Helena of Serbia (, ; b. after 1109 – after 1146) was Queen of Hungary and Croatia as the wife of King Béla II. After her husband's death, she governed Hungary as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

from 1141 to September 1146 together with her brother,

Beloš Beloš ( sr-cyr, Белош; or ''Belus''; 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 infant King Géza II. Beloš held th ...

, during the minority of her eldest son,

Géza II Géza () is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following: As regnal or forename * 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

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-Cyrl, Вукановић, Vukanovići / Вукановићи), was a medieval Serbian dynasty that ruled over inner Serbia, centered in the Raška region (), during the 11th and 12th century. Several members of th ...

, and Byzantine princess

Anna Diogenissa Anna of Byzantium (; ca. first half of the 12th century), also designated by some modern genealogists as Anna Diogenissa (), was Grand Princess consort of Serbia, as wife of Uroš I, Grand Prince of Serbia (r. ca. 1112–1145). Her name is know ...

. Her father had participated in the Byzantine-Hungarian War (1127–29), on the side of King

Stephen II of Hungary Stephen II (; ; ; 1101 – early 1131), King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia, ruled from 1116 until 1131. His father, King Coloman, had him crowned as a child, thus denying the crown to his uncle Álmos, Duke of Croatia, Álmos. In t ...

. The Hungarian Army had destroyed Byzantine

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

and penetrated to Naissos (Niš), Serdica (Sofia) and Philippopolis (Plovdiv). Around 1129, King Stephen II arranged her marriage with his cousin

Béla Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...

, 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 (; ; ; 10703February 1116), was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younger brother Álmos were underage when their father Gé ...

(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

Following the childless king's death, her husband was crowned

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

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 Béla sub>there is no such son by that name, perhaps baby Géza or spouse Béla? in order to secure the death of her husband's enemies. She settled Serbs in

Csepel Island Csepel Island (, ) is an island in 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 extends south from Budapest; its ...

, and

Ráckeve Ráckeve ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српски Ковин, Srpski Kovin) is a town on Csepel Island in the county of , Hungary. Its residents are mainly Hungarians, Magyars, with a minority of Serbs. The Serbian Kovin Monastery, the oldest in Hungary and ...

, where she built a monastery and church which exist still today.

Regency

When her husband died on 13 February 1141, their eldest son

was still a child, therefore Helena and her brother

Beloš Vukanović Beloš ( sr-cyr, Белош; or ''Belus''; 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 infant King Géza II. Beloš held ...

governed the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

until September 1146 when Géza II came of age. Beloš was

Palatine of Hungary The Palatine of Hungary ( or , , ) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were representatives of the monarchs, later (from 1723) the vice-regent (vi ...

, the highest-ranking official, from 1141 to 1161, and

Ban of Slavonia Ban of Slavonia (; ; ) sometimes also Ban of "Whole Slavonia" (; ; ), was the title of the governor of a territory part of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary and Croatia in union with Hungary, Kingdom of Croatia. From 1102, the title Ban (title), ...

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 Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

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 Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history o ...

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 (; ; ; – 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, King Coloman of Hungary. Béla grew up in monasteri ...

(c. 1110 – 13 February 1141) * Elisabeth or Gertrud (c. 1129 – before 1155), wife of duke

Mieszko III of Poland Mieszko III ( 1122/25 – 13 March 1202), sometimes called the Old, 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 III Wry ...

* King

Géza II of Hungary Géza 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 and he started ruling under the guardia ...

(c. 1130 – 3 May 1162) * King

Ladislaus II of Hungary Ladislaus II or Ladislas II (, 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 title of Duke of ...

(1131 – 14 January 1163) * King

Stephen IV of Hungary Stephen 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 Béla II of Hungary, and when his conspiracy aga ...

(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 midd ...

(

)

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Helena, Queen of Hungary 12th-century monarchs in Europe 12th-century women regents 12th-century regents 12th-century Hungarian people 12th-century Serbian royalty Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Queens consort of Hungary 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 women Serbian Roman Catholics Hungarian queen mothers Vukanović dynasty Serbs of Hungary