Editing Stephen I of Hungary (section)

== Early years ({{circa}} 975–997) ==

Stephen's birth date is uncertain as it was not recorded in contemporaneous documents.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=64}} Hungarian and Polish chronicles written centuries later give three different years: 967, 969 and 975.{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=15}} The unanimous testimony of his three late 11th-century or early 12th-century [[hagiographies]] and other Hungarian sources, which state that Stephen was "still an adolescent" in 997,<ref>''Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary'' (ch. 5), p. 381.</ref> substantiate the reliability of the latest year (975).{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=64}}{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=15}} Stephen's ''[[Life of Saint Stephen, King of Hungary (Vita minor)|Lesser Legend]]'' adds that he was born in [[Esztergom]],{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=64}}{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=15}}<ref name=Britannica>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Stephen I|url=http://britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/565415/Stephen-I|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|year=2008|access-date=29 July 2008}}</ref> which implies that he was born after 972 because his father, [[Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians]], chose Esztergom as royal residence around that year.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=64}} Géza promoted the spread of Christianity among his subjects by force, but never ceased worshipping pagan gods.{{sfn|Kontler|1999|p=51}}{{sfn|Berend|Laszlovszky|Szakács|2007|p=331}} Both his son's ''[[Life of Saint Stephen, King of Hungary (Vita maior)|Greater Legend]]'' and the nearly contemporaneous [[Thietmar of Merseburg]] described Géza as a cruel monarch, suggesting that he was a despot who mercilessly consolidated his authority over the rebellious Hungarian lords.{{sfn|Berend|Laszlovszky|Szakács|2007|p=331}}{{sfn|Bakay|1999|p=547}}

Hungarian chronicles agree that Stephen's mother was [[Sarolt]], daughter of [[Gyula II|Gyula]], a [[gyula (title)|Hungarian chieftain]] with jurisdiction either in [[Transylvania]] or in the wider region of the confluence of the rivers [[Tisza]] and [[Mureș (river)|Maros]].{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=44}}{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=147}} Many historians{{mdash}}including Pál Engel and [[Gyula Kristó]]{{mdash}}propose that her father was identical with "[[Gyula II|Gylas]]", who had been baptized in [[Constantinople]] around 952 and "remained faithful to Christianity",<ref>''John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057'' (ch. 11.5.), p. 231.</ref> according to Byzantine chronicler [[John Skylitzes]].{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=24}}{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=28}} However, this identification is not unanimously accepted; historian [[György Györffy]] states that it was not Sarolt's father, but his younger brother, who was baptized in the Byzantine capital.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=44}} In contrast with all Hungarian sources, the ''[[Polish-Hungarian Chronicle]]'' and later [[Polish people|Polish]] sources state that Stephen's mother was Adelhaid, an otherwise unknown sister of Duke [[Mieszko I of Poland]], but the reliability of this report is not accepted by modern historians.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=46}}
[[File:Stephen I's birth (Chronicon Pictum 037).jpg|thumbnail|right|alt=Miniature of an illuminated manuscript depicting a birth.|Stephen's birth depicted in the ''[[Illuminated Chronicle]]'']]
Stephen was born as [[Vajk (given name)|Vajk]],<ref name=Britannica/>{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=27}} a name derived from the [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] word ''[[Bey|baj]]'', meaning "hero", "master", "prince" or "rich".{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=15}}{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=78}} Stephen's ''Greater Legend'' narrates that he was baptized by the saintly Bishop [[Adalbert of Prague]],{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=78}} who stayed in Géza's court several times between 983 and 994.{{sfn|Berend|Laszlovszky|Szakács|2007|p=329}}{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=16}} However, Saint Adalbert's nearly contemporaneous ''Legend'', written by [[Bruno of Querfurt]], does not mention this event.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=78}}{{sfn|Berend|Laszlovszky|Szakács|2007|p=329}}{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=16}} Accordingly, the date of Stephen's baptism is unknown: Györffy argues that he was baptized soon after birth, while Kristó proposes that he only received baptism just before his father's death in 997.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=78}}{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=16}}

Stephen's [[Legenda Hartviciana|official hagiography]], written by Bishop [[Hartvik|Hartvic]] and sanctioned by [[Pope Innocent III]], narrates that he "was fully instructed in the knowledge of the grammatical art" in his childhood.<ref name=Hartvic>''Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary'' (ch. 4), p. 381.</ref>{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=15}} This implies that he studied Latin, though some scepticism is warranted as few kings of this era were able to write. His two other late 11th-century hagiographies do not mention any grammatical studies, stating only that he "was brought up by receiving an education appropriate for a little prince".{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=15}} Kristó says that the latter remark only refers to Stephen's physical training, including his participation in hunts and military actions.{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=15}} According to the ''Illuminated Chronicle'', one of his tutors was a Count Deodatus from [[Kingdom of Italy (imperial)|Italy]], who later founded a monastery in [[Tata, Hungary|Tata]].{{sfn|Györffy|1983|p=132}}

According to Stephen's legends, Grand Prince Géza convoked an assembly of the Hungarian chieftains and warriors when Stephen "ascended to the first stage of adolescence",<ref name=Hartvic/> at the age of 14 or 15.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|pp=79–80}}{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=17}} Géza nominated Stephen as his successor and all those present took an oath of loyalty to the young prince.{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=17}} Györffy writes, without identifying his source, that Géza appointed his son to rule the "[[Principality of Nitra|Nyitra ducate]]" around that time.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=78}} Slovak historians, including [[Ján Steinhübel]] and Ján Lukačka, accept Györffy's view and propose that Stephen administered Nyitra (now [[Nitra]], Slovakia) from around 995.{{sfn|Steinhübel|2011|p=19}}{{sfn|Lukačka|2011|p=31}}

Géza arranged Stephen's marriage to [[Gisela of Hungary|Gisela]], daughter of [[Henry II, Duke of Bavaria]], in or after 995.<ref name="Britannica" />{{sfn|Kristó|2001|pp=16–17}} This marriage established the first family link between a Hungarian ruler and a Western European ruling house,{{sfn|Molnár|2001|p=20}} as Gisela was closely related to the [[Ottonian dynasty]] of [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s.{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=16}} According to popular tradition preserved in the [[Scheyern Abbey]] in [[Bavaria]], the ceremony took place at the [[Scheyern]] castle and was celebrated by Saint Adalbert.{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=17}} Gisela was accompanied to her new home by Bavarian knights, many of whom received land grants from her husband and settled in Hungary, helping to strengthen Stephen's military position. According to Györffy, Stephen and his wife "presumably" settled in Nyitra after their marriage.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=81}}{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=18}}