Helena of Serbia ( sr, Јелена/Jelena, hu, Ilona; b. after 1109 – after 1146) was
Queen of Hungary
The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1 ...
as the wife of
King Béla II. After her husband's death, she governed Hungary as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
from 1141 to September 1146 together with her brother,
Beloš
Beloš ( sr-cyr, Белош; hu, Belos or ''Belus''; el, Βελούσης fl. 1141–1163), was a Serbian prince and Hungarian palatine who served as the regent of Hungary from 1141 until 1146, alongside his sister Helena, mother of the infan ...
, during the minority of her eldest son,
Géza II Géza is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following:
* Benjamin Géza Affleck
* Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians
* Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...
, came of age.
A daughter of Prince
Uroš I of Serbia (r. ca. 1112–1145), she was arranged to marry Béla II in 1129 by his cousin, King
Stephen II (r. 1116–1131). Her younger sons,
Ladislaus II and
Stephen IV, also ruled as kings of Hungary. She had two other brothers
Uroš II and
Desa besides
Beloš
Beloš ( sr-cyr, Белош; hu, Belos or ''Belus''; el, Βελούσης fl. 1141–1163), was a Serbian prince and Hungarian palatine who served as the regent of Hungary from 1141 until 1146, alongside his sister Helena, mother of the infan ...
.
Life
Early life
Helena was the daughter of Serbian Grand Prince
Uroš I (r. ca. 1112–1145) of the
Vukanović dynasty
The Vukanović dynasty ( sr-cyr, Вукановић, Vukanovići / Вукановићи), was a medieval Serbian dynasty that ruled over inner Serbia, centered in the Raška region ( la, Rascia), during the 11th and 12th century. Several memb ...
, and Byzantine princess
Anna Diogene
Anna Diogenissa ( gr, Ἄννα Διογένισσα; ca. 1074–1145) was a Byzantine noblewoman of the Diogenes house who became the Grand Princess consort of Serbia as wife of Uroš I Vukanović (r. 1112–1145). She had five children with Ur ...
.
Her father had participated in the
Byzantine-Hungarian War (1127–29), on the side of King
Stephen II of Hungary.
The Hungarian Army had destroyed Byzantine
Belgrade and penetrated to
Naissos (Niš),
Serdica (Sofia) and
Philippopolis (Plovdiv).
Around 1129, King Stephen II arranged her marriage with his cousin
Béla, who had been blinded on the order of the king's father, King
Coloman of Hungary
Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish ( hu, Könyves Kálmán; hr, Koloman; sk, Koloman Učený; 10703February 1116) was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younge ...
(r. 1095–1116). Béla and his father Almos were blinded, so that they will be removed from the line of succession. However, King Stephen was childless and decided to recognise Béla as his successor. Uroš I had prior to this suffered to both Hungary and Byzantium, so he happily befriended the Hungarian king.
King Stephen II granted estates near
Tolna to the newly wed couple.
Queen consort
![Geiger Aradi gyules 1131](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Geiger_Aradi_gyules_1131.jpg)
Following the childless king's death, her husband was crowned
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 175 ...
on 28 April 1131. Queen Helena had great influence on her husband, and the Hungarian state.
They had six children: Géza II, Ladislaus II, Stephen IV, Álmos,
Sophia
and Elisabeth or Gertrud. She was to great help to her husband and governed the state during his rule.
[ She was loyal to her husband and state, and it was she who persuaded the nobles at an assembly in Arad to execute 68 Hungarian aristocrats who had plotted with King Coloman to blind her husband. According to contemporary sources she was attending the execution with her son Bela, in order to secure the death of her husband's enemies.
]
She settled Serbs in Csepel Island
Csepel Island (Hungarian: ''Csepel-sziget'', ) is an island on the Danube in Hungary. It is long; its width after sections of bifurcation and rejoining (confluence) varies from . It has an area of and its population is 165,000.
The isle extend ...
, and Ráckeve
Ráckeve (Serbian: Српски Ковин / Srpski Kovin) is a town on Csepel Island in the county of , Hungary. Its residents are Magyars, with minority of Serbs.
The Serbian Kovin Monastery, the oldest in Hungary and one of two in the Dioces ...
