Das Engelskrönungsmotiv in der Ikonographie König Stephans des Heiligen

Abstract

There is a type in the iconography of Saint Stephen which, although it is perhaps one of the best known portrayals of the saint, has nevertheless escaped the attention of art historical research. The woodcut in the Augsburg edition of János Thuróczy's Chronica Hungarorum (1488) is of interest not only from the viewpoint of art history; it is at least as important for the history of ideas and constitutional law, and it was not only in one particular period, namely at the very end of the 15th century that it became a special theme, but it proved to be very much alive in the following century with minor changes. The Hungarian source of the composition is a special theme that appeared in the 14th century, the portrayal of Saint Ladislas crowned by angels which was revived by the art propaganda for display of Louis I (the Great), based on Byzantine traditions and given current relevance. As far as we know at present, the motif of angelic coronation first appeared in the iconography of Saint Stephen on a woodcut printed perhaps in Ulm around 1460-1470. However, the immediate model for the woodcuts in the Thuróczy chronicle was very probably not this image of Saint Stephen but the relief of King Matthias Corvinus on the tower of the Ortenburg castle in Bautzen. Right from the time of its appearance the woodcut was an enormous success. This was due in part to its technique and message but the main reason why it became popular was its extremely important constitutional law implications for the feudal constitution, especially in the struggles for succession following the death of Matthias Corvinus (1490). Since it gave the most succinct expression of the doctrine of the Holy Crown, the constitutional law foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary, and could be updated later too, countless copies and variants were produced in the following centuries, particularly after the appearance in Nuremberg in 1664 of the Mausoleum published at the expense of Ferenc Nádasdy chief justice, right up to the 20th century. It was probably through this art channel that it trickled down later through further intermediary stations into folk tradition although there are only a few oral and pictorial traces of this.