Rad. Inst. povij. umjet. 41/2017. (7–22) Milan Pelc: Ius supremi patronatus regis and the Hungarian Holy Rulers in the Liturgical Books... Milan Pelc Institute of Art History, Zagreb Ius supremi patronatus regis and the Hungarian Holy Rulers in the Liturgical Books of Zagreb’ s Bishops around 1500 Original scientific paper – Izvorni znanstveni rad Received – Primljen 9. 5. 2017. UDK 7.044(439): 2-282.7(497.5Zagreb)”15” Summary Depictions of the Hungarian rulers in various media are among the Kingdom, and Bishop Luka specifically to the current Hungarian king most important iconographic constants in the Zagreb (arch)diocese. Władysłav II. Jagiełło. One important reason for this accent was the Before the Battle of Mohács (1526), the Church of Zagreb printed more ius supremi patronatus regis – the traditional privilege of the Hungar- liturgical books than any other centre in the Hungarian Kingdom except ian rulers to organize the Church and appoint ecclesiastical dignitaries Esztergom: two breviary editions, a Missal, and a Diurnale (Book of in their territories. Illustrations on the incipit page of the manuscript Hours). This paper analyses those liturgical books of Zagreb produced Missal of Juraj de Topusko indicate the loyalty of Zagreb’ s bishops at the during the late 15th and early 16th centuries that contain depictions of time in which the Ottoman incursions seriously threatened the safety of the saintly rulers Stephen, Ladislas, and Emeric. By commissioning these the diocese and refer equally to all three domains of power: heavenly, images, the bishops of Zagreb expressed their loyalty to the Hungarian ecclesiastical, and secular. Key words: Liturgical books, Ius patronatus, Bishops of Zagreb In the medieval and early modern periods, the cathedral of subject of a number of scholarly analyses. The exception- Zagreb was simply called ecclesia beati regis – the church of the ally strong cult of the three holy rulers, supported by rich blessed King.1 This, of course, referred to Saint Stephen, the iconography, has usually been explained by the following “apostolic” king who had introduced Christianity to Hungary reasons: St Ladislas, married to Helena, sister of the last and to whom the cathedral was dedicated. Veneration of St Croatian national ruler Zvonimir, conquered Slavonia and Stephen and St Ladislas, the founder of the bishopric, and to established the Zagreb diocese. By 1105, his nephew and a lesser extent of St Emeric, was practised in the cathedral successor, Koloman the Learned, had documented his rule from the very beginnings of the bishopric in the Middle Ages, over Croatia and Dalmatia in an inscription located in and manifested in their omnipresent iconography. Many the belfry of St Mary’ s monastery in Zadar. According to of the medieval paintings and other visual representations V. Klaić, Ladislas achieved with the pope that the Roman have meanwhile been lost, yet some of them are known from curia should proclaim the first-crowned Hungarian king historical records.2 From the early modern period, however, Stephen and his son Emeric saints.5 It was St Ladislas who a number of depictions of the holy Hungarian rulers are pre- nominated St Stephen as the patron of the Zagreb cathedral served in Zagreb, more than anywhere else in the territories of and was himself canonized in 1192, about a century after the former Hungarian Kingdom.3 This visual presence of the the foundation of the Zagreb bishopric.6 Undoubtedly, the saintly kings has been, in fact, an important iconographical bishopric was established to serve as the main stronghold of constant in the Zagreb diocese. Throughout the centuries, they Hungarian power in the area stretching from the Drava River have asserted their symbolic power and their important role to Mount Gvozd.7 Accordingly, it became a fertile focus of in creating and sustaining what we may today call the visual Hungarian royal mythopoetics in the territories of Slavonia identity of the Zagreb cathedral, its chapter, and its bishops, and Croatia, directly related to the centre of the Kingdom. 4 until the very end of the Hungarian Kingdom. Recent Croatian historiography has critically evaluated Religious and political motives for showing this particular Hungarian royal mythopoetics both on the basis of histori- veneration to the holy rulers of Hungary in Zagreb and the cal writings and on that of iconographical interpretations.8 entire diocese were closely intertwined and have been the Scholars have sought to elucidate in various ways the “func- 7 Milan Pelc: Ius supremi patronatus regis and the Hungarian Holy Rulers in the Liturgical Books... Rad. Inst. povij. umjet. 