir, 577n Sylvester II, Pope, 31, 55, 127n Szabó, Flóris, 232 Szabolcs, 198n Szczepanów, 515, 520, 523, 533, 535 Szegfű, László, 262n Székesfehérvár (Alba Regia), 26, 31, 34, 35, 60n, 63, 93, 135, 159, 166n, 171n, 188, 193, 211n, 215, 217n, 259, 283, 285, 287, 305, 321, 325, 433 Szelestei Nagy, László, 409 Szentjobb, 171n, 172n Szolnok, ispán, 321, 323 Szőreg, 293 Szörény (Severin), 233 Szovák, Kornél, 6, 230n, 408, 412 Szűcs, Jenő, 1 T Taksony, 44n Tegernsee, 232 Teutonia, 71, 145 Theodor, 486–95 Thietmar of Merseburg, 58n, 86n

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 683

683

Thomas of Split, 453 Tihany, 325 Timișoara, 226n Tisza river, 251n, 291, 293, 295 Toubert, Pierre, 450n, 453, 456 Transdanubia, 51n, 90n Transylvania, 28, 55n, 70n, 71, 90n, 92n, 115n, 143, 208n, 223n, 288n, 291, 427n Treguan, Bishop of Zadar, 448, 449, 451, 452–54, 455–56, 458n, 463n, 487, 511 Třeštík, Dušan, 345 Trier, 345, 354n Trogir, 447–49, 450n, 451, 453, 456–57, 458–59, 462n, 463–69, 481, 486n, 487, 488n, 489, 493, 496n, 497, 499, 501, 511 Turmair, Johannes (Aventinus), 184n U Ubald of Gubbio, Saint, 450, 454, 457n, 458n Ulrich the White, Count/Duke, 171, 343 Unrest, Jakob, 35 Urban II, Pope, 29, 246n, 431n Uytfanghe, Marc van, 3 V Vác, 55n Vajk-Stephen, Grand Duke, 35, 58n. See also Stephen I of Hungary, Saint Várad, 55n, 414, 427, 433, 437. See also Oradea Varazze, Giaccomo da. See James of Varazze Vargha, Damján, 182 Varro, 472n

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684

INDEX

Vata, apostate, 319, 321 Vauchez, André, 4, 454n Vazul (Basil), Prince O.P., 25, 102n, 253n, 258n Vekenega, nun, 478n Venice, 13, 14, 16, 69, 78n, 79, 102n, 143, 157, 223, 225, 226–27, 229, 230, 237, 240, 241, 253n, 262n, 269, 285, 451, 453, 456, 457, 458, 486n, 498n, 497, 499–501 Veszprém, 51n, 90n, 91, 121, 181, 182, 187, 188, 203; bishopric of, 46n, 55n, 61, 133 Vidin (Budin), 289, 291 Vienna, 232 Vincent of Kielcza (Wincentius Kyelcensis), 522–23, 533n Vincent, Master Kadłubek, 7, 515–18, 521, 525, 532n, 546n, 578n, 594n Virgin Mary, 13, 61–63, 73, 75, 103, 135, 145, 151, 159, 171, 234, 253n, 283, 287, 307, 321, 519; churches and monasteries dedicated to, 60n, 62n, 63, 93, 135, 136n, 159, 211n, 215n, 217n, 263, 313, 319, 325, 327; Hungary offered to, 22, 27, 28, 61, 135, 246n, 253, 315 Visegrád, 164n, 325, 422n Vistula river, 549, 594n Vitalis, Michael, Doge of Venice, 496n Vitus, nephew of Procopius, 341, 348, 350, 381, 385–87, 389, 391–93 Vitus, Saint, 341 Vladimir the Great, Grand Duke of the Rus of Kiev, 577n Vladislav II, Duke and King of Bohemia, 356, 586n

CEUMT Klaniczay__book.indb 684

Vojvodina, 299n Voragine, Jacobus (Jakub) de, O.P. See James of Varazze Vratislav II, Duke of Bohemia, 349, 381, 389, 586n Vyšehrad, 348n, 397 W Waik (Waic). See Vajk-Stephen, Grand Duke Walther, Bishop of Várad, 437 Wawel, 516, 530, 594n, 600n, 601n, 602n Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia, Saint, 8, 10, 342, 411, 432n, 602n, 603 Wion, Arnold, 232 Wislaus, (Bishop of Cracow), 517 Witkowska, Aleksandra, 521 Władysław Herman, Duke, son of Casimir, 577, 603n Władysław I Łokietek, Duke, 558n Wojciechowski, Tadeusz, 516n, 522n Wrocław, 526n, 569n Z Zadar, 275, 279, 448, 456, 462n, 464n, 465, 473, 475, 477, 478n Zagreb (Zágráb), 30, 109n, 425n Zala county, 36 Zalavár (Mosaburg), 299 Zdík, Jindřich (Henry), Bishop of Olomouc, 355, 356 Želiv, 355 Zengő, 54n Ziani, Sebastian, Doge of Venice, 499n Zobor, 21, 299n Zoerard. See Andrew-Zoerard

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