Ladislaus I of Hungary

Ladislaus I
Medieval reliquary, Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary.
King of Hungary
Reign	1077–1095
Coronation	1077
Predecessor	Geza I
Successor	Coloman
Born	c. 1045 or (1046-06-27)June 27, 1046 Krakow (?), Kingdom of Poland
Died	29 July 1095 Neutra (present day Nitra, Slovakia), Kingdom of Hungary
Burial	Abbey of Somogyvár
Spouse	Adelaide of Rheinfelden
Issue	Irene, Byzantine Empress daughter, Princess of Volhynia
House	House of Arpad
Father	Béla I of Hungary
Mother	Richeza of Poland

Saint Ladislaus I (Hungarian: I. (Szent) László, (in Medieval English texts: Saint Lancelot), Croatian: Ladislav I., Czech: Ladislav I., Slovak: Svätý Ladislav I, Polish: Władysław I Święty; c. 1045 – 29 July 1095) was King of Hungary from 1077 until his death, "who greatly expanded the boundaries of the kingdom and consolidated it internally; no other Hungarian king was so generally beloved by the people". Before his accession to the throne, he was the main advisor of his brother, Géza I of Hungary, who was fighting against their cousin, King Solomon of Hungary. After the death of Géza, the nobles passed over Solomon, the son of Andrew I, and chose Ladislaus to be their king in 1077. Following a long period of civil wars, he strengthened the royal power in his kingdom by introducing severe legislation. He would also extend his rule over Croatia. After his canonisation, Ladislaus became the model of the chivalrous king in Hungary.

Biography

Early years

Battle of Mogyoród in 1074. (Gothic miniature)

Ladislaus was the second son of the future King Béla I of Hungary and his wife princess Richeza. He was born in Poland, where his father had sought refuge after his father, Duke Vazul, (Ladislaus' grandfather) made an unsuccessful attempt against Vazul's cousin, Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary. He was named according to the Slavic traditions of his mother's kin and thus he brought the name László to yet increasing Hungarian use.

In 1048, the family moved to Hungary, where Béla received as appanage one third of Hungary ("Tercia pars Regni") from his brother, King Andrew I of Hungary who had taken the throne from King Peter after a pagan revolt. Following his accession, King Andrew I had to face the attacks of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor whose supremacy had been acknowledged by King Peter. King Andrew I and Duke Béla cooperated closely against the German attacks to preserve Hungary's independence. In 1053 King Andrew fathered a son, Solomon of Hungary, and sought ensure his son's inheritance against any claims of his brother.

Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary
Gothic Miniature of the Saint-King from the Chronicon Pictum, 1360.
King and Confessor
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Canonized	June 27, 1192, Rome, Papal States
Major shrine	Abbey of Somogyvár
Feast	June 27
Patronage	architecture

In 1057, King Andrew I had Solomon crowned to ensure his accession, and Ladislaus, his father and brothers, Géza and Lampert, participated in the coronation. In 1059 Duke Béla and his sons left the country and they returned the next year with Polish troops. King Andrew I lost two battles against his brother and died. After his death Ladislaus' father was crowned Béla I on December 6, 1060. After his father's death on September 11, 1063, Ladislaus and his brothers agreed to accept the rule of their cousin, Solomon, who had returned with German troops, provided that they received their father's former duchy. King Solomon refused the offer and the superiority of his troops obliged the three brothers to leave Hungary. They went to Poland, but after the withdrawal of the German troops, they returned to Hungary backed by forces supplied by their maternal cousin, King Bolesław II.

In order to avoid civil war, the parties accepted the mediation by the bishops. They made an agreement on January 20, 1064, in Győr, by which Ladislaus and his brothers accepted Solomon's rule, and they received their father's former duchy, i.e., the one third of Hungary.

Duke of Tercia pars Regni

In the following years, Ladislaus and his brothers collaborated successfully with King Salamon. In 1068, when the Pechenegs (besenyők) had overrun the territories of Transylvania, Ladislaus, his brothers and the king together won a victory at Kerlés. A popular legend of Ladislaus connected to this battle tells of Ladislaus pursuing and overcoming a Pecheneg warrior, who had tried to abduct a Hungarian girl, thus freeing the girl was.

At that time, Ladislaus married his first wife who was probably a daughter of a German count.

Starting in 1071, when Ladislaus' elder brother, Duke Géza, refused to hand over the king's share of the treasure from the Byzantine Empire acquired after the occupation of Belgrade, the relationship between King Salamon and the three brothers deteriorated. Thus, in the next year, when the king led a new campaign against Belgrade, only Duke Géza followed him. Ladislaus and Lampert were left behind because the dukes worried that the king's partisans would try to conquer their duchy during their absence.

