Saint Margaret of Hungary
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Margaret of Hungary (January 27, 1242 – January 18, 1270) was a
Dominican nun The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Ca ...
and the daughter of King
Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his father ...
and
Maria Laskarina Maria Laskarina (c. 1206 – 16 July or 24 June 1270) was a Greek Queen consort of Hungary by marriage to Béla IV of Hungary. She was the daughter of Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Komnena Angelina. Life She was a younger sister of Irene Lascarina ...
. She was the younger sister of
Kinga of Poland Kinga of Poland (also known as Cunegunda; pl, Święta Kinga, hu, Szent Kinga) (5 March 1224– 24 July 1292) is a saint in the Catholic Church and patroness of Poland and Lithuania. Biography She was born in Esztergom, Kingdom of Hungary ...
(Kunegunda) and
Yolanda of Poland Yolanda of Poland or Yolanda of Hungary, also Blessed Yolanda (also known as Helen; 1235 – 11 June 1298) was the daughter of King Béla IV of Hungary and Maria Laskarina. She was the sister of Margaret of Hungary and Kinga of Poland (Cuneg ...
and, through her father, the niece of the famed
Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...
.


Life

Margaret was born in
Klis Fortress ) from Vrana, Zadar County, Vrana, in the name of Bosnia (region), Bosnian King Tvrtko I of Bosnia, Tvrtko I * 1394–1401 Ban Nicholas II Garay, Nikola II Gorjanski in the name of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund * 1401–1434 Croatian n ...
in the
Kingdom of Croatia Kingdom of Croatia may refer to: * Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), an independent medieval kingdom * Croatia in personal union with Hungary (1102–1526), a kingdom in personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary * Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg) (152 ...
, the eighth and last daughter (9th of 10 children) of the royal couple. They resided there during the Mongol invasion of Hungary (1241–42) as her father was also ruler of this land. Her parents vowed that if
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
was liberated from the
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
, they would dedicate the child to religion. The three-year-old Margaret was entrusted by her parents to the Dominican monastery at
Veszprém Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county (comitatus or 'megye') of ...
in 1245. Six years later she was transferred to the Monastery of the Blessed Virgin founded by her parents on Nyulak Szigete (Rabbit Island) near Buda (today
Margaret Island Margaret Island ( hu, Margitsziget ; german: Margareteninsel; tr, Kızadası) is a long island, wide, ( in area) in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, Hungary. The island is mostly covered by landscape parks, and is a popular recrea ...
, named after her, and a part of
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 ...
; the ruins of the monastery can still be seen). She spent the rest of her life there, dedicating herself to religion and opposing all attempts of her father to arrange a political marriage for her with King
Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...
.Aldásy, Antal. "Bl. Margaret of Hungary." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 26 July 2019
She appears to have taken
solemn vow A solemn vow is a certain vow ("a deliberate and free promise made to God about a possible and better good") taken by an individual during or after novitiate in a Catholic religious institute. It is solemn insofar as the Church recognizes it a ...
s when she was eighteen years old. In marked contrast to the customs of her Order, she received the
Consecration of Virgins In the Catholic Church, a consecrated virgin is a woman who has been consecrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity as a bride of Christ. Consecrated virgins are consecrated by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical ...
along with some other royals to prevent further attempts on the part of her father to have her vows dispensed by the pope for marriage. Many of the details of her life are known from the ''
Legend of Saint Margaret The Legend of Saint Margaret ( hu, Szent Margit legendája) is an important piece of Mediaeval Hungarian literature. The only specimen of the text was preserved in the Margaret Codex, copied by Lea Ráskay in 1510. The legend tells the life and d ...
'', written probably in the 14th century and translated from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
to Hungarian in the 15th. The only remaining copy of the legend is in the '' Margaret Codex'' copied by the Dominican
nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
Lea Ráskay Lea Ráskay, O.P., (; early 16th century, sometimes also spelled ''Ráskai'') was a Hungarian nun and scholar of the 16th century. Life Ráskay was likely a descendant of that old Hungarian aristocratic family which would have gotten its name ...
around 1510. According to the legend, Margaret chastised herself from early childhood, wore an iron
girdle A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts. Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including th ...
, hairshirts and shoes spiked with nails performed the most menial work in the convent. The extravagance of the penances she undertook may have shortened her life.Duffy, Patrick. "Jan 18 – St Margaret of Hungary (1242-70)", ''Catholic Ireland'', January 18, 2012
/ref> She died on 18 January 1270.


Veneration

She was venerated as a saint soon after her death, e.g., a church dedicated to her in Bocfolde,
Zala County Zala ( hu, Zala megye, ; ; ) is an administrative county (comitatus or ''megye'') in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia ( Koprivnica–Križevci and Međimurje Counties) and Slovenia (Lendava ...
, appears in documents dated 1426. Steps were taken to procure her
canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
shortly after her death, at the request of her brother King Stephen V. The necessary investigations were taken up between 1270 and 1276, but the canonization process was not successful, even though 74
miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
s were ascribed to her intercession, most of them referring to curing illnesses, even someone coming back from the dead. Among those giving testimony were 27 people for whom miracles had been wrought. Unsuccessful attempts to canonize her were also made in 1640 and 1770. She was finally canonized by
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
on November 19, 1943, at that time the feast day of her aunt, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. Her
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
is celebrated by the Dominican Order. Raised by
Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...
to a '' festum duplex,'' it is the day of her death, January 18. Her monastery was among those suppressed in 1782, part of the suppression of all monastic orders by the Emperor
Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...
. At that time, her remains were given to the
Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...
. They were kept in Pozsony (today
Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
) and
Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
. The relics were partly destroyed in 1789 but some portions were preserved and are now kept in
Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danu ...
,
Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia ...
, and
Pannonhalma Pannonhalma (german: Martinsberg; sk, Rábsky Svätý Martin) is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, western Hungary, with approximately 4,000 inhabitants. It is about from Győr. Archduke Otto Habsburg's heart is kept at the Pannonhalma Archab ...
. In art Margaret is usually depicted in a Dominican nun's
religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...
, holding a white lily and a book.Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. .


Ancestry


See also

* Saint Margaret of Hungary, patron saint archive *
Isten, hazánkért térdelünk Isten, hazánkért térdelünk (God, we kneel for our country) is a Hungarian anthem to Hungarian saints. The words were written by Mihály Mentes, a priest, teacher and poet from Győr and Mentes's words set to music by György Náray, a priest f ...


References


External links


English article on the homepage of the Catholic Church in HungaryCatholic Exchange
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margaret Of Hungary 1242 births 1270 deaths Dominican nuns Dominican saints Beatified and canonised Árpádians Hungarian Roman Catholic saints Hungarian princesses Roman Catholic royal saints Hungarian people of Greek descent 13th-century Christian saints Medieval Hungarian saints Canonizations by Pope Pius XII 13th-century Croatian women Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 13th-century Hungarian people 13th-century Hungarian women Beatifications by Pope Pius VI Daughters of kings