Changing rituals:

The Hungarian royal and princely entries into Dalmatian cities

during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries*

Judit Gál**

The beginning of the common history of the Kingdom of Hungary

and the Dalmatian cities was connected to the coronation of King
Coloman in 1102 in Biograd na Moru, when he became the ruler of the
Kingdom of Croatia-Dalmatia.1 After Coloman took over Central and
North Dalmatia in 1105, the coastal cities enjoyed great autonomy, until
then unknown in the kingdom, regarding their secular administration,

*
This work has been supported in part by Croatian Science Foundation under the
projects “Sources, Manuals and Studies for Croatian History from the Middle Ages
to the End of the Long Nineteenth Century” (IP-2014-09-6547) and in Hungary by
the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH, K 115896).
**
Judit Gál is research assistant at the Department for Auxiliary Sciences of History,
Faculty of Humanities, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
1
György Györffy, Diplomata Hungariae antiquissima accedunt epistolae et actae ad
historiam Hungariae pertinentiam (ab anno 1000 usque ad annum 1196) (henceforth
DHA), Budapest, 1992, pp. 328-329. On the beginnings of the common history of
Croatia (Dalmatia) and Hungary, see: Gyula Pauler, “Horvát-Dalmátország
elfoglalásáról (1091-1111) I.” [On the seizure of Croatia and Dalmatia (1091-1111)],
Századok 22 (1888), pp. 207-213; Nada Klaić, Povijest Hrvata u razvijenom srednjem
vijeku [History of the Croatians in the High Middle Ages], Zagreb, 1976, pp. 486-491;
Tamás Körmendi, “Szent László horvátországi háborújáról. Az 1091. évi hadjárat
történetének forráskritikai vizsgálata” [On the Saint Ladislas’ war in Croatia. The
critical analysis of sources for the history of the military campaign in 1091], Századok
149 (2015), pp. 443-477; Mladen Ančić, “Desetljeće od 1091. do 1102. u zrcalu vrela”
[The decade between 1091 and 1102 according to the sources], Povijesni prilozi 17
(1998), pp. 233-259.
83
ecclesiastical organization and the judicial system.2 The royal and
princely visits in these circumstances could have had an important role
in building and maintaining the relationship between the royal court
and the coastal cities. The lack of sources makes it impossible to date
precisely all the visits of the dukes and kings. In some lucky cases, the
contemporary documents report about the royal presence in Dalmatia,
including the related events, royal entourages and the organization of
the visit. However, besides these relatively well-documented visits, one
can generally rely only on indirect sources to determine whether a duke
or a king visited Dalmatia. The most problematic period of the two
examined centuries, regarding the quantity and the quality of the
sources, was the first half of the twelfth century and the 1160s. In the
absence of direct sources, another important group of sources may
provide help in the identification of the possible royal visits in Dalmatia
during that age: the early royal privileges granted to various Dalmatian
cities, which were the written versions of the Hungarian royal oaths
sworn personally by the kings in Dalmatia. On the basis of György
Györffy’s research, it is established that those charters can suggest the
possibility of royal visits by including the laudo et confirmo formula in the
list of witnesses, and also by textual features which refer to the fact that
the text of the charter was originally an oral oath, later on put down in
writing. Before further analysis, it should be noted that the authenticity
of these charters has been long debated in historiography. In my
opinion, while the texts of the privileges could contain dubious
elements, they cannot be completely excluded from the research. Despite
the fact that the corruption of the text during the transcription of the
charters could cause anomalies, these sources still testify to the royal
presence in Dalmatia and are convenient for the analysis that follows.3

2
Attila Zsoldos, “Egész Szlavónia bánja” [The ban of the totius Slavonia], in Analecta
Mediaevalia, vol. 1, ed. by Tibor Neumann, Budapest, 2001, pp. 269-271.
3
On the authenticity of the charters, see: György Györffy, “A 12. századi dalmáciai
városprivilégiumok kritikája” [Critical notes on the privileges of the Dalmatian
towns in the twelfth century], Történelmi Szemle 10 (1967), pp. 46-56; Joan Dusa, The
Medieval Dalmatian Episcopal Cities: Development and Transformation, New York, 1991,
pp. 12-15; Nada Klaić, “O autentičnosti privilegija trogirskog tipa” [About the
authenticity of the Trogir-type privileges], Zbornik Instituta za historijske nauke Zadar 3
84
 The first “visit” can be connected to King Coloman, who was
crowned as king of Croatia-Dalmatia in Biograd na Moru in 1102. It was
his first visit in the newly obtained territory. However, it should be
noted that his authority probably only covered the territory of Croatia,
including Biograd and its surroundings, while Dalmatia-Croatia were
still out of his reach, under Venetian rule in this period.4 Coloman’s
second visit can be connected to the seizure of North and Central
Dalmatia in 1105, when he took over power in Zadar, Trogir, Split, Rab
and the Bay of Kvarner. During this campaign, he made solemn entries
into at least the first three cities.5 Coloman visited Dalmatia again in
1108, when he confirmed the privilege of Trogir.6 His next visit
happened in 1111, when Coloman held an assembly in front of Zadar
and probably entered the city after taking an oath for keeping the
freedom of the Dalmatian cities.7 On this trip, according to a
contemporary note, the archbishops of Kalocsa and Esztergom, the
bishops of Pécs, Veszprém, Győr, Oradea (Várad) and Vác, the count
palatine, several counts and other secular and ecclesiastical dignitaries
escorted him on this visit.8
After Coloman’s death, Venice seized Dalmatia in 1116.9
Coloman’s son, King Stephen II could retake the cities in Central
Dalmatia around 1124-1125 for a short period, and he visited the region

