**1. Introduction**

Queen Helen is popularly known as Helen of Anjou. This identification is based on the statement of her biographer, Archbishop Danilo II, who, as her contemporary, interlocutor, and admirer, writes that Helen was of French origin. Queen Helen was indeed, in the charters of Charles I and Charles II of Anjou, kings of Sicily and Naples, called *a dear cousin*—*consanguinea nostra carissima*, *cognata nostra*, *affinis nostra carissima* [1] (p. 46). There is proof that Helen's sister Maria was married to Anselm de Keu (in some documents also spelled as de Chau), Captain General of Charles I of Anjou in Albania. However, based on the latest research, Helen's origins are connected with the French and Hungarian nobility in Slavonia and Srem. In 1984, Gordon McDaniel made a very convincing case that Helen and Maria were daughters of the Hungarian nobleman, ruler of Srem and Count of Kovin, John Angelos (͑ω*α*´ννη*ς* ̡γγελo*ς*) also known as Good John (KαλoϞω*α*´ννη*ς*), the son of the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II and the French Matildis Vianden of Posaga (Požega), granddaughter of Peter II Courtenay, the Latin ruler of Constantinople [1] (p. 43). This assumption is still valid today and according to the most recent research, it reflects the very complex political relations between Byzantium, Hungary, and Serbia around the mid-13th century [2] (p. 53).

Princess Heleni Angelina married the Serbian king Stefan Uroš I Nemanji´c (r. 1243– 1276) probably in mid-1250. They had three children: two sons, subsequently kings, Stefan Uroš Dragutin (r. 1276–1282) and Stefan Uroš II Milutin (r. 1282–1321), and one daughter, Brnj(a)ˇca (Berenice). Recently, during the excavation of the Church of

41

**Citation:** Marinkovi´c, C. Helen ˇ Nemanji´c (1250–1314). *Encyclopedia* **2022**, *2*, 14–25. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/encyclopedia2010002

Academic Editor: Mirko Vagnoni

Received: 12 November 2021 Accepted: 16 December 2021 Published: 22 December 2021

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**Copyright:** © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

the Holy Virgin in the Studenica Monastery, the mausoleum of the first generations of the Nemanide family, an intriguing ye<sup>t</sup> still not completely explained tombstone—built into the floor alongside the tomb of St. Symeon (Stefan Nemanja)—was found. Its inscription reads: +CT ʡ ΦAH ЬCIH ЬKPA ЛIA УPO Ш A УHO У K ЬCTГOC ИMOHAMHAXA И ