Katarina Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Катарина Бранковић, ; 1418–1492), also known as Kantakuzina (, ''Kantakouzena'') was the Countess of Celje, through the marriage with

Count of Celje The Counts of Celje () or the Counts of Cilli (; ) were the most influential Late Middle Ages, late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as Feudalism, vassals of the House of Habsburg, Habsburg dukes of Duchy of ...

Ulrich II. A Serbian princess, she was the daughter of Despot

Đurađ Branković Đurađ Vuković Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ Вуковић Бранковић, ; 1377 – 24 December 1456) served as the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456, making him one of the final rulers of medieval Serbia. In 1429, Branković was form ...

and Byzantine princess Irene Kantakouzene. She is remembered for writing the ''

Varaždin Apostol The ''Varaždin Apostol'' ( sr-Cyrl, Вараждински апостол, ) is a hand-written Orthodox liturgical book written in 1454. It is named after the northern Croatian city of Varaždin. The book represents the oldest preserved text in ...

'' (1454), and her endowment of the Rmanj Monastery.

Biography

Katarina married

Ulrich II, Count of Celje Ulrich II, or Ulrich of Celje (; ; ; 16 February 14069 November 1456), was the last Princely Count of Celje. At the time of his death, he was captain general and '' de facto'' regent of Hungary, '' ban'' (governor) of Slavonia, Croatia and Dal ...

(1406–1456) on 20 of April 1434. This was a

political marriage A marriage of state is a diplomatic marriage or union between two members of different nation-states or internally, between two power blocs, usually in authoritarian societies and is a practice which dates back to ancient times, as far back as ear ...

with intent to ensure western support to

Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate () was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is mistakenly considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravi ...

. Her sister

Mara Branković Mara Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Мара Бранковић; – 14 September 1487), or Mara Despina Hatun, in Europe also known as ''Amerissa'', ''Sultana Maria'' or ''Sultanina'', was the daughter of Despotate of Serbia, Serbian monarch Đurađ Br ...

was married to

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Murad II Murad II (, ; June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1421 to 1444 and from 1446 to 1451. Early life Murad was born in June 1404 to Mehmed I, while the identity of his mother is disputed according to v ...

to ensure support from the east. Kantakuzina Katarina Branković gave birth to five children, Hermann (1439–1452), George (1444–1445), Albert (†1448) and the twin Elisabeth (1441–1455) and Catherine (1441-1441).

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

once said that ''Kantakuzina was beautiful and fair'' ''( lat. alioquin facie et moribus honestam)''. In 1453 or 1454 she entrusted the creation of

, hand-written Orthodox

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official Church service, religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of ...

and oldest preserved text in

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

from the territory of today's Croatia, to a group of three transcribers. Medvedgrad 1

After Ulrich II was killed in the Siege of Belgrade in 1456, Katarina gave up all of her possessions in modern-day

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

except of

Krško Krško (; ) is a town in eastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the City Municipality of Krško. The town lies on the Sava River and on the northwest edge of the Krško Plain (), which is part of the larger Krka Flat (). The area is divided between t ...

in exchange for yearly allowances of 2,000

Ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s, and in 1460 she sold all of her possessions in

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Frederick III for 29,000 Goldguldens. She decided to start traveling across

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

and in the end came back to

Old Serbia Old Serbia () is a Serbian historiographical term that is used to describe the territory that according to the dominant school of Serbian historiography in the late 19th century formed the core of the Serbian Empire in 1346–71. The term does ...

(modern-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

) to visit her sister

that was widow of Ottoman

. Together with her sister she helped in the conclusion of Treaty of Constantinople after the Ottoman–Venetian War. To that end, she was sending her delegates to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

between 1470 and 1472, and along with her sister she led the Venetian envoys to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. After the death of her sister Mara in 1487 Katarina took the care about

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

monasteries. Prior to her death Katarina relinquish her possession of

and right on yearly allowances. She died in 1492 in village

Konče Konče (; Turkish language, Turkish Konçe) is a village in North Macedonia. It is the seat of Konče Municipality. Demographics According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 967 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:Macedo ...

where she was buried in local church of Saint Stephen.

Endowments

* Rmanj Monastery in Martin Brod, dedicated to St. Nicolas Mirlikijski. The monastery got its name in honor of Hermann IV, Katarina's early deceased son.

Legacy

Kantakuzina Katarina Branković Serbian Orthodox Secondary School in Zagreb is a coeducational gymnasium of

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

that bears Katarina's name.

Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana The Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana () is an Eastern Orthodox eparchy (diocese) and one of the five honorary metropolitanates of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The headquarters of the metropolia is located in Zagreb, Croatia, and its jur ...

was also awarding Order of Kantakuzina Katarina Branković. The character of Katarina Branković is portrayed by Eva Dedova in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

original historical docudrama '' Rise of Empires: Ottoman'' (2020).

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brankovic, Kantakuzina Katarina 15th-century Serbian royalty 1418 births 1492 deaths Katarina Katarina Medieval Serbian princesses Medieval Serbian people Katarina Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana Serbs of Croatia

Biography

Endowments

Legacy

Ancestry

See also

References