Sophia ( hu, Zsófia) was the younger of the two daughters of King

Béla II of Hungary Béla the Blind ( hu, Vak Béla; hr, Bela Slijepi; sk, Belo Slepý; 1109 – 13 February 1141) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1131 to 1141. He was blinded along with his rebellious father Álmos on the order of Álmos's brother, K ...

. She was engaged to

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, a son of

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

. She died as a nun in the

Admont Abbey Admont Abbey (german: Stift Admont) is a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery located on the Enns River in the town of Admont, Austria. The oldest remaining monastery in Styria, Admont Abbey contains the largest monastic library in the ...

Life

Sophia, as the first daughter of the royal couple, King Béla II and

Helena of Rascia Helena of Serbia ( sr, Јелена/Jelena, hu, Ilona; b. after 1109 – after 1146) was Queen of Hungary as the wife of King Béla II. After her husband's death, she governed Hungary as regent from 1141 to September 1146 together with her ...

, was born around 1135. She first begins to appear in narrative texts in 1139, when her father betrothed her to Henry, the eldest son of Conrad III (r. 1138–1152). Soon after Sophia traveled westward from the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, where she was presumably to learn the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

and court customs in preparation for her marriage. However her engagement with the young Henry was broken. Her father, Béla the Blind died in 1141, and the relationship between his successor,

Géza II Géza is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following: * Benjamin Géza Affleck * Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians * Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...

, and Conrad III grew increasingly strained during the following years. At one point in the mid-1140s, Conrad even briefly supported

Boris Kalamanos Boris ( hu, Borisz; 1114 1154), also known as Boris Kalamanos ( gr, Βορίσης Καλαμάνος, Russian & Ukrainian: Борис Коломанович) was a claimant to the Hungarian throne in the middle of the . He was the son of Euphem ...

, a rival candidate for the Hungarian throne. In this charged environment, the plans for a marriage between Sophia and Henry were abandoned. However, Sophia was still in the German kingdom, where she had been living for the past several years. Within a year she became a nun at the convent of

Admont Admont is a town in the Austrian state of Styria. It is historically most notable for Admont Abbey, a monastery founded in 1074. Gesäuse National Park, in which Admont lies, is an area of outstanding beauty. The town is situated in the middle of ...

(today in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

). According to Herbord of Michelsberg's letter written in 1159, Sophia was already residing in the double monastery at Admont when her betrothal ended. Conrad III had sent her there immediately after she left Hungary, because the German king wanted her to be raised within the abbey until Sophia and Henry were old enough to wed. When it became clear that her marriage would never take place, her brother Géza II sent messengers to Admont to bring her back to Hungary. However Sophia did not want to leave, insisting instead that she wished to remain in the monastery as a nun. He then considered leading an army into Austria to take her back by force. Later, though, he decided to send a diplomatic mission to negotiate her return. The abbot of Admont gave Sophia the choice of staying or leaving. Once more, she affirmed her desire to become a nun, and Géza II finally permitted her to stay at Admont.

References

Sources

* * * {{authority control 1130s births Hungarian princesses House of Árpád Year of death missing Medieval Hungarian people of Serbian descent 12th-century Hungarian nuns Daughters of kings