(1958), pp. 77-88; Nada Klaić, “Još jednom o tzv. privilegijama trogirskog tipa” [Once
again about the so-called Trogir-type privileges], Istorijski časopis 20 (1973), pp. 15-87;
Ludwig Steindorff, Die dalmatinischen Städte im 12. Jahrhundert, Köln – Wien, 1984,
pp. 11-25.
4
Ferenc Makk, The Árpáds and the Comneni. Political Relations between Hungary and
Byzantium in the 12th Century, Budapest, 1988, p. 12.
5
Györffy, “A 12. századi dalmáciai,” p. 49.
6
DHA 1, pp. 354-357.
7
Imre Szentpétery – Iván Borsa, Regesta regum stirpis Arpadianae critico-diplomatica, 2
vols. (henceforth RA), Budapest, 1923-1987, vol. 1, reg. 45.
8
Tadija Smičiklas et al., Diplomatički zbornik Kraljevine Hrvatske, Dalmacije i Slavonije.
Codex diplomaticus regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae (henceforth CD), 18 vols.,
Zagreb, 1904-1990, vol. 2, p. 24.
9
Makk, The Árpáds, pp. 18-19.
85
in 1124,10 when he confirmed the privileges of Split and Trogir.11 The
territories from Zadar to Split were under Venetian authority until
around 1136 – in the case of Zadar until 1181 – and the next king of
Hungary who visited the region was probably King Géza II (1142-
1163).12 During his reign, the aforementioned royal privileges suggest
that he visited Dalmatia at least twice. The first visit could have
happened around 1142 according to the royal privilege, which was
issued during that year to Split. Based on a second privilege, this time to
Trogir, it can be confirmed that Géza also visited Dalmatia in 1151.13
After Géza II’s reign, it is questionable and non-provable whether his
successor, King Stephen III visited the coastal cities, because only one
unreliable and dubious royal privilege to Šibenik refers to the possibility
of a royal visit in 1167.14 After that a great part of Croatia-Dalmatia went
under Byzantine rule in 1167, but King Béla III of Hungary regained the
previously lost territories again in 1180 and 1181.15 During his rule, there
is no evidence of any royal visit in the coastal region. After Béla III’s
death, his sons King Emeric and Duke Andrew started their long-lasting

10
Imre Szentpetery, Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum tempore ducum requmque stirpis
Arpadianae gestarum, 2 vols., Budapest, 1937-1938, vol. 1, p. 434.
11
DHA, pp. 415-416.
12
Makk, The Árpáds, pp. 31-33, 115-120.
13
It should be noted that the original charter has been lost, and its text is known only
from the fragments published by Johannes Lucius and Daniele Farlati. Because of
this, the later source editions, based on their works regarding the privilege of 1151,
omitted the full text of the charter. It is still unknown to the wider public. The
published fragments do not contain, for example, the list of witnesses. However,
Johannes Lucius left behind a manuscript bequest in which he preserved the full text
of this charter. The text of the charter has similar features as previous royal
privileges, and also contains a laudo et confirmo formula in the list of witnesses. Based
on these facts, this charter also suggests the possibility of a royal visit in 1151.
Johannes Lucius, De regno Dalmatiae et Croatiae libri sex, Amsterdam, 1666, pp. 272-
274; Daniele Farlati, Illirici sacri tomus quartus, Venetiis, 1769, p. 330; Arhiv Hrvatske
akademije znanosti i umjetnosti [The Archive of the Croatian Academy of Sciences
and Arts], Ostavština Ivana Lučića Luciusa [The legacy of Iohannes Lucius]
(henceforth AHAZU, Lucius), vol. 11, fol. 4-6.
14
RA, reg. 113; CD 2, pp. 115-116 (it ought to be added that it is a highly dubious
charter).
15
Makk, The Árpáds, pp. 115-116.
86
struggle over the throne in 1197, and Andrew took the Duchy of Croatia
and Dalmatia after his victory over King Emeric at Mački.16 While
Emeric could not visit the coastal region under those circumstances, the
duke stayed in Dalmatia at least twice during his rule, between 1197 and
1204: first around 1198, then again two years later.17 Andrew, as king of
Hungary, visited Dalmatia in 1217, when he led a crusade and stayed in
Split before his departure to the Holy Land.18 Duke Coloman of Slavonia
also visited Dalmatia after he became the duke of Slavonia in 1226.19
The next ruler of Hungary, King Béla IV, visited Dalmatian cities
three times. The first visit was in 1242, when he tried to escape the
Mongol invasion and went to Croatia-Dalmatia.20 Three years later, he
also visited the coastal territories.21 His last visit happened in 1251, when
he stayed at a place located between Trogir and Split, at the monastery
of Saint Peter of Klobuk, with the royal entourage, and accepted his

