Magyar News, 1997. szeptember-1998. augusztus (8. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1997-12-01 / 4. szám
Holy Crown continued from previous pages Enemal plate of Hungarian King Géza I. They are treated with reverence. After the United States of America returned the coronation symbols, they were on display open to the public at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. This museum houses the finds of Bela Ill’s wife’s grave, the throne rug of King Mathias, and the armor of Louis II. Out of the ensemble that was customary in the 11-th century, the crown and the septrum were used during the coronation of the Arpad Dynasty kings. The orb and the sword (15-th century) were added at a later time. The septrum that was probably held by King St. Stephen, has a short handle fastened to it with three lion figures in a crystal ball, and the gold strips are generously decorated with filigree works. At the coronation ceremonies the king wore a cape embroidered with gold thread. This was altered from a mass vestment in the 12-th century. It is a masterpiece of the era’s textile art. According to the legend, nuns of the Veszprém valley embroidered it and the Queen participated in the work. Researchers doubt this because of the high skill and professional technique that was required. The script indicates that the cape was requested by St. Stephan and Gizelle in 1031 for the royal church of Virgin Mary in Szekesfehervar where future coronations took place The design was made following the text of Allsaint’s Litany in the Heavenly Order of the Heavens; Christ. Mana, the prophets, the apostles, martyrs, angels, the royal couple and their son Prince Emery, and others totaling 80 people. The vestment, for the 35th anniversary of the royal couple, was donated in honor of heavenly help to build the nation. The Holy Crown, as it was always known, consists of two main parts. The bottom that encircles the head and decorated with images in enamel, the Greek scripts, and its specific style puts it among Byzantine works. The cross bands covering the top of the head, based on the language of the scripts, is the latin part. The bottom, the hoop, depicts Christ on the throne and favorite Byzantine Saints as Michael, Archangel Gabor, then martyrs George, Dimitrie, Kozma and Damjan. The technique and style places it in the metalworking studios of the emperor’s court in Constantinople of centuries old repute. The images of some of the enamel plates help determine the exact time. We find the portrait of Emperor Constantine and the Hungarian King Géza I, whose wife was a member of the Byzantine family. In 1074 the bottom part of the crown was sent to her in Hungary as a gift. The top bands carry eight apostles; Peter, Paul, John, Andrew. Philip, Thomas, and Bertalan. Set into the filigree work are 72 true pearls symbolizing the 72 disciples of Christ. The finishing of these bands exclude the theory that there were more parts to it. Though the dispute on the possibility that these bands were part of the original crown given to St. Stephan by the Pope was discharged, the place and time of its making is still up in the air. The style of depiction does not help pinpoint the time within the 11-12 centuries. There is no question about it being created in Western Europe in a romanesque style. Still there is a noticeable influence of Byzantia. The place where this influence on architecture, painting and metalcraft was strong enough, was in southern Italy. A more scrutinizing examination of the Latin writings on the enameled plates shows an interesting feature. There are some letters that stray away from the Latin traditional writing. For example the “U” in Paulus and the “T” in Thomas are typical of the Byzantine coins. Strangely enough, before 1050-1060 the Byzantine coins were struck with Latin letters. It was around this date that they switched to the Greek alphabet but before some latin letters had a distinctive difference. The enameled plates, their technique and style with the writings can easily be placed in this period. The cross bands raise a different question. The filigree work on them with the precious stones was made at another lop of the Latin part with St. Feier The Royal Orb time. In this period the domed crown was unknown. These plates came from a different object. We don’t know whether they were part of a crown or a bookplate, but they definitely had a sacred function. They also bring them closer to the first Hungarian King. The present design was accomplished in the later part of the 12-th century. From 1166 the coronation symbols were stored and guarded in Szekesfehervar and were handled with extreme care. In the 13-th century these objects were given the saint name and the crown was considered to be of St. Stephen. From there on the Holy Crown was the only official symbol of the initiation of a king. Writings from the early centimes do not spend many words on these problems. But the legends of decades and centimes, and now, also the scientific research through the enameled plates of the apostles on the cross bands establish ties to our first Hungarian king and brings to our understanding the sacred respect we have for the coronation symbols. Dr. Endre Toth The Magyar News received this article from Dr. Endre Toth, who is the head of a department of the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. We appreciate his help in our work for the Hungarian community. We hope that he will keep us in mind in the future. A HUNGARIAN STAMP DEPICTING THE NATIONAL MUSEUM Page 3
