Abstract
My Master’s thesis, “Anatolian Carpets in the Mediaş St. Margaret’s Church, Transylvania”, explained how Anatolian-made carpets reached Transylvania and were to be admired as unique pieces of art, by focusing my research on the rich carpet collection of St. Margaret’s Church in Mediaş. This study brought to the fore the question of which St. Margaret was the patron saint of the Medieval Transylvanian Saxon town Mediaş, because in the Christian world, more than ten saints are named Margaret.
It seems logical to nominate St. Margaret of Hungary because Transylvania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary until the sixteenth century. We also know, however, that St. Margaret of Antioch was also an important saint of the Kingdom of Hungary, especially during the Árpád era.
In this study, I am going to argue that St. Margaret of Antioch is the patron Saint of Mediaş, and that St. Margaret of Hungary is not. I will present Hungarian and Transylvanian Saxon documents, some important statements made in the letters of the clergy, entries in martyrologiums and ongoing traditions/activities in today’s Transylvania as supporting evidence to help us to understand her cult in the principality, and illustrate that she was indeed the patron saint of Mediaş.
Mediasch auf einer Ansicht von 1862
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