16
György Szabados, “Imre és András” [Emeric and Andrew], Századok 133 (1999),
pp. 85-111; Vjekoslav Klaić, “O hercegu Andriji” [About Duke Andrew], RAD 136
(1898), pp. 200-222.
17
CD 2, pp. 293-294, 296-297, 297, 308-309, 309, 357.
18
Damir Karbić – Mirjana Matijević-Sokol – James Sweeney, History of the bishops of
Salona and Split by Archdeacon Thomas of Split. Thomae archidiaconi Spalatensis Historia
Salonitanorum atque Spalatinorum pontificium (henceforth Historia Salonitana),
Budapest, 2006, p. 160.
19
On Duke Coloman see: Ivan Basić, “O pokušaju ujedinjenja zagrebačke i splitske
crkve u XIII. stoljeću” [On the attempt of the unification of the Church of Zagreb and
Split in the thirteenth century], Pro tempore 3 (2006), pp. 25-43; György Györffy,
“Szlavónia kialakulásának oklevélkritikai vizsgálata” [The critical analysis of the
sources on the formation of Slavonia], Levéltári Közlemények 41 (1970), p. 234; Danko
Dujmović – Vjekoslav Jukić, “The Koloman Renaissance in North Western Croatia –
An Unfinished Project,” Starohrvatska prosvjeta 37 (2010), pp. 171-182.
20
Historia Salonitana, pp. 288-294; Iván Bertényi, “Magyarország nemzetközi
helyzete a tatárjárás után” [The place of Hungary in the international affairs after the
Mongol invasion], in Unger Mátyás emlékkönyv. Emlékkönyv Unger Mátyás
negyedszázados egyetemi történésztanári működése emlékére, és születésének hetvenedik
évfordulója alkalmából [Collection of papers for Mátyás Unger. Collection of papers in
the honour of the 25th anniversary of Mátyás Unger’s career as a university professor
and for his seventieth birthday], ed. by Péter E. Kovács et al., Budapest, 1991, pp. 15-
18.
21
Historia Salonitana, p. 350.
87
dependents seeking royal judgement.22 The last visit of a member of the
royal family from the examined period was that of Duke Béla of
Slavonia, Béla IV’s son, and his mother, Queen Mary, who went to
Croatia-Dalmatia in order to install the new duke in the ruled lands
around 1261.23

The royal and princely entries into Dalmatian cities

The royal entries, which can be traced back to the traditions of the
Roman era, were not performed in Árpádian Hungary except in the case
of Dalmatian cities. After obtaining these cities, the kings of Hungary-
Croatia and the dukes of Slavonia practised solemn rituals only during
their visits to that part of the country.24 The first Hungarian royal entries
into Dalmatia can be connected to King Coloman, who entered Zadar,
Trogir, and Split in 1105.25 A charter issued in 1105, which can be
connected to Vekenega, the abbess of the monastery of Blessed Virgin
Mary in Zadar, refers to the events in Zadar as follows: “In the year of
Our Lord Jesus Christ’s incarnation of 1105, in the thirteenth indiction,
Coloman, the King of Hungary, Croatia, and Dalmatia, in the first year
of his reign, after he entered Zadar in triumph.”26
Coloman’s donation for the building of a steeple to the monastery
of Blessed Virgin Mary in Zadar was issued in the same year. A
contemporary inscription on the building gives an account of the king’s

22
Historia Salonitana, pp. 364-366.
23
Historia Salonitana, p. 366.
24
On the royal entries and their origin in general, see: Sabine MacCormack, “Change
and Continuity in Late Antiquity: the Ceremony of Adventus,” Historia: Zeitschrift für
Alte Geschichte 21 (1972), pp. 721-752; Ernst H. Kantorowicz, “The King’s Advent and
the Enigmatic Panels in the Doors of Santa Sabina,” The Art Bulletin 26 (1944), pp.
207-231; Gerrit Jasper Schenk, Zeremoniell und Politik Herrschereinzüge im
spätmittelalterlichen Reich, Köln, 2003.
25
Györffy, “Városprivilégiumok,” p. 49.
26
Anno incarnacionis domini nostri Jesu Christi M.C.V., indictione (Х)III. regnante piissimo
Colomagno Ungarie, Chroatie et Dalmatie, primo anno quo triumphaliter Jaderam ingressus
est (CD 2, p. 15).
88
entry.27 “In the year of Our Lord Jesus Christ 1105. After his victory, and
earning the reward of peace from God, and after entering Zadar,
Coloman the King of Hungary, Dalmatia and Croatia, built this tower in
honour of Holy Mary on his own expense.”28
Two later, but reliable, thirteenth-century sources testify to
Coloman’s Dalmatian visit and his entries in 1105. According to the
famous chronicle of Archdeacon Thomas of Split, Archbishop
Crescentius was sent to Coloman in order to negotiate the peace when
the king wanted to seize the city. After reaching the agreement, the king
took an oath to the city with his entourage and promised to keep the
freedoms of Split. The citizens also swore loyalty to the king. The final
act crowning these events was the king’s solemn entry into the city: Then
the king entered the city and was received with all honour by the clergy and
people. And on the same day, after being generously provisioned by the
community, and after drawing up and handing down charters of privilege and
immunity, he departed. He next travelled to Trogir and then to Zadar. In these
cities he was received in likewise, and he granted to each of them a charter of
liberties.29 In his work, Vita Sancti Iohannis Traguriensis, Bishop Treguan of
Trogir depicted similar events, which happened before the royal entry,
and the author mentioned that the events were concluded with the

