Between chronicle and legend: image cycles of St Ladislas in fourteenth-century Hungarian manuscripts

The paper analyses two image cycles representing the life and miracles of St Ladislas, king of Hungary (1077-1095). The Hungarian Angevin Legendary (c. 1330) represents the saint's life in twenty-four images. The image cycle is partially based on the written legend, but some of the scenes follow the text of the Hungarian Chronicle. The other pictorial source is the Illuminated Chronicle (Chronicon Pictuniy c. 1360). The chapter describing the deeds of Ladislas is illustrated with seventeen miniatures. This cycle emphasises 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 influential ideal, athleta patriae, an important propaganda tool for the legitimacy of the Hungarian Angevin dynasty.