Editing Ladislaus I of Hungary (section)

== Legacy ==

[[File:Gentiana cruciata 030705b.jpg|thumb |right |A blue-flowered ''[[Gentiana cruciata]]'' (Star Gentian), traditionally known in Hungary as "St. Ladislaus's Herb" ({{langx|hu|Szent László füve)}}]]

===Consolidation of the Christian monarchy ===

For centuries, hagiographers and historians have emphasized Ladislaus's prominent role in the consolidation of the Christian monarchy.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=173}} The chronicles also stressed his ''idoneitas'', or personal suitability, to reign, because the legitimacy of his rule was questionable.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=173}} 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".<ref name="Chronicon_94_133_128" />{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=173}}

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.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=37}} Kristó suggests that the [[Székelys|Székely people]]{{mdash}}a community of Hungarian-speaking warriors{{mdash}}started settling the easternmost borderlands under Ladislaus.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=121}}{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=115}} The "historic association of the Kingdom of Hungary and [[Croatia]]", which ended in 1918, began with Ladislaus's conquest of Croatia.{{sfn|Kontler|1999|p=63}} His conquest marked the beginning of a period of Hungarian expansion, which ensured that Hungary developed into a leading [[Central Europe]]an power during the following centuries.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=37}} It became a customary rite for a newly crowned Hungarian king to make a pilgrimage to Ladislaus's shrine at [[Várad]].{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=32}} [[Louis I of Hungary]], who made many attempts to expand his territory in the Balkan Peninsula, showed a special respect for Ladislaus.{{sfn|Cartledge|2011|p=36}}

{{Blockquote|Hungary had never had as great as king, so they repute<br />And the land thereafter never bore that much and splendid fruit.|[[Gallus Anonymus]]: ''[[Gesta principum Polonorum|The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles]]''<ref name="Gallus_27_97" />}}

=== Veneration ===
{{See also|Saint Ladislaus legend}}

{{Infobox saint
|name=St. Ladislaus
|feast_day=27 June
|venerated_in= [[Catholic Church]]
|image=LaszloOradea.jpg
|caption=Saint Ladislaus's reliquary of the late 19th-century (in the Cathedral-Basilica of Oradea, Romania)
|titles=King and Confessor
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=27 June 1192 (dubious)
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=[[Pope Celestine III]] (dubious)
|attributes=[[Long sword]]<br /> [[Angel|defended by two angels]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UZGQWr97WmIC&q=Frederick+Charles+Husenbeth#v=snippet&q=Frederick%20Charles%20Husenbeth&f=false Husenbeth, Frederick Charles. ''Emblems of Saints: By which They are Distinguished in Works of Art'', Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1860, p. 99]</ref>
|patronage=Patron Saint of [[Hungary]]<br />Patron Saint of the [[Székelys]]<br />Protector against pestilence
|major_shrine=Cathedral-Basilica of [[Oradea]], [[Romania]] and Cathedral-Basilica of [[Győr]], Hungary
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
}}

Gábor Klaniczay emphasizes that Ladislaus "seemed expressly designed to personify the knight-king ideal" of his age.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=173}} 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".{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=122}}<ref>''Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary'' (ch. 24.), p. 394.</ref> 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.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=173}} Five significant events of Ladislaus's life, which were not included in his official legend, were only preserved in the ''Gesta''.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|pp=176–177}}

The most popular story describes Ladislaus's fight with a "[[Turkic peoples|Cuman]]" warrior after the [[Battle of Kerlés]] (at present-day [[Chiraleș]], Romania) in 1068.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|pp=177, 190}}{{sfn|László|1996|p=142}} 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.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=107}}{{sfn|Bárány|2012|pp=339–340}} According to the version recorded in the ''Illuminated Chronicle'', Ladislaus spotted a pagan warrior fleeing from the battlefield with a captive Hungarian maiden.{{sfn|László|1996|p=142}} Ladislaus pursued the "Cuman", but he could not stop him.{{sfn|László|1996|p=143}} 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.{{sfn|László|1996|p=143}}{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|pp=190–191}} 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".{{sfn|László|1996|p=142}}{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|pp=192–193}}

