Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Bef 1095, Ungarn; Konge

Notes:

Occupation:
Ladislaus 1 or Ladislas 1, also Saint Ladislaus or Saint Ladislas (Hungarian: 1 or Szent László; Croatian: Ladislav 1.; Slovak: Svätý Ladislav 1; c. 1040 – 29 July 1095) was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla 1 of Hungary. After Béla's death in 1063, Ladislaus and his elder brother, Géza, acknowledged their cousin, Solomon as the lawful king in exchange for receiving their father's former duchy, which included one-third of the kingdom. Géza and Ladislaus cooperated with Solomon for the next decade. Ladislaus's most popular legend, which narrates his fight with a "Cuman" (a Turkic nomad marauder) who abducted a Hungarian girl, is connected to this period. Géza's and Ladislaus's relationship with Solomon deteriorated in the early 1070s, and they rebelled against him. Géza was proclaimed king in 1074, but Solomon maintained control of the western regions of his kingdom. During Géza's reign, Ladislaus was his brother's most influential adviser.

Géza died in 1077, and his supporters made Ladislaus king. Solomon resisted Ladislaus with the assistance of King Henry 4 of Germany. Ladislaus supported Henry 4's opponents during the Investiture Controversy. In 1081, Solomon abdicated and acknowledged Ladislaus's reign, but he conspired to regain the royal crown and Ladislaus imprisoned him. Ladislaus canonized the first Hungarian saints (including his distant relatives, King Stephen I and Duke Emeric) in 1085. He set Solomon free during the canonization ceremony.

After a series of civil wars, Ladislaus's main focus was the restoration of public safety. He introduced severe legislation, punishing those who violated property rights with death or mutilation. He occupied almost all Croatia in 1091, which marked the beginning of an expansion period for the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Ladislaus's victories over the Pechenegs and Cumans ensured the security of his kingdom's eastern borders for about 150 years. His relationship with the Holy See deteriorated during the last years of his reign, as the popes claimed that Croatia was their fief, but Ladislaus denied their claims.

Ladislaus was canonized on 27 June 1192 by Pope Celestine 3. Legends depict him as a pious knight-king, the incarnation of the late-medieval Hungarian ideal of chivalry. He is a popular saint in Hungary and neighboring countries, where many churches are dedicated to him.

Ladislaus was the second son of the future King Béla 1 of Hungary and his wife, Richeza (or Adelaide), who was a daughter of King Mieszko 2 of Poland. Ladislaus and his elder brother, Géza, were born in Poland, where Béla had settled in the 1030s after being banished from Hungary. Ladislaus was born around 1040. Ladislaus's physical and spiritual makeup testified to God's gracious will even at his birth, according to his late-12th-century Legend. The almost contemporaneous Gallus Anonymus wrote that Ladislaus was raised from childhood in Poland and almost became a Pole in his ways and life. He received a Slavic name; Ladislaus is the Hungarian version of Vladislav.

Béla and his family returned to Hungary around 1048. Béla received the so-called - Duchy – which encompassed one-third of the kingdom – from his brother, King Andrew I of Hungary. The Illuminated Chronicle mentions that Andrew's son, Solomon, was anointed king with the consent of Duke Bela and his sons Geysa and Ladislaus in 1057 or 1058.

Béla, who had been Andrew's heir before Solomon's coronation, left for Poland in 1059; his sons accompanied him. They returned with Polish reinforcements and began a rebellion against Andrew. After defeating Andrew, Béla was crowned king on 6 December 1060. Solomon left the country, taking refuge in the Holy Roman Empire. Béla 1 died on 11 September 1063, some time before German troops entered Hungary in order to restore Solomon. Ladislaus and his brothers, Géza and Lampert, went back to Poland, and Solomon was once again crowned king in Székesfehérvár. The 3 brothers returned when the Germans left Hungary. To avoid another civil war, the brothers signed a treaty with Solomon on 20 January 1064, acknowledging Solomon's reign in exchange for their father's duchy.

Ladislaus and Géza probably divided the administration of their duchy; Ladislaus seems to have received the regions around Bihar (now Biharia, Romania). Géza and Ladislaus cooperated with King Solomon between 1064 and 1071. The most popular story in Ladislaus's later legends – his fight with a Cuman warrior who abducted a Christian maiden – occurred during this period. The relationship between the king and his cousins became tense in the early 1070s. When Géza accompanied Solomon on a military campaign against the Byzantine Empire in 1072, Ladislaus stayed behind with half of the ducal troops in Nyírség to avenge his brother with a strong hand if Solomon harmed Géza.

Realizing that another civil war was inevitable, the king and dukes launched negotiations to obtain the assistance of foreign powers. First, Ladislaus visited the Kievan Rus', but he returned without reinforcements. He then went to Moravia, and persuaded Duke Otto 1 of Olomouc to accompany him back to Hungary with Czech troops. By the time they returned to Hungary, the royal army had already invaded the duchy and routed Géza's troops at the Battle of Kemej on 26 February 1074. Ladislaus met his fleeing brother at Vác, and they decided to continue the fight against Solomon. A legend preserved in the Illuminated Chronicle mentions that before the battle, Ladislaus "saw in broad daylight a vision from heaven" of an angel placing a crown on Géza's head. Another legendary episode also predicted the dukes' triumph over the king: an ermine of purest white jumped from a thorny bush to Ladislaus's lance and then onto his chest. The decisive Battle of Mogyoród was fought on 14 March 1074. Ladislaus commanded the troops from Byhor on the left flank. Solomon was defeated, but instead of surrendering to his cousins, he fled to the western borders of the kingdom to seek assistance from his brother-in-law Henry 4 of Germany.

