Gisela of Hungary

Blessed Gisela
File:Portrayal of Gisela of Hungary on the coronation pall-2.jpg Portrayal of Queen Gisela on the Hungarian coronation pall from 1031
Queen 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	Veszprém, Hungary
Spouse	Stephen I of Hungary
Issue	Otto Saint Emeric
Dynasty	Árpád dynasty Ottonian dynasty
Father	Henry II, Duke of Bavaria
Mother	Gisela of Burgundy
Religion	Roman Catholic

King Stephen and Queen blessed Gisela founding a church at Óbuda from the Chronicon Pictum

Blessed Gisela of Hungary (or Gisele, Gizella and of Bavaria; 985 – 7 May 1065), was a Hungarian Christian, and the first queen consort of Hungary as the spouse of Saint Stephen of Hungary.

Biography

Gisela was a daughter of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria and Gisela of Burgundy. Gisela was raised very devout, most likely by bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg as her mentor and governor. The wedding of Stephen and Gisela marked a turning point in Hungary's history. She married King Stephen I of Hungary in 995 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.

She lived a respectable life and helped Christianize the Hungarian people.

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.

After the death of her husband Stephen, she was forced to leave Hungary. In 1046 Gisela and many Bavarian settlers left Hungary; she joined Niederburg convent in Passau and became the abbess.

She lived in the nunnery of Niedernburg in Passau, where she died. Her grave is a well-known holy place.

Her canonisation was attempted in the 18th century but failed. She was declared Blessed in 1975.

Her memorial days are May 7 and February 1.

Gisela and her husband were not buried together, and nearly a thousand years later on May 4, 1996 their bodies as well as their spirits were reunited. They preserved the remains of King Stephen’s right hand 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 now displayed in the basilica in the western Hungarian town of Veszprém, where Gisela once lived.

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.

Veneration

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.

Ancestry

Family of Gisela of Hungary

8. Henry I of Germany                       4. Henry I, Duke of Bavaria                             9. Matilda                       2. Henry II, Duke of Bavaria                                   10. Arnulf I, Duke of Bavaria                       5. Judith of Bavaria                             11. Judith of Friuli                       1. Giselle of Bavaria                                         12. Rudolph I of Burgundy                       6. Conrad of Burgundy                             13. Bertha of Swabia                       3. Gisela of Burgundy                                   7. Adelaide of Bellay

Sources

Gisela of Hungary Ottonian dynasty Born: c. 980 Died: 2 August 1058
Royal titles
Preceded by Sarolt	Grand Princess of the Hungarians 997–1000 or 1001	Herself as Queen
Herself as Grand Princess	Queen consort of Hungary 1000 or 1001–1038	Succeeded by Tuta? Next confirmed: Anastasia of Kiev