During 1073, both King Salamon and his cousins prepared for the coming struggle. The king sent his envoys to his brother-in-law, King Henry IV of Germany, while Ladislaus and his brothers sought the help of their Polish and Czech relatives. Ladislaus went to Moravia and came back with the troops Duke Otto of Moravia, his brother-in-law, had provided him. He came just in time, because before his arrival his brother, Duke Géza had been defeated by King Salamon in the battle at Kemej on February 26, 1074. On March 14, at the Battle of Mogyoród, the three brothers won a decisive victory over King Salamon's troops, who fled to the western parts of Hungary. Géza was proclaimed king by the dukes' followers. The new king confirmed his brothers, Ladislaus and Lampert, in the possession of their duchy.

During his brother's reign, Ladislaus was his military commander, and in the autumn of 1074, he forced back King Salamon's attack against Nyitra. However, in 1076, he could not take Pozsony from King Salamon (although, according to his legends, he would overcome his cousin in single combat).

After the death of his brother, King Géza, on April 25, 1077, Ladislaus was proclaimed king by their supporters. He was probably crowned with the crown sent by the Emperor Michael VII to his brother, because the ancient crown was still in the possession of King Salamon.

Struggle for the throne

The coronation

When Ladislaus was crowned, the counties of Moson and Pozsony, were still under the rule of King Salamon, who could count on the assistance of his brother-in-law, King Henry IV of Germany. Therefore, Ladislaus sought the alliance of the German king's rivals, and in 1078, he married Adelaide, the daughter of Duke Rudolf I of Swabia, who had been proclaimed King of Germany by the emperor's opponents.

In 1079, Ladislaus took the fortress of Moson from King Salamon, but he was not able to occupy Pozsony. Ladislaus eventually negotiated made peace with Solomon, when the latter abdicated in his favor in 1081 in exchange for extensive landholdings. Although he later rebelled and tried to plot against his cousin, Ladislaus overcame the conspiracy and imprisoned Solomon prisoner in the fortress of Visegrád.

At Ladislaus' initiative, Pope Gregory VII authorized the canonization of the first king of Hungary, Stephen I and his son, Emeric (Imre). On the occasion of the celebrations, on the feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1083, Ladislaus released Solomon. In 1086, Solomon, with the aid of the Cuman, revolted against Ladislaus a second time. Following his victory, no one disputed Ladislaus' right to rule. In 1089 gained another victory over the Turkic Cumans

The terms Nobilissimus (most noble) and nobilissima familia (most noble family) have been used since the 11th century for the King of Hungary and his family, but it were then only a few, among them also Ladislaus I, which were mentioned in official documents as such.

Internal politics

The continuous struggles for the throne following the death of Saint Stephen I in 1038, had resulted in a confused internal situation by the time Ladislaus ascended the throne. Therefore, Ladislaus issued extremely severe decrees against criminal offenders that made provision for penalties such as mutilation, enslavement or execution for minor crimes against property or the Christian faith.

King Ladislaus took an active part in the reorganization of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary. The archbishopric of Bacs was founded by separating it from Kalocsa, and the See of Bihar was transferred to Nagyvárad, which was not entirely in line with the normative practice of the Church. Similarly, the synod of Hungarian prelates at Szabolcs in the year 1092 recognized the legitimacy of the first marriage of the members of the clergy, which was contrary to canon law.

Expansion of his rule

Mural in Székelyderzs Unitarian Church: The Saint Ladislaus legend, detail with the cavalier-king saint

The collapse of the German emperor in his struggle with the pope left Ladislaus free to extend his dominions towards the south and east toward the eastern Carpathians. In 1087, he sent his envoys to the court of Herman of Salm, who had been proclaimed King of Germany by the opponents of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor following the death of Ladislaus' father-in-law, but after he received information on Salamon's death, he did not intervene in the internal struggles in Germany.

In 1092, Ladislaus led his armies against Prince Vasilko of Terebovlia, who had allied himself with the Cumans, and won a victory over him. In 1093, Ladislaus supported Duke Zbigniew's revolt against his father, Duke Władysław I Herman of Poland.

Croatia

Stephen II of Croatia was the nephew and heir of King Peter Kresimir IV of Croatia, but was passed over by the nobles and clergy in favor of Demetrius Zvonimir, Duke of Croatia, and Peter Kresimir's named successor. Stephen retired to a monastery near Split. Demetrius was married to Ladislaus' sister, Ilona, a distant relative. King Demetrius died on April 20, 1089. Stephen, the last member of the Trpimirović dynasty, was brought form the monastery and crowned. The elderly King Stephen had never married, and died without issue in 1091.

With his death in 1091 the Croatian ruling dynasty ended and Ladislaus marched into Croatia at the request of his sister, Demetrius' widow, Queen Ilona, and claimed the kingdom as closest living relative of Croatian dynasty. Ladislaus' alternative, but much weaker claim, was based on Byzantine legal traditions which gave the right to an emperor's widow to choose his successor and Ilona had declared her support for her brother.

