Béla III of Hungary
Encyclopedia
Béla III (c. 1148 – 23 April 1196) was King of Hungary
and Croatia (1172–1196). He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I
who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire
till the birth of his own son. Following the death of his elder brother, who had been fighting against the Byzantine Empire, Béla could only ascend to the throne with the assistance of his uncle Emperor Manuel I and Pope Alexander III
, because a significant part of the Hungarian aristocracy led by his own mother and the Archbishop of Esztergom preferred his younger brother's succession. Béla was one of the most powerful rulers of Hungary and he was also one of the most wealthy monarchs of Europe of his age. Béla disposed of the equivalent of 23 tonnes of pure silver per year. This exceeded the income of the French king (estimated at 17 tonnes) and was double the receipts of the English Crown. It was probably he who began to organise the Royal Chancellery in Hungary. Through his son (Andrew II of Hungary
), Béla is an ancestor of Edward III of England
by his wife Euphrosyne of Kiev
. In 1161, his father granted him the Duchies of Croatia
and Dalmatia
as appanage, which was later confirmed by his brother, King Stephen III
who ascended the throne after their father's death on 31 May 1162.
concluded a treaty with King Stephen III
, and according to the treaty, Béla was sent to Constantinople
to be educated at the imperial court. The emperor, who had no legitimate sons, intended that Béla should marry his daughter, Maria Comnena, and eventually succeed him as Emperor. Béla received a Greek name, Alexius, and the newly created courtly title of despotes
which enjoyed the highest position of honor below the emperor.
In 1164 and 1165, Béla followed the Emperor Manuel I on his campaigns against Hungary which aimed at the occupation of Béla's "paternal inheritance", i.e., Croatia, Dalmatia and the Szerémség
. However, when King Stephen III transferred the three provinces to Manuel I, they were incorporated into the Byzantine Empire
. In the autumn of 1165, Mánuel officially assigned his daughter and Béla as his heirs. In the beginning of 1166, Manuel I and Béla co-chaired the synod of the Byzantine Church in Constantinople.
When Alexius was born as a son of Manuel and his second wife Maria of Antioch
in 1166, Béla's engagement to Maria was cancelled. Béla was deprived also of his title, and he was granted the lower title of kaisar. But Manuel helped negotiate another marriage for him, this time to Agnes of Antioch
, who was the half-sister of Maria of Antioch
; therefore by this marriage Manuel I and Béla became brothers-in-law.
After their marriage, Béla (Kaisar Alexius) and his wife went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he made a donation for the Knights Hospitaller
.
, as did their mother Euphrosyne
. Béla concluded an agreement with the Emperor Manuel, who provided him with a large amount of money, while he promised that he would never attack the Byzantine Empire
during the reign of the emperor or his son.
When Béla arrived in Hungary, Lukas, Archbishop of Esztergom refused to crown him because he had given a present to the archbishop's envoy, and the archbishop considered the gift as an attempt at simony
. Thus, Béla was obliged to seek assistance from Pope Alexander III
, who authorised the Archbishop of Kalocsa to crown Béla on 13 January 1173.
Following his coronation, Béla had his brother arrested, but Géza managed to escape and fled to Austria. Henry II
did not extradite Géza to Hungary; therefore Béla made an alliance with Duke Sobeslav II of Bohemia
and they attacked Austria. Géza tried to flee to the court of Emperor Frederick I
but he was arrested by the Czechs who gave him to Béla. In 1178, Béla provided assistance to the Duke of Bohemia to force back the attacks of the Duke of Austria.
from the Byzantine Empire. In the same year, Zára
refused allegiance to Venice and accepted his rule. In 1184, Béla occupied Beograd, Braničevo
and the valley of the Morava River which had been held by the Byzantine Empire. In 1185, Béla made peace with the new emperor, Isaac II Angelos
, who married Béla's daughter Margaret
and received the territories on the Morava River as her dowry.
