Magyar Zoltán

Legends of Early Hungarian Saints: type- and motif-index

Prince Emeric

BIRTH, UPBRINGING

Birth

Son of king St. Stephen and heir to his throne: EM:1.

Upbringing

His tutor is St. Gerald: GE II:18; Temesvari: 92.26.; EC:544.

PIETY, HUMILITY

Piety

Prays even during the night: EM:1; EC:615; AnjouLeg-EM: plate 1.

Saint lays his purple cloak and garments on the altar: CP:67; CH:63; Thuroczy: 58.

Secrecy

His father secretly observes saint’s nightly devotions through a crevice in the wall, but keeps it secret: EM:1.

Saint orders his servant who overheard his oath of chastity to keep it secret: EM:8, 12.

CONVERSION, SPREADING OF CHRISTIANITY

Foundations

Monastic foundation: Dlugosz I:I.171.,II.148-149; Dlugosz II:III.229.

Saint donates his cross which contains a relic of the True Cross to the church founded by him: Dlugosz I:I.171, II.148-149; Dlugosz II:III.229.

ASCETICISM, SELF-TORTURE, PENITENCE

Asceticism

A voice from heaven demands saint’s chastity: EM:8; Hymn IV:2-3.

Saint takes a vow of chastity: EM:8, 12; Hymn IV:3; AnjouLeg-EM: plate 3.; Radocsay: 389 (the Mateóc altarpiece dedicated to Sts. Stephen and Emeric).

Saint and his wife preserve their chastity in marriage: EM:9-12; MA I:I.73; Bonfini:2.1.195-205; Temesvari:92.26; Dlugosz I:I.148-149.

SIGNS OF SANCTITY

During saint’s prayer light floods the church: EM:8.

Upon arrival to the monastery from among all monks saint greets only the saintly Maurus with seven kisses: EM:4-6; Bonfini:2.1.185-190; EC:616; AnjouLeg-EM:2.

SAINT’S DEATH, ELEVATION, TRANSLATION OF REMAINS

Saint’s death

At saint’s death a choir of angels is heard: EM:13.

Angels take saint’s spirit to heaven: EM: 13; ST III:39; AnjouLeg-EM: plate 5.; Radocsay: 389 (the Mateóc altarpiece dedicated to Sts. Stephen and Emeric).

RELIC

Emeric’s cloak and purple garments: CP:67; CH:63; Thuroczy:58.

THROUGH SAINT’S MERITS (SAINT HELPS AFTER DEATH)

The tale of the sinner Conrad. Conrad’s sins are forgiven at saint’s burial-place: his handcuffs fall into pieces, the script vanishes from the list of his sins: EM:14-20; Bonfini: 2.1.210-220; Temesvari: 92.34; EC:617; AnjouLeg-EM: plates 6-8.

APPARITIONS, VISIONS

St. Stephen

St. Stephen appears in a dream to the sinner Conrad and directs him to Emeric’s tomb (the apparition to Conrad): EM:18; Bonfini: 2.2.210-220; Temesvari: 92.34; EC:617; AnjouLeg-EM: plate 7.

Voice from heaven

A voice from heaven demands saint’s chastity: EM:8; Hymn IV:2-3.

Angel, devil

Angels take Emeric’s spirit to heaven, the devils try in vain to get hold of it (the vision of Eusebius of Caesarea): EM:13; ST III:39; AnjouLeg-EM:2; Radocsay: 389 (the Mateóc altarpiece dedicated to Sts. Stephen and Emeric).

Legends of Early Hungarian Saints: type- and motif-index

Tartalomjegyzék

Kiadó: Akadémiai Kiadó

Online megjelenés éve: 2026

ISBN: 978 963 664 185 6

Művelődéstörténet Idegen nyelvű

The work of folklorist Zoltán Magyar throws light on a relatively little-known segment of the dynastyc cult of saints in Central European cultural history. The hagiographies and legends written on different members of the Árpadian dynasty, ruling in Hungary between the 11th and 13th centuries, and their contemporaries endowed with the aura of sanctity, occur not only in their medieval Hungarian legendry but have also become part of the liturgical tradition and the cult of saints on German, Polish and Byzantine soil. The thematic and generic variety of this legendry and its many folkloric implications show close parallels with another major work of medieval European hagiography: the legends of early Irish saints. The type- and motif-index and generatic catalogue compiled by Zoltán Magyar orders the epic tradition, based on 11rh-16th century written sources, of twelve Hungarian royal saints who have become the subject of legends shortly after their death. Beside classification according to the type of legendd heroes and themes, the book also contains an analysis of the biographical data, of the historical sources and of the primary types and motifs of hagiographies.

Hivatkozás: https://mersz.hu/magyar-early-hungarian-saints-type-and-motif-index//

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