Géza was proclaimed king, but Solomon established himself in Moson and Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia). During his brother's reign, Ladislaus administered all of their father's former duchy. He repelled Solomon's attack on Nyitra (present-day Nitra, Slovakia) in August or September 1074, but he could not seize Pressburg. Ladislaus was also his brother's main advisor. Legend says that Géza decided to build a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin in Vác after Ladislaus explained the significance of the wondrous appearance of a red deer at the place where the church would be erected:

As (King Géza and Duke Ladislaus) were standing at a spot near (Vác), where is now the church of the blessed apostle Peter, a stag appeared to them with many candles burning upon his horns, and it began to run swifly before them towards the wood, and at the spot where is now the monastery, it halted and stood still. When the soldiers shot their arrows at it, it leapt into the Danube, and they saw it no more. At this sight the blessed Ladislaus said:

Truly that was no stag, but an angel from God.

And King (Géza) said:

Tell me, beloved brother, what may all the candles signify which we saw burning on the stag's horns.

The blessed Ladislaus answered:

They are not horns, but wings; they are not burning candles, but shining feathers. It has shown to us that we are to build the church of the Blessed Virgin on the place where it planted its feet, and not elsewhere.

— The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle.

Géza 1 died on 25 April 1077. Since Géza's sons, Coloman and Álmos, were minors, his supporters proclaimed Ladislaus king instead. Gallus Anonymus emphasizes that King Boleslaus 2 the Bold of Poland drove out Solomon from Hungary with his forces, and placed (Ladislaus) on the throne; Boleslaus even called Ladislaus his king. Although the Illuminated Chronicle emphasizes that Ladislaus never placed the crown upon his head, for he desired a heavenly crown rather than the earthly crown of a mortal king, all his coins depict him wearing a crown, suggesting that Ladislaus was actually crowned around 1078. Shortly after his coronation, Ladislaus promulgated 2 law books, which incorporated the decisions of an assembly of the magnates of the kingdom, held in Pannonhalma. The majority of these laws were draconian measures to defend private property, showing that Ladislaus primarily focused on internal consolidation and security during the first years of his reign. Those who were caught stealing were to be executed, and even criminals who committed minor offenses against property rights were blinded or sold as slaves. His other laws regulated legal proceedings and economic matters, including the issuing of judicial summons and the royal monopoly on salt trade.

If someone, freeman or bondman, should be caught in theft, he shall be hanged. But if he flees to the church to evade the gallows, he shall be led out of the church and blinded. A bondman caught in theft, if he does not flee to the church, shall be hanged; the owner of the stolen goods shall take a loss in the lost goods. The sons and daughters of a freeman caught in theft who fled to the church, was led out and blinded, if they are ten years old or less, shall retain their freedom; but if they are older than ten years they shall be reduced to servitude and lose all their property. A bondman or freeman who steals a goose or a hen shall lose one eye and shall restore what he has stolen.

— Laws of King Ladislas 1.

The Illuminated Chronicle claims that Ladislaus planned to restore the kingdom to Solomon and himself have the dukedom, but almost all contemporaneous sources contradict this report. Ladislaus approached Pope Gregory VII, who was the primary opponent of Solomon's ally, Henry 4 of Germany.[48] At the Pope's request, Ladislaus sheltered Bavarian nobles who had rebelled against Henry. In 1078 or 1079, Ladislaus married Adelaide, a daughter of Rudolf of Rheinfelden, whom the German princes had elected to take the place of Henry 4 as king. Ladislaus supported Leopold 2, Margrave of Austria, who also rebelled against Henry 4; however, the German monarch forced Leopold to surrender in May 1078.

Taking advantage of the internal conflicts in the Holy Roman Empire, Ladislaus besieged and captured the fortress of Moson from Solomon in early 1079. However, Henry 4 stormed the western regions of Hungary, and secured Solomon's position. The German invasion also prevented Ladislaus from assisting Boleslaus the Bold, who fled to Hungary after his subjects expelled him from Poland. Ladislaus initiated negotiations with Solomon, who abdicated in 1080 or 1081 in exchange for revenues sufficient to bear the expenses of a king. However, Solomon soon began conspiring against Ladislaus, and Ladislaus imprisoned him.

The first 5 Hungarian saints, including the first king of Hungary, Stephen 1, and Stephen's son, Emeric, were canonized during Ladislaus's reign. Stephen's canonization demonstrates Ladislaus's magnanimity, because Ladislaus's grandfather, Vazul, had been blinded by Stephen's orders in the 1030s. Historian László Kontler says that the canonization ceremony, held in August 1083, was also a political act, demonstrating Ladislaus's "commitment to preserving and strengthening" the Christian state. Ladislaus even dedicated a newly established Benedictine monastery – Szentjobb Abbey – to Stephen's right arm, known as the Holy Dexter, which was miraculously found intact. Ladislaus released Solomon at the time of the ceremony; legend said that Stephen's grave could not be opened until he did so.

