For other Hungarian princesses named Elizabeth, see Elizabeth of Hungary (disambiguation).

Elizabeth of Hungary, T.O.S.F.,(German: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, Hungarian: Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231)[5] was a princess of the , Landgravine of , and a greatly venerated Catholic .[6] Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and wid- owed at 20. After her husband’s death she sent her chil- dren away and regained her dowry, using the money to build a hospital where she herself served the sick. She became a symbol of Christian charity after her death at the age of 24 and was quickly canonized.

1 Early life and marriage

Elizabeth was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hun- gary and Gertrude of Merania. Her mother’s sister was St. Hedwig of Andechs, wife of Duke Heinrich I of Silesia.[5] Her ancestry included many notable figures of European royalty, going back as far as of Kievan Rus. According to tradition, she was born St. Elizabeth washing a sick in the castle of Sárospatak, Kingdom of Hungary, on 7 a scene from the main altar of St. Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice, July 1207.[7][8][9] According to a different tradition she 15th century was born in Pozsony, Kingdom of Hungary (modern-day , ), where she lived in the Castle of Posonium until the age of four. included spinning wool for the clothing of the poor. In A sermon printed in 1497 by the Franciscan Os- 1223, Franciscan arrived, and the teenage Eliza- valdus de Lasco, a church official in Hungary, is the beth not only learned about the ideals of Francis of As- first to name Sárospatak as the saint’s birthplace, per- sisi, but started to live them.[12] Louis was not upset by his haps building on local tradition. The veracity of this ac- wife’s charitable efforts, believing that the distribution of count is not without reproach: Osvaldus also transforms his wealth to the poor would bring eternal reward; he is the of the roses (see below) to Elizabeth’s child- venerated in Thuringia as a saint, though he was never hood in Sárospatak, and has her leave Hungary at the age canonized by the Church. of five.[10] It was also about this time that the priest and later Elizabeth was brought to the court of the rulers of inquisitor Konrad von gained considerable in- Thuringia in central Germany, to become betrothed to fluence over Elizabeth when he was appointed as her Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, (he is also known as . In the spring of 1226, when floods, famine, Ludwig IV) a future union which would reinforce political [lower-alpha 1] and plague wrought havoc in Thuringia, Louis, a staunch alliances between the families. She was raised supporter of the Frederick II, Holy Roman by the Thuringian court, so she would be familiar with the Emperor, represented Frederick II at the Imperial Diet local language and culture. held in . Elizabeth assumed control of affairs at In 1221, at the age of fourteen, Elizabeth married Louis; home and distributed alms in all parts of their territory, the same year he was enthroned as Landgrave Louis IV, even giving away state robes and ornaments to the poor. and the marriage appears to have been happy. After her Below Castle, she built a hospital with twenty- marriage, she continued her charitable practices, which eight beds and visited the inmates daily to attend to them.

