Elizabeth of Hungary

Elizabeth was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania. Her mother's sister was Hedwig of Andechs, wife of Duke Henry I of Silesia. However, a sermon printed in 1497 by the Franciscan friar Osvaldus de Lasco, a church official in Hungary, is the first source to specifically name Sárospatak as Elizabeth's birthplace, potentially building on local tradition. Osvaldus also translates the miracle of the roses to Elizabeth's childhood in Sárospatak and has her leave Hungary at the age of five. According to a different tradition she was born in Pozsony, Hungary (present-day Bratislava, Slovakia), where she lived in the Castle of Posonium until the age of four. Elizabeth was brought to the court of the rulers of Thuringia in central Germany, to be betrothed to Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia (also known as Ludwig IV), a future union which would reinforce political alliances between the two families. She was raised by the Thuringian court and would have been familiar with the local language and culture. in Košice, 15th century In 1221, at the age of fourteen, Elizabeth married Louis; the same year he was enthroned as landgrave, and the marriage appears to have been happy. Religious inclinations, influences In 1223, Franciscan friars arrived, and the teenage Elizabeth not only learned about the ideals of Francis of Assisi, but started to live them. Louis was not upset by his wife's charitable efforts, believing that the distribution of his wealth to the poor would bring eternal reward; he is venerated in Thuringia as a saint, though he was never canonized by the church. It was also about this time that the priest and later inquisitor Konrad von Marburg gained considerable influence over Elizabeth when he was appointed as her confessor. In the spring of 1226, when floods, famine and plague wrought havoc in Thuringia, Louis, a staunch supporter of the Hohenstaufen Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, represented Frederick II at the Imperial Diet held in Cremona. Elizabeth assumed control of affairs at home and distributed alms in all parts of their territory, even giving away state robes and ornaments to the poor. ==Widowhood==

(1895) Elizabeth's life changed irrevocably on 11 September 1227 when Louis, en route to join the Sixth Crusade, died of a fever in Otranto, Italy, just a few weeks before the birth of her daughter Gertrude. Upon hearing the news of her husband's death, the 20-year-old Elizabeth reportedly said, "He is dead. He is dead. It is to me as if the whole world died today." His remains were returned to Elizabeth in 1228 and entombed at the abbey of Reinhardsbrunn. After Louis' death, his brother, Henry Raspe, assumed the regency during the minority of Elizabeth's eldest child, Hermann (1222–1241). After bitter arguments over the disposal of her dowry—a conflict in which Konrad was appointed as the official Defender of her case by Pope Gregory IX—Elizabeth left the court at Wartburg and moved to Marburg in Hesse. Her move seems to have been partly influenced by Konrad's strict dietary commands, which could not be met at Wartburg. Elizabeth's second child Sophie of Thuringia (1224–1275) married Henry II, Duke of Brabant, and was the ancestress of the Landgraves of Hesse, since in the War of the Thuringian Succession she won Hesse for her son Heinrich I, called the Child. Elizabeth's third child, Gertrude of Altenberg (1227–1297), was born several weeks after the death of her father; she became abbess of the monastery of Altenberg Abbey, Hesse near Wetzlar. Elizabeth built a hospital at Marburg for the poor and the sick with the money from her dowry, where she and her companions cared for them. ==The Miracles==

Miracle of the roses c. 1480-90) church dedicated to her at Roses' Square (Rózsák tere), Budapest The popular legend of the miracle of the roses was originally attributed to Elizabeth of Portugal, is absent from Elizabeth of Thuringia's earliest hagiography and was only later attributed to the latter. It also appears in that of many other saints. The version attributing it to Elizabeth of Hungary states that, while taking bread to the poor in secret, she met her husband Louis with a hunting party (or in some versions Louis' brother Heinrich Raspe). To quell suspicions of the gentry that she was stealing treasure from the castle, he asked her to reveal what was hidden under her cloak. In that moment, her cloak fell open and a vision of white and red roses could be seen, which proved to Louis that God's protecting hand was at work. However, this contradicts her vitae, which state that her husband was never troubled by her charity and always supported it. Christ in the bed Another story told of Elizabeth, also found in Dietrich of Apolda's Vita, relates how she laid the leper Helias of Eisenach in the bed she shared with her husband. Her mother-in-law, who was horrified, told this immediately to Louis on his return. When Louis removed the bedclothes in great indignation, at that instant "Almighty God opened the eyes of his soul, and instead of a leper he saw the figure of Christ crucified stretched upon the bed." ==Death and legacy==