(The) Lord, in order to show how merciful (King Stephen 1) had been while living in a mortal body, demonstrated his approval of (Stephen's revelation as a saint) before all other works when (the king) was already reigning with Christ to the point that though for three days they struggled with all their might to raise his holy body, it was not by any means to be moved from its place. For in that time, because of the sins, a grave discord arose between the said king Ladislas and his cousin Solomon, because of which, Solomon, captured, was held in prison. 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 Karitas, whose famous life at the time was held in esteem, confided to the king by a revelation made to her from heaven that they exerted themselves in vain; it would be impossible to transfer the relics of the holy king until unconditional pardon was offered to Solomon, setting him free from the confinement of prison. And thus, bringing him forth from the prison, and repeating the three-day fast, when the third day arrived for the transferal of the holy remains, the stone lying over the grave was lifted up with such ease as if it had been of no weight before.

— Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary.

After his release, Solomon made a final effort to regain his crown. He persuaded a Pecheneg chieftain, Kutesk, to invade Hungary in 1085. Ladislaus defeated the invaders at the upper courses of the Tisza River.

In August 1087, German princes who opposed Henry 4's rule held a conference in Speyer. The contemporaneous Bernold of St Blasien mentions that Ladislaus sent envoys to the meeting, and promised that he would assist (them) with 20,000 knights, if it became necessary. Ladislaus also recognized Pope Victor 3 as the legitimate pope, rather than Clement 3, who had been elected pope at Henry 4's initiative. However, Ladislaus provided no further support to Henry 4's opponents after he was informed of Solomon's death in 1087.

King Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia's wife, Helen, was Ladislaus's sister. After the death of Zvonimir and his successor, Stephen 2, a conflict developed between factions of Croatian noblemen. At Helen's request, Ladislaus intervened in the conflict and invaded Croatia in 1091. The same year, he wrote to Oderizius, Abbot of Monte Cassino in Italy, about his invasion. Thomas the Archdeacon's chronicle describes how Ladislaus occupied the entire land from the River Drava to the mountains called the Iron Alps without encountering opposition. However, his opponents crowned a local nobleman, Petar Sva?i?, as king. Sva?i? fought in the Gvozd Mountains, preventing the complete conquest of Croatia. Ladislaus appointed his nephew, Álmos, to administer the occupied territory. Around the same time, Ladislaus set up a separate diocese in Slavonia, with its see in Zagreb. The bishop of the new see became the suffragan to the archbishop of Esztergom in Hungary.

Ladislaus admitted in his letter to Oderizius that he could not promote the cause of earthly dignities without committing grave sins. Historian Bálint Hóman says that Ladislaus was referring to a developing conflict with Pope Urban 2, who objected to Ladislaus's refusal to acknowledge the Holy See's suzerainty over Croatia. In the letter, Ladislaus styled himself as king of the Hungarians and of Messia. Historian Ferenc Makk writes that the latter title referred to Moesia, implying that Ladislaus had taken the regions between the Great Morava and Drina rivers from the Byzantine Empire. No other documents refer to Ladislaus's occupation of Moesia, suggesting that if Ladislaus did occupy the region, he lost it quickly. Alexandru Madgearu says that Messia should rather be associated with Bosnia, which was occupied during Ladislaus's campaign against Croatia.

The Cumans invaded and plundered the eastern part of the kingdom in 1091 or 1092. Makk argues that the Byzantines persuaded them to attack Hungary, while the Illuminated Chronicle states that the Cumans were incited by the Ruthenians. In retaliation, the chronicle continues, Ladislaus invaded the neighboring Rus' principalities, forcing the Ruthenians to ask for mercy and to promise that they would be faithful to him in all things. No Rus' chronicle documents Ladislaus's military action.

Bernold of St Blasien writes that Duke Welf of Bavaria prevented a conference that Emperor Henry 4 had arranged with the king of the Hungarians in December 1092. A letter written by Henry refers to the alliance into which (he) once entered with Ladislaus. Pope Urban 2 also mentioned that the Hungarians left the shepherds of their salvation, implying that Ladislaus had changed sides and acknowledged the legitimacy of Antipope Clement 3. In the deed of the Benedictine Somogyvár Abbey, Ladislaus stated that the abbot should be obedient to him, proving that Ladislaus opposed the Church's independence, which was demanded by the Gregorian Reforms. Ladislaus personally presided over an assembly of the Hungarian prelates that met in Szabolcs on 21 May 1091. The synod recognized the legitimacy of a clergyman's first marriage, in contrast to the requirements of canon law, which states that members of the clergy may not marry at all. According to a scholarly theory, the sees of the dioceses of Kalocsa and Bihar were moved to Bács (now Ba?, Serbia) and Nagyvárad (present-day Oradea, Romania), respectively, during Ladislaus's reign.

Ladislaus intervened in a conflict between Wladislaw I Herman, Duke of Poland, and the duke's illegitimate son, Zbigniew, on the latter's behalf. He marched to Poland and captured Wladislaw 1 Herman's younger son, Boleslav, in 1093. At Ladislaus's demand, Wladislaw 1 Herman declared Zbigniew his legitimate son. The Illuminated Chronicle also mentions that the Hungarian troops captured Cracow during Ladislaus's campaign, but the credibility of this report has been questioned.

