Saint Emeric of Hungary

Saint Emeric
Saint Emeric of Hungary
Prince
Born about 1007
Székesfehérvár
Died (1031-09-02)September 2, 1031
Hegyközszentimre (assumed place)
Venerated in Eastern Orthodox Church
Roman Catholic Church
Canonized 1083, Székesfehérvár by Pope Gregory VII
Major shrine St. Emeric's Church, Székesfehérvár
Feast November 5, in Hungary: September 4 (burial of his relics)
Attributes Boar, Lily Stem, Sword
Patronage Youth, Hungarian Americans

Saint Emeric (Hungarian: Szent Imre herceg) also Henricus, Emery, Emerick, Emmerich, Emericus or Americus (c. 1007 – 2 September 1031) was the son of King St. Stephen I of Hungary and Giselle of Bavaria.

Life

Family

Emeric is assumed[1] to be the second son of Stephen I. Named after his uncle, St. 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 from the age of 15 to 23. He was intended to be the next monarch of Hungary, and his father wrote admonitions to prepare him for this task. His father tried to make Emeric co-heir still in his lifetime.

He married in the year 1022.[2] The identity of his wife is disputed. Some say it was Irene Monomachina, a relative of Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos,[3] 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[1] that this happened in Hegyközszentimre (presently Sântimreu, Romania). He was buried in the Székesfehérvár Basilica. Several wondrous healings and conversions 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.

St. 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, was named after the saint.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Sauser E, Biographisch-bibliograophisches Kirchenlexikon (German, title transl. "Biographic-bibliographic encyclopaedia of the Roman Catholic church") Vol XXI, pub. Bautz, 2003, ISBN 3-88309-038-7
  2. ↑ Charles Cawley. "HUNGARY KINGS". Medieval Lands. Foundation of Medieval Genealogy. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  3. ↑ W. Swoboda, Emeryk, Słownik Starożytności Słowiańskich, t. 8, cz. 1, 1998, s. 112
  4. ↑ Jonathan Cohen. "THE NAMING OF AMERICA: FRAGMENTS WE'VE SHORED AGAINST OURSELVES". Retrieved 1 April 2013.
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