27
Ana Marinković, “Constrvi et erig iivs sit rex Collomanus. The Royal Chapel of King
Coloman in the Complex of St. Mary in Zadar,” Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU 8
(2002), pp. 37-64.
28
ANNO INCAR[NATIONIS] . DOMINI . N[OST]ER . IE[S]V . CHR[IST]I .
MIL[LESIMO] . C. V. POST VICTORIAM ET PACIS PRAEMIA . IADERAE
INTROITUS . A DEO CONCESSA // PROPRIO SVMPTV . HANC TVRRI[M]
S[AN]C[T]AE MARIAE . UNGARIAE . D[AL]MAT[IAE . CHROA]TIAE .
CONTRVUI . ET ERIGI // IVSSIT REX COLLOMANNVS. See also: Miroslav
Marković, “Dva natpisa iz Zadra” [Two inscriptions from Zadar], Zbornik radova
Srpske akademije nauke 36 (1953), p. 101.
29
Tunc rex civitatem ingressus, valde honorifice a clero et populo susceptus est. Et ea die
procuratione affluenter a comuni suscepta confectisque ac traditis emunitatis privilegiis,
profectus est. Inde autem pertransiens venit Tragurium et deinde Iaderam. A quibus
civitatibus simili exemplo susceptus fecit eis libertatis privilegium (Historia Salonitana, p.
96).
89
king’s issuing and confirming grants.30 “Thereafter the king entered to
the city of Trogir, he enlarged the grants which were earned by the city
and its Church from the Kings of Croatia and Princes of Salona, and
confirmed the privileges with his protection.”31
The texts cited above are the only contemporary sources for the
earliest Hungarian royal entries into Dalmatia, and they do not offer any
information about the details of the entries, such as the route the king
took or the rituals during the events. However, these documents contain
information about the program before the entries, the main events of the
visits, and the final acts of the entries. Based on these sources, it can be
stated that the events during Coloman’s royal entries in 1105 occurred
under military pressure.32 Thus, the king’s entry into the cities of Zadar,
Trogir and Split can be regarded as an act of reconciliation. A kind of an
assembly was formed in front of the cities, and after the arrangements
were made, the king with his entourage took an oath to the cities. It is
highly possible that in each case the citizens also swore loyalty to the
king, too. After these events, a royal entry was performed and it all
ended with the bestowal of grants and gifts, and the confirmation of
privileges.
Besides the three entries in 1105, there was another possible one
during the reign of Coloman. According to a note, he might have
entered Zadar around 1111, after holding an assembly in front of the city
and taking an oath with the Hungarian magnates and prelates.33 This

30
On Treguan, see: Judit Gál, “The Roles and Loyalties of the Bishops and
Archbishops of Dalmatia (1102-1301),” Hungarian Historical Review 3 (2014), pp. 471-
493.
31
Post haec rex ingressus Tragurium, dona, quae ecclesia cathedralis illius loci a Croatiae
regibus seu a Salonitanis principibus promeruerat, ampliavit et privilegiorum munimine
roboravit (Albinus Franciscus Gombos, Catalogus fontium historiae Hungaricae aevo
ducum et regum ex stirpe Arpad descendentium ab anno Christi DCCC usque ad annum
MCCCI, 3 vols., Budapest, 1937-1938, vol. 3, p. 2250).
32
Márta Font, “Megjegyzések a horvát-magyar perszonál unió középkori
történetéhez” [Notes on the medieval history of the Hungarian-Croatian personal
union], in Híd a századok felett. Tanulmányok Katus László 70. születésnapjára [Bridge
over the centuries. Studies in honour of László Katus on his 70th birthday], ed. by
Péter Hanák, Pécs, 1997, pp. 11-25.
33
RA, reg. 45; CD 2, p. 24.
90
entry may have been different than the others, since Zadar had been
under Hungarian rule for years, while in 1105 the royal entry happened
during a military campaign. In 1111, the antecedent of the entry was also
an assembly, but for a different purpose than the first one in 1105: it
arranged practical questions caused by the change of the authority over
the region, such as the problematic questions around the royal lands and
the urban privileges. According to Mladen Ančić, these kinds of
assemblies were held probably several times during Coloman’s visits.34
The elements and the structure of Coloman’s visits and entries into
Dalmatia fit in with the traditions of the adventus in the Mediterranean
and also reflected the circumstances of the political changes in Dalmatia.
The entries were symbolic expressions of the acceptance of the new
king’s rule over the cities. The bestowal of grants and gifts, the final acts
of the entries, were important tools in building social relations in the
medieval period.35 The gift or grant placed the recipients under an
obligation, as they had to be, in return, loyal to the king.36 The change of
rule over the Dalmatian cities, the forming of a relationship between
them and the royal court, the emerging questions regarding the
continuity between the old and the new royal dynasty – all of these had
an effect on the royal visits and rituals.37 The royal visits, solemn entries,
and the coronation in Biograd na Moru offered opportunities for
Coloman to reach huge crowds.38 Coloman visited Dalmatia every third
year, depending on the available sources, forming a custom that could
have an important role in maintaining and building the relationship
between the coastal cities and the royal court of Hungary.39 The visits