The Illuminated Chronicle states that messengers from France and from Spain, from England and Britain, and especially from Willermus, the brother of the King of the Franks visited Ladislaus in Bodrog (near present-day Ba?ki Monoštor in Serbia) on Easter 1095, asking him to lead their crusade to the Holy Land. Ladislaus's legend says that he decided to go to Jerusalem, and to die there for Christ. The whole story was invented, probably during the reign of King Béla 3 of Hungary (who was actually planning to lead a crusade to the Holy Land in the 1190s), according to historian Gábor Klaniczay. However, Ladislaus did plan to invade Bohemia, because he wanted to assist his sister's sons, Svatopluk and Otto. He became seriously ill before reaching Moravia. The Illuminated Chronicle narrates that Ladislaus, who had no sons, called together his chief men, telling them that his brother's younger son, Álmos, should reign after him.

Ladislaus died near the Hungarian-Bohemian border on 29 July 1095. A papal bull issued by Pope Paschal 2 in 1106 states that Ladislaus's venerable body rests in Somogyvár Abbey, implying that Ladislaus had been buried in Somogyvár. On the other hand, Ladislaus's late 12th-century Legend says that Ladislaus's attendants decided to bury him in Székesfehérvár, but the cart carrying his body set out to Várad on its own, unassisted by any draft animal.

Historian Gyula Kristó says that Ladislaus had a first wife, but her name and family are not known. She gave birth to a daughter, whose name is also unknown.

Ladislaus's daughter married Prince Iaroslav Sviatopolchich of Volhinia around 1090.

Ladislaus again in 1078, to Adelaide, a daughter of the German anti-king Rudolf of Swabia. Their only known child, Piroska, became the wife of the Byzantine Emperor John 2 Komnenos in 1105 or 1106.

For centuries, hagiographers and historians have emphasized Ladislaus's prominent role in the consolidation of the Christian monarchy. The chronicles also stressed his idoneitas, or personal suitability, to reign, because the legitimacy of his rule was questionable. The Illuminated Chronicle clearly states that Ladislaus knew that "the right of law between him and (Solomon) was not on his side but only the force of fact.

After Ladislaus's victories over the Pechenegs and the Cumans, the nomadic peoples of the Pontic steppes stopped invading Hungary until the Mongol invasion of 1241. Kristó suggests that the Székely people—a community of Hungarian-speaking warriors—started settling the easternmost borderlands under Ladislaus. The historic association of the Kingdom of Hungary and Croatia, which ended in 1918, began with Ladislaus's conquest of Croatia. His conquest marked the beginning of a period of Hungarian expansion, which ensured that Hungary developed into a leading Central European power during the following centuries. It became a customary rite for a newly crowned Hungarian monarch to take a pilgrimage to Ladislaus's shrine at Várad. Louis 1 of Hungary, who made many attempts to expand his territory in the Balkan Peninsula, showed a special respect for Ladislaus.

Hungary had never had as great as king, so they repute
And the land thereafter never bore that much and splendid fruit.

— Gallus Anonymus: The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles.

Gábor Klaniczay emphasizes that Ladislaus seemed expressly designed to personify the knight-king ideal of his age. During the reign of Ladislaus's successor, Coloman the Learned, Bishop Hartvik said that Ladislaus's character was distinguished by the respectability of morals and remarkable for the splendor of his virtues. The so-called Gesta Ladislai regis (The Deeds of King Ladislaus), which are the texts about Ladislaus's life and reign preserved in 14th-century Hungarian chronicles, were written during Coloman's rule. Five significant events of Ladislaus's life, which were not included in his official legend, were only preserved in the Gesta.

The most popular story describes Ladislaus's fight with a Cuman warrior after the Battle of Kerlés (at present-day Chirale?, Romania) in 1068. In the battle, the united armies of Solomon, Géza and Ladislaus routed a band of Pechenegs or Oghuz Turks who were plundering the eastern parts of the kingdom. According to the version recorded in the Illuminated Chronicle, Ladislaus spotted a pagan warrior fleeing from the battlefield with a captive Hungarian maiden. Ladislaus pursued the Cuman, but he could not stop him. On Ladislaus's advice, the maiden pulled the warrior off his horse, allowing Ladislaus to kill the Cuman after a long fight on the ground. Archaeologist Gyula László says that murals depicting this legend in medieval churches preserved the elements of pagan myths, including a struggle between forces of light and darkness.

(The) most blessed Duke Ladislaus saw one of the pagans who was carrying off on his horse a beautiful Hungarian girl. The saintly Duke Ladislaus thought that it was the daughter of the Bishop of Warad, and although he was seriously vounded, he swiftly pursued him on his horse, which he called by the name of Zug. When he caught up with him and wished to spear him, he could not do so, for neither could his own horse go any faster nor did the other's horse yield any ground, but there remained the distance of a man's arm between his spear and the Coman's back. So the saintly Duke Ladislaus shouted to the girl and said:

Fair sister, take hold of the Coman by his belt and throw yourself to the ground.

Which she did; and the saintly Duke Ladislaus was about to spear him as he lay upon the ground, for he wished to kill him. But the girl strongly pleaded with him not to kill him, but to let him go. Whence it is to be seen that there is no faith in women; for it was probably because of strong carnal love that she wished him to go free. But after having fought for a long time with him and unmanned him, the saintly Duke killed him. But the girl was not the bishop's daughter.

