### St Stephen's legends, Emeric legend, Guest Fulco
St Stephen's legends During Ladislaus's reign, two legends were born about King Stephen. The more detailed, bigger legend is the earlier one, which does not mention either the death or the funeral or the canonisation of its hero. The author is unknown, but it is certain that it was written by a Benedictine monk for a Benedictine community, presumably at Pannonhalma. Its style is very simple, the author was inclined to use rhymed prose, but he did not apply it throughout his whole work. He used King Stephen's Exhortations (it is almost like a list of its contents), an early chronicle as sources and probably made use of some verbal sources as well. According to monastic ideals, he emphasised the characteristics of the saint ruler in the personality of his hero, concentrating on his devoutness. It was meant to be a reading for monks similarly to the Zoerard/Andrew and Benedict legend written by Bishop Mór, but it precludes the posssibility that its main aim was to urge the canonisation. The shorter smaller legend was undoubtedly written after the canonisations in 1083, since it mentions this event, and it even refers to its predecessor, the larger legend. In spite of his anonymity, in the preface the author reveals such a self-consciousness, on the base of which we can suppose that this piece of work was written in the royal court. The conscious use of the prologue and its substantial requirements suggest that the author must have had excellent rhetorical skills: proving the authenticity of his work he referred to his sources several times, on two occasions he qouted antique authors (Horace and Persius), and he also fulfilled the requirements of compulsory modesty. His prose meets the demands of the highest stylistic standards of the age, he applied the rules of rhymed prose consciously, consistently and in a great range of variety, and his stylistic decorative elements do not damage the clear grammatical structure. In his hero he did not emphasise the pious, devout side of the ruler, but represented a strong and rightous king. SzK The Emeric legend It was written between 1109-1116 by an author, who did not name himself, probably because of his monastic modesty. There is no doubt that the legend was born in a Benedictine monastery, in Pannonhalma. Though it was meant to be a reading for monks, the self-confidence of the writer, which contradicts the monastic spirit reveals itself already in the introduction. He explains, that since he was not skilled enough to write down Stephen's story (ingenii parvitas), he chose to compose the Emeric legend. Though the person of the author is not known with all certainty, the facts that the legend has strong connections with Pannonhalma, Veszprém and Esztergom, and the author went to Constantinople together with Prince Álmos, and he must have known monastic life very well, suggest that Guest Fulco might have been the author of it. His personal data are quite similar, except for literacy; and he became a Benedictine oblate in Pannonhalma or in the neighbourhood in his old age. The structure of the work consists of an introduction (which survived in three different versions), six chapters, which are loosely linked to one another, an appendix and two episodes. It hardly tells anything about the historical Emeric - probably because of the lack of information - but it used St Stephen's Exhortations to his son, the Chronicle and the bigger Stephen legend as sources. The style of the author is of a high standard, which was sometimes simplified because of the monastic audience. SzK Guest Fulco He came to Hungary as a guest probably from Germany, and was a clerk in the service of the blinded Prince Álmos, then Seraphin, archbishop of Esztergom, and finally of five bishops of Veszprém, following one another between 1100-1142. He is the first literate person in Hungary to be known by name. In his old age he lived the life of a Benedictine monk near the Pannonhalma monastery, and he made his will in the Szentendre house of the Bishop of Veszprém, in which he left his possessions to the Pannonhalma monastery, the Vértesszentkereszt monastery and his daughter. His personal data show similarities with those of the author of the St Emeric legend, so he can also be considered as the creator of literary works. SzK