Saint Gisela – the first Queen of Hungary

In contrast to Steven, the first king of Hungary, little is known about his wife Gisela. Only a brief overview over her life is available:

980/984	birth of Gisela, daughter of the bavarian duke Heinrich II and his wife Gisela of Burgundy Gisela brought up very devotional, most likely by bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg as her mentor and governor.
995/997	Gisela marries prince Steven of Hungary; Bishop Adalbert of Prague and bishop Wolfgang support the wedding. The wedding took place most likely in either Scheyern or in Regensburg.
1000/1001	Steven and Gisela appointed King and Queen
1007	Birth of second son Emmerich. Not much is known about her other children (2 sons died as infants, 2 daughters about whom we know very little)

King Steven wanted to make Hungary a Christian country, which is why Gisela gave many generous gifts and sponsors to various bishop regions and abbeys. She sponsored the cathedral in Veszprem and she helped equip the churches with the necessary liturgical instruments and scripts.

1030	Emperor Konrad II (1024 – 1039) attacks Hungary; a joined Bavarian-Hungarian force conquers him.
1031	Son Emmerich dies, which causes arguments over an heir for Steven: Steven arranges that his nephew Vazul be blinded as he doesn’t approve of him; Gisela prefers their Nephew Peter Orseolo.
1038	Steven dies. Peter Orseolo confiscates Gisela’s properties and puts Gisela under arrest; Samuel Aba, who followed Peter on the throne, continues this policy.
1042	Emperor Heinrich III attacks Hungary and he frees Gisela; however, Heinrich’s intervention causes the anti - Christian and anti-German attitude in Hungary to grow; rebellion follows.
1046	Gisela and many Bavarian settlers leave Hungary; she joins Niederburg convent in Passau and becomes the abbess.

On the 7^th of Mai 1060/1065, Gisela dies and is buried in Niederburg.

In 1975 Gisela was declared a saint. Memorial days: Mai 7th and 1st of February.

Additional Information in German.

Szántó, Konrad: Das Leben der seligen Gisela, der ersten Königin von Ungarn, Thaur: Öster. Kulturverlag, 1988
Györffy, György: Gisela, erste Königin von Ungarn. In: Bayerisch – ungarische Frauengestalten, Augsburg: Haus der bayerischen Geschichte, 1996, S. 5 - 14
Veszprémy, László: Königin Gisela von Ungarn. In: [Handbuch zur Ausstellung] Europas Mitte um 1000, Beiträge zur Geschichte, Kunst und Archäologie, Band 2, Darmstadt: Wiss. Buchgesellschaft, 2000, S. 608 - 612
von Bogyay, Thomas: Gisela. In: Lexikon des Mittelalters, Band IV, München 1989, Sp. 1465 - 1466
Bak, János: Gisela. In: Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche IV, 3. Auflage, Freiburg 1995, Sp. 657 – 658
Mader, Franz: Tausend Passauer, Passauer Neue Presse Verlag, 1995, S. 76

Photos:

http://www.br-online.de/wissen-bildung/collegeradio/medien/geschichte/ungarn_gisela/bildarchiv/

edited by: Kathrin Scheuer
translation: Sebastian Lindemann
(16.8.2004/14.1.2005)