, where she built a monastery and church which exist still today.
Regency
When her husband died on 13 February 1141, their eldest son Géza II Géza is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following:
* Benjamin Géza Affleck
* Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians
* Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...
was still a child, therefore Helena and her brother Beloš Vukanović governed the Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
until September 1146 when Géza II came of age. Beloš was Palatine of Hungary
The Palatine of Hungary ( hu, nádor or , german: Landespalatin, la, palatinus regni Hungariae) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were repres ...
, the highest-ranking official, from 1141 to 1161, and Ban of Slavonia
Ban of Slavonia ( hr, Slavonski ban; hu, szlavón bán; la, Sclavoniæ banus) or the Ban of "Whole Slavonia" ( hr, ban cijele Slavonije; hu, egész Szlavónia bánja; la, totius Sclavoniæ banus) was the title of the governor of a territor ...
from 1146 to 1157. Helena continued to hold great influence on the rule and with the help of her brother Hungary had good relations and peace on its southern borders.[ In the period of Bela's death, the German-Hungarian relations had been shattered and the engagement of Henric and Sophia, Helena's daughter, was canceled. Sophia took monastic vows and became an abbess at Admont, in Styria.][
]
Rule of Géza II and aftermath
During the rule of Géza II, Stephen IV and Ladislaus II were not satisfied with their titles and possessions, so they sought help with the Holy Roman Emperors and Byzantine Emperors. The plots against Géza II had no success, and after his death (1161) Manuel I Komnenos saw a good opportunity to expand Byzantine influence in Hungary. Manuel helped to dethrone Stephen III, son of Géza II, and place firstly Ladislaus II and then Stephen IV for a short time. Finally, Stephen III secured the throne in 1163. Queen Helena is believed to have died in 1161.
Marriage and children
''# c. 1129:'' King Béla II of Hungary
Béla the Blind ( hu, Vak Béla; hr, Bela Slijepi; sk, Belo Slepý; 1109 – 13 February 1141) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1131 to 1141. He was blinded along with his rebellious father Álmos on the order of Álmos's brother, ...
(c. 1110 – 13 February 1141)
* Elisabeth or Gertrud (c. 1129 – before 1155), wife of duke Mieszko III of Poland
Mieszko III the Old (c. 1126/27 – 13 March 1202), of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death.
He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław ...
* King Géza II of Hungary
Géza II ( hu, II. Géza; hr, Gejza II; sk, Gejza II; 113031 May 1162) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1141 to 1162. He was the oldest son of Béla the Blind and his wife, Helena of Serbia. When his father died, Géza was still a child a ...
(c. 1130 – 3 May 1162)
* King Ladislaus II of Hungary
Ladislaus II or Ladislas II ( hu, II. László, Croatian and Slovak: ''Ladislav II''; 113114 January 1163) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1162 and 1163, having usurped the crown from his nephew, Stephen III.
Ladislaus received the ti ...
(1131 – 14 January 1163)
* King Stephen IV of Hungary
Stephen IV ( hu, IV. István, hr, Stjepan IV, sk, Štefan IV; 113311 April 1165) was King of Hungary and Croatia, ascending to the throne between 1163 and 1165, when he usurped the crown of his nephew, Stephen III. He was the third son of B ...
(c. 1133 – 11 April 1165)
* Álmos (?)
* Sophia (c. 1136 – ?), nun at Admont
Admont is a town in the Austrian state of Styria. It is historically most notable for Admont Abbey, a monastery founded in 1074.
Gesäuse National Park, in which Admont lies, is an area of outstanding beauty. The town is situated in the middle of ...
( Styria)
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Helena, Queen of Hungary
12th-century monarchs in Europe
12th-century women rulers
12th-century viceregal rulers
12th-century Hungarian people
12th-century Serbian royalty
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy
Hungarian queens consort
Medieval Serbian princesses
Hungarian Roman Catholics
Hungarian people of Serbian descent
Medieval Hungarian people of Serbian descent
Burials at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Burials at St. Michael's Cathedral, Alba Iulia
Year of birth uncertain
1161 deaths
12th-century Hungarian women
12th-century Serbian people
12th-century Serbian women
Serbian Roman Catholics
Queen mothers