Jevrosima ( sr-Cyrl, Јевросима), or Alena or Aljena ( sr-Cyrl, Алена, link=no or Аљена,

Old Cyrillic The Early Cyrillic alphabet, also called classical Cyrillic or paleo-Cyrillic, is an alphabetic writing system that was developed in Medieval Bulgaria in the Preslav Literary School during the late 9th century. It is used to write the Chur ...

: Алѣна), also known as Jelena "Lena" Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена "Лена" Мрњавчевић, link=no), was a Serbian noblewoman who later became

Queen Consort of Serbia This is a list of consorts of list of Serbian monarchs, Serbian monarchs during the history of Serbia. Middle Ages Princess and Queen consorts of Duklja (10th–12th century) Grand Princess consorts of Grand Principality of Serbia, Serbia (10 ...

, from 1365 until 1371.

Biography

Although the names of her parents are unknown, it is suggested that she came from the family of

Serbian medieval nobility In the medieval Serbian states, the privileged class consisted of nobility and clergy, distinguished from commoners, part of the feudal society. The Serbian nobility (''srpska vlastela'', ''srpsko vlastelinstvo'' or ''srpsko plemstvo'') were roughl ...

, while in

Serbian epic poetry Serbian epic poetry () is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centu ...

she is described as the sister of

Momchil Momchil (, , ; – 7 July 1345) was a 14th-century Bulgarians, Bulgarian brigand and local ruler. Initially a member of a bandit gang in the borderlands of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Byzantine Empire, Byzantium and Serbian Empir ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n military leader, the founder of Momchilov grad, who held the title of

Sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' (, ; ; ), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence (Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Empire). The word is a compound ...

. In 1365, Alena became Queen consort of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, as a wife of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Vukašin of Serbia Vukašin Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Вукашин Мрњавчевић, ; c. 1320 – 26 September 1371) was King of Serbia as the co-ruler of Stefan Uroš V from 1365 to 1371. He was also a nobleman. Principal domains of Vukašin and his family ...

, member of the House of Mrnjavčević. Gjergji Shuka (2015). ''Tridhjetë legjenda dhe këngë ballkanike studim mbi origjinën historike''. He was crowned as the co-ruler of Tsar

Stefan Uroš V Saint Stefan Uroš V ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош V, ; 13362/4 December 1371), known in historiography and folk tradition as Uroš the Weak (), was the Emperor of the Serbs, second Emperor (Tsar#Serbia, Tsar) of the Serbian Empire (1355–13 ...

. After becoming a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

, she went to the monastery and took the monastic vows under the name of Jelisaveta (''Jevrosima'').

Issue

Vukašin and Alena had six known children, four sons and two daughters: *

Prince Marko Marko Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Мрњавчевић, ; – 17 May 1395) was the ''de jure'' Serbia in the Middle Ages, Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while he was the ''de facto'' ruler of territory in western Macedonia (region) ...

Andrijaš Mrnjavčević Andrijaš Vukašinović Mrnjavčević or Andrija Kraljević (?) was a 14th-century Serbian noble who governed the region of Prilep 1371–1395. His father was the Serbian Vukašin Mrnjavčević, King Vukašin (co-ruler with Stephen Uroš V of Ser ...

Dmitar Mrnjavčević Dmitar Mrnjavčević ( sr-cyr, Дмитар Мрњавчевић; 1376–1407), known in epic poetry as Dmitar Kraljević (), was a Serbian nobleman, a member of the Mrnjavčević family, who served the Kingdom of Hungary. He was the son of Vuka ...

* Ivaniš Mrnjavčević * Olivera Mrnjavčević, married to

Đurađ I Balšić Đurađ I Balšić ( sr-cyr, Ђурађ I Балшић; ) was the Lord of Zeta between 1362 and 13 January 1378. He was the eldest of the three sons of Balša I, and belonged to the Balšić family. Life Đurađ was the eldest son of Balša, ...

* Milica Mrnjavčević, married to

Stracimir Balšić Stracimir Balšić ( sr-Cyrl, Страцимир Балшић; ) or Strazimir Balsha fl. 1360 – 15 January 1372) was a Lord of Zeta, alongside his two brothers Đurađ I Balšić, Đurađ I and Balša II, in ca. 1362–1372. The Balšić family ...

, Lord of Zeta

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mrnjavcevic, Alena Queens consort of Serbia

Alena Alena is a feminine given name. It may be either derived from the name Helene or as a diminutive form of ' Magdalena'. In the Balkans, this particular spelling of the name is predominantly found among the peoples of the former Yugoslav nat ...

14th-century Serbian royalty Bulgarian princesses Medieval Serbian royal consorts 14th-century Serbian women 14th-century Bulgarian women People from the Serbian Empire Mothers of Serbian monarchs