34
Mladen Ančić, “From the Demigod King to the First Ideas About a National
Kingdom,” in Kolomanov put [Coloman’s path], ed. by Mladen Ančić – Jelena
Borošak-Marijanović, Zagreb, 2002, p. 72.
35
Ančić, “From the Demigod,” p. 71.
36
Arnaud Jan Bisjteweld, “The Medieval Gift as Agent of Social Bonding and
Political Power: a Comparative Approach,” in Medieval Transformation: Texts, Power,
and Gifts in Context, ed. by Esther Cohen – Mayke de Jong, Leiden, 2001, p. 146.
37
Ančić, “From the Demigod,” pp. 71-80.
38
Ančić, “From the Demigod,” p. 80.
39
Dušan Zupka, “Power of Rituals, and Rituals of Power: Religious and Secular
Rituals in the Political Culture of Medieval Kingdom of Hungary,” in Historiography
in Motion, ed. by Roman Holec – Rastislav Kožiak, Bratislava, 2010, pp. 34-37.
91
were symbolic and practical events at the same time: they provided
opportunities for direct and symbolic communication, settling the
problems that emerged during the extension of the rule of the Árpádian
dynasty.
While the successors of Coloman also visited Dalmatia during the
twelfth century, the few remaining sources pass over the details of these
visits in silence. The next known solemn entry can be connected to Duke
Andrew of Slavonia, who was welcomed in Trogir around 1200 and
gave grants to the city and its Church. The duke issued a grant to the
city about the church of Saint Vital, and the text described the visit in the
following way: “We went to the coast of Dalmatia, and entered the city
of Trogir, where on the one hand the clergy, on the other hand the
people of the city solemnly and joyously welcomed us, and we received
royal praises gloriously.”40
Furthermore, the charter also gives an account about the entourage
of the duke: Andrew was escorted to the city by both the prelates of the
mainland and Dalmatia alike. The text does not mention these bishops
and archbishops by name, but another document, a ducal grant to the
monastery of Saint Chrysogon from the same year, contains a list of local
prelates who were among Andrew’s entourage in Dalmatia: Archbishop
Bernard of Split, elected Archbishop Nicholas of Zadar, and Bishop
George of Knin.41 It may be assumed that they were also present in
Trogir.
After his coronation Andrew II also visited Dalmatia. He led a
crusade in 1217, and on his way to the Holy Land, he stayed in Split.
Archdeacon Thomas was an eyewitness of the king’s visit, and his
account is the most detailed source for a Hungarian royal entry in the
examined period. The king arrived in the city at the end of July, and he
entered the city at the beginning of August. Archdeacon Thomas’s
chronicle depicted the events as follows: All the citizens and foreigners and
the whole crowd of his army marched out in procession to meet the lord king,
loudly sounding his praises. Then all the clergy robed in silk vestments over

40
... ad maritimas Dalmaciae partes accessissemus Traguriensem civitatem intravimus. Ubi
[ab] una [parte] a clero, et universo populo cum honore et gaudio recepti, laudes ymnidicas
honorabiliter recepimus (AHAZU, Lucius, vol. 11, fol. 28-29).
41
CD 2, p. 354.
92
their surplices proceeded with crosses and censers as far as the Pistura Square,
chanting together in a manner worthy of the king’s majesty. Upon seeing the
solemn assemblage in procession, the illustrious king at once dismounted from
his horse. Surrounded by a large company of his magnates, he went on foot,
flanked on either side by the assembled bishops, to the church of Saint Domnius.
Then, after mass had been celebrated and the offering had been given on the
altar, he retired to his quarters. (...) The king showed great favour to the citizens
of Split at this time: he went so far as to invite them to ask of their own accord
what he might grant them for the public good.42
In its essential elements, Andrew’s solemn entry was similar to his
ducal entry in Trogir, which happened around 1200: the bishops of
Dalmatia escorted the king (or the duke) during his visit to the region,
and they were his closest retinue during the royal visit. The city
welcomed the king with royal praises, and grant-giving closed the
events of the visit. Prior to his entry, the clergy and the Spalatins
marched out to welcome the king, opening the gates of the city. The
entry itself was a liturgical event and the role of the Church was beyond
doubt significant; the local bishops escorted the king into the city, the
clergy and the people sang royal praises. After his arrival by the walls of
Split, Andrew approached the city on foot, having dismounted from his
horse, like a pilgrim, while the clergy girded his path until the cathedral,
where a holy mass was celebrated to honour the king.43
The possibility of another princely entry in the first half of the
thirteenth century was overlooked by previous scholarship. In my
opinion, the sources about Duke Coloman’s visit suggest that the duke
had a solemn entry in Split in 1226. Coloman, the son of King Andrew II,
became the duke of Slavonia in 1226, and soon after, he went to
Dalmatia. Archdeacon Thomas depicted his visit to Split as follows: After
this, Coloman, the son of King Andrew and Duke of Slavonia, came to the coast
with a great entourage of magnates and was received with great honour by the
Spalatins.44

42
Historia Salonitana, p. 160.
43
Jaroslaw Dudek, “Emperor Otto III’s Advent at Gniezno in March 1000 as Evidence
of the Presence of the Byzantine Ceremonials at the First Piasts’ Court?,”
Byzantinoslavica 63 (2005), pp. 117-131.
44
Historia Salonitana, pp. 196-198.
93
 The reference of this text to the citizens’ solemn reception would
not be enough evidence for a princely entry, because the Archdeacon
did not give details about the place and circumstances of the welcome.
However, besides Thomas’s work, another account of the duke’s visit
has been overlooked in the scholarship. Coloman issued a charter on
August 1 in Split, when he donated a territory called Drid to the diocese
of Trogir.45 According to the charter, the duke stayed in the archbishop’s
palace, where he issued the document accompanied by Archbishop
Guncell of Split, Bishop Treguan of Trogir, Bishop Michus of Knin, and
Bishop Gregory of Skradin, among many others. Since the archbishop’s
palace was located east of the city wall, in the south-eastern tower of
Diocletian’s palace at that time,46 the geographical circumstances and the
contemporary documents suggest that the duke’s reception could have
happened inside the city, and in that case this solemn reception was a
princely entry. The place of Coloman’s stay does not speak exclusively
about one possible route of entry, but on the basis of other solemn
entries into the city during the examined period, two possible routes can
be assumed. The first route could be similar to that of Andrew II, when
the king approached the city from Trogir by land. The other, less likely
path, could be similar to Béla IV’s later examined entry in 1251, when he
arrived in Split by ship from a territory located between Trogir and Split.
According to the date of the charter, the visit and the entry could have
happened around the end of July 1226. Similarly to the other thirteenth-
century entries, several prelates accompanied the duke on his way from
Dalmatia and the recorded grant giving was the final part of the princely
visit.

45
RA, reg. 438. On the authenticity of the charter see: Mladen Ančić,
“Srednjovjekovno vladarsko vlastelinstvo Drid. Problemi vlasništva i organizacija u
XIII st.” [The medieval manorial estate Drid: problems of ownership and
organization in the thirteenth century], Povijesni prilozi 19 (2000), pp. 87-111.
46
Katja Marasović – Tomislav Marasović, “Naseljavanje Dioklecijanove palace” [The
settlement of the Diocletian’s palace], in Munuscula in honorem Željko Rapanić. Zbornik
povodom osamdesetog rođendana [Munuscula in honorem Željko Rapanić. Collection of
studies on the occasion of his 80th birthday], ed. by Miljenko Jurković – Ante
Milošević, Zagreb, 2012, p. 106.
94
 The last known Hungarian royal entry of the examined period can
be connected to King Béla IV, who was also welcomed in Split.
Fortunately, Archdeacon Thomas reported about this event in his work,
even if it was a shorter note than the detailed note about Andrew II’s
entry: Thereafter he boarded a galley and came to the harbour of the city of
Split. He entered the city with great pomp, wearing the royal insignia as king,
and was received with great joy by clergy and people. He remained that day and
night at the palace of Nicholas son of Duimus, and the citizens flocked to him
constantly. They were received by him and listened to most graciously, and he
showed himself most approachable and benevolent.47
The archdeacon did not give the exact year of the entry, he only
added at the beginning of the chapter that the entry happened during
Béla’s second visit. Béla IV visited Dalmatia three times (1242, 1245 and
1251). At first glance, the year 1245 would suit best Thomas’s note as the
year of the entry, since it was the king’s second visit. However, before
the final conclusion, it is necessary to examine all the information that
Archdeacon Thomas added about the circumstances of the visit.
According to his account, the king and his entourage encamped at the
monastery of Saint Peter of Klobuk, a place between Trogir and Split,
before his visit to the city. From this monastery, which was probably
located in the same place as the parish church of present-day Kaštel
Novi, he went to Split on a ship. Besides Thomas’s account, Johannes
Lucius’ manuscript contains two documents from Trogir, which were
issued in 1256 and 1258, and may provide information about the king’s
visit. These documents give testimonies regarding issues of local
possessions. Both of the testimonies reported about judgments of Béla IV
in certain litigations, when the king, accompanied by Ban Stephen
Gutkeled of Slavonia (1248-1259), encamped at the monastery of Saint
Peter of Klobuk. The documents do not provide the exact date of the
judgement, but comparing the dates of visits of Béla IV in Dalmatia and
Ban Stephen’s tenure of office, the only possible year when the
aforementioned events could have happened is 1251. Based on this
evidence, Béla IV’s solemn entry in Split can be dated to 1251. The
discrepancy between this conclusion and Thomas’ account is easily

47
Historia Salonitana, pp. 364-366.
95
solvable. The archdeacon’s chronicle depicted the events from the point
of view of a Spalatin clergyman, and it was true that the king visited the
city for the second time after 1242, on the basis of both chronicle and
other contemporary accounts. This royal entry was special compared to
the entries examined above, because the king reached the city by ship
not on land.48 The source gives relatively few details about the entry, but
according to them, entry of Béla IV had a similar structure as the other
royal and princely entries in the thirteenth century. The clergy and the
citizens welcomed the king together, and the king received the citizens
and gave grants as the final act of the solemn ceremony.

