Saint Stephen I (Hungarian: I. (Szent) István) (Latin: Sanctus Stephanus) (Esztergom, 967/969/975 – 15 August 1038, Esztergom[1][2][3] or Székesfehérvár, Hungary), born Vajk, was Grand Prince of the Hungarians (997–1000) and the first King of Hungary (1000–1038). He greatly expanded Hungarian control over the Carpathian Basin during his lifetime, broadly established Christianity in the region, and is generally considered to be the founder of the Kingdom of Hungary. Pope Gregory VII canonized Stephen I, together with his son, Saint Emeric of Hungary and Bishop Gerard of Csanád, on 20 August 1083. Stephen became one of the most popular saints in Hungary, and 20 August, which was also his feast day until 1687, is celebrated as a state holiday commemorating the foundation of the nation.
He was born as Vajk in the town of Esztergom. His father was Grand Prince Géza of Hungary;his mother was Sarolt, daughter of Gyula of Transylvania a Hungarian nobleman who had been baptized in Greece.[8] Though Sarolt was baptized into the Orthodox Christian faith at her father's court in Transylvania by the Greek bishop Hierotheos, she did not persist in the religion. According to his legends, Vajk was baptized a Christian by Saint Adalbert of Prague. He was given the baptismal name Stephen (István) in honour of the original early Christian Saint Stephen. The baptised name was possibly chosen on purpose, as it means not only "crown" as mentioned, but also "norm, standard" in Hebrew. So the mission of St. Stephen was to grant a norm to Hungary through the Holy Crown (also called the Doctrine of the Holy Crown). However, another reason could be thought of: that Stephen, as fiancé of a woman from the diocese of Passau, simply wanted to do honour to the then-major saint of Passau, Saint Stephen, after whom the Passau Cathedral is named up to today.
When Stephen reached adolescence, Great Prince Géza convened an assembly where they decided that Stephen would follow his father as the monarch of the Hungarians. This decision, however, contradicted the Magyar tribal custom that gave the right of succession to the eldest close relative of the deceased ruler.
Stephen married Giselle of Bavaria, the daughter of Henry II the Wrangler in or after 995. By this marriage, he became the brother-in-law of the future Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor. Giselle arrived at her husband's court accompanied by German knights.
In 997, his father died and a succession struggle ensued.Stephen claimed to rule the Magyars by the principle of Christian divine right, while his uncle Koppány, a powerful pagan chieftain in Somogy, claimed the traditional right of agnatic seniority. Eventually, the two met in battle near Veszprém and Stephen, victorious, assumed the role of Grand Prince of the Hungarians. Stephen's victory came about primarily thanks to his German retinue led by the brothers Pázmány and Hont. The nearly contemporary deed of foundation of the Abbey of Pannonhalma clearly described the battle as a struggle between the Germans and the Magyars. Thus, Stephen strengthened his power in Transdanubia, but several parts of Hungary still did not accept his rule.
According to Hungarian tradition, Pope Silvester II, with the consent of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, sent a magnificent jeweled gold crown to Stephen along with an apostolic cross and a letter of blessing officially recognizing Stephen as the Christian king of Hungary. Later this tradition was interpreted as the papal recognition of the independence of Hungary from the Holy Roman Empire. The date of Stephen's coronation is variously given as Christmas Day, 1000 or 1 January 1001.
Stephen I is closely tied to the Crown of St. Stephen and the Doctrine of the Holy Crown which marks a unique tradition of the Kingdom of Hungary. According to Hartwick's legend, during his coronation Stephen dedicated the crown to the Holy Virgin, thereby sealing a contract between God and the crown (which is therefore considered a "holy" crown). This contract is also the basis for the Doctrine of the Holy Crown and the basis for the Apostolic Kingdom of Hungary. The actual crown which survives today was probably never worn by the king himself as it has been dated as originating in the 12th century. The origin of the crown, however, is hotly disputed.
According to the much argued Chronicon Pictum, the first king of the Hungarians is Attila the Hun. However, the codex repeats itself as Stephen I is also cited as the first king of the Hungarians. Also argued by historians is the exact meaning of the phrase in the Remonstrances to Emerick from St Stephen: "Regale ornamentum scito esse maximum: sequi antecessores reges et honestos imitari parentos", which translates to: "The greatest deed for the kingdom is to follow the old kings and to imitate parents". This might mean that Stephen is referring to the "old kings" which could only be Attila and Nimrod. It might also mean that the constitution of the kingdom itself was not employed by St Stephen, but by his ancestors.
What is confirmed is that, after (or just before) his coronation, Stephen I founded several dioceses, namely, the dioceses of Veszprém, Győr, Kalocsa, Vác, and Bihar. He also established the Archdiocese of Esztergom. Thus he set up an ecclesiastical organisation independent of the German archbishops. He also began to organize a territory-based administration by founding several counties (comitatus, megye) in his kingdom.
Stephen discouraged pagan customs and strengthened Christianity by means of various laws. In his first decree, issued at the beginning of his rule, he ordered that each ten villages would be obliged to build a church. He invited foreign priests to Hungary to evangelize his kingdom. Saint Astricus served as his adviser and Saint Gerard Sagredo as the tutor for his son Emeric (also rendered as Imre).
Around 1003, Stephen invaded and occupied Transylvania, a territory ruled by his maternal uncle, Gyula, a semi-independent chieftain. After this victory, Stephen organized the Diocese of Transylvania. In the next few years he also occupied the lands of the Black Magyars in the southern part of Transdanubia, and there organized the Diocese of Pécs. Shortly afterwards, it is believed that he made an agreement with Samuel Aba, the chieftain of the Kabar tribes settled in the Mátra region, who married Stephen's sister. In his brother-in-law's domains, Stephen founded the Diocese of Eger.
Finally, Stephen occupied the domains of Ajtony, a semi-pagan chieftain who had been ruling over the territories of the later Banat. Here Stephen set up the Diocese of Csanád. he married at the age of 20.
Stephen intended to retire to a life of holy contemplation and hand the kingdom over to his son Emeric, but Emeric was wounded in a hunting accident and died in 1031. In Stephen's words of mourning:
By God's secret decision death took him, so that wickedness would not change his soul and false imaginations would not deceive his mind – as the Book of Wisdom teaches about early death.
Stephen mourned for a very long time over the loss of his son, which took a great toll on his health. He eventually recovered, but never regained his original vitality. Having no children left, he could not find anyone among his remaining relatives who was able to rule the country competently and be willing to maintain the Christian faith of the nation. He did not want to entrust his kingdom to his cousin, Duke Vazul, whom he suspected to be following pagan customs. The disregarded duke took part in a conspiracy aimed at the murder of Stephen I, but the assassination attempt failed and Vazul had his eyes gouged out and molten lead poured in his ears. Without a living heir, on his deathbed, King St. Istvan raised with his right hand the Holy Crown of Hungary, and prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking her to take the Hungarian people as her subjects and become their queen. King Stephen died on the feast day which commemorates the bodily assumption into heaven of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August, in the year 1038, at Esztergom-Szentkirály or Székesfehérvár, where he was buried. His nobles and his subjects were said to have mourned for three straight years afterwards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_I_of_Hungary