{{Blockquote|[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 [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea Mare|Bishop of Warad]], and although he was seriously wounded, 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.|''[[Illuminated Chronicle|The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle]]''<ref>''The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle'' (ch. 73–74.103), p. 119.</ref>}}

During the reign of [[Stephen II of Hungary]], Ladislaus's shrine in the cathedral of Várad became a preferred venue for [[Trial by ordeal|trials by ordeal]].{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=123}} 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 III of Hungary]] on 27 June 1192.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|pp=174, 182}} Béla had lived in the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] court, where Ladislaus's daughter, Irene, was venerated as a saint.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=182}}

According to Thomas the Archdeacon, [[Pope Innocent III]] declared that Ladislaus "should be enrolled in the catalogue of saints", but his report is unreliable, because [[Celestine III]] was pope at the time.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=185}}<ref>''Archdeacon Thomas of Split: History of the Bishops of Salona and Split'' (ch. 23.), p. 133.</ref> Celestine III's bulls and charters make no reference to Ladislaus's canonization, implying that Ladislaus was canonized without the Holy See's authorization.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|pp=185–186}} The nearly contemporaneous ''[[Regestrum Varadinense]]'' says that a [[Serfdom|bondsman]], named "Tekus, son of the craftsman Dénes", opened Ladislaus's tomb at the beginning of the ceremony, after which Tekus was granted freedom.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=186}} Parts of Ladislaus's head and right hand were severed so that they could be distributed as relics.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=186}} The 15th-century silver [[reliquary]] that contains Ladislaus's head is displayed in the [[Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, Győr|Győr Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Egyházmegyénk: Történet – A Szent László herma [Our Diocese: History – St Ladislaus's reliquary] |work=Győri Egyházmegye [Diocese of Győr] |publisher=gyor.egyhazmegye.hu |year=2008 |url=http://gyor.egyhazmegye.hu/egyhazmegyenk/tortenet/a-szent-laszlo-herma |access-date=17 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217131839/http://gyor.egyhazmegye.hu/egyhazmegyenk/tortenet/a-szent-laszlo-herma |archive-date=17 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Gold coin of Sigismund of Hungary.jpg|left|thumb|Gold coin of King [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund of Hungary]] depicting King Saint Ladislaus]]

Ladislaus's official legend, which was compiled after 1204,{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=186}} attributes a number of [[miracles]] to him.{{sfn|Lanzi|Lanzi|2004|p=142}} 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.{{sfn|Lanzi|Lanzi|2004|p=142}} This plant became known as "[[Gentiana cruciata|Saint Ladislaus's herb]]" in Hungary.{{sfn|Lanzi|Lanzi|2004|p=142}}

Ladislaus is a [[patron saint]] of Hungary, especially along the borders.{{sfn|Lanzi|Lanzi|2004|p=142}}{{sfn|László|1996|p=145}} In particular, soldiers and the [[Székelys|Székely people]] venerate him.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=123}} 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.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=123}} He is also called upon during times of pestilence.{{sfn|Lanzi|Lanzi|2004|p=142}} He is often depicted as a mature, bearded man wearing a royal crown and holding a long sword or [[banner]].{{sfn|Lanzi|Lanzi|2004|p=142}} He is also shown on his knees before a deer, or in the company of two angels.{{sfn|Lanzi|Lanzi|2004|p=142}}

King [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund of Hungary]] died on 1437, and as ordered in life, he was buried at Várad (now [[Oradea]]), next to the tomb of the King Saint Ladislaus, who was the ideal of the perfect monarch, warrior and Christian for that time and was deeply venerated by Sigismund.<ref>Bertényi Iván. (2000). A Tizennegyedik Század története. Budapest: Pannonica kiadó.</ref>