Anastasia of Kiev married Hungarian King Andrew I around 1038, before he took the throne and while he was still in exile. She was later involved in the establishment of one of the most renowned monasteries of Hungary, the Tihany Abbey, and is also featured in one of the most famous Hungarian historical paintings.

‘The significance pilgrimages had in terms of building clerical and diplomatic relations cannot be overlooked either. A whole slew of abbots, bishops, future archbishops, historians, poets, theological thinkers, and monks later canonised as saints visited Hungary. They brought highly cherished relics, luxury items of the East, and—not least—news with them.’