Stephen: First King of Austria

During the period at the end of the 10th century, Christianity had begun to take root throughout Europe. Though paganism was still strong, "the world around the Hungarians either had embraced or was embracing the Christian creed" (Lengyel 23). The territories of the tribes that were to become known as Hungary rested roughly halfway between the great centers of Catholicism in Constantinople and Rome. They had once been the Roman provinces of Dacia and Pannonia but had been conquered by Germanic tribes at the end of the 2nd century. Their advantageous geographical position made the area important to both branches of the Catholic church, separated as they were between two different views of both dogma and ritual. Each struggled with the other for an upper hand, and adding the Hungarian territories would str

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significance and symbolic gestures. He also understood timing. Stephen Sisa observes, "Due to a misrepresentation of the Bible, rumors spread far and wide that Doomsday, the Day of Reckoning, would occur on New Year's Eve" in the year 1000 AD (16). Stephen seized the opportunity to be crowned just before this momentous date; the coronation took place on Christmas Day, with Astrik performing the ceremony. The ceremony acknowledged him as "King by the Grace of God," "to emphasize the fact that his royal power was independent of men - be they foreign rulers or his own chieftains or subjects" (Sisa 16). Stephen set out to create a central Hungarian state from the battling tribes that had previously made up the region. He sought assistance from other nations, importing educated foreigners to act as consultants to his developing court. These included foreign monks to serve as teachers and foreign farmers to teach modern agricultural techniques. Stephen's attempts to establish a system of government were accomplished "on a basis as modern as any state administration at the time" (Volgyes 3). His reign was notable for the reforms he enacted. For the first time, individuals were able to own land, and ownership was conferred ba
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Approximate Word count = 3117
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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