Helena of Bulgaria (, ; –7 November 1374) was a Bulgarian princess, and the Queen and Empress consort of Serbia by marriage to Serbian King and later Emperor

Stefan Dušan Stephen (honorific), Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан), also known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Силни; – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Emperor of th ...

(r. 1331–55). She was a regent of Serbia in 1355 and 1356 for her son

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 ...

Life

She was the daughter of despot

Sratsimir Sratsimir (; 1324–31) was a Bulgarian magnate with the title of despot (title), Despot, holding the territory of Kran, Stara Zagora Province, Kran. It is unclear when he received the governorship of Kran; he held it before and during the reign ...

and

Keratsa Petritsa Keratsa Petritsa (, transliteration ''Keraca Petrica''; 1300–1337) was a Bulgarian noblewoman (''bolyarka''), wife of the sebastokrator Sratsimir and mother of the Bulgarian emperor Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria, Ivan Alexander and of the Serbian ...

of the Shishman family, a descendant of Tsar Ivan Asen II. She was the sister of

tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

(emperor) Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria, John Komnenos, Michael and Theodora.

was crowned King of Serbia at Svrčin on 8 September 1331 ( Nativity of the Theotokos). A year later, most likely 26 April 1332 (

Thomas Sunday The Second Sunday of Easter is the eighth day of the Christian season of Eastertide, and the seventh after Easter Sunday. It is known by various names, including Divine Mercy Sunday, the Octave Day of Easter, White Sunday (), Quasimodo Sunday, B ...

), Dušan married Helena. Previously, it was erroneously assumed that the marriage took place on

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

(19 April), however, marriages are not instituted on Easter in the Orthodox Church. Their wedding night was held at the royal court in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

. The marriage was arranged as part of the peace agreement between

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 ...

and

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 ...

. This marriage provided one son,

, a daughter, Theodora, who became a consort of Ottoman Sultan

Orhan Orhan Ghazi (; , also spelled Orkhan; died 1362) was the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his reign, Orhan focused his energies on conquering mos ...

when she was twelve and Orhan seventy, and possibly one other daughter, named Irina or Irene. According to John V. A. Fine, she is the same "Irene" who was wife of Gregorios Preljub, the Serbian governor of

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

who died in late 1355 or early 1356. They were parents to Thomas II Preljubović, Ruler of Epirus from 1367 to 1384. Irene married secondly to Radoslav Hlapen, lord of

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

and

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

. Helena lived in the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

in 1350. On her husband's death in 1355, Helena inherited part of Bulgarian lands between the lower

Vardar The Vardar (; , , ) or Axios (, ) is the longest river in North Macedonia and a major river in Greece, where it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of ...

and the Mesta. She also received the Chalcidic peninsula, basing her court at

Serres Serres ( ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northern Greece. The c ...

. She was a regent of Serbia between 1355 and 1356 for her son. In 1359, Helena became a nun under the

monastic name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should not be "foreign to ...

''Jelisaveta'' (). However, she continued to play an active role in politics, governing the region of

until 1365. After that, she retired from political life, overseeing reconstruction and renovation of several monastic communities, until her death in 1374. Queen Helena died on November 7, 1374, the date of her death is given in a Hilendar manuscript.

Legacy

After her death, she was canonized as a saint under the name of St. Elizabeth and her relics are venerated. According to the Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov, today one of her hands is kept in silver box in the Savina monastery near the town of

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Херцег Нови, ) is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of ...

on the Bay of Kotor in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

and is virtually unknown in Bulgaria. The relics ended up there in 1759, and before that it is possible that they were in the monastery Tvrdoš Monastery near

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of the Trebišnjica river in the region of East Her ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

References

Sources

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External links

{{Serbian royal consorts 14th-century Serbian royalty Bulgarian princesses 14th-century women rulers Medieval Serbian royal consorts 14th-century births 1374 deaths Sratsimir dynasty Nemanjić dynasty History of Serres Medieval Macedonia 14th-century Serbian women 14th-century Bulgarian women Regents of Serbia Queens consort of Serbia People from the Serbian Empire Mothers of emperors Mothers of Serbian monarchs 14th-century women regents 14th-century regents