1 2 3 LEGACY

Elizabeth’s life changed irrevocably on 11 September Wenck, E. Michael, etc.) asserted that Elizabeth left the 1227 when Louis, en route to join the , died Wartburg voluntarily. She was not able at the castle to of a fever in , . On hearing the news of her follow Konrad’s command to eat only food obtained in a husband’s death, Elizabeth is reported to have said, “He way that was certainly right and proper.[5] is dead. He is dead. It is to me as if the whole world [13] Following her husband’s death, Elizabeth made solemn died today.” His remains were returned to Elizabeth vows to Konrad similar to those of a . These vows in 1228 and entombed at the Abbey of Reinhardsbrunn. included , as well as complete obedience to Kon- rad as her confessor and spiritual director. Konrad’s treat- ment of Elizabeth was extremely harsh, and he held her 2 Widowhood to standards of behavior which were almost impossible to meet. Among the punishments he is alleged to have or- dered were physical beatings; he also ordered her to send away her three children. Her pledge to celibacy proved a hindrance to her family’s political ambitions. Elizabeth was more or less held hostage at Pottenstein, Bavaria, the castle of her uncle, Bishop Ekbert of Bamberg, in an ef- fort to force her to remarry. Elizabeth, however, held fast to her vow, even threatening to cut off her own nose so that no man would find her attractive enough to marry.[14] Elizabeth’s second child Sophie of Thuringia (1224– 1275) married Henry II, Duke of Brabant and was the ancestress of the Landgraves of , since in the War of the Thuringian Succession she won Hesse for her son Heinrich I, called the Child. Elizabeth’s third child, Gertrude of Altenberg (1227–1297), was born several weeks after the death of her father; she became of the of Altenberg Abbey, Hesse near . She then built a hospital at Marburg for the poor and the sick with the money from her dowry, where she and her companions cared for them. Her official biography writ- ten as part of the process describes how she ministered to the sick and continued to give money to the poor. In 1231, she died in Marburg at the age of twenty- four. After her death, Elizabeth was commonly associated with the Third Order of St. Francis, the primarily lay branch of the Franciscan Order, though it is not sure that she ac- tually formally joined them.[15] It must be kept in mind, though, that the Third Order was such a new develop- ment in the Franciscan movement, that no one official ritual had been established at that point. Elizabeth clearly St. Elizabeth spinning wool for the poor had a ceremony of in which she adopted a by Marianne Stokes (1895) Franciscan in her new way of life, as noted above. After Louis’ death, his brother, , assumed the regency during the minority of Elizabeth’s eldest child, Hermann (1222–1241). After bitter arguments over the disposal of her dowry—a conflict in which Kon- 3 Legacy rad was appointed as the official Defender of her case by Pope Gregory IX—Elizabeth left the court at Wartburg Very soon after the death of Elizabeth, were re- and moved to Marburg in Hesse. ported that happened at her grave in the church of the Up to 1888 it was believed, on account of the testimony of hospital, especially those of healing. On the suggestion one of Elizabeth’s servants during the canonization pro- of Konrad, and by papal command, examinations were cess, that Elizabeth was driven from the Wartburg in the held of those who had been healed between August, 1232, winter of 1227 by her brother-in-law, Heinrich Raspe, and January, 1235. The results of those examinations who acted as regent for her son, then only five years was supplemented by a brief vita of the saint-to-be, and old. About 1888 various investigators (Börner, Mielke, together with the testimony of Elizabeth’s handmaidens 3

sufficient reason for the quick canonization of Elizabeth on 27 May 1235 in —no doubt helped along by her family’s power and influence. Very soon after her death, hagiographical texts of her life appeared all over Germany, the most famous being Dietrich of Apolda's Vita S. Elisabeth, which was written between 1289 and 1297. She was canonized by Pope Gregory IX. The declaring her a saint is on display in the Schatzkammer of the Deutschordenskirche in , Austria. Her body was laid in a magnificent golden —still to be seen today—in the Elisabeth Church (Marburg). Her remains were removed and scattered by her own descendant, the Landgrave Philip I “the Magnanimous” of Hesse, at the time of the . It is now a Protestant church, but has spaces set aside for Catholic worship. Marburg became a center of the , which adopted St. Elizabeth as its secondary patroness. The Order remained in Marburg until its official dissolution by I of France in 1803. After her death, Elizabeth was frequently associated with the Third Order of St. Francis, which helped propagate her cult. Whether she ever joined the order, only recently founded in 1221, is not proven to everyone’s satisfaction. Elisabethkirche in Marburg From her support of the friars sent to Thuringia, she was made known to the founder, St. , who sent her a personal message of blessing shortly before his death in 1226. Upon her canonization she was declared the of the Third Order of St. Francis, an honor she shares with St. Louis IX of France. Elizabeth’s shrine became one of the main German cen- ters of pilgrimage of the 14th century and early 15th cen- tury. During the course of the 15th century, the popu- larity of the cult of St. Elisabeth slowly faded, though to some extent this was mitigated by an aristocratic devo- tion to St. Elizabeth, since through her daughter Sophia she was an ancestor of many leading aristocratic German Floorplan of Elisabethkirche families. But three hundred years after her death, one of Elizabeth’s many descendants, the Landgrave Philip I “the Magnanimous” of Hesse, a leader of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important supporters of , raided the church in Marburg and de- manded that the Teutonic Order hand over Elizabeth’s bones, in order to disperse her relics and thus put an end to the already declining pilgrimages to Marburg. Philip also took away the crowned agate chalice in which St. Eliz- abeth’s head rested, but returned it after being impris- oned by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The chalice was subsequently plundered by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years’ War and is now on display at The Swedish History Museum in . St Elizabeth’s skull and some of her bones can be seen at the Convent of St Elis- abeth in Vienna; some relics also survive at the shrine in Elisabeth church in Grave, The Netherlands Marburg. and companions (bound in a booklet called the Libellus de dictis quatuor ancillarum s. Elizabeth confectus), proved 4 5 2007 CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS

4 Depictions in art Helias of in the bed she shared with her hus- band. Her mother-in-law, who was horrified, told this Saint Elizabeth is often depicted holding a basket of immediately to Ludwig on his return. When Ludwig re- bread, or some other sort of food or beverage, charac- moved the bedclothes in great indignation, at that instant teristic of her devotion to the poor and hungry.[16] “Almighty God opened the eyes of his soul, and instead of a leper he saw the figure of Christ crucified stretched upon the bed.”[18] This story appears in Franz Liszt’s or- 4.1 atorio about Elizabeth.[19]

5 2007 centennial celebrations

Woodcarved polychromed sculpture of Saint Elisabeth with a beggar, by Rudolf Moroder in the Parish Church of Urtijëi, Italy.

The year 2007 was proclaimed “Elizabeth Year” in Mar- A statue showing the miracle of the roses in the rose garden in burg. All year, events commemorating Elizabeth’s life front of the neo-Gothic church dedicated to her at Roses’ Square and works were held, culminating in a town-wide festival (Rózsák tere), .[17] to celebrate the 800th anniversary of her birth on July 7, 2007. Pilgrims came from all over the world for the occa- Elizabeth is perhaps best known for her miracle of the sion, which ended with a special service in the Elisabeth roses which says that whilst she was taking bread to the Church that evening. poor in secret, she met her husband Ludwig on a hunt- A new musical based on Elisabeth’s life, Elisabeth--die ing party, who, in order to quell suspicions of the gentry Legende einer Heiligen (“Elizabeth--Legend of a Saint”), that she was stealing treasure from the castle, asked her starring Sabrina Weckerlin as Elizabeth, Armin Kahn as to reveal what was hidden under her cloak. In that mo- Ludwig, and Chris Murray as Konrad, premiered in Eise- ment, her cloak fell open and a vision of white and red nach in 2007. It was performed in Eisenach and Marburg roses could be seen, which proved to Ludwig that God’s for two years, and closed in Eisenach in July, 2009.[20][21] protecting hand was at work.[18] Her husband, accord- ing to the vitae, was never troubled by her charity and The entire Third Order of St. Francis, both the friars and always supported it. In some versions of this story, it is sisters of the Third Order Regular and the Secular Fran- her brother in law, Heinrich Raspe, who questions her. ciscan Order, joined in this celebration through a two- Hers is the first of many miracles that associate Christian year long program of study of her life. This was con- with roses, and is the most frequently depicted in ducted throughout the Order, across the globe. There the saint’s iconography. were also religious ceremonies held worldwide during that period. The yearlong observance of the centennial which began on her feast day in 2007 was closed at the 4.2 Crucifix in the bed General of the Order, held in Budapest in 2008. The New York region of the Order produced a movie of Another popular story about St. Elizabeth, also found in her life, produced by a sister of the Order, Lori Pieper, Dietrich of Apolda’s Vita, relates how she laid the leper O.F.S., Ph.D.[22] 5

6 Ancestry 10 References

[1] Wolf, Kenneth Baxter, ed. (2010-11-24). The Life and 7 Gallery Afterlife of St. Elizabeth of Hungary: Testimony from her Canonization Hearings. Oxford University Press. pp. x. • From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands ISBN 9780199732586. Retrieved 2013-12-22.

• [2] Hackett, Mary, ed. (1848). The life of Saint Elizabeth of From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands Hungary, Dutchess of Thuringia. Books.google.com. p. 244. Retrieved 2013-12-22. • From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands [3] Paolo Bonavoglia. “Perpetual calendar”. As- • From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands tro.bonavoglia.eu. Retrieved 2013-12-22.

• The Charity of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, 1895 [4] Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 108 • The Elizabeth Bower, Wartburg. [5] Catholic Encyclopedia “St. Elizabeth of Hungary”. Catholic Encyclopedia. • Philip Hermogenes Calderon, St. Elizabeth of Hun- gary’s Great Act of Renunciation (1891) [6] “Saint Elizabeth of Hungary”. Encyclopædia Britannica.

