The BBC's "Fake or Fortune?" [
en.wikipedia.org] has an episode - [
www.bbc.co.uk] - on a painting by Paul Delaroche [
en.wikipedia.org].
The painting, dating to ca. 1831, is entitled "Sainte Amélie, Reine de Hongrie," was found to be genuine, and eventually sold at auction - [
www.christies.com]. It was originally commissioned by Louis-Philippe [
en.wikipedia.org] for his wife, Maria-Amalia [
en.wikipedia.org].
Efforts were made to identify the Queen of Hungary of the painting's title with a Ste. Amalie - [
en.wikipedia.org]# - but without success.
Who could she have been?
According to this 1834 article:
Quote
Sainte Amelie, fille de Christian, prince souverain des Ardennes, au temps de Charlemagne (dit la legende), avait construit dans le jardin du chateau de son pere un oratoire, et eleve de ses mains un autel. Elle y allait souvent avec de jeunes filles pour l'orner des fleurs et des fruits de la saison et y faire sa priere. (Revue de Paris, Apr 1834, 13.) [
books.google.co.uk]
(Trans. - Sainte Amelie, daughter of Christian, sovereign prince of the Ardennes in the time of Charlemagne (according to the legend), had built an oratory in the garden of her father's castle, and raised an altar with her own hands. She often went there in company with young maidens to decorate it with the flowers and fruits of the season and to say her prayers.)
This 1838 account adds that Amelie was:
Quote
... fille d'un roi du Nord ... (Journal des débats politiques et littéraires, 27 février 1838, pg. 2) - [
www.retronews.fr]
(Trans. - ... daughter of a northern king ... )
Not a word, however, about Hungary.
Searches have failed to reveal any "Prince Christian" of the Ardennes.
The Ardennes had some connection with Austrasia, "a territory which formed the northeastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries" [
en.wikipedia.org]. So, in a way, there's an echo of the "roi du Nord" element of the legend as understood in the time of Delaroche.
But how does Ste. Amalie, or Amelie, fit into all this?
Let's go back to the description of "Christian, prince souverain des Ardennes, au temps de Charlemagne." Although the Ardennes do not appear to have formed a separate kingdom during the mid-1st. millennium AD, the legend recalls that royalty plays some part somewhere.
As it happens, there are two saints from about this era with the same name.
The first was the 8th century saint, Ste Amélie (or Amalberge) of Temse [
en.wikipedia.org] (741-772 ??) (see also [
www.peintre-icones.fr]) who was a native of the Ardennes, of high birth, possibly rejected an offer of marriage from Charlemagne [
en.wikipedia.org], or possibly Charles Martel [
en.wikipedia.org], received "Une éducation toute chrétienne ... ," and was particularly associated with Tamise (Temse), Belgium (about 120 miles from Ardennes).
The second was a 7th century saint, Amalberga of Maubeuge - [
en.wikipedia.org], wife of Witger, Duke of Lorraine. Maubeuge is about 70 miles from Ardennes. In common with Amalberge of Temse, her feast day is 10th July. However, according to the Wiki: "The biography of Amalberga of Maubeuge (s:la:Vita S. Amalbergae viduae) is probably written by Abbott Hugo of Lobbes (1033–1063) between 1033 and 1048. Apart from a few Merovingian details, her genealogy was copied from another 11th-century hagiography, namely the Martyr story of Catherine of Alexandria."
Could these two saints - if either of them actually existed - have been conflated? Both had associations with aristocracy and royalty; both were connected with the north (or north-east) region of the Frankish kingdom. Was the association with royalty the reason for the idea that this person was a "Queen"?
But from where does the "Hungary" element emerge?
Could it be a confused memory of the Latin term for Hainault (about 75 miles from Ardennes)?" A document of Charlemagne refers to a place in pago Haginao" - [
en.wikipedia.org]
Hermione
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2020 03:34AM by Hermione.