After his first wife's death, Béla planned to marry Theodora Comnene, one of Emperor Manuel I's nieces, but the Byzantine Church prohibited their marriage. Thus, Béla married Marguerite of France, the sister of King Philip II of France
and widow of Henry the Young King
, the eldest son of King Henry II of England
in 1186.
In 1188, Prince Vladimir II Yaroslavich of Halych
, who had been dethroned by his boyar
s, sought refuge in his court. Béla led his armies against Halych
and occupied it, but afterwards he granted the principality to his second son, Andrew
and he had prince Vladimir arrested.
On 31 May 1189, Béla welcomed Frederick I
who was making his Crusade to the Holy Land
, and on the emperor's request he set his brother, Géza free, who then left for the Byzantine Empire. Afterwards, when Emperor Frederick I entered into a controversy with Emperor Isaac II, Béla mediated between them. However, in the meantime Prince Vladimir II escaped from Hungary and he reoccupied his principality.
In the autumn of 1191, Béla had a meeting with his son-in-law, the Emperor Isaac II, whom he helped against Stefan Nemanja
, the ruler of the Serbs
.
Before his death, he took an oath to lead a Crusade to the Holy Land.
(1154 – c. 1184), daughter of Raynald of Châtillon
, Prince of Antioch and his wife, Constance of Antioch
#2. 1185/1186: Marguerite of France (born 1158)
(1158 – after 10 September 1197), daughter of King Louis VII of France
and his second wife, Constance of Castile
His remains were confidently identified by archeologists during late 19th century excavations at the ruined cathedral of Székesfehérvár where the Árpád monarchs had been crowned and buried. Béla's exceptional height, as documented by contemporary sources, rendered the identification certain. Based on the examination of his skeleton, he must have been over two metres tall, a really outstanding height at that time. His remains were afterwards reinterred at the Matthias Church
in Budapest
, with those of his first wife Agnes.
Through his mother, Béla descended from Harold II of England
(whose descendants had been dispossessed as a result of the Norman Conquest). Through his son, Andrew II, Béla was an ancestor of King Edward III of England
. As a result, all subsequent English and British monarchs could claim descent from Harold II.
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King of Hungary
The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...
and Croatia (1172–1196). He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
till the birth of his own son. Following the death of his elder brother, who had been fighting against the Byzantine Empire, Béla could only ascend to the throne with the assistance of his uncle Emperor Manuel I and Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
, because a significant part of the Hungarian aristocracy led by his own mother and the Archbishop of Esztergom preferred his younger brother's succession. Béla was one of the most powerful rulers of Hungary and he was also one of the most wealthy monarchs of Europe of his age. Béla disposed of the equivalent of 23 tonnes of pure silver per year. This exceeded the income of the French king (estimated at 17 tonnes) and was double the receipts of the English Crown. It was probably he who began to organise the Royal Chancellery in Hungary. Through his son (Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
), Béla is an ancestor of Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
Early years
Béla was the second son of King Géza IIGéza II of Hungary
Géza II , , King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Dalmatia and Rama . He ascended the throne as a child and during his minority the kingdom was governed by his mother and uncle...
by his wife Euphrosyne of Kiev
Euphrosyne of Kiev
Euphrosyne of Kiev was Queen consort of Hungary.Euphrosyne was the first daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and his second wife, Liubava Dmitrievna...
. In 1161, his father granted him the Duchies of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
as appanage, which was later confirmed by his brother, King Stephen III
Stephen III of Hungary
Stephen III , King of Hungary King of Croatia and Dalmatia . He ascended the throne as a child and he had to stand up against his uncles who usurped the crown supported by the Byzantine Empire...
who ascended the throne after their father's death on 31 May 1162.
Despotes Alexius
In 1164, the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I KomnenosManuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
concluded a treaty with King Stephen III
Stephen III of Hungary
Stephen III , King of Hungary King of Croatia and Dalmatia . He ascended the throne as a child and he had to stand up against his uncles who usurped the crown supported by the Byzantine Empire...
