Elena Cantacuzino (1611–1687) was a

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 ...

n noble. She was the daughter of

Radu Șerban Radu Șerban (? – 23 March 1620) was a Wallachian nobleman who reigned as the principality's ''voivode'' during two periods from 1602 to 1610 and during 1611. A supposed descendant of Neagoe Basarab, he attained high office during the reign of ...

and educated in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. She married the official Constantin Cantacuzino, with whom she had several children, among them

Șerban Cantacuzino Șerban Cantacuzino (), (1634/1640 – 29 October 1688) was a Prince of Wallachia between 1678 and 1688. Life and career Cantacuzino took part in the Ottoman campaign which ended in their defeat at the Battle of Vienna. According to Gaster (191 ...

. She and her spouse became known for their building projects and the reparations of especially convents and churches. In 1663, her spouse was murdered in a coup. She sent her children abroad and protected the family property. Upon the installation of Antonie din Popeşti to power, she came into an influential position. She was able to have her son appointed governors and the murderers of her spouse punished and the name of her spouse cleared. In 1682, she became the first female in what is now Romania to write a will.

References

* Marcu, George (coord.), Dicţionarul personalităţilor feminine din România, Editura Meronia, București, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantacuzino, Elena 1611 births 1687 deaths 17th-century Romanian people 17th-century Romanian women