— The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle.

During the reign of Stephen 2 of Hungary, Ladislaus's shrine in the cathedral of Várad became a preferred venue for trials by ordeal. However, it cannot be determined whether Ladislaus became subject to veneration soon after his death, or if his cult emerged after he was canonized by Béla 3 of Hungary on 27 June 1192. Béla had lived in the Byzantine court, where Ladislaus's daughter, Empress Irene, was venerated as a saint. According to Thomas the Archdeacon, Pope Innocent 3 declared that Ladislaus should be enrolled in the catalogue of saints, but his report is unreliable, because Celestine III was Pope at the time. Celestine 3's bulls and charters make no reference to Ladislaus's canonization, implying that Ladislaus was canonized without the Holy See's authorization. The nearly contemporaneous Regestrum Varadinense says that a bondsman, named Tekus, son of the craftsman Dénes, opened Ladislaus's tomb at the beginning of the ceremony, after which Tekus was granted freedom. Parts of Ladislaus's head and right hand were severed so that they could be distributed as relics. The 15th-century silver reliquary that contains Ladislaus's head is displayed in the Gy?r Cathedral.

Ladislaus's official legend, which was compiled after 1204, attributes a number of miracles to him. According to one of his legends, a pestilence spread throughout the kingdom during Ladislaus's reign. Ladislaus prayed for a cure; he then shot an arrow into the air at random, hitting a herb which cured the illness. This plant became known as Saint Ladislaus's herb in Hungary.

Ladislaus is a patron saint of Hungary, especially along the borders. In particular, soldiers and the Székely people venerate him. A late medieval legend says that Ladislaus appeared at the head of a Székely army fighting against and routing a plundering band of Tatars in 1345. He is also called upon during times of pestilence. He is often depicted as a mature, bearded man wearing a royal crown and holding a long sword or banner. He is also shown on his knees before a deer, or in the company of 2 angels.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Bef 1063, Ungarn; Konge.

Notes:

Birth:
Esztergom, Komarom-Esztergom.

Occupation:
Béla 1 the Champion or the Wisent (Hungarian: 1. Bajnok or Bölény Béla, Slovak: Belo 1.; before 1020 – 11 September 1063) was King of Hungary from 1060 until his death. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. Béla's baptismal name was Adalbert. He left Hungary in 1031, together with his brothers, Levente and Andrew, after the execution of their father, Vazul. Béla settled in Poland and married Richeza (or Adelaide), daughter of King Mieszko 2 of Poland.

He returned to his homeland upon the invitation of his brother Andrew, who had in the meantime been crowned King of Hungary. Andrew assigned the administration of the so-called ducatus or - duchy - which encompassed around 1/3 of the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, to Béla. The 2 brothers' relationship became tense when Andrew had his own son, Solomon, crowned king, and forced Béla to publicly confirm Solomon's right to the throne in 1057 or 1058. Béla, assisted by his Polish relatives, rebelled against his brother and dethroned him in 1060. He introduced monetary reform and subdued the last uprising aimed at the restoration of paganism in Hungary. Béla was fatally injured when his throne collapsed while he was sitting on it.

Most Hungarian chronicles, including Simon of Kéza's Gesta Hungarorum and the Illuminated Chronicle, record that Béla's father was Ladislaus the Bald, a cousin of Stephen, the first King of Hungary. However, many of the same sources add that it is sometimes claimed that Béla and his two brothers—Levente and Andrew—were in fact the sons of Ladislaus the Bald's brother, Vazul. The chronicles also refer to gossip claiming that the 3 brothers were their father's illegitimate sons, born to a girl from the Tátony clan. Modern historians, who accept the latter reports' reliability, unanimously write that the 3 brothers were the sons of Vazul and his concubine.

Béla was born between 1015 and 1020. It is debated whether Béla was a second or a third son. The former view is represented, for example, by the Polish historian Wincenty Swoboda, and the latter by the Hungarian scholars Gyula Kristó and Ferenc Makk. Kristó and Makk write that Béla's name most probably derived from the Turkish adjective bujla (noble). However, the name may also be connected to the Slavic word for white (bjelij) or to the Biblical name Bela.

King Stephen's only son who survived infancy, Emeric, died on 2 September 1031. Thereafter, Vazul had the strongest claim to succeed the King. However, the monarch, suspecting that Vazul inclined towards paganism, favored his own sister's son, Peter Orseolo. In order to ensure his nephew's succession, Stephen had Vazul blinded. Béla and his two brothers fled from the kingdom.

They first settled in Bohemia, but their condition of life was poor and mean there. They moved to Poland, where they received a warm reception from King Mieszko 2. According to the Hungarian chronicles, Béla participated in a Polish expedition against the pagan Pomeranians and defeated their duke in single combat. The Illuminated Chronicle narrates that the Polish monarch praised the boldness and strength of Duke Béla and bestowed on him all the Pomeranian tribute. The King even gave his daughter—named either Richeza or Adelaide—in marriage to Béla and granted a goodly quantity of land to him. Makk says that Béla was not baptized until just before his marriage; his baptismal name was the Germanic (not in citation given) one of Adalbert.

