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Stephan I – the founding of the Hungarian State

The Magyars before Stepan

Stephan’s father was prince Géza, who became the prince after Taksony in 972 according
to the succession of seniority
Succession of seniority: The old type of succession. The eldest male member of the clan
got the power after the death of the previous leader.
Géza stopped the raids – he knew that the Magyars didn’t have the chance to defeat the
neighbours anymore
He ended the independence of tribal and clan leaders in bloody fights
He realized that the Magyars had to be baptized because they couldn’t survive within the
Catholic neighbours
He sent representatives to the council of Quedlilnburg in 973 to the Holy Roman
Emperor to ask for missionaries to baptize the Magyars
At first his son, Vajk was baptized, he got the name Stephan
Géza wasn’t baptized
He built dynastical connections:
o Géza’s wife, Sarolta was the daughter of the Transylvanian gyula. Transylvania
became the part of Géza’s principality
o His daughter, Piroska became the wife of the Venecian doge
o Stephan married to the daughter of the Bavarian prince, Gizella
o With Gizella, Bavarian knights arrived to Hungary.
In the question of succession there was a controversy between the tribal and Christian
traditions
o The tribal system was the succession of seniority. According to it Géza was going
to followed by Koppány
o According to the Christian system (succession of primogeniture) the firstborn son
of the leader gets the power next
Géza supported the succession of primogeniture and his son, Stephen, and he made
Koppány accept it
After Géza’s death Koppány led an uprising against Stephan in 997
Koppány was supported by the clan leaders, who represented the old traditions, and
Stephan was supported by the Roman Catholics and the Bavarian knights.
Stephan defeated Koppány and he ordered to cut Koppány into four pieces to threaten the
others who rebelled against him
He was the prince between 997 and 1000, after that he decided to ask for permission to
became a king
 He could either ask the Holy Roman Emperor (but he didn’t because the country would
have become the vassal of him) or the pope
Pope Sylvester II sent the crown and the crown jewels to Hungary
Stephan was crowned in December 1000/ 1st January 1001 in Esztergom, which became
the place of the crowning over the centuries
From this date, the country became Hungary, and a state
Stephan’s first steps could be divided into administrative and religious steps
Administrative steps
Stephan had to build a feudal state
For it he established a strong military retinue which consisted of the Bavarian knights
He granted lands for the loyalty of the soldiers
Is was almost the same as the vassal system, but the given lands mustn’t have been given
away
The granted lands were inheritable, but if the noble didn’t have a son, the lands became
royal property again
He defeated the clan leaders who were against him, and confiscated their lands
Because of it 2/3 of the Carpathian Basin became royal property
He Strengthened the territory of Transylvania
He defeated the prince of Temesköz, Ajtony
Stephan divided the country into 44 counties
The leaders of each county were the bailiffs, who were the vassals of the king, and they
had almost the same rights as him
o They were military leaders
o Collected taxes
o Were the judges
o Were royal officials
In royal counties there were royal bailiffs
The soldiers in the counties were called ‘várjobbágy’
The common people were called ‘várnép’
Church policy
He taught that the Roman Catholic Church could ensure Hungary to survive in Middle-
Europe, so he continued his father’s policy
The church was supported by laws
He had a law book for Christianity
Every 10 villages had to build a church, and everybody had to go there on Sundays
(except for ‘who protected the fire’ sick, old, pregnant people, or babies). The ones who
didn’t go to church was punished corporally in public
He introduced the tithe, papal tax, which supported the life of priests and monks
 Monks from the Benedictine order, who were invited to Hungary built the school of
Pannonhalma
Stephan’s son, Imre/Emery was one of the first students of Pannonhalma
His tutor was bishop Gellért, who wrote him a book: Admonitions to Emery – it was the
book of propel royal ruling
Church hierarchy during Stephan:
1. 2 archbishops (in Esztergom and Kalocsa)
2. 10 bishoprics
3. Clergy
4. Káptalans
5. Monasteries
Káptalans were the church officials who made documentaries
With religious steps Stephan ensured the survival of Hungary in Europe among the
Christian states

Financial steps
He introduced new monetary system
o The new coin was made of silver, and it was called Stephanus Rex (dínár)
o This coin was made of precious metals which was valuable
o They ensured the economical stabilization of the country
Succession
Stephan’s son, Emery died in 1031 in a hunting accident
According to the old tradition Vazul could inherit the throne, but Stephan made him
uncapable of ruling: Vazul was blinded and lead was poured into his ears
He had 3 sons, András, Béla and Levente, who were exiled from Hungary
Stephan named his nephew, Peter Orseolo as his heir
He died in 1038, and was buried in the basilica of Székesfehérvár
On his death bed he dedicated Hungary to the Holy Virgin, so she became the patron
saint of Hungary
Stephan’s legacy
He was canonized together with his son and Bishop Gellért in 1083 on the initiation of
Ladislaus I
In Hungary his feast day is 20th August, which is also a public holiday and a
commemoration of the founding of the state
His right hand, the Holy Dexter is a subject of cult. It has been in St. Stephan’s Basilica
in Budapest since 1950