Miklós Kásler - Zoltán Szentirmay (szerk.): Identifying the Árpád Dynasty Skeletons Interred in the Matthias Church. Applying data from historical, archaeological, anthropological, radiological, morphological, radiocarbon dating and genetic research (Budapest, 2021)
CHAPTER TWO – Historical background
King Béla III enjoyed widespread “international” recognition. Written proof of this is found in several sources. “In the 1118th [1187th] year of our Lord’s incarnation, Pope Urban III wore the papal tiara; a German King, Friedrich, was Emperor in Rome, and Isaac in Constantinople; in France, Philippe, son of Louis, was King; in England Henry II, in Sicily William, in Hungary King Béla, in Palestine Guido; in this year, Saladin, Prince of Egypt and Damascus, having been victorious by the inscrutable, but never unjust will of God, occupied the Kingdom of Jerusalem” (Gombos 1937). Thus, Archdeacon Giraldus de Barri, a chronicler from Wales, court chaplain of English King Henry II (1154-1189), listed Hungary and its King, Béla III, alongside the known worlds elite. During this time, Richard, a prebendary from London, travelled to the Holy Land via Hungary in 1189 and wrote the following of Béla: “ This man received many gifts from nature. His stature is tall, his face is noble, and if by nothing other, through the eminence of his regal gaze alone he could be deemed most worthy of the Kingdom. He received the soldiers of Christ with hospitality” (Kristó-Makk 1995). Béla left a deep impression not only on foreign chroniclers, but on his successors as well. His grandson, King Béla IV (1235-1270) chose him as a role model. In 1237, he declared his programme to “restore our country to the state in which it existed under our beloved King Béla”. Although this endeavour was not successful, his respect for his grandfather was undiminished, referring to him as “King Béla the Great” in 1265 (Kristó- Makk 1995). We ought to view King Béla III (the Great) as a ruler, whose country could - without exaggeration - be called the “Hungarian Empire” and as an outstanding member of an outstanding dynasty. 53
