Bela III, King of Hungary

BĒLA III, king of HUNGARY. - He reigned from 1172 to 1196. Son of Géza II, he spent his youth at the court of the emperor of Byzantium, Manuel Comnenus, with the title of «despotes», that is, successor to the throne, a right he lost when Manuel unexpectedly had a son. Having ascended the Hungarian throne amid general mistrust, as a consequence of his Byzantine education, he succeeded in overcoming all prejudices and remained faithful to family traditions, always upholding the interests of Hungary and of the Church. During his reign new religious Orders established themselves in the country, spreading above all French culture there. Numerous Hungarian priests likewise went to study in Paris. B. chose from among the monks the personnel of the royal chancery, the ambassadors, and the legislators. Monks were the educators of the princes of the blood and the historiographers of the dynasty, among whom was that «Anonymus Belae Regis Notarius», who left us the first Hungarian chronicle, the Gesta Hungarorum.