Ladislaus II Of Hungary
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ladislaus II or Ladislas II (, Croatian and Slovak: ''Ladislav II''; 113114 January 1163) was
King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...
and
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
between 1162 and 1163, having usurped the crown from his nephew, Stephen III. Ladislaus received the title of Duke of Bosnia from his father, Béla II of Hungary, at the age of six but never ruled the province. Instead, around 1160, he followed his younger brother,
Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
's, example and settled in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
but both were to return to Hungary following the death of their elder brother, Géza II of Hungary, in 1162. Their return was backed by the
Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...
Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history o ...
who used their return in a bid to expand his suzerainty over Hungary. Initially, the Emperor was planning to assist Stephen IV in seizing the throne, but the Hungarian lords were only willing to accept Ladislaus as king against the late Géza II's son, Stephen III. Although the latter's staunch supporter, Lucas, Archbishop of Esztergom, refused to crown Ladislaus and excommunicated him, he was crowned by Mikó, Archbishop of Kalocsa, in July 1162 but died within six months of his
coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...
.


Youth

Born in 1131, Ladislaus was the second son of King Béla the Blind and his wife, Helena of Rascia. A few months after his birth, his mother took him and his elder brother, Géza, to an assembly held at Arad where the barons who were considered responsible for the blinding of the King were massacred upon the Queen's order. Béla II's army invaded Bosnia in 1136, which he commemorated by adopting the title King of Rama after a small river. The following year, the King appointed Ladislaus Duke of Bosnia at an assembly of the prelates and barons in Esztergom. However, Ladislaus never personally ruled the territory and administration was overseen by the Ban, who was either an appointed or an elected official. Béla II died on 13 February 1141 and was succeeded by his oldest son, Ladislaus's elder brother, Géza II. The ''
Illuminated Chronicle The ''Chronicon Pictum'' or ''Illuminated Chronicle'' (, , , also referred to as the ''Illustrated Chronicle'', ''Chronica Hungarorum'', ''Chronicon Hungarie Pictum'', ''Chronica Picta'' or ''Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum'') is a medieval illust ...
'' writes that during his reign King Géza "granted ducal revenues to his brothers", Ladislaus and his younger brother,
Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
, in an unspecified year, although according to historian Bálint Hóman, this happened in 1146. Scholars Ferenc Makk and Gyula Kristó argue that the two dukes only received this grant around 1152, when the King appointed his son, Stephen, his successor. Ladislaus's younger brother, Stephen, conspired against King Géza but failed in 1156 or 1157. Stephen first sought refuge in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
but later fled to the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
. Ladislaus followed him and also settled in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
around 1160.


Exile

Contemporaneous sources disagree on the cause of Ladislaus' departure for Constantinople. According to John Kinnamos, both Stephen and Ladislaus "became extremely hateful" towards King Géza after they had quarreled with him. On the other hand, Niketas Choniates wrote that Ladislaus "defected to Manuel, not so much because Géza loved him less than he should or that he feared a plot on his brother's part, but more because he was fascinated"''O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates'' (4.126), p. 72. by Stephen's favorable reception by the Emperor. Géza II died on 31 May 1162 and was succeeded by his son, the 15-year-old Stephen III. However, Emperor Manuel, who "put a high value on the overlordship of Hungary", according to the contemporaneous John Kinnamos, decided to intervene on behalf of the late King's two brothers, stating that "it is law among the Hungarians that the crown passes always to the survivors of brothers". Initially, the Emperor planned to assist the younger of the two brothers, Stephen, as claimant to the throne. Bribed by Emperor Manuel's envoys, most Hungarian lords were willing to dethrone the young monarch but instead of Stephen, whom they viewed as a puppet of the Emperor, Ladislaus was chosen to be king. Six weeks after the young Stephen III's coronation, his partisans were routed at Kapuvár forcing him to leave Hungary and seek refuge in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
.


Reign

Ladislaus was crowned king in July 1162. The ceremony was performed by Mikó, Archbishop of Kalocsa, as the
Archbishop of Esztergom In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...
, Lucas, was loyal to Stephen III and considered Ladislaus an usurper. Archbishop Lucas excommunicated Ladislaus, but was arrested and imprisoned in return. According to the chronicle of Henry of Mügeln, Ladislaus granted one-third of the kingdom to his brother, Stephen, and the title of duke. Kinnamos wrote that Ladislaus granted the title ''urum'' ("My lord") to his brother as "among the Hungarians, this name means he who will succeed to the royal authority". Ladislaus attempted to reconcile himself with his opponents and released Archbishop Lucas at Christmas upon the request of
Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...
. However, the Archbishop did not yield to him and continued to support Stephen III, who had returned to Hungary and captured Pressburg (present-day Bratislava in
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
). Ladislaus did not attack his nephew in Pressburg, but again imprisoned Archbishop Lucas. Ladislaus "usurped the crown for half a year",''The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle'' (ch. 169.121), p. 139. according to the ''Illuminated Chronicle'' and died on 14 January 1163. He was buried in the Székesfehérvár Basilica.


Family

Ladislaus seems to have been a widower when he arrived in Constantinople in about 1160, but both the name of his wife and her family are unknown. Ladislaus "could have married a woman of royal blood" at Constantinople, according to Choniates. However, continues Choniates, Ladislaus "refrained from marriage so that he should not forget to return to his country and thus bring ruin to his domestic affairs, enchanted by the spell of a wife". Ladislaus's daughter, Mary was married to Nicholas Michiel, son of Vitale II Michele, Doge of Venice.


Notes


Sources


Primary sources

*''Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos'' (Translated by Charles M. Brand) (1976). Columbia University Press. . *''O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniatēs'' (Translated by Harry J. Magoulias) (1984). Wayne State University Press. . *''The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle:'' Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum (Edited by Dezső Dercsényi) (1970). Corvina, Taplinger Publishing. .


Secondary sources

* * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ladislaus 02 Of Hungary 12th-century Hungarian monarchs Kings of Hungary Kings of Croatia 1131 births 1163 deaths House of Árpád Burials at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Dukes of Bosnia Medieval Hungarian people of Serbian descent Usurpers