Legenda Hartviciana

The first page of the earliest version of the Legenda Hartviciana preserved in a 12th-century codex kept in Frankfurt until 1814

The Legenda Hartviciana or Vita Hartviciana, also anglicized as the Life of King Stephen of Hungary by Hartvic (Hungarian: Hartvik-féle Szent István-legenda), is the official hagiography of St. Stephen, the first King of Hungary. It was compiled by Hartvik, the bishop of Győr during the reign of Coloman the Book-lover at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, based on the holy king's two earlier hagiographies (Legenda maior and Legenda minor). Beside the veneration of Stephen I, the work served the actual political purposes of Coloman against the Holy See. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the Legenda Hartviciana as the official hagiography of Stephen I of Hungary in 1201.[1]

  1. ^ Thoroczkay 2009, pp. 69–87.