, and according to the treaty, Béla was sent to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
to be educated at the imperial court. The emperor, who had no legitimate sons, intended that Béla should marry his daughter, Maria Comnena, and eventually succeed him as Emperor. Béla received a Greek name, Alexius, and the newly created courtly title of despotes
Despotes
Despot , was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent...
which enjoyed the highest position of honor below the emperor.
In 1164 and 1165, Béla followed the Emperor Manuel I on his campaigns against Hungary which aimed at the occupation of Béla's "paternal inheritance", i.e., Croatia, Dalmatia and the Szerémség
Syrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
. However, when King Stephen III transferred the three provinces to Manuel I, they were incorporated into the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. In the autumn of 1165, Mánuel officially assigned his daughter and Béla as his heirs. In the beginning of 1166, Manuel I and Béla co-chaired the synod of the Byzantine Church in Constantinople.
When Alexius was born as a son of Manuel and his second wife Maria of Antioch
Maria of Antioch
Maria of Antioch was a Byzantine empress as the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. She was the daughter of Constance of Antioch and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers...
in 1166, Béla's engagement to Maria was cancelled. Béla was deprived also of his title, and he was granted the lower title of kaisar. But Manuel helped negotiate another marriage for him, this time to Agnes of Antioch
Agnes of Antioch
Agnes of Antioch, , Queen Consort of Hungary.Agnes was the daughter of Raynald of Châtillon, Prince of Antioch by right of his wife, and his first wife, Constance of Antioch...
, who was the half-sister of Maria of Antioch
Maria of Antioch
Maria of Antioch was a Byzantine empress as the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. She was the daughter of Constance of Antioch and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers...
; therefore by this marriage Manuel I and Béla became brothers-in-law.
After their marriage, Béla (Kaisar Alexius) and his wife went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he made a donation for the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
.
Return to Hungary
When his brother, King Stephen III died childless on 4 March 1172, Béla became his rightful heir. However, some barons preferred his younger brother, the Prince GézaGéza, royal prince of Hungary
Géza was a Hungarian royal Prince, son of the King Géza II of Hungary. Prince Géza was brother of the King's Stephen III and Béla III of Hungary...
, as did their mother Euphrosyne
Euphrosyne of Kiev
Euphrosyne of Kiev was Queen consort of Hungary.Euphrosyne was the first daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and his second wife, Liubava Dmitrievna...
. Béla concluded an agreement with the Emperor Manuel, who provided him with a large amount of money, while he promised that he would never attack the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
during the reign of the emperor or his son.
When Béla arrived in Hungary, Lukas, Archbishop of Esztergom refused to crown him because he had given a present to the archbishop's envoy, and the archbishop considered the gift as an attempt at simony
Simony
Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus , who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24...
. Thus, Béla was obliged to seek assistance from Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
, who authorised the Archbishop of Kalocsa to crown Béla on 13 January 1173.
Following his coronation, Béla had his brother arrested, but Géza managed to escape and fled to Austria. Henry II
Henry II, Duke of Austria
Henry II , Count Palatine of the Rhine, 1140–1141, Margrave of Austria from 1141 to 1156 and, as Henry XI, also Duke of Bavaria from 1141 to 1156, Duke of Austria, 1156–1177, was a prince of the Babenberg dynasty....
did not extradite Géza to Hungary; therefore Béla made an alliance with Duke Sobeslav II of Bohemia
Sobeslav II of Bohemia
Sobeslav II, called Prince of the Peasants or King of the Peasants, was the duke of Bohemia from 1173 to 1179. He was the second son of Sobeslav I. Supported by neither noblesse nor emperor, he was backed solely by the lowest classes....
and they attacked Austria. Géza tried to flee to the court of Emperor Frederick I
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
but he was arrested by the Czechs who gave him to Béla. In 1178, Béla provided assistance to the Duke of Bohemia to force back the attacks of the Duke of Austria.
Internal policy
Béla wanted to amend the administration of his kingdom and ordered that all the issues discussed by the king had to be put down in writing. This order led to the establishment of the Royal Chancellery in Hungary. In 1179, after Archbishop Andrew of Kalocsa had insulted him, Béla persuaded Lukas, Archbishop of Esztergom to excommunicate him and he occupied the estates of the archdiocese. Shortly afterwards, through the intercession of Pope Alexander III, Béla was reconciled with Archbishop Andrew.Expansion
After the death of Emperor Manuel I on 24 September 1180, Bela retook Croatia, Dalmatia and the SremSrem
Śrem is a town on the Warta river in central Poland. It has been situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; from 1975 to 1998 it was part of the Poznań Voivodeship...
from the Byzantine Empire. In the same year, Zára
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
refused allegiance to Venice and accepted his rule. In 1184, Béla occupied Beograd, Braničevo
Branicevo
Braničevo can refer to:* Braničevo , a geographical region in Serbia.* Braničevo District, a district in Serbia.* Braničevo , a village in Serbia, in the Golubac municipality....
and the valley of the Morava River which had been held by the Byzantine Empire. In 1185, Béla made peace with the new emperor, Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos was Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204....
, who married Béla's daughter Margaret
Margaret of Hungary
Margaret of Hungary was the Empress consort of Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine Emperor.- Family :Margaret was the eldest daughter of Béla III of Hungary and his first wife Agnes of Antioch. She was a younger sister of Emeric, King of Hungary. Her younger siblings were Andrew II of Hungary and...
and received the territories on the Morava River as her dowry.
After his first wife's death, Béla planned to marry Theodora Comnene, one of Emperor Manuel I's nieces, but the Byzantine Church prohibited their marriage. Thus, Béla married Marguerite of France, the sister of King Philip II of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
and widow of Henry the Young King
Henry the Young King
Henry, known as the Young King was the second of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine but the first to survive infancy. He was officially King of England; Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine.-Early life:Little is known of the young prince Henry before the events...
, the eldest son of King Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
in 1186.
In 1188, Prince Vladimir II Yaroslavich of Halych
Vladimir II Yaroslavich
Vladimir II Yaroslavich was a Rus’ prince . He was prince of Halych .He was profligate by nature. He lived a debauched life and was politically ineffectual...
, who had been dethroned by his boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
s, sought refuge in his court. Béla led his armies against Halych
Halych
Halych is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The town gave its name to the historic province and kingdom of Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local princes was moved to Lviv...
and occupied it, but afterwards he granted the principality to his second son, Andrew
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
and he had prince Vladimir arrested.
On 31 May 1189, Béla welcomed Frederick I
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
who was making his Crusade to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, and on the emperor's request he set his brother, Géza free, who then left for the Byzantine Empire. Afterwards, when Emperor Frederick I entered into a controversy with Emperor Isaac II, Béla mediated between them. However, in the meantime Prince Vladimir II escaped from Hungary and he reoccupied his principality.
In the autumn of 1191, Béla had a meeting with his son-in-law, the Emperor Isaac II, whom he helped against Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
, the ruler of the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
.
Before his death, he took an oath to lead a Crusade to the Holy Land.
Marriages and children
#1. c. 1170: Agnes of AntiochAgnes of Antioch
Agnes of Antioch, , Queen Consort of Hungary.Agnes was the daughter of Raynald of Châtillon, Prince of Antioch by right of his wife, and his first wife, Constance of Antioch...
(1154 – c. 1184), daughter of Raynald of Châtillon
Raynald of Chatillon
Raynald of Châtillon was a knight who served in the Second Crusade and remained in the Holy Land after its defeat...
, Prince of Antioch and his wife, Constance of Antioch
Constance of Antioch
Constance of Antioch was the only daughter of Bohemund II of Antioch by his wife Alice, princess of Jerusalem. She was also Princess regnant of the Principality of Antioch from 1130 to her death.-Early life:...
- King Emeric of HungaryEmeric of HungaryEmeric I , , King of Hungary and Croatia . He was crowned during his father's lifetime, but after his father's death he had to fight against his brother, Andrew, who forced Emeric to assign the government of Croatia and Dalmatia to him...
