Ladislaus I or Saint Ladislaus [key], 1040–95, king of Hungary (1077–95). He supported Pope Gregory VII against Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, but rejected Gregory's suggestion that he swear fealty to the papacy. At the invitation of his sister, the widowed queen of Croatia, he invaded and conquered that country in 1091. He successfully fought the Cumans, compelling those whose lives he spared to turn Christian and to settle in designated regions. He modified the Hungarian criminal code and issued laws safeguarding private property. In Hungarian tradition he is the model of chivalry and valor. He secured the canonization of St. Stephen and was canonized himself in 1198. Feast: June 27.
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