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Helen of Anjou

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This article is about the Queen of Serbia. For the daughter of Robert, King of Naples, seeHélène of Anjou.
Saint

Helen of Anjou
Јелена Анжујска
Jelena Anžujska
Portrait of Helen of Anjou, fresco inSerbian OrthodoxSopoćani Monastery
Church Builder
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
AttributesChurch Builder
Queen consort of Serbia
Tenure1243–1276
Bornc. 1235
Died8 February 1314 (agedc. 78)
Church of St. Nicholas,Skadar
Burial
Gradac Monastery
SpouseStefan Uroš I
Issue
ReligionRoman Catholic,thenSerbian Orthodox
SignatureHelen of Anjou's signature

Helen of Anjou(Serbian Cyrillic:Јелена Анжујска,Jelena Anžujska,pronounced[jɛ̌lɛnaǎnʒuːjskaː];c. 1235 – 8 February 1314) was thequeen consortof theSerbian Kingdom,as the spouse of KingStefan Uroš I,who ruled from 1243 to 1276. Their sons were later Serbian kingsStefan Dragutin(1276–1282) andStefan Milutin(1282–1321). As a dowager-queen, she held the provincial governorship in the regions ofZetaandTravunija(until 1308). She builtGradac Monasteryand was known for herreligious tolerance.She is revered as a saint by theSerbian Orthodox Church.[1][2]Her relics, however, are now lost.

Life

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Gradac Monasterywas founded by Queen Helen.

Origin

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Helena's origin is not known for certain. Herhagiography,written by Serbian ArchbishopDanilo II(1324–1337), states only that she "was of a French family" (Serbian:бысть оть племене фpoужьскaаго), while later continuators of the same work noted that her "family was of royal or imperial blood".[3]

By the beginning of the 20th century, several genealogical theories on her origin were proposed, based mainly on examination of historical data related to Helena's sister Maria and her family, including Maria's husband Anselm, who was a high dignitary of theKingdom of Naples.[4][5]

One of those theories advocated that Helena was ofAngevineorigin.[6]That theory was based on free interpretation of some sources from the 1280s and 1290s, showing that Angevine kings of Naples referred to Queen Helen of Serbia asdear cousin.Based on that, some researchers started to advocate Helena's direct origin from the House of Anjou, coining the term "Helen of Anjou"(Jelena Anžujska). Despite a lack of supporting sources, the term became more popular during the 1920s and 1930s. It was promoted not only by journalists and publicists, but also by some scholars.

Stating that Helen was of French origin,John Fineassumed that she was "probably of theValoisfamily ".[7]

There was no doubt that Helena had a sister namedMaria,who was mentioned in several documents. In the summer of 1280, kingCharles I of Sicilyissued a document, allowing lady Maria to travel fromApuliato Serbia, to visit her sister, the queen of Serbia (Latin:Quia nobilis mulier domina Maria de Chaurs cum filio suo et familia eiusdem domine intendit transfretare ad presens ad partes Servie visura dominam reginam Servie sororem suam). In later documents, issued in 1281, Maria was mentioned by king Charles as his cousin (Latin:nobilis mulier Maria domina Chau consanguinea nostra carissima), and widow of Anselm "de Chau"(Latin:nobilem mulierem Mariam relictam quondam nobilis viri Anselmi de Chau).[8]

Gordon McDaniel proposed that Maria's husband Anselm "de Chau,who wasCaptain GeneralinAlbania(1273–1274) forCharles I of Naples,was the same person as Anselm "de Keu",who was mentioned in 1253–1254 as husband of Maria, daughter ofJohn Angelos of Syrmia.According to McDaniel, Maria and her sister Helen were descended, through their father John, from a side branch of theByzantine emperor's family, and theHungarian royal house.[9]

