Adalékok Antiochiai Szent Margit Árpád-kori tiszteletéhez

Absztrakt

This study provides data to the gradual strengthening of the cult of Saint Margaret in Hungary in the thirteenth century. It focuses on the motif of Andrew II., why he specifically purchased the relic of Saint Margaret of Antiochia during his crusade, in 1217, on the Holy Land. The motif should be looked for in the reverence for saints from the part of the Arpadian dynasty at the end of the twelfth century. The clear intent of reinforcing the cult of Saint Margaret can be revealed. Andrew II's father, Bela III. (1172-1196) was educated and married in Byzantium as well. His first wife was Anne of Chatillon (Antiochia), the daughter of the princess of Antiochia. Having married they left Constantinople and went to Antiochia, then to Jerusalem. So Bela ül . personally visited Antiochia and his wife, the Hungarian queen came from the very centre of the cult connected with Saint Margaret. The veneration of Saint Margaret meant a sort of bond between Byzantium and the new home of the young couple, since this saint was respected in the Byzantine Empire and Hungary as well. Bela ül. and Anne of Antiochia contributed to the cult of Saint Margaret, testified by the appearance of the Christian name of Margaret in the dynasty. Their first daughter was christened Margaret, which name had not been used before by the Arpadian dynasty. The reverence for Saint Margaret was characteristic for the aristocrats as well; who, being loyal to the royal court, often chose Margaret as patron saint for the churches. As far as the reinforcement of the cult of Saint Margaret is concerned, another factor can be mentioned; namely the crusading idea of the royal court of Bela IH. The troops gathering against the forces endangering the Holy Land yearned for support from Margaret, who defeated the evil and overcame the dragon. The combination of crusading idea and the cult of Margaret is testified by the church of Karcsa (Stephanists) and Csurgó (Johannites). The two motifs, the domestic and crusading ones, were connected through the person of Andrew II. His mother, Anne of Antiochia, due to her origin as well, respected Saint Margaret. On one hand Andrew II. followed the domestic tradition and on the other hand inherited and fulfilled his father, Bela IH's crusading vow. The purchase of relic in 1217 did not mean the beginning of reinforcing the cult of Saint Margaret, but rather the result of her increasing veneration by the Arpadian dynasty and the royal court starting a few decades earlier.