Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe [Hardcover]

A study of medieval Hungarian and central European royal saints.Medieval dynasties relied frequently upon the cult of royal saints for legitimacy, and in the central middle ages most royal dynasties included saints in their family. Within this context the saints of the Hungarian ruling dynasty constitute a remarkable sequence, and provide a unique example of the late medieval evolution of royal and dynastic sainthood. Building upon a series of case studies from Hungary and central Europe, Gábor Klaniczay proposes an original new synthesis of the multiple forms and transformations of royal and dynastic sainthood.Medieval dynasties relied frequently upon the cult of royal saints for legitimacy, and in the central middle ages most royal dynasties included saints in their family. Within this context the saints of the Hungarian ruling dynasty constitute a remarkable sequence, and provide a unique example of the late medieval evolution of royal and dynastic sainthood. Building upon a series of case studies from Hungary and central Europe, Gábor Klaniczay proposes an original new synthesis of the multiple forms and transformations of royal and dynastic sainthood.Medieval dynasties relied frequently upon the cult of royal saints for legitimacy, and in the central middle ages most royal dynasties included saints in their family. Within this context, the saints of the Hungarian ruling dynasty constitute a remarkable sequence, and provide a unique example of the late medieval evolution of royal and dynastic sainthood. Building upon a series of case studies from Hungary and central Europe, Gábor Klaniczay proposes an original new synthesis of the multiple forms and transformations of royal and dynastic sainthood.List of illustrations; List of genealogical tables; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. From god-king to sacral kingship; 2. Martyr kings and blessed queens of the Early Middle Ages; 3. Rex iustus: the saintly institutor lÕ