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Blessed Gisela
Blessed Gisela
	Portrayal of Queen Gisela on the Hungarian coronation pall (chasuble) from 1031
Queen consort of Hungary
Tenure	1000 or 1001–1038
Grand Princess of the Hungarians
Tenure	c. 997 – 1000 or 1001
Born	c. 985
Died	7 May 1065; Passau, Germany
Burial	Niedernburg Abbey, Passau, Germany
Spouse	Stephen I of Hungary; (m. 996; died 1038)
Issue	Otto; Saint Emeric
Dynasty	Ottonian
Father	Henry II, Duke of Bavaria
Mother	Gisela of Burgundy
Religion	Roman Catholic

Gisela of Hungary (or Gisele, Gizella and of Bavaria; c. 985 – 7 May 1065) was the first queen consort of Hungary by marriage to Stephen I of Hungary, and the sister of Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor. She has been beatified by the Catholic Church.

Biography

Gisela was a daughter of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria and Gisela of Burgundy. Gisela was raised very devout, most likely with bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg as her mentor and governor. She married King Stephen I of Hungary in 996^[1] as a part of Hungary's policy of opening up to the West. The couple had a son, Saint Emeric, who died on 2 September 1031, while hunting boar.^[2] The wedding of Stephen and Gisela marked a turning point in Hungary's history.

Queen Gisela played a fundamental role in spreading the Christian faith and Western culture in Hungary.^[1]

When Edmund Ironside of England died, he was succeeded by Cnut. Edmund's infant sons were sent abroad and ended up under the protection of King Stephen of Hungary. One of the twins died young, but the other, Edward Atheling, was brought up as a protégé of Queen Gisela, and regarded in that foreign court as the heir to the Anglo-Saxon throne.^[3]

King Stephen died in 1038. In 1046 Gisela, her attendants, and a number of many Bavarian settlers left Hungary to return to Bavaria, where she joined Niedernburg convent in Passau and became the abbess.^[1]

She lived in the nunnery of Niedernburg in Passau, where she died.

Veneration

Gisela's canonisation was attempted in the 18th century but failed. She was beatified in 1975. Her memorial days are 7 May and 1 February.

Gisela and her husband were not buried together. On 4 May 1996, the remains of King Stephen's right hand was preserved, and it was brought back together with a bone taken from the arm of Gisela. Both are now safely protected in glass and gold cases, and are displayed in the basilica in the western Hungarian town of Veszprém, where Gisela once lived.^[4]

Her grave is well known, and regarded as a holy place. The cross was commissioned by Queen Gisela for the tomb of her mother, who died in 1006 and was buried in the Niedermünster in Regensburg.

Blessed Gisela is depicted on a white limestone panel by Hungarian artist Sandor Kiss on the wall of the Chapel of Our Lady – Queen of Hungary in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ""Blessed Gisela of Hungary", Mindszenty Alapítvány". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
^ Ott, Michael. "St. Stephen." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 12 April 2013
^ "St. Margaret Queen of Scotland", St.Margaret of Scotland Church, Selden, New York Archived 16 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
^ Bridge, Adrian. "Hungary's queen meets her match after 1,000 years", Independent, 6 May 1996
^ ""Chapel of Our Lady – Queen of the Hungarians", St. Peter's Basilica.org". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-05-25.

Sources

Butler, Alban (1995). "Bd Giselle of Bavaria". Butler's Lives of the Saints. London: Burns & Oates. p. 39. ISBN 0-86012-254-9.
Györffy, György (1996). "Gisela, erste Königin von Ungarn". Bd 17, Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur. Augsburg: Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte. p. 15. ISBN 3-927233-45-5.

Royal titles
Gisela of Hungary Ottonian dynasty Born: c. 980 Died: 2 August 1058
Preceded by Sarolt	Grand Princess of the Hungarians 997–1000 or 1001	Became queen
New title	Queen consort of Hungary 1000 or 1001–1038	Vacant Title next held by Anastasia of Kiev as the next confirmed queen