Parents of Maria Angelina are known from her marriage licenses, issued in 1253 and 1254 by the papal chancellery. The first mentions the marriage "inter Anselmum de Keu ac Mariam, natam Matildis dominae de Posaga, natae comitissae Viennensis",while the second mentions"Maria, nate quondam Calojohanni"and also mentions Maria's maternal uncle as"imperatore Constantinopolitano, eiusdem Matildis avunculo".Those data allowed McDaniel to identify Maria's father asJohn Angelos,lord ofSyrmia,and Maria's mother asMatilda,daughter ofHenry I, Count of ViandenandMargaret Courtenay(sister of the Latin emperorsRobertandBaldwin II).[10][11]

Family connections of Helen and her sister Maria have been a special subject of several genealogical and historical studies that tried to resolve questions related to prosopography of various royal and noble families, including some complex questions related to Maria's husband by attribution of sources on (at least) two persons (father and son) who had the same name:Anselm de Cayeux.[12][13][14][15][16]

Queen of Serbia

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Helen's husband, KingStefan Uroš I,with their eldest son, Dragutin. 13th-century fresco in theSopoćani monastery.

Helen married KingStefan Uroš I of Serbia(1243–1276), around 1245–1250. In 1276, conflict broke out between her husband and their eldest sonStefan Dragutin.[17]King Uroš abdicated, and later died in 1280. During the reign of her sons Stefan Dragutin (1276–1282) andStefan Milutin(1282–1321), dowager-queen Helen held provincial administration in the regions ofZetaandTravunia,until 1308. She proved to be a successful administrator, governing regions with mixedSerbian OrthodoxandRoman Catholicpopulation.[18][19]

Soon after that, she became anunat the Church ofSt. NicholasinSkadar,where she died on 8 February 1314.[20]She wascanonizedby theSerbian Orthodox Church.Herfeast dayis 12 November [O.S.30 October].

Helena and her son, KingStefan Milutin.Fresco fromSerbian OrthodoxGračanica Monastery

Queen Helen significantly contributed to the cultural rise of the medieval Serbian state. She had a library at her court and encouraged transcription of books in monasteries. She founded the first girls' school in medieval Serbia. One of Helen's palaces was in the town ofBrnjak(sometimes called "Brnjaci" ) in the territory of modernKosovo.She also possessed the town ofJelečatRogoznamountain. As did other members of theNemanjić dynasty,she built monasteries and donated to churches. She built theGradac Monastery,where she was buried, the Church of St. Nicholas inSkadarwhere she died, and renewed theMonastery of Saints Sergius and Bacchus.She had repaired and rebuilt many churches and monasteries aroundLake Skadarthat had been devastated by theMongol invasion of 1242.[4][21][22][23]

Issue

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Queen Helen and her husband, King Stefan Uroš I, had at least three children:

See also

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References

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  1. ^Fine 1994,pp. 217, 220–221, 258–259.
  2. ^Ćirković 2004,pp. 49, 58, 61.
  3. ^Даничић 1866,p. 58.
  4. ^abМијатовић 1903,pp. 1–30.
  5. ^Jireček 1911,p. 319.
  6. ^Веселиновић 1909,p. 184.
  7. ^Fine 1994,pp. 220, 258.
  8. ^Petrovitch 2015,p. 171.
  9. ^McDaniel 1984,p. 48–49.
  10. ^McDaniel 1984,p. 43.
  11. ^McDaniel 1986,p. 196.
  12. ^McDaniel 1984.
  13. ^McDaniel 1986.
  14. ^Angold 2011.
  15. ^Petrovitch 2015.
  16. ^Bácsatyai 2017.
  17. ^Ćirković 2004,p. 49.
  18. ^Fine 1994,p. 217.
  19. ^Ćirković 2004,pp. 49, 61.
  20. ^Petrovitch 2015,p. 168.
  21. ^Samardžić & Duškov 1993,pp. 96, 100.
  22. ^Ivić 1995,pp. 59, 75, 109.
  23. ^Bataković 2005,pp. 26–27, 31.

Sources

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Royal titles
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