(1174 – 30 September/November 1204) - MargaretMargaret of HungaryMargaret of Hungary was the Empress consort of Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine Emperor.- Family :Margaret was the eldest daughter of Béla III of Hungary and his first wife Agnes of Antioch. She was a younger sister of Emeric, King of Hungary. Her younger siblings were Andrew II of Hungary and...
(1175 – after 1223), wife firstly of Emperor Isaac II AngelosIsaac II AngelosIsaac II Angelos was Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204....
, secondly of King Boniface I of Thessalonica and thirdly of Nicolas of Saint-Omer - King Andrew II of HungaryAndrew II of HungaryAndrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
(c. 1177 – 21 September 1235) - ConstanceConstance of HungaryConstance of Hungary was the second Queen consort of Ottokar I of Bohemia.-Family:Constance was a daughter of Béla III of Hungary and his first wife Agnes of Antioch. Her older siblings included Emeric, King of Hungary, Margaret of Hungary and Andrew II of Hungary...
(c. 1180 – 6 December 1240), wife of King Ottokar I of BohemiaOttokar I of Bohemia-External links:...
#2. 1185/1186: Marguerite of France (born 1158)
Marguerite of France (born 1158)
Margaret of France was the eldest daughter of Louis VII of France by his second wife Constance of Castile....
(1158 – after 10 September 1197), daughter of King Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
and his second wife, Constance of Castile
Constance of Castile
Constance of Castile may refer to:* Constance of Castile, wife of Louis VII of France* Constance of Penafiel , wife of Alfonso XI of Castile and Peter I of Portugal* Infanta Constance of Castile, claimant to the throne of Castile...
Legacy
He was a powerful ruler, and his court was counted among the most brilliant in Europe.His remains were confidently identified by archeologists during late 19th century excavations at the ruined cathedral of Székesfehérvár where the Árpád monarchs had been crowned and buried. Béla's exceptional height, as documented by contemporary sources, rendered the identification certain. Based on the examination of his skeleton, he must have been over two metres tall, a really outstanding height at that time. His remains were afterwards reinterred at the Matthias Church
Matthias Church
Matthias Church is a church located in Budapest, Hungary, at the heart of Buda's Castle District. According to church tradition, it was originally built in Romanesque style in 1015. The current building was constructed in the florid late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and was...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, with those of his first wife Agnes.
Through his mother, Béla descended from Harold II of England
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
(whose descendants had been dispossessed as a result of the Norman Conquest). Through his son, Andrew II, Béla was an ancestor of King Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
. As a result, all subsequent English and British monarchs could claim descent from Harold II.
Titles
- His Royal Highness Prince Béla of Hungary (ca. 1148-1161)
- His Royal Highness Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia (1161-1164)
- His Imperial HighnessHIHHIH may refer to:*His or Her Imperial Highness, a title still used today for members of Japan's Imperial Family*HIH Insurance, a former Australian insurance company*Harstad University College , a Norwegian state institution of higher education...
Despotes Alexius (1164-1165) - His Imperial HighnessHIHHIH may refer to:*His or Her Imperial Highness, a title still used today for members of Japan's Imperial Family*HIH Insurance, a former Australian insurance company*Harstad University College , a Norwegian state institution of higher education...
Despotes Alexius, Heir to the Byzantine throne (1165-1166) - His Royal Highness Prince Béla of Hungary, Kaisar Alexius (1166-1173)
- His Apostolic MajestyApostolic MajestyHis Apostolic Majesty was a style used by the Kings of Hungary, in the sense of being latter-day apostles of Christianity.-First creation:The origin of this title dates from about A.D...
The King of Hungary (1173-1196)
Sources
- 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)
- Ostrogorski, Georgjie. History of the Byzantine State, 1986
- Magyarország Történeti Kronológiája I. – A kezdetektől 1526-ig, főszerkesztő: Benda Kálmán (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1981)
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