At that time the Pomeranians refused to pay their yearly tribute to the Duke of Poland, to whom they were subject. The Duke set out to exact by force of arms the tribute due to him from the Pomeranians. Then the Pomeranians, who were pagans, and the Poles, who were Christians, agreed together that their leaders should meet each other in a duel, and if the Pomeranian fell defeated, he would render the customary tribute; and if the Pole, then he might bewail its loss. Since (the) Duke (Mieszko) and his sons shrank in fear from the duel to be fought, (Béla) presented himself before them and through an interpreter spoke thus:

If it is pleasing to you, Poles, and to the lord Duke, although I am of nobler birth than that pagan, yet I will fight for the advantage of your kingdom and for the honour of the Duke.

This was pleasing both to the Pomeranians and to the Poles. When they met in combat, armed with lances, (Béla) is said to have struck the Pomeranian so manfully that he unseated him from his horse; and the Pomeranian could not move from the spot where he had fallen, and [Béla] smote him with his sword. Then the Duke of the Pomeranians confessed himself at fault; and the Pomeranians, seeing this, humbly submitted to the Duke of Poland and paid the accustomed tribute without murmuring.

— The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle.

King Mieszko 2 died in 1034; his son and heir, Casimir was forced to leave Poland. A period of anarchy followed, which lasted at least until 1039 when Casimir returned. According to Kristó and Makk, Béla was staying in Poland during this period; he even may have administered the kingdom in the name of his absent brother-in-law.[17] On the other hand, the Polish historian, Manteuffel writes that Béla and his two brothers, in contrast with the unanimous report of the Hungarian chronicles, arrived in Poland only with Casimir, after 1039. It is beyond a doubt that Levente and Andrew departed from Poland in about 1038, because—according to the Illuminated Chronicle—they did not want to live the life of hangers-on in the Duke of Poland's court, regarded only as Béla's brothers.

Upon leaving Poland, Andrew and Levente settled in Kiev. They returned to Hungary after a rebellion which was dominated by pagans broke out against King Peter Orseolo in 1046. The King was dethroned, and Andrew was proclaimed king. Levente died in the same year and Andrew, still childless, decided to invite Béla back to Hungary.

Having lost one brother, King Andreas sent to Poland to his other brother Bela, calling him with great love and saying:

Once we shared poverty and labour together, and now I ask you, most beloved brother, that you come to me without tarrying, so that we may be companions in joy and share in the good things of the kingdom, rejoicing in each other's presence. For I have neither heir nor brother except you. You shall be my heir, and you shall succeed me in the kingdom.

Won by these words, Béla came to the King with all his family. When the King saw him, he rejoiced with a great joy, because he was fortified by his brother's strength. Then the King and his brother Bela held a council and divided the kingdom into three parts, of which two remained under the proprietorship of the royal majesty or power and the third was put under the proprietorship of the Duke. This first division of the kingdom became the seed of discord and wars between the dukes and the kings of Hungary.

— The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle.

Urged by his brother, Béla returned in 1048 and received one-third of the kingdom, with the title of duke. Béla's ducatus or duchy encompassed large territories along the eastern and northern borders, including the regions of Nyitra (Nitra, Slovakia) and Bihar (Biharia, Romania). He possessed a wide range of royal prerogatives, including coinage. The half-denars minted for him bore the inscription BELA DUX (Duke Béla). According to Steinhübel, the mid-11th-century timber and earth walls of the fortress of Nyitra were erected in Béla's reign.

The 2 brothers closely collaborated in the subsequent years. According to the Illuminated Chronicle, they together worked out a military strategy against the Germans, who were frequently invading the kingdom in the early 1050s. Ferenc Makk writes that Béla's epithets—the Champion or the Wisent — are connected to his fighting against the Germans. The chronicler emphasizes that Andrew and Béla lived in a great tranquillity of peace even after Andrew fathered a son, Solomon, in 1053. Béla was one of the lords witnessing the deed of the foundation of the Tihany Abbey, a Benedictine monastery that his brother established in 1055.

The 2 brothers' good relationship deteriorated after King Andrew had the child Solomon crowned king in 1057 or 1058. The coronation was the consequence of the peace negotiations with the Holy Roman Empire, because the Germans did not acquiesce in a marriage between Solomon and Judith—the sister of the young German monarch, Henry IV—until Solomon's right to succeed his father was declared and publicly confirmed. Thereafter Andrew was determined to secure the throne for his son. He invited Béla to his manor in Tiszavárkony, where the King offered his brother a seemingly free choice between a crown and a sword (which were the symbols of the royal and ducal power, respectively). However, he had ordered that Béla be murdered if he chose the crown. Having been informed of his brother's secret plan by one of his own partisans in the royal court, Béla opted for the sword, but he departed for Poland after the meeting.

He returned to Hungary, in the autumn of 1060, with Polish troops that Duke Boleslaus the Bold of Poland had provided. Around the same time, German reinforcements arrived in Hungary to assist Andrew against Béla. The ensuing civil war ended with the victory of Béla, who defeated his brother in two successive battles fought at the river Tisza and at Moson. The King was seriously injured and died soon afterward. His partisans took his son, the child Solomon, to Germany.

