Vekenega (

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

- Zadar, September 27, 1111) was a Croatian

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

from the

House of Madi The Madi family ( hr, Madijevci) was a patrician family from Zadar. They were influential in Croatian politics from the 10th to 12th centuries. Notable members *Madius or Madije, the first known member, prior of Zadar and the proconsul of Dalmati ...

, a noble family from

. She was the daughter of Čika and the abbess of the Benedictine monastery of St. Maria in Zadar from 1072. She is also known for the richly illuminated evangelistary, which she commissioned in the scriptorium of the monastery of st.Krševan in 1096.

Life

She was the daughter of

Čika Čika (Zadar, first half of 11th century – Zadar, after 1095; Latin: ''Chicca'') was a Croatian benedictine nun, founder of the benedictine monastery of St. Mary Church in Zadar. She is also known for the illuminated prayer book known as Čika' ...

, a member of the noble patrician Madi family, known to have founded the monastery of st. Mary in Zadar. When the king Petar Krešimir IV placed the monastery under the royal protection, he referred to Čika as his sister.Stipišić, J. i M. Šamšalović, ur. Codex Diplomaticus Regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae, sv. 1. Zagreb: Izdavački zavod Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti, 1967., p. 102. (Dalje: CD I) After the tragic death of Vekenega's husband, Dobroslav, Vekenega becomes the nun of the aforementioned monastery in 1072.

References

External links

Vekenega's Gospels - 11th Century
Croatian nuns 12th-century Croatian people 12th-century Croatian nobility 1111 deaths People from Zadar Year of birth unknown 11th-century Croatian women 11th-century Christian nuns 11th-century Croatian nobility {{Croatia-bio-stub