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Béla I of Hungary

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Bust of Béla at the National Historical Memorial Park in Ópusztaszer

Bela I the Champion or the Bison (Hungarian: I. (Bajnok/Bölény) Béla, Slovak: Belo I) (c. 1016 – 11 September 1063), king of Hungary (1060-1063).

Early years

Bela was the third son of Vazul, a cousin of Stephan I, the first king of Hungary; therefore he descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. His mother was probably the concubine (a daughter of a member of the Hungarian gens Tátony) of his father, who still followed pagan costums. Some modern sources claim that duke Vazul married Katun Anastazya of Bulgaria who bore Bela and his brothers, Levente and Andrew.

On September 2, 1031 Stephan I's only surviving son Imre was killed by a boar while hunting. Stephen I wanted to secure the position of the Christianity in his semi-converted kingdom; therefore he was planning to name his sister's son, Peter Urseolo as his successor. However, Vazul, who was suspected to be following pagan-costums, took part in a conspiracy aimed at the murder of the king. But the assassination attempt failed and Vazul had is eyes gouged out and molten lead poured in his ears and his three sons were exiled.

In exile

After their father's tragical death, the three brothers was obliged to leave the country. Fleeing first to Bohemia, they continued to Poland where Bela settled down, while his brothers continued on, settling in Kiev. In Poland, Bela served king Mieszko II Lambert of Poland and took part in the king's campaigns against the pagan Pomeran tribes. He became a successful military leader, and the king gave his daughter[1] in marriage to him. He may have been baptized just before his marriage, and his Christian name was Adalbert. After his marriage, he probably lived in Poland even during the time of interregnum when his brother-in-law, Casimir I of Poland was obliged to leave the country.

Duke of Tercia pars Regni

In the meantime, after a sanguine pagan revolt which ended the rule of Peter Urseolo, Bela's brother, Andrew I ascended the throne in Hungary. However, his relations with the Holy Roman Empire remained tense, because Peter Urseolo, had been not only a close ally of Emperor Henry III, but he also had become a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire. Andrew sent embassy to the imperial court and offered to accept the emperor's suppremacy, but Henry III refused the peace; therefore the new king of Hungary had to make preparations for the approaching war. That was the reason he invited his younger brother, Bela to his court, and Bela accepted the offer.

In 1048, Andras conferred to Bela one third of Hungary as appanage ("Tercia pars Regni"), making him Duke of the Nitrian Frontier Duchy, whose capital was Nitra and which involved the southern Slovakian Nitrian Principality and the northeastern historic Hungarian Bihar region (not identical to the later Bihar).

The two brothers shared power without incident until 1053, when Andras fathered a son, Solomon. Thereafter, Andras became determined to secure the throne for his son and to displace his brother. Andras therefore had his son (Béla's nephew) crowned future king in 1057. After the coronation Bela left his brother's court. In two years later, according to legend, Andras called back Bela to his court, and placed before him a crown and a sword, representing royal and ducal power, respectively, and asked Bela to take his choice. Knowing that choosing the crown would mean his life, Bela instead selected the sword. Shortly afterwards, Béla fled to Poland where he was received by Bolesław II of Poland, nephew of his wife.

King of Hungary

In 1060, Bela returned to Hungary and defeated Andras I to become the new king. After Andras' death and Bela's victory at the Theben Pass, Bela was crowned king on December 6, 1060. During his brief reign he concerned himself with crushing pagan revolts in his kingdom.

Hungarian chroniclers praised Bela for introducing new currency, such as the silver denarius, and for his benevolence to the former followers of his nephew Solomon.

Bela died in an accident when his throne's canopy collapsed. After Bela's death, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor installed Solomon as the new king and his male progenies had to flee to Poland again.


Marriage and children

# 1032-1039: Rixa (?) of Poland (c. 1018 – after 1059), daughter of king [[Mieszko II Lambert] of Poland and his wife, Richeza of Lotharingia

Sources

  • Engel, Pat. Realm of St. Stephen : A History of Medieval Hungary, 2001
  • Kosztolnyik, Z.J., Five Eleventh Century Hungarian Kings, 1981
  • Kristó Gyula - Makk Ferenc: Az Árpád-ház uralkodói (IPC Könyvek, 1996)
  • Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század), főszerkesztő: Kristó Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel Pál és Makk Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994)
  • Magyarország Történeti Kronológiája I. – A kezdetektől 1526-ig, főszerkesztő: Benda Kálmán (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1981)

References

  1. ^ Traditionally, she is called Rixa.


Template:Succession

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