Saint Emeric of Hungary

Prince Saint Emeric of Hungary (Hungarian: Szent Imre herceg) also Henricus, Emery, Emerick, Emmerich, Emericus or Americus (c. 1007 – 2 September 1031) was the son of King St. Stephen I of Hungary and Giselle of Bavaria. He is assumed^[1] to be the second son of Stephen, he was named after his uncle, St. Henry II, and was the only one of Stephen's sons who reached adulthood.

Emeric was educated in a strict and ascetic spirit by the Benedictine monk from Venice, Gerard from the age of 15 to 23. He was intended to be the next monarch of Hungary, and his father wrote admonitions to prepare him for this task. His father tried to make Emeric co-heir still in his lifetime.

He married in the year 1022.^[2] The identity of his wife is disputed. Some say it was Irene Monomachina, a relative of Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos,^[3] or a female member of the Argyros family to which Byzantine emperor Romanos III Argyros belonged. Other say it was Patricissa of Croatia, the daughter of Krešimir III of Croatia. Another possible person may have been Adelaide/Rixa of Poland or one of her unnamed sisters.

But his father's plans could never be fulfilled: on 2 September 1031, at age 24, Emeric was killed by a boar while hunting. It is assumed^[1] that this happened in Hegyközszentimre (presently Sântimreu, Romania). He was buried in the Székesfehérvár Basilica. Several wondrous healings and conversions happened at his grave, so on 5 November 1083 King Ladislaus I unearthed Emeric's bones in a large ceremony, and Emeric was canonised for his pious life and purity along with his father and Bishop Gerard of Csanád by Pope Gregory VII.

St. Emeric is most often pictured in knight's armour with crown and lily.

It is believed by some Hungarians that Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer and the namesake of the Americas, was named after the saint.^[4]

References

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