Royal Saints, Artistic Patronage, and Self-representation among Hungarian Noblemen

Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo Universiteta, Istoriya. 2021. Vol. 66. No. 3. P. 179–192.

Năstăsoiu D.

During the 1401–1403 political crisis in the Kingdom of Hungary, the magnates who were hostile to the ruling King Sigismund of Luxemburg and supported instead the Angevin King Ladislas of Naples deployed a wide range of propaganda tools for proving the legitimacy of their political cause. In a previous study published in this journal (Vestnik of SPbSU. History, 2021, vol. 66, issue 1, рp. 179–192), I have focused on the Hungarian noblemen’s anti-royal propaganda through the utilizing of political and spiritual symbols (i. e., the Holy Crown of Hungary and the cult, relics, and visual representations of St. Ladislas), symbolic actions (coronations and oath-swearing on holy relics), and heraldic self-representation (the Árpádian double cross). T he present study approaches the same topic of anti-royal propaganda in the troubled political context of the early 15th century, but from the perspective of the elites’ self-representation strategies via the cult of Hungarian royal saints, artistic patronage, and heraldic self-representation. T he two leaders of the anti-royal movement, Archbishop of Esztergom John Kanizsai and Palatine of Hungary Detre Bebek, repeatedly commissioned works of art (i.e., seals, stained-glass windows, and wall paintings) which featured prominently the images of the three Holy Kings of Hungary (Sts Stephen, Emeric, and Ladislas) or displayed the realm’s coat of arms (the Árpádian two-barred cross). T he reliance of John Kanizsai and Detre Bebek on the cults and images of the patron saints of the country blended harmoniously the commissioners’ personal piety with their political ambitions. In the context of the early-15th century political crisis, the appropriation of the ideal figures of the sancti reges Hungariae became the driving force behind the Hungarian noblemen’s political cause.

Keywords: геральдика, Heraldry, sancti reges Hungariae, St. Ladislas, anti-royal propaganda, святой Ласло (Владислав), средневековая Венгрия, антикоролевская пропаганда, medieval Hungary, cult of royal saints, medieval seals, medieval mural painting, elite self-representation, Hungarian political crisis 1401–1403, sancti reges Hungariae, культ святых королей, средневековые печати, средневековая стенопись, саморепрезентация элит, политический кризис 1401–1403 гг.

Publication based on the results of: Models of Representation of the Past in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period (2019)