The Relations of Four Eleventh-Century Hungarian Kings with Rome in the Light of Papal Letters

Abstract

In order to write about the relationship of four Hungarian kings with the Holy See during the eleventh century, one must first make acquaintance with the ecclesiastical policy of King Stephen I (ob. 1038), who established the political and religious unity of the country. One must also consider the relations with Rome and with the German court of Kings Andrew I (ob. 1060) and Solomon (1063–1074) in the 1050s through the early 1070s. Finally, it is important to point out that only Ladislas I, who reigned during the last quarter of the century and died in 1096, had shown a firm attitude toward Rome, though his policy went too far and, in the view expressed by Urban II to Coloman the Learned of Hungary (ob. 1116), led to a rapture of relations with the Holy See.