Szent László a XIV. századi kódexfestészetben
Between Chronicle and Legend: Image Cycles of St Ladislas in 14th-Century Hungarian Manuscripts

Author(s): Béla Zsolt Szakács
Subject(s): 13th to 14th Centuries
Published by: Molnár Kiadó
Summary/Abstract: The paper analyses two image cycles representing the life and miracles of St. Ladislas, king of Hungary (1077–1095). One of them, the Hungarian Angevin Legendary (ca. 1330) represents the saint's life in twenty-four images. The image cycle is partially based on the written legend, however some of the scenes follow the text of the Hungarian Chronicle. The other pictorial source is the Illuminated Chronicle (Chronicon Pictum, ca. 1360). The chapter describing the deeds of Ladislas is illustrated with seventeen miniatures. This cycle emphasizes the miraculous events more than the political acts and includes supernatural elements not described in the text. Thus, the illustrations of the chronicle and the legendary moved towards an ideal compromise between the secular and the religious character of Ladislas, creating an extremely influential ideal, athleta patriae, an important propaganda tool for the legitimacy of the Hungarian Angevin dynasty.

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