, Netherlands '' (1863) , Colombia Elizabeth died in Marburg at the age of twenty-four, on 17 November 1231. Miracles after death and canonization Very soon after the death of Elizabeth, miracles were reported that happened at her grave in the church of the hospital, especially those of healing. On the suggestion of Konrad, and by papal command, examinations were held of those who had been healed between August 1232 and January 1235. The results of those examinations was supplemented by a brief vita of the saint-to-be, and together with the testimony of Elizabeth's handmaidens and companions (bound in a booklet called the Libellus de dictis quatuor ancillarum s. Elizabeth confectus), proved sufficient reason for quick canonization. She was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on 24 May 1235. Her skull and some of her bones can be seen at the convent in Vienna bearing her name. A portion of her relics were kept in the church of the Carmelites in Brussels; another in the magnificent chapel of La Roche-Guyon, and a considerable part in a precious shrine is in the electoral treasury of Hanover. Another part of her relics were taken to Bogotá, then the capital of the Spanish New Kingdom of Granada, by friar Luis Zapata de Cárdenas. The relics are today inside a chapel dedicated to the saint in the Primatial Cathedral of Bogotá. Elizabeth of Hungary is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 18 November and in the Episcopal Church on 19 November. Association with the Franciscans After her death, Elizabeth was commonly associated with the Third Order of Saint Francis, the primarily lay branch of the Franciscan Order, which has helped propagate her cult. Whether she ever actually joined the order, only recently founded in 1221, the year when she married Louis at the age of fourteen, is not proven to everyone's satisfaction. It must be kept in mind though that the Third Order was such a new development in the Franciscan movement, that no one official ritual had been established at that point. Elizabeth clearly had a ceremony of consecration in which she adopted a Franciscan religious habit in her new way of life, as noted above. Because of her support of the friars sent to Thuringia, she was made known to the founder, St Francis of Assisi, who sent her a personal message of blessing shortly before his death in 1226. Upon her canonization, she was declared the patron saint of the Third Order of St Francis, an honor she shares with St Louis IX of France. ==Depiction in art and music==

Saint Elizabeth is often depicted holding a basket of bread, or some other sort of food or beverage, characteristic of her devotion to the poor and hungry. The "miracle of the roses" has also proved a popular theme for artists. File:Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1319-1347).jpg|alt=St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, holds the hem of her cloak, filled with red and white roses.|Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1319-1347) File:Pietro Nelli - Elizabeth van Hongarije.JPG|Pietro Nelli, St Elisabeth of Hungary, (1363–1367), tempera, gold and panel, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht File:Saint Elizabeth of Hungary MET DP813706.jpg|alt=St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, with a halo around her headdress, carries a bowl and spoon.|Wolfgang, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1470) File:Bayerisches Nationalmuseum 9.jpg|alt=A wooded sculpture of St. Elizabeth. She has on a 15th-century style dress and wears a cloak which falls to mid shin. She holds a pitcher in her left hand and at her right foot a small depiction of a man kneels and gazes up at her.|St. Elisabeth of Hungary (Tilman Riemenschneider, limewood, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich) (1492) File:Rosenwunder.jpg|Miracle of the roses (1525) File:Elisabeth elisabeth05.jpg|From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands File:Elisabeth elisabeth03.jpg|From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands File:Statue of Saint Elizabeth.JPG|Statue of Saint Elizabeth in St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Superior, Wisconsin File:Berg Maria Trost - Erasmusaltar 5 St.Elisabeth von Thüringen.jpg|Berg Maria Trost – St Elisabeth von Thüringen File:St Elisabeth of Hungary (18. century, stained glass).jpg|St. Elisabeth of Hungary (stained glass, 18th century, City Museum of Ljubljana) File:Merry Joseph Blondel - Esquisse pour l'église Sainte-Elisabeth , Sainte Elisabeth, reine de Hongrie, déposant sa couronne a - PPP4514 - Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris.jpg|alt=St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, places her crown on the ground below a statue of Christ|Merry-Joseph Blondel, Saint Elizabeth Queen Of Hungary (1824) File:Karl von Blaas Rosenwunder.jpg|Karl von Blaas, Rosenwunder (1839) File:Charles Alston Collins, The Devout Childhood of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1852).webp|alt=A young St. Elizabeth kneels at the church door, beside a rosebush.|Charles Alston Collins, The Devout Childhood of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1852) File:St. Elizabeth of Hungary or The Miracle of the Roses by Gustave Moreau.jpg|alt=St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, wearing a crown and a Franciscan cord, opens her mantle full of roses, which fall to her feet. Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia kneels beside her|Gustave Moreau, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, or, The Miracle of the Roses (1879) File:Liezen-Mayer St. Elisabeth of Hungary and the beggar Woman 1882–1885.jpg|alt=St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, opens her ermine cloak.|Sándor Liezen-Mayer, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1882) File:George James Frampton, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1895).jpg|alt=St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, wearing a golden crown, holds up the hem of her dress, which is filled with red and white roses.|George James Frampton, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1895) File:St.Elizabeth of Hungary Ottawa St.Patrick Basilica.jpg|Stained-glass portrayal of St. Elizabeth's miracle of the roses at St Patrick's Basilica, Ottawa (1898) File:Elisabet av Thüringen.jpg|The Charity of Elisabeth of Hungary (1915) by Edmund Blair Leighton File:Alice Macallan Swan, St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1916).jpg|alt=St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, wearing a golden crown, holds up the hem of her cloak, which is filled with pink and white roses. Behind her is a rosebush.|Alice Macallan Swan, St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1916) File:Marianne Stokes, Saint Elizabeth working for the Poor (1920).jpg|alt=St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, with a golden halo, sews clothing for the poor. A yarn swift is beside her.|Marianne Stokes, Saint Elizabeth Working for the Poor (1920) Peter Janssens composed a musical play ("Musikspiel") Elisabeth von Thüringen in 1984 on a libretto by . In Charlotte Brontë's novel Villette, the Protestant narrator includes the story of Elizabeth's involvement with von Marburg as one of several Catholic stories of confessors "who had wickedly abused their office, trampling to deep degradation high-born ladies, making of countesses and princesses the most tormented slaves under the sun." ==2007 octocentennial celebrations==