Rituals and the symbolic role of the royal and princely

visits and entries
In general, the royal and princely visits had both practical and
symbolic roles in maintaining the relationship between the royal court
and Dalmatian cities. The composition of the entourage, the solemn
presence of the king, the rituals during the visits, and the existence of the
solemn entries, which were not practiced in any other parts of the
kingdom, had not only their own functions and meanings, but they also
say a lot about the changing relationship between the cities and the royal
court. Both in the twelfth and in the thirteenth centuries, the royal
entourage was composed of the members of the highest secular and
ecclesiastical elite, from both the mainland and Dalmatia alike.49 The role
of the local prelates and the whole Church in Dalmatia was important
not only in the entourage, but also during the ceremony, especially in
the case of solemn entries. The reason behind it was the inherent place of
the Church in the urban society during most of the examined period.50

48
There was not any coercive geographical reason behind the king’s decision,
because the monastery and Split were connected by roads in the medieval period.
Ivo Babić, Prostor između Trogira i Splita [The space between Trogir and Split], Trogir,
1984, pp. 77-93.
49
Teofilio F. Ruiz, A King Travels: Festive Traditions in Late Medieval and Early Modern
Spain, New Jersey, 2012.
50
On the changing place of the Church in Dalmatian urban society during the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, see: Ivan Strohal, Pravna povijest dalmatinskih gradova
[Legal history of the Dalmatian cities], Zagreb, 1913, pp. 305-310; Grga Novak,
96
The local bishops were the closest companions of the kings and the
dukes, escorting them inside the city, and the rituals during these entries
were liturgical events, as mentioned above.51
The frequency of the royal visits does not mean that they had
become an established custom, except during the rule of Coloman, who
visited Dalmatia every third year until 1111. However, in his case, it
should be noted that the first visit was for his coronation, the second one
was a military campaign, so only the royal presence in 1108 and 1111
can be counted as regular royal visits. György Györffy believed that
King Béla IV renewed Coloman’s custom and he visited Dalmatia in
1242, 1245, 1248, and 1251. However, the assumed visit in 1248 had
never happened because the king only visited Slavonia that year and
sent the ban in his place to Dalmatia.52 In my opinion, the interval
between the first and the second visits is not enough evidence to support
Györffy’s hypothesis. While it cannot be shown that the kings visited
Dalmatia at the stated intervals, another phenomenon can be observed
regarding the visits in the examined period, which was overlooked by
the previous research. At a closer examination, it can be emphasized that
a kind of symbolic princely first visit to Dalmatia existed in the
Árpádian age. The dukes of Slavonia visited Dalmatia soon after having
received the duchy.53 The first visit of Duke Andrew of Slavonia

Povijest Splita [The history of Split], 2 vols., Split, 1957, pp. 275-278; Ludwig
Steindorff, Die dalmatinischen Städte im 12. Jahrhundert. Studien zu ihrer politischen
Stellung und gesellschaftlichen Entwicklung, Wien, 1984, pp. 157-159; Irena Benyovsky
Latin, Srednjovjekovni Trogir. Prostor i društvo [Medieval Trogir. Space and society],
Zagreb, 2009; Judit Gál, “The Social Context of the Hungarian Royal Grants to the
Church in Dalmatia (1102-1301),” Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU 21 (2015), pp. 47-
64; Ludwig Steindorff, “Stari svijet i novo doba. O formiranju komune na istočnoj
obali Jadrana” [Old world and new age. About the formation of communes on the
Eastern Adriatic], Starohrvatska prosvjeta 16 (1986), pp. 141-152.
51
Mladen Ančić, “Slika kraljevske vlasti u djelu Tome arhiđakona” [The image of
royal power in the work of Archdeacon Thomas], Povijesni prilozi 22 (2002), pp. 29-
40.
52
RA, reg. 877-881.
53
James M. Murray, “The Liturgy of the Count’s Advent in Bruges: from Galbert to
Van Eyck,” in City and Spectacle in Medieval Europe, ed. by Barbara A. Hanawalt –
Kathryn L. Reyerson, Minneapolis, 1994, p. 140.
97
seemingly fit into this hypothesis; however, it should be noted that he
stayed in the coastal region after defeating his brother and taking the
territories of Croatia and Dalmatia in 1197. Nevertheless, Duke
Coloman’s first visit in 1226 and Duke Béla’s instalment by his mother,
Queen Mary, can be considered as symbolic events.
The same first symbolic visit cannot be found among the royal
visits during the two examined centuries. The kings of Hungary had to
face Venice and Byzantium almost until the 1180s, and it was a frequent
phenomenon that the coastal lands were not under Hungarian rule
when a new king was crowned in Hungary, for example when Béla II
and Béla III became the rulers of the kingdom. These foreign affairs and
also inner struggles for the throne at the end of the twelfth century could
prevent the formation of a tradition. Except for assumed visit of Géza II
in 1142, there is no evidence that a royal visit was carried out soon after
the coronation during the examined centuries. In my opinion, the
formation of the Duchy of Slavonia also contributed to the non-existence
of this royal tradition. From the end of the twelfth century, more
precisely from the beginning of rule of Duke Emeric (1194) until the
death of Duke Béla (1269), the dukes of the Árpádian dynasty constantly
governed the Duchy of Slavonia, namely Emeric (1194-1196), Andrew
(1197-1204), Béla (1220-1226), Coloman (1226-1241), Stephen (1246-1257)
and Béla (1260-1269). From among them, Emeric, Andrew (Andrew II),
Béla (Béla IV) and Stephen (Stephen V) later on became kings of
Hungary. Since the dukes governed the region in the name and place of
the king, symbolic royal visits could have been unnecessary events.
Royal entries were the symbolic crowning of royal and princely
visits, having practical, representative, and cultural roles.54 These entries,
as the symbolic welcome of the ruler, expressed and confirmed the
hierarchy in the kingdom and also showed the inner structure of the
society.55 The construction of the entry-ceremonies also reflected the
relationship between the royal court and the coastal cities. When King

54
Jesse D. Hurlbut, “The Duke’s First Entry: Burgundian Inauguration and Gift,” in
Moving Subjects. Processional Performance in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, ed. by
Kathleen Ashley – Wim Hüsken, Amsterdam, 2001, pp. 155-156.
55
Barbara A. Hanawalt – Kathryn L. Reyerson, “Introduction,” in City and Spectacle,
p. xi.
98
Coloman entered Dalmatian cities in 1105 and 1111, he held assemblies
in front of the city walls, and before his entry, he took an oath with the
highest barons of the kingdom. The royal oath-taking was probably part
of the Hungarian royal visits in the first half of the twelfth century;
however, because of the lack of sources, all the remaining oaths cannot
be connected directly to solemn entries. They can only hint at their
possibility. Leastwise, it should be mentioned that the medieval royal
oaths were frequent parts of royal and princely visits, more accurately of
royal entries throughout medieval Europe. The taking of an oath was a
sacral act surrounded by rituals in the medieval period and the texts of
the oaths, being recorded by the clergy, hardly changed.56 The oaths
taken by the rulers had symbolic functions in maintaining the
relationship between the royal court and the ruled territories: because
they were able to create social interactions and bonding.57
After the mid-twelfth century, royal oaths disappeared from the
visits of the members of the Árpadian dynasty. While previously these
oaths had represented the oral confirmation of the privileges of the
cities, which were later put down in writing and confirmed by the kings,
after the princely entry of Andrew around 1200 there is no example of
any oral confirmation of privileges. Moreover, both kings, Emeric and
Béla III, confirmed the royal privilege of Trogir far away from Dalmatia,
and the structure of their privileges changed if compared to the charters
issued in the first half of the twelfth century. These charters, preserved
in the manuscript of Johannes Lucius, were the products of the increased
literacy of the royal court and were based on the previous royal
privileges from the twelfth century, preserving and transcribing their
text in that manner.58 However, the characteristics of the texts preserved

56
John Spurr, “A Profane History of Early Modern Oaths,” Transactions of the Royal
Historical Society 11 (2001), p. 57.
57
On the Hungarian royal oaths in general, see: Nora Berend, “Oath-taking in
Hungary: a Window on Medieval Social Interaction,” in Central and Eastern Europe in
the Middle Ages: A Cultural History, ed. by Piotr Górecki – Nancy Van Deusen,
London, 2009, pp. 42-49; Lajos Rácz, “Uralkodói eskük (Magyar Királyság és Erdélyi
Fejedelemség)” [Royal oaths (the Kingdom of Hungary and the Principality of
Transylvania)], Jogtörténeti Szemle 5 (1992), pp. 42-49.
58
AHAZU, Lucius, vol. 11, fol. 6-8, 24-25.
99
in the charters suggest that they were actually oral oaths, but had
disappeared: an arenga was added to the charters and the list of
witnesses containing the laudo et confirmo formula was replaced by series
dignitatum. The thirteenth-century entry ceremonies changed by
comparison with Coloman’s entries. Oath-taking ceremonies
disappeared from the ceremonial and giving grants and confirming
privileges corresponded to the closing part of the entry ceremonies.
Besides the missing oath-taking ceremonies, another part of the
ceremony of the twelfth-century entries disappeared: the assemblies
held in front of the city walls. According to charter of Duke Andrew
from 1200 and Archdeacon Thomas’ account on his later entry in 1217,
the pre-entry event was the symbolic, solemn welcome of the king or the
duke, probably including the inhabitants’ march out of the city.
Unfortunately, only Andrew II’s royal entry has a well-detailed
description, so there are no known details as to how the other entries
were held and how the ceremonial welcome happened in each case.

Conclusion
Summing up, the structure of the royal and princely entries and
the symbolic and actual communication between the king and the cities
reflected the changing political circumstances of the examined period.
After Coloman obtained Croatia-Dalmatia in 1105, the tensions caused
by the changes in power, the uncertainty of the new rule, the questions
rose around the continuity of the former Croatian royal dynasty and the
Árpáds manifested themselves in the details of the entries and the visits.
Both during the entries in 1105, in the context of a military campaign,
and later, during an event that happened while he was consolidating his
new rule, Coloman sought agreement with the cities probably as a
strategy to earn their loyalty in a region where Hungary had to face
Venice, and later, Byzantium. The pre-entry ceremonies began with
assemblies and later mutual oath-takings, and the king generously gave
gifts and grants, placing the recipients under various obligations. The
rituals of the royal entries might have served the purpose of the earliest
possible consolidation of the relationship between the cities and the
king. But the events of the entries were not unilateral happenings,

100
because the participation of the inhabitants of the ruled land was
important. The cities opened their gates to the king; the citizens swore
loyalty to Coloman and provided him with a solemn reception in the
city.
The changed thirteenth-century entries reflected the different
political circumstances and the changed relationship of the royal court
and the local society. The presence of the rule of Hungary was not an
unfamiliar, strange phenomenon in the thirteenth century, which it
clearly was in the early twelfth century. The assemblies could disappear
after the main questions and problems of the changing rule were settled,
and their still needed roles were taken over by other offices and
authorities, like the bans of Slavonia. The relationship of the court and
Dalmatian cities was more stabilized, and the exercise of royal power
also could change. Oath-taking ceremonies disappeared, therefore, and
the confirmation of privileges remained solely within the domain of
written charters.

101