Saint Emeric and His Chaste Marriage

Dorottya Uhrin is an assistant professor at the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Medieval History Department.  In this interview she discusses her on-going research into the phenomenon of the ‘virgin kings’ that occurred in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in Europe. Dorottya’s work focusses on Prince Emeric, the last surviving son of King Istvan I of Hungary who, according to his saintly legend, died a virgin.  She compares Emeric’s history and legend with those of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and the English king, Edward the Confessor, who were, again according to their saintly legends, ‘virgin kings’.  Dorottya notes that while they were all venerated for their perceived sanctity, the image of the ‘virgin king’ as a positive phenomenon was short lived and their popularity was limited.  This was possibly due to the lack of legitimate heirs, which for Hungary caused significant internal conflict, and for England eventually resulted in a foreign invasion.This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Department of Historical Studies.