The Holy Crown of Hungary and the Coronation Regalia

-The front of the Holy Crown of Hungary (The 'Crown of Saint Stephen')-

Perhaps the most recognized medieval object from Hungary is the Holy Crown of Hungary, commonly known as the Crown of Saint Stephen. King Saint Stephen, the first Hungarian king received a crown from the pope in the year 1000. The surviving crown dates from later in the 11th century, but throughout ther Middle Ages it was regarded as the Crown of Saint Stephen.

The Crown consists of two pieces. The lower part is a Byzantine crown (corona Graeca), dating from the 1070s. Its enamel medalions indicate that it was a gift of Emperor Michael Doukas to the Byzantine princess Synadene, wife of the Hungarian King Géza I (1074-75). The upper part is cross-shaped, and originally probably had some other function. From its Latin inscriptions it is known as the Corona Latina. The two parts were joined into the present shape probably around 1200, at the time of King Béla III.

In a unique case in Europe, almost the entire medieval ensemble of coronation insignia survived. On January 1st, 2000, the Holy Crown of Hungary was moved to the building of the Hungarian Parliament from the Hungarian National Museum. The spectre, orb and the coronation sword moved to Parliament as well, but the Coronation Mantle remains at the National Museum. Thus the units of this complete ensemble have unfortunately been separated. (For a report, see http://www.ce-review.org/00/1/nemes1.html)
 

Apart from the Crown, the ensemble also includes the following objects:

Additional websites

-An illustrated overview of the Hungarian Coronation insignia, featured on the homepage of Bildarchiv Foto Marburg. With photographs by Károly Szelényi.

-Hungarian National Museum – The Coronation Mantle

-An educational site on the crown, in Hungarian, providing an excellent illustrated tour, and detailed studies by Endre Tóth.

 

Select bibliography

Tóth, Endre - Szelényi, Károly.The Holy Crown of Hungary - Kings and Coronations. Budapest: Kossuth, 1999. - This beautiful illustrated book is also available in German and Hungarian.

Éva Kovács - Zsuzsa Lovag,The Hungarian Crown and Other Regalia, Budapest: Corvina, 1980, 1988.

Insignia Regni Hungariae I. Studien zur Machtsymbolik des mittelalterlichen Ungarns. Budapest, 1983.

Deér, József, Die Heilige Krone Ungarns, Wien, 1966.

Éva Kovács, "Casula Sancti Stephani Regis," Acta Historiae Artium V (1958), 181-221.

Kelleher, P.J., The Holy Crown of Hungary, Rome, 1951.

Révay, Péter. De Sacrae Coronae Regni Hungariae ortu, virtute, vicoria, fortuna, annos ultra DC clarissima brevis Commentarius Petri de Revva comitis comitatus de Turocz. Augusta Vindelicorum, 1613.

The memoirs of Helene Kottanner (1439-1440), translated from the German with introduction, interpretative essay and notes / Maya Bijvoet Williamson., Cambridge [England]; Rochester, NY: D.S. Brewer, 1998. - Describes the theft of the crown in 1440.