Agnes of Antioch ( 1154 – c. 1184) was

Queen of Hungary The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1 ...

from 1172 until 1184 as the first wife of

Béla III Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar ...

. The accidental discovery of her intact tomb during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although t ...

has provided an opportunity for patriotic demonstrations. She was the only 12th-century Hungarian queen whose remains were studied by scientists, and her appearance was reconstructed.

Life

She was the daughter of

Raynald of Châtillon Raynald of Châtillon (french: Renaud; 11254 July 1187), also known as Reynald or Reginald, was a Crusader knight of French origin but also Prince of Antioch from 1153 to 1160 or 1161, and Lord of Oultrejordain from 1175 until his death. He w ...

, and Constance, Princess of Antioch. The exact date of her birth is uncertain. It is assumed that she was born soon after the secret marriage of her parents, which took place before May 1153. The most common belief in

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians h ...

was that Agnes was born in 1154. At the baptism she probably received the name of Agnes.

In Constantinople. Marriage

Her father was captured by the Muslims in November 1160 and was confined in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

for the next fifteen years. Princess Constance died c. 1163/67, and around 1170 Agnes went to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, where her older half-sister

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

had been living as the wife of the

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...

Manuel I Comnenus Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine empero ...

. On the Emperor's request, Agnes was married to ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

'' Alexios (born prince Béla of Hungary), who had been engaged to the Emperor's daughter, Maria Comnena, until the birth of Manuel's son,

Alexios Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios ( el, Αλέξιος, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia ( el, Αλεξία) and its variants such as Alessia ...

in 1166. The wedding date of Agnes and Alexios is unknown; is believed that may have occurred about 1168 and no later than 1172. In historiography, there are two precises dated for the wedding: September 1169 and March 1171. She received the name Anna in the imperial court. In the Hungarians documents she always appeared with her new name, probably because Agnes was rare at that time.

Queen of Hungary

The new couple went on a pilgrimage to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

where they made a donation for the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

. In the summer, after the death of King

Stephen III of Hungary Stephen III ( hu, István, hr, Stjepan, sk, Štefan; summer of 11474 March 1172) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1162 and 1172. He was crowned king in early June 1162, shortly after the death of his father, Géza II. However, his two un ...

(4 March 1172), her husband ascended the throne as King

, and they moved to Hungary. Anna was crowned queen alongside her husband at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Stephen in Székesfehérvár on 13 January 1173. The spread of French cultural patterns in the Kingdom of Hungary is attributed to Anna/Agnes. The queen's activities were also connected with the presence in Hungary of the first

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

monks, who came from

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

. Anna could keep in touch with Burgundian Cistercians through ancestral linkages. The first Cistercian monastery in Hungary, founded in 1182, was in fact closely associated with three Cistercian abbeys located near

Pontigny Pontigny () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. Sight Its principal distinction is as the home of Pontigny Abbey. See also *Communes of the Yonne department The following is a list of t ...

and the surrounding estates belonged to the Donzy family, from which Anna descended.

Issue

During her marriage, Anna gave birth to at least six children: * King

Emeric of Hungary Emeric, also known as Henry or Imre ( hu, Imre, hr, Emerik, sk, Imrich; 117430 November 1204), was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1196 and 1204. In 1184, his father, Béla III of Hungary, ordered that he be crowned king, and appointed him ...

(1174 – 30 September/November 1204). *

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

(1175 – after 1223), wife firstly of Emperor

Isaac II Angelos Isaac II Angelos or Angelus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, ; September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a ...

, secondly of King Boniface I of Thessalonica and thirdly of Nicolas of Saint-Omer. * King

Andrew II of Hungary Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 11 ...

(c. 1177 – 21 September 1235). * Salomon (died young). * Stephen (died young). * Constance (c. 1180 – 6 December 1240), wife of king

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (a ...

. Anna was the ancestress of all subsequent kings of Hungary, as well as the Hungarian princesses, and by marriage of the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...

duchesses St. Kinga and Bl. Jolenta of Poland. In addition, from her descended the

kings of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

from the Přemyslid,

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, Jagiellon and

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

families.

Death

Anna's death date was not recorded in any contemporary source, but it is assumed that she died in the year 1184, although it is possible she died a little earlier than that.M. Wertner: ''Az Árpádok családi története'', Nagy-Becskerek 1892, p. 356
Ildikó Hankó: ''Királyaink tömegsírban'', 2004 - year 1183

Burial

Anna was buried at Cathedral Basilica of Saint Stephen in Székesfehérvár. Her remains were confidently identified by archeologists during late-19th-century excavations at the ruined cathedral of Székesfehérvár. Her remains were afterwards reinterred at the Mathias Church in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

, with those of her husband.

References

Sources

* ''Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század)'', főszerkesztő: Kristó Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel Pál és Makk Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994) * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Agnes of Antioch 1150s births 1180s deaths Burials at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary House of Árpád Hungarian queens consort 12th-century Hungarian women Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain