Emeric ( hu, Szent Imre herceg), also ''Emericus,'' ''Emerick, Emery, Emory'', and venerated as Saint Emeric (c. 1007 – 2 September 1031) was the son of King Stephen I of Hungary and Giselle of Bavaria.

Life

Family

Emeric is assumedSauser, E., ''Biographisch-bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (German, title transl. "Biographical-bibliographical encyclopaedia of the Roman Catholic church") Vol. XXI, pub. Bautz, 2003, to be the second son of Stephen I. Named after his maternal uncle Henry II, he was the only one of Stephen's sons who reached adulthood.

Education

Emeric was educated in a strict and ascetic spirit by the Benedictine monk from Venice,

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

, from the age of 15 to 23. He was intended to be the next monarch of Hungary, and his father wrote his ''

Admonitions The ''Admonitions'' ( hu, Intelmek; la, Libellus de institutione morum) is a mirror for princesa literary work summarizing the principles of governmentcompleted in the 1010s or 1020s for King Stephen I of Hungary's son and heir, Emeric. About a ...

'' to prepare him for this task. His father tried to make Emeric co-heir still in his lifetime. He married in the year 1022. The identity of his wife is disputed. Some say it was Irene Monomachina, a relative of Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, or a female member of the Argyros family to which Byzantine emperor Romanos III Argyros belonged. Other say it was Patricissa of Croatia, the daughter of Krešimir III of Croatia. Another possible person may have been Adelaide/Rixa of Poland or one of her unnamed sisters.

Death and sainthood

The succession plans of Emeric's father could never be fulfilled: on 2 September 1031, at age 24, Emeric was killed by a boar while hunting. It is assumed that this happened in Hegyközszentimre (presently Sântimreu, Romania). He was buried in the Székesfehérvár Basilica. Several wondrous healings and

conversions Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

happened at his grave, so on 5 November 1083 King Ladislaus I unearthed Emeric's bones in a large ceremony, and Emeric was canonised for his pious life and purity along with his father and Bishop Gerard of Csanád by

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

. Emeric is most often pictured in knight's armour with crown and lily. It is believed by some Hungarians that Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer and the namesake of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, was named after the saint, but no proof of this etymology exists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emeric 1000s births 1031 deaths House of Árpád Beatified and canonised Árpádians Medieval Hungarian saints Hungarian Roman Catholic saints 11th-century Christian saints Roman Catholic royal saints Canonizations by Pope Gregory VII Deaths due to boar attacks Accidental deaths in Hungary Hunting accident deaths Heirs apparent who never acceded Sons of kings

Life

Family

Education

Death and sainthood

See also

Further reading

References