Doamna Elena (1598–1653) was a princess consort of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

by marriage to

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Matei Basarab Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was a Wallachian Voivode (Prince) between 1632 and 1654. Reign Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1637 ...

. The sister of scholar

Udriște Năsturel Udriște Năsturel, first name also Uriil, Uril, Ioriste, or Oreste, last name also Năsturelovici (1596 or 1598 – ca. 1658), was a Wallachian scholar, poet, and statesman, the brother-in-law of Prince Matei Basarab through his sister Elena Nă ...

, she was known for her cultural patronage and introduced the first printing press in Wallachia. She was born to the

Seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

Radu Năsturel from

Herăști Herăști is a Commune in Romania, commune located in Giurgiu County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Herăști and Miloșești. Until 2004, these were part of Hotarele Commune, when they were split off to form a separate commun ...

and Calea Calomfirescu, who herself, was descended from

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...

. She and her husband only had one son Matei, who died young. In his memory, she adopted her nephew, the son of Udriște, whose wife died shortly after giving birth to their son, who was named Mateiaş and raised him as her own. He was considered heir to the throne, but he died at the age of 17. When she died of a heart attack in 1653, she was buried next to Mateiaş in the Royal Church of Târgovişte. The following year when her husband died, he too was buried next to her. Per her husbands request, her tombstone was inscribed with the phrase ''"they lived together twice 20 years each"''''.''

References

* Marcu, George (coord.) – Dicţionarul personalităţilor feminine din România, Editura Meronia, București, 2009 1653 deaths 17th-century Romanian people Regents and governors of Wallachia Royal consorts of Wallachia 1598 births 17th-century Romanian women {{Romania-bio-stub