Introduction
We have been travelling through the Middle Ages with stories of the many Christian women who served in God’s kingdom. Our journey through history so far has covered much of the 1000 years of the Middle Ages, from 500 AD to 1500 AD. From Genovefa (423 – 502) through Isabelle of France (1224-1270) as we have told the stories of God’s humble servants. There were queens, abbesses, nuns, Beguines, writers, godly wives, mothers, empresses, social reformers, and many other women who served Christ.
One important aspect of history that we have stressed is the importance of family. Godly families pass the faith on to their progeny. In our last post we noted how a godly mother – Blanche of Castile – raised saintly children – St. Louis and St. Isabelle. The story this week is of a woman who had a long line of saintly relatives – Elizabeth of Hungary.
Elizabeth of Hungary – Friend of the Poor
Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:3,4)
Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) is remembered as the “Patroness of the Poor”. Born into wealth and luxury, Elizabeth spent most of her life giving it all away.
Elizabeth came from a long line of Christian saints. Her ancestor, King Stephen, the first king of Hungary was known to disguise himself as a peasant and give money away to the poor. Elizabeth’s father, Andrew was Stephen’s descendant. On her mother Gertrude’s German side, Elizabeth’s Aunt Hedwig was also declared a saint. A few months before Elizabeth was born a young man in Italy was receiving a task from God to rebuild the Church. The young man was Francis of Assisi. Elizabeth never met Francis, but she would imitate his life when she chose her spiritual path.
Elizabeth was betrothed to Ludwig of Hungary when she was just four years old in 1211 AD. As was the custom in those days she went to live with her future husband’s family to learn their ways and customs. Her family took her to Eisenach and she lived in Wartburg castle which had originally been built in 1080 by Count Ludwig the Salian. It was built on top of a mountain where it would be easy to defend as a fortress. It is a beautiful castle surrounded by trees and has a magnificent view of the surrounding countryside.
The original castle (built in 1080) was small but was added onto in 1180. It became the family residence of the Landgraf’s (rulers of the territory). Landgraf Ludwig III made it into a beautiful Romanesque style castle with a drawbridge before the main entrance. The courtyard contained many more buildings – stables, kitchens, a chapel, and lodging for travelers. The main castle had lodging for knights and a large dining hall. The castle has survived these many centuries and you can visit it today. The following pictures were taken by this author in 2017.
Here is a picture of the author in front of the drawbridge.
Another photograph showing the town in the distance below features the author’s husband engaged in a very modern activity! These pictures show how beautiful and protected the setting is. You can get an idea how high above Eisenach the castle was. It would have been very difficult for the enemy to come up the hill against those cannons. You can also get an idea of how strenuous the trek was for Elizabeth to sneak out of the castle and go down to the town with the food she was giving away to the poor.
Elizabeth and Ludwig grew very affectionate towards each other. The children referred to themselves as “brother” and “sister’ in court. Both were pious and pure even as children. The young prince and princess pledged fidelity to each other and both maintained it until their deaths.
Her father Andrew had sent Elizabeth to Hungary with attendants and an annual income, but whatever money she had at her disposal went to the poor. For this reason, she was despised by everyone else in the household – everyone that is except Ludwig. He loved her for her virtues. Elizabeth was able to put up with the persecution from spiteful courtiers because Ludwig would always console her privately. He also proved his constancy by bringing her gifts from wherever he traveled. The mostly irreligious courtiers would try hard to separate them because they didn’t like Elizabeth’s pious influence on the heir to the throne. They would have preferred someone as profligate as themselves. But Ludwig loved God and the people in his country and he would do what was right.
Elizabeth and Ludwig were wed in 1221. Their marriage was very happy. Ludwig was a good ruler, magnanimous, cheerful, wise, gentle, and with one passion – justice. He encouraged Elizabeth in the distribution of food during famines.
Once when Ludwig was away, Elizabeth used up all of the money in the treasury to feed the destitute in their country. Upon Ludwig’s return his stewards ran to meet him, accusing Elizabeth of bankrupting the kingdom. Ludwig’s reply showed where his heart was, “I wish you to let my good little Elizabeth give away as much as she likes; you must help and not thwart her; alms will never ruin us.” Later that day, as he was reunited with his beloved Elizabeth, he asked her about the famine and how the poor were doing. She replied, “I gave to God what belonged to him, and God has kept for us what was yours and mine.” Others may have criticized Elizabeth, but Ludwig just loved her all the more.