The year 2007 was proclaimed Elizabeth Year in Marburg. All year, events commemorating Elizabeth's life and works were held, culminating in a town-wide festival to celebrate the 800th anniversary of her birth on 7 July 2007. Pilgrims came from all over the world for the occasion, which ended with a special service in the Elisabeth Church that evening. A new musical based on Elizabeth's life, Elisabeth--die Legende einer Heiligen (Elizabeth--Legend of a Saint), starring Sabrina Weckerlin as Elizabeth, Armin Kahn as Ludwig, and Chris Murray as Konrad, premiered in Eisenach in 2007. It was performed in Eisenach and Marburg for two years, and closed in Eisenach in July 2009. The entire Third Order of St. Francis, both the friars and sisters of the Third Order Regular and the Secular Franciscan Order, joined in this celebration through a two-year-long program of study of her life. This was conducted throughout the Order, across the globe. There were also religious ceremonies held worldwide during that period. The yearlong observance of the centennial which began on her feast day in 2007 was closed at the General Chapter of the Order, held in Budapest in 2008. The New York region of the Order produced a movie of her life, produced by a sister of the Order, Lori Pieper. ==Ancestry==

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary: On the 700-year anniversary of her death, Hungary issued a set of four stamps in her honor: on 21 April 1932; on 1 August 1944 one postage stamp was issued; on 16 July 1938 Czechoslovakia issued a stamp in her honor showing the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth in Košice. She was declared the patron saint of the same city in 2019. The hymn "Wenn das Brot, das wir teilen", written for a pilgrimage to places in Thuringia connected to her life, refers to her Miracle of the roses, and mentions other works of charity. ==Gallery==

File:Elisabeth of Hungary Moroder.jpg|Woodcarved polychrome sculpture of St Elizabeth with a beggar, by Rudolf Moroder, Parish church of Urtijëi, Italy File:Bitschnau-863 Elisabeth-pic-sepia.jpg|Saint Elizabeth takes care of the sick. File:Elisabeth elisabeth01.jpg|From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands File:Elisabeth elisabeth02.jpg|From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands File:Elisabet av Thüringen.jpg|The Charity of St Elizabeth of Hungary, 1895 File:Wartburg 01.jpg|The Elizabeth Bower, Wartburg File:Calderon Philip Hermogenes St Elizabeth of Hungary.jpg|Philip Hermogenes Calderon, ''Saint Elizabeth of Hungary's Great Act of Renunciation'' (1891) File:Saint Elizabeth of Hungary by Master IE - BMA.jpg|Engraved print of St Elizabeth, Birmingham Museum of Art File:Théophile Lybaert - Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.jpeg|Saint Elizabeth of Hungary by Théophile Lybaert File:Portrait of Sainte Elizabeth Duchesse de Turinge (4670524).jpg|17th-century engraving of Saint Elizabeth with a beggar by A. Houatt File:Elisabethrelikvariet.jpg|The Reliquary of St. Elizabeth, taken as war booty by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War and currently in the Swedish History Museum, Stockholm File:Hugues Merle - Saint Elizabeth of Hungary - 56.284 - Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg|19th-century oil painting depicting Saint Elizabeth by French artist Hugues Merle (1879) ==See also==