Béla was crowned king in Székesfehérvár on 6 December 1060. He ordered that the wives and sons and all the property of all those who had followed his nephew to Germany should be protected and kept safe and sound, which induced many of Solomon's partisans to reconcile themselves to Béla's rule and return to Hungary. He reformed the coinage and introduced large coins of purest silver into circulation. In order to stabilize the new currency, Béla maximized the prices and eliminated the black market. He also ordered that weekly markets should be held on Saturdays, instead of Sundays, in the kingdom. The historian Nora Berend says that the latter measure may have adversely affected Jewish activities, because Jews, who observed the Sabbath, could not work on Saturdays.

Béla decided to discuss his innovations with the representatives of the freemen, and sent heralds throughout all Hungary to summon two elders with gift of speech from each village to a royal council, according to the Illuminated Chronicle. A great crowd of commoners gathered in Székesfehérvár in 1061. They demanded the restoration of paganism and the murder of clergymen, but Béla collected his army and suppressed their uprising within three days.

Béla attempted to conclude a peace treaty with the Holy Roman Empire. For this purpose, shortly after his coronation, he released all German commanders who had assisted his brother during the civil war. However, the young German monarch's advisors refused Béla's proposals.In the summer of 1063, an assembly of the German princes decided to launch a military expedition against Hungary to restore young Solomon to the throne. Béla was planning to abdicate in favor of his nephew if the latter restored his former ducatus, but he was seriously injured when his throne broke beneath him in his manor at Dömös. The King—who was half-dead, according to the Illuminated Chronicle—was taken to the western borders of his kingdom, where he died at the creek Kinizsa on 11 September 1063. Béla was buried in the Benedictine Szekszárd Abbey, which he had set up in 1061. Following Béla's death, his three sons—Géza, Ladislaus and Lampert—sought refuge in Poland, and Solomon ascended the throne.

Béla married, in about 1033, a daughter of King Mieszko 2 of Poland. According to Makk, her name was either Richesa or Adelheid. Their eldest children, Géza and Ladislaus - who became kings of Hungary in 1074 and 1077, respectively — were born in Poland in the 1040s. Béla's third son, Lampert, was born after Béla's return to Hungary.

Lampert was followed by a daughter named Sophia, who was first married to Margrave Ulric 1 of Carniola, and later to Duke Magnus of Saxony. Her younger sister, Euphemia, became the wife of Duke Otto 1 of Olomouc. Béla's third daughter, Helena, was the queen of King Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia. An unnamed daughter of Béla became the first wife of a Hungarian nobleman, Lampert of the Clan Hont-Pázmány. According to the historian Martin Dimnik, Béla also fathered a fifth daughter, Lanka, who was the wife of Prince Rostislav Vladimirovich of Tmutarakan.

Bela married Rikitza av Polen. Rikitza (daughter of Mieszko av Polen, "Mieszko 2" and Richiza av Saalfeld og Lothringen) was born about 1018 in Krakow, Polen; died after 1052. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Bef 1032, Ungarn; Konge / hertug av nordre Ungarn.

Notes:

Occupation:
Vazul, or also Vászoly, (before 997–1031 or 1032) was a member of the House of Árpád, a grandson of Taksony, Grand Prince of the Hungarians. Otherwise, the only certain information of his life, that he was kept in captivity and blinded in the fortress of Nyitra (Nitra, Slovakia) in the last years of the reign of his cousin, King Stephen I of Hungary. Modern historians, including György Györffy, do not exclude that he had earlier been Duke of Nyitra. He is the forefather of nearly all Kings of Hungary who reigned after 1046.

Vazul was a son of Michael, who was the younger son of Grand Prince Taksony. His mother's name is unknown. According to the Györffy, it is probable that she was a Bulgarian princess, a relative of Samuel of Bulgaria. Györffy also writes that Vazul was still a child around 997. His name derived from the Greek Basileios which implies that he was baptized according to Byzantine rite.

Györffy says that Vazul apparently held the Nyitra ducate, because chronicles do not make mention of other settlements in connection with his life. According to the Illuminated Chronicle, King Stephen imprisoned Vazul and held him in captivity in the fortress of Nyitra (Nitra, Slovakia) in order to urge him to amend his youthful frivolity and folly. In contrast with Györffy, his Slovak colleague, Ján Steinhübel has no doubt that Vazul was a Duke of Nyitra, who succeeded his brother, Ladislas the Bald before 1030. Steinhübel adds that Vazul, similarly to his brother, accepted the suzerainty of King Mieszko II of Poland; he was imprisoned at his former seat when King Stephen I of Hungary occupied his duchy in 1031. The theory that the Duchy of Nyitra was under Polish suzerainty in the first decades of the 11th century, which is based on the Polish-Hungarian Chronicle, is flatly refused by Györffy.

Emeric, the only son of King Stephen who survived infancy died in a hunting accident in 1031. Although Vazul who was Stephen's closest agnatic relative had the strongest claim to succeede him on the throne, the king disregarded him and nominated his own sister's son, Peter Orseolo as his heir. According to the nearly contemporaneous Annals of Altaich, Vazul bitterly resented his omission, but he was blinded on King Stephen's order. According to the contrasting reports of later Hungarian chronicles, written under kings descending from Vazul's line, Stephen initially was planning to nominate Vazul as his heir, but Vazul's enemies, including Stephen's queen, Gisela hatched a plot to hinder the king's plans. They sent an evil man to Nyitra who put out Vazul's eyes and filled the cavities of his ears with lead before the king's envoys arrived.