Elizabeth and Ludwig had three children: Hermann II (1222-41), Sophia (1224-84), and Gertrude (1227-97). Hermann died young. Sophia married Henry II, Duke of Brabant. She was the ancestress of many of the branches of the house of Hesse. Gertrude eventually became the abbess of the convent of Altenberg.
Before she was even twenty years old, Elizabeth had built two hospitals in Eisenach and personally attended the sick with tenderness and love. She cared for many lepers when no one else would go near them. She also cared for many orphans in one of the hospitals. The little children would run to meet her when she came and sit around her. She would caress them, no matter how ragged or dirty, and give them toys.
Because Wartburg castle was built on a steep hill, the roads were difficult for weak or infirm to climb. Therefore, Elizabeth built a hospital at the base of the hill. She would walk down to care for the poor herself. Besides the patients at the hospital, it is said that Elizabeth cared for over 900 poor persons daily.
Elizabeth cared for prisoners as well. She visited them frequently and prayed with them. Sometimes she even purchased their freedom. One year when famine touched the land Elizabeth gathered all the poor together and gave them work helping with the harvest. She bought them decent clothes and new shoes so their feet wouldn’t hurt in the stubbly fields. She sold her own beautiful clothes to raise the money for these things.
When Elizabeth was barely twenty years old her beloved Ludwig died. He had gone on a crusade with Emperor Frederick II and died at Otranto from an illness. Elizabeth was devastated. Ludwig was everything to her. She mourned deeply, but rose to the task of caring for their children even though her cruel in-laws tried to take away her inheritance. They expelled her and the children from their home.
Elizabeth’s own relatives came to hear of her calamity and took care of her. Eventually she was reinstated. The bishop in the area felt that she was too young to live alone and kept trying to find a husband for her. Even Emperor Frederick II wished for her hand, but Elizabeth kept refusing for she had promised Ludwig that there would never be another man in her life.
While Elizabeth was staying at a castle in Bottenstein, the remains of her husband were finally brought home by his faithful followers. It is said that she asked for the casket to be opened so she could look on Ludwig one last time. She kissed him and then saw to it that he was buried in the family vault of the landgraves of Thuringia in the monastery of Reinhartsbrunn.
Ludwig’s relatives took over control of the castles and lands. They very grudgingly returned her rightful dower money – 2000 marks – but Elizabeth immediately gave 500 marks to the poor. Her brother-in-law, Henry, began to oversee the government as regent to her oldest son, Hermann. Henry gave Elizabeth the town of Marburg and its revenues. In the summer of 1228 Elizabeth built a Franciscan hospital in Marburg.
Elizabeth renounced the world and went to live at a Franciscan house in Eisenach. Elizabeth became the first tertiary in Germany. A tertiary is like a nun, but does not take all of the vows. Elizabeth of course lived a life of chastity and obedience, but kept her great wealth to help the poor. She admired Francis and Clare of Assisi greatly. She tried to fill the third vow of poverty by living like a poor person even though she was very wealthy. She stayed in a very small house and wore plain clothes. She never purchased any luxuries. She labored at spinning wool to earn extra income to give to the poor. It was said that no one would have ever known that she was a princess. In fact, during the canonization process a friar recalled that “she commonly went about in a shabby tunic, patched, especially in the sleeves, girded with a quite rough cord, covered with a mantle that was patched in many places and lengthened with cloth of another color, like another abbess Clare of the cloistered sisters.”[1]
Elizabeth literally wore herself out working among the poor. She died of exhaustion in 1231. She was only twenty-four years old. She was buried in the chapel attached to the hospice that she had founded. Many lepers, blind, lame, and poor came to her funeral.
The hospital that Elizabeth built at Wartburg no longer exists, but the little fountain that was attached to it is still there. At this fountain Elizabeth was known to have washed the clothes of the poor with her own hands. It is still called “the Fountain of Elizabeth”.
If we would only learn to love others as Elizabeth and Ludwig did, we could make the world a happier place. Elizabeth left us a legacy for secular people to follow as they strive to make the world a better place. She gave us an example of what a spirituality looks like that seeks a more peaceful and just world. She placed God at the center of her life and dedicated herself to helping the poor. Love was the basis of her whole life. She taught us how to love everyone, old or young, family or stranger, rich or poor. My prayer is that more people would learn from Elizabeth and imitate her.
[1] Lori Pieper. The Greatest of These is Love: The Life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. (New York: Tau Cross Books and Media, 2013). P. 83.