• Saint Elisabeth takes care of the sick [7] Albrecht, Thorsten; Atzbach, Rainer (2007). Elisabeth von Thüringen: Leben und Wirkung in Kunst und Kul- • Miracle of the roses. turgeschichte. Petersberg: Michael Imhof Verlag. p. 7. [8] Ohler, Norbert (2006). Elisabeth von Thüringen: Fürstin • Saint Elisabeth gives bread to the poor im Dienst der Niedrigsten. Gleichen: Muster-Schmidt Verlag. p. 15. • Engraved print of St. Elizabeth, Birmingham Mu- seum of Art [9] Zippert, Christian; Gerhard Jost (2007). Hingabe und Heiterkeit: Vom Leben und Wirken der heiligen Elisabeth. • St.Elizabeth, Miracle of the roses. Kassel: Verlag Evangelischer Medienverband. p. 9., 2007), 9. • Berg Maria Trost - St.Elisabeth von Thüringen [10] Ortrud Reber, Elizabeth von Thüringen, Landgräfin und Heilige (: Pustet, 2006), 33-34.

[11] Reber, Ortrud (2006). Elisabeth von Thüringen, Land- 8 See also gräfin und Heilige. Regensburg: Pustet. ISBN 9783791720142. • Nobility and royalty of the Kingdom of Hungary [12] Foley, OFM, Leonard, “St. Elizabeth of Hungary”, Saint • of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast, (revised by Pat Mc- Closkey OFM), Franciscan Media, ISBN 978-0-86716- 887-7 9 Notes [13] Rainer Koessling, ed. and trans., Leben und Legende der heiligen Elisabeth nach Dietrich von Apolda (Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1997), 52. [1] Some, however, (see the Catholic Encyclopedia) have sug- gested that Ludwig’s brother Hermann was in fact the el- [14] Rainer Koessling, ed. and trans., Leben und Legende der dest, and that she was first betrothed to him until his death heiligen Elizabeth nach Dietrich von Apolda (Frankfurt am in 1232, but this is doubtful. An event of this magnitude Main: Insel Verlag, 1997), 59. would almost certainly be mentioned at least once in the many original sources at our disposal, and this is not the [15] See Kaspar Elm, “Die Stellung der Frau in Ordenswesen, case. Rather, the 14th-century “Cronica Reinhardsbrun- Semireligiosentum und Häresie zur Zeit der heiligen Elis- nensis” specifically names Hermann as the second son. In abeth” (Sankt Elisabeth: Fürstin, Dienerin, Heilige [Sig- addition, the only contemporary document (dated 29 May maringen: Thorbecke, 1981; 7–28]), 7–8. 1214) that might support Hermann’s claim to be the eldest [16] Birmingham Museum of Art : guide to the collection. Birm- by putting his name before Louis’ relates to a monastery in ingham, Ala: Birmingham Museum of Art, 2010. Hesse. This, it has been suggested, actually supports the claim that Hermann was the younger of the two, as Hesse [17] Rózsák terei Szent Erzsébet Templon (Hungarian) was traditionally the domain of the second son, and thus it would be normal that his name be mentioned first, as this [18] of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, by Charles document deals with his territory.[11] Forbes René de Montalembert, 1839 6 12 EXTERNAL LINKS

[19] McNichols, William (November 1985). “Elizabeth of Hungary:For Everything there is a Season”. The Cord 35 (10): 297–302. Retrieved 14 December 2012.

[20] “spotlight Musicalproduktion GmbH // 2013: Die Päpstin - Das Musical”. Spotlightmusical.de. 2013-07-21. Re- trieved 2013-12-22.

[21] “Elisabeth – Die Legende einer Heiligen (Musical) – Wikipedia” (in German). De.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 2013-12-22.

[22] A Woman for our Times

11 Further reading

• de Robeck, Nesta. Saint Elizabeth of Hungary : A Story of Twenty-Four Years. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1954.

• Seesholtz, Anne. Saint Elizabeth: Her Brother’s Keeper. New York: Philosophical Library, 1948.

12 External links

• “Saint Elizabeth of Hungary”, on the Patron Saints Index

• “Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, 1207-2007”, bio- graphical article by Michel Aaij

• Saint Elizabeth of Hungary at the Christian Iconog- raphy web site

• “Here Followeth the Life of St. Elizabeth” from the Caxton translation of the Golden Legend 7

13 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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