Feeling his powers slipping away, sent messengers in haste to have his uncle's son Vazul brought from prison in Nitra, in order to make him king of the Hungarians after himself. However, as soon as Queen Gisela got wind of this she hatched a plot with a group of traitors, and sent the ispán Sebus ahead of the messenger. Sebus had Vazul's eyes put out and molten lead poured into his ears; he then fled to Bohemia. When Vazul was at length brought back by the King's messenger, the King wept bitterly at his fate.

Simon of Kéza: The Deeds of the Hungarians.

Information on Vazul's family is contradictory. Later Hungarian chronicles tended to hide that the kings reigning after 1046 descended from a prince who was disinherited and sentenced by the holy first king of Hungary. Accordingly, many of the chronicles write that Vazul's brother, Ladislas the Bald was the Hungarian monarchs' forefather instead of Vazul. However, a concurring report – which was, for instance, recorded in the Illuminated Chronicle – has preserved the memory of Vazul's paternity of three sons named Andrew, Béla and Levente. Likewise the Illuminated Chronicle writes that Vazul's wife was a member of the Tátony clan, but his marriage lacked legitimacy. His three sons were expelled from Hungary after Vazul's death in 1031 or 1032.

It is said that these 3 brothers (Andrew, Bela, Levente) were the sons of Duke Vazul by some girl from the clan of Tatun and were not born of a true marriage-bed, and that through this conjunction they derived their nobility from Tatun. Of a certainty this is a false and most evil tale. Not for this reason are they nobles, but because they are the sons of Ladislas the Bald, who is said to have taken a wife from Ruthenia to whom these 3 brothers were born.

— The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle.

Vazul married Katun about 1015. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Bef 1034, Polen; Konge.

Mieszko married Richiza av Saalfeld og Lothringen about 1013. Richiza (daughter of Ezzo av Lothringen and Mathilde av Sachsen) was born about 0994; died on 21 Mar 1063 in Tyskland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth:
Pfalz-Lorraine.

Died:
Saalfeld

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Between 0977 and 0995, Ungarn; Prins.

Notes:

Occupation:
Michael (Hungarian: Mihály; after 960–995 or c.997) was a member of the House of Árpád, a younger son of Taksony, Grand Prince of the Hungarians. Most details of his life are uncertain. Almost all kings of Hungary after 1046 descended from him.

According to the Hungarian historian, György Györffy, Michael received a ducatus or duchy from his brother, Grand Prince Géza. Slovak historians specify that he administered the Duchy of Nitra between around 971 and 997. However, neither of these theories have universally been accepted by historians.

Anonymus, the unknown author of the late 12th-century Gesta Hungarorum narrates that Michael's father, Taksony took his wife from the land of the Cumans.
However, the lands which were dominated by the Cumans at Anonymus's time had been controlled by the Pechenegs up until the 1050s. Accordingly, Györffy proposes that Taksony's wife was the daughter of a Pecheneg tribal leader. Other historians, including Zoltán Kordé and Gyula Kristó, say that Anonymous's report may refer either to her Khazar or to her Volga Bulgarian origin.

Michael was Taksony's younger son. Györffy writes that he was still a minor when he was baptized around 972. He received baptism together with his elder brother, Géza, who succeeded their father as Grand Prince around that time. Michael was named after the Archangel Michael. According to Györffy, the frequent use of the name - Béla - by his descendants – 4 kings and 2 dukes from the House of Árpád bore this name – implies that it was Michael's original pagan name. He also writes that the - a - ending of his name excludes that it was borrowed from a Slavic language, because - a - is a feminine ending in these languages. Instead he proposes, that the name derived from the Turkic bojla title.

According to Györffy, Michael was a close ally of his brother, since there is no proof that their relationship was ever tense. Therefore, Györffy continues, Géza - probably gave one of the ducatus - in the Principality of Hungary to Michael, although there is no record of these events. According to Steinhübel, Michael received the - Duchy of Nitra - around 971. His colleague, Ján Luka?ka, adds that it was Michael who broke the resistance of the native nobles in this duchy.

Michael's fate is unknown; Györffy proposes that he either died before his brother (who died in 997) or renounced of his duchy in favor of Géza's son, Stephen, without resistance. On the other hand, Steinhübel writes that Michael was murdered in 995, an action for which his brother Géza was probably responsible. Luka?ka likewise says that Michael was killed, apparently, on the orders of Géza. Finally, Vladimír Segeš also says that Géza had Michael murdered, according to him between 976 and 978, but he writes that Michael was succeeded by his own son, Ladislas the Bald.

The name of Michael's two sons, Vazul (Basil) and Ladislas have been preserved. According to Györffy, it is probable that Michael's wife was related to Samuel of Bulgaria, because the names of his both sons were popular among Orthodox rulers, including the members of the Cometopuli family.[18] Györffy adds that Michael married his Bulgarian wife when he came of age around 980.

Michael married Adelheid av Polen. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Abt 1024, Polen; Konge av Polen fra 1024, og regnes for rikets grunnlegger.

Boloslav married Hemmilde av Slavekia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Lothringen.

Ezzo married Mathilde av Sachsen about 0991. Mathilde (daughter of Otto, "Otto 2" and Theophano Sclerena av Bysants) was born about 0981; died about 1025. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
Mathilde gift bare 10 år gammel.