However, this action provoked a counter move by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I. He enlisted the aid of the Cumans and persuaded them to invade the eastern parts of Hungary. Upon hearing of the Cuman invasion, Ladislaus withdrew from Croatia and lead his armies against them. In the meantime, he founded a new bishopric in Zagreb during 1094. He eventually won a decisive victory over them near the river Temes. Ladislaus followed up his victory by his occupation of Szerém and Beograd, areas under Byzantine control. Emperor Alexios I, however, sent fresh nomad troops against Hungary which forced Ladislaus to leave Byzantine territory. It was probably King Ladislaus I who planted in Transylvania the Székely in order to defend the eastern parts of the Kingdom of Hungary against foreign invasions.

In the autumn of 1091, Pope Urban II sent a legate to Ladislaus' court and demanded that Ladislaus accept his supremacy over Croatia. Ladislaus refused this claim and he probably accepted the legitimacy of Antipope Clement III, who had been elected by the followers of the Holy Roman Emperor.

The country was completely subjugated by 1096, and it was incorporated into Hungary.

Mural in Székelyderzs Unitarian Church: The Saint Ladislaus legend, detail.

Last years

The Hungarian Angevin Legendarium. (1320/1340): 1. Burial of St. Ladislaus 2. People pray at the tomb of St. Ladislaus 3. The rich man can't lift the silver tray that was on the tomb of St. Ladislaus 4. The poor man can lift the tray that was on the tomb of St. Ladislaus.

The last years of Ladislaus' reign were characterized by the strained relations with his two nephews, Coloman and Álmos. As Ladislaus did not have any sons, his two nephews, the sons of King Géza I, could expect to inherit the throne. Ladislaus preferred the younger nephew, Álmos, whom he had named king of Croatia after conquering the country. Coloman did not give up his claims to the throne, and in 1095, he left for Poland.

Ladislaus was preparing a campaign against Duke Břetislav II of Bohemia in order to help his sister's sons, Dukes Svatopluk and Otto II of Moravia, when he was informed that Coloman had come back to Hungary in the company of Polish troops. The elderly king, upon hearing the news, died suddenly.

He was buried in the Abbey of Somogyvár which he had founded in 1091.

Marriages and children

1077: Adelaide of Rheinfelden, daughter of Duke Rudolf I of Swabia and his second wife, Adelaida of Savoy

• Prisca (c. 1080 – August 13, 1134), wife of John II, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
• Unknown daughter (? – ?), wife of Prince Yaroslav of Volhynia.

Ancestors

Family of Ladislaus I of Hungary

16. Taksony of Hungary 8. Duke Michael 17. Unnamed "of the territories of the Cumans" 4. Duke Vazul 2. Béla I of Hungary 5. Unnamed de genere Tátony 1. Ladislaus I of Hungary 24. Duke Mieszko I of Poland 12. King Boleslaw I of Poland 25. Dubrawka 6. King Mieszko II Lambert of Poland 26. Dobromir of Lausitz 13. Emnilda 3. Adelaide/Rixa of Poland 28. Count Palatine Herman I of Lotharingia 14. Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia 29. Heilwig 7. Richeza of Lotharingia 30. Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor 15. Mathilde 31. Theophanu

Legacy

Fresco of St. Ladislaus in the Matthias Church in Budapest

No other Hungarian king was held in such high esteem. The whole nation mourned for him for three years, and regarded him as a saint long before his canonization. A whole cycle of legends is associated with his name. He was canonized on June 27, 1192.

A number of miracles are attributed to him. On the occasion of some pestilence in the country, he is said to have prayed for the cure before shooting an arrow into the air at random; the arrow then hit the herb which would cure the illness. At another time, he was pursuing a Pecheneg force raiding the realm. According to the story, the king was catching up to the raiders, who decided to scatter the money they had looted before the pursuing Hungarians. The ruse worked as the soldiers stopped to gather the money. The king is then reputed to have turned all the gold to stone through a prayer, allowing him to put his army on the march again, defeat the raiders and free their captives.

C.A. Macartney, in his Hungary: A Short History, eulogizes Ladislaus thus: "Ladislas I, who, like Stephen and his son, Imre, was canonised after his death, was the outstanding personality among them: a true paladin and gentle knight, a protector of his faith and his people, and of the poor and defenceless."

In a rather unusual manner for a saint, he is traditionally depicted with a battle-axe.

Saint Ladislaus is also the patron saint of an architecturally significant church in Chicago's Portage Park area, St. Ladislaus.

See also

• Szent László Infantry Division
• Saint Ladislaus legend
• Tercia pars regni

Sources

• Kristó Gyula - Makk Ferenc: Az Árpád-ház uralkodói (IPC Könyvek, 1996)
• Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század), főszerkesztő: Kristó Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel Pál és Makk Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994)
• Magyarország Történeti Kronológiája I. – A kezdetektől 1526-ig, főszerkesztő: Benda Kálmán (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1981)
• Kosztolnyik, Z.J. Five Eleventh Century Hungarian Kings, 1981.