41/2017. (7–22) Already the manuscript missals from the early 14th century and the time of Bishop Augustin Kažotić, the reformer of Zagreb’ s liturgy, include special liturgical texts for the holy Hungarian kings.11 As for their visual representations, they are not found in the preserved medieval missals of the Zagreb cathedral. However, if not within the books, the figures of the Hungarian rulers, especially St Stephen as the cathedral’ s patron and St Ladislas as its founder, are found in a place that is even more representative and visually prominent: the covers of liturgical books. Although no medieval examples are preserved here either, their existence is attested in the oldest inventories of the cathedral from 1394 and 1425, which document a benedictionale in silver casing bearing the figure of St Stephen. Dated to the 13th–14th century, this benedictional has remained preserved among the cathedral’ s treasures and still is – only without the casing.12 It may be presumed that such casings with the depictions of the holy Hungarian kings adorned some other medieval liturgical books intended for ceremonies held in the cathedral. Two more examples from a later period witness the pres- ence of the Hungarian rulers on the representative covers of books used for festive occasions in the cathedral. The first is a so-called plenarium, a relief plate commissioned by the then provost and later bishop of Zagreb, Franjo Ergeljski, and produced in 1606 by Ivan Mihallfy, a goldsmith from Zagreb.13 Besides the commissioner’ s personal patron, Saint Francis, the plenarium features a holy queen and Saint Ste- phen. The queen on the left side has not been identified, but 1. Ivan Mihallfy, plenarium, 1601, Treasury of the Zagreb Cathedral is probably Saint Elizabeth, a Hungarian holy queen from Ivan Mihallfy, plenarij, 1601. Zagreb, Riznica katedrale the 13th century (1207–1231) known as “the mother of pau- pers.” Saint Elizabeth had abdicated and become a nun in tion” of St Ladislas as a saint of crucial importance in legiti- the Franciscan Third Order – thus, in her saintly biography mizing the Hungarian rule over the historical Croatian lands, she stands close to Saint Francis.14 that is, as the holy Hungarian ruler who was “responsible” Another, even more representative example from a still later for the personal union between the Triune Kingdom and period is the silver casing commissioned by Bishop Alek- Hungary. Shortly, the three holy kings have been understood sandar Mikulić (bishop of Zagreb from 1688–1694) for the in Croatian historiographical tradition as “political” saints, manuscript missal of Auxiliary Bishop Juraj de Topusko (late whereas the Hungarian scholarship has largely treated them 15th and early 16th centuries). Besides the bishop’ s coat-of- as “national” saints with powerful political symbolism. 9 Of arms, the medallions on the casing contain depictions of the course, along with the political meaning and inseparably main saints from the Hungarian-Illyrian sanctorale, whereby from it, the iconography of the holy rulers included protec- Saint Stephen occupies the central place on the front cover. tive symbolism that answered the need of “local” saintly The back features St Ladislas and St Emeric in the company protectors from the very beginnings of the Zagreb bishopric. of prominent saints from the “Illyrian” tradition: Blessed This is attested in the invocations of prayers preserved in the Augustin Kažotić, Saint Quirinus of Siscia, Saint Caius the oldest breviary of Zagreb from the 13th century, where the Pope, Saint Budimir, and Saint Godeskalk. These Croatian- former earthly political role of the holy rulers is juxtaposed Illyrian saints function here as a local iconographic comple- to their heavenly role as the protectors of their kingdom.10 ment to the “political” Hungarian holy rulers, a complement The need to defend the realm from the enemies would be- which in this time became very important for the sacred and come particularly acute in the period of Ottoman expansion, historical identity of the Zagreb bishopric.15 joined by the threat of the Reformation as the main inner The invention of mechanical movable type created new adversary of the Roman Catholic Church – thus, this role possibilities for emphasizing the symbolic presence of the was outspokenly strong over a long period of time, from the th th Hungarian saintly protectors of the diocese in liturgical mid-15 until the late 17 century. books, especially St Stephen, the “apostolic king”. Before the The sacral autonomy of the Zagreb bishopric was manifested Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Zagreb bishopric was the one from the first medieval centuries of its existence in a specific printing most books in all of the Hungarian kingdom, with sanctorale, in which the Hungarian holy rulers occupied a the exception of the archbishopric of Esztergom: two editions prominent place. The preserved liturgical books, primar- of the breviary, one edition of the missal, and one Diurnale ily the missals of the Zagreb cathedral, positively attest it. (daily book of hours).16 The first edition of the breviary, 8 Rad. Inst. povij. umjet. 41/2017. (7–22) Milan Pelc: Ius supremi patronatus regis and the Hungarian Holy Rulers in the Liturgical Books..