The Greek charter of the Hungarian King Stephen I

Abstract

The first Hungarian Christian ruler, King Stephen I (997-1038) issued several charters that have survived to this day. One of them is the charter issued on behalf of the nuns from the Monastery of the Holy Theotokos in Veszprémvölgy. The charter was written in the Greek language, and has been the subject of many studies. The original has not been preserved; what remains is a copy from the time of King Coloman, dated to 1109. The charter has not been published in a critical edition in any language other than Hungarian and even though it has been examined by numerous Hungarian scholars, many questions remain open. The aim of the author is to provide a critical edition and an English translation of the charter, but also to clarify some remaining doubts about the charter and its contents. Furthermore, some comparisons will be made with the Byzantine charters issued at the beginning of the 11th and during the 12th century.

Keywords

• Stephen I of Hungary
• Veszprémvölgy monastery
• diplomatics
• the Greek charter