Stephen II of Croatia

Stephen II (

He was due to succeed Peter Krešimir IV but was sidelined by the people and clergy in 1075 who instead bestowed the title of king on

Stephen II was forced to live in the monastery of St Stephen Beneath the Pines (Sv. Stjepan pod borovima) on the peninsula of Sustipan, near Split. The formal reason for life in the monastery is an alleged illness, so in his charter from 1078, Stephen writes:

I, Stephen, once glittering Prince of the Croats, devastated by a bad illness, call upon the honorable priests of the Croatian kingdom to find a remedy for my sins. Of their advice I took heed, and let myself be brought to the monastery of St Stephen. Here I was relieved of all my honours and had chosen the grabe, recommending the monastery's leader to mention me in his prayers.

King Demetrius Zvonimir was a member of the junior Svetoslavić branch of the House of Trpimirović (descendants of Svetoslav Suronja). By the time Demetrius Zvonimir died in 1089, Stephen was old and seriously affected by ill health. Nevertheless, he assumed the throne after being persuaded by the aristocracy and clergy.

Stephen's rule was relatively ineffectual and lasted less than two years. He spent most of this time in the tranquility of the monastery near