Alberik, bishop Hartvic, Adorjan, Lodomer

St Gerald
St Gerald
St Gerald altar
Saint bishop of the Sopronbánfalva church
Archbishop Lodomer
Alberik

Chaplain of Seraphin, bishop of Esztergom, (around 1095-1104), who came to Hungary as a foreigner. He composed the resolutions of the Tarcal synod in the age of Coloman. He wrote a preface to it, which suggests that the author was very well educated.

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Bishop Hartvic

Before 1116, at King Coloman's command, Bishop Hartvic compiled a new biography of King St Stephen after the smaller and the larger legend. In his work he literally reused the text of the preceding two legends. What Hartic added to the earlier version besides listing the miracles occurring after Stephen's death, was the chapter in which he described how the king received his crown from the Pope, which was a completely new idea. He smoothed over the contradictions of the two legends. Referring to Chief prince Géza he unified the expression 'chief prince' instead of 'king', and in independent parts of his work he proved that he was one of the greatest stylists of his age, since he fulfilled the requirements of the style at a high level. He offered the preface to King Coloman, and satisfying the demands of letter-writing, after naming the high-rank addressed person, he calls himself by the name, too (intitulatio); he mentioned his imperfect Latin knowledge and his skills with compulsory modesty, and also his resistance to the king's command, but finally obedience prevailed, and he asked his king to judge his kindly received work very strictly, so that its style would not hurt him; his imperfect work should rather burn in fire than get into a third, envious person's hand.

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Adorjan

He left for Paris with his three companions around 1177, then after his return in 1185-86 he became King Béla III's clerk, then his chancellor with the title of the Prepost of Buda. From 1197 till his death in 1202 he was a bishop in Transylvania. He must have had significant merits in organising the royal chancellery.

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Lodomer

Chanting canon (= cantor) of Veszprém between 1257-1260, then he studied at the university of Bologne in the 1260's. In 1264-1266 he was Stephen's, the younger king's vice-chancellor, then from 1268 he became the bishop of Várad. After 1272 the Pope appointed him to be member of the committee which investigated the holiness of princess Margaret, instead of the dead Archbishop Philip. In 1278 he performed the duty of the archbishop. He objected to Ladislaus IV's government measures, and criticised them openly. In connection with this he wrote a letter to Pope Nicolas IV, which is the most valuable piece of artistic prose and letter in the age of the Árpád dynasty. After King Ladislaus IV's death he supported Andrew III on the throne. As the head of the bichopric board he might have participated actively in the theoretical founding of the political system in the age of Andrew III. He died in 1298.

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