International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

AGIA MARINA / SAINT MARGARET
Convener:
 Wendy R. Larson
Levent Boz
, 
Who Was the Patron Saint of the Medieval Transylvanian Town of Mediaş?
Stavroula Constantinou
, 
Body Work in the Legend of Agia Marina
Graham Jones
, 
Geographic Aspects of the Cult of Dragonomache Saints
Wendy R. Larson
, 
Iconography and Patronage: From Marina’s Hammer to Margaret’s Dragon
Monica White
, 
Marina as Dragon-Slayer: A Comparative Approach
Andrey Vinogradov
, 
The Greek Martyrdom of St. Marina: Toward a Critical Edition

---

156
Levent Boz
Paris, France; 
[e-mail]
Who Was the Patron Saint of the Medieval Transylvanian Town of Mediaş?
My Master’s thesis, “Anatolian Carpets in the Mediaş St. Margaret Church, Transylvania”, 
explained the reasons 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 Saint 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 Saint 
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 why I believe that St. Margaret of Antioch is the patron 
Saint of Mediaş, and the reasons why St. Margaret of Hungary is not. I will present Hungarian and 
Transylvanian Saxons 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.
Last but not least, I also would like to present some images of Saint Margaret of Antioch from 
the Transylvanian towns of Târnava and Boian to prove the existence of her cult from the north to 
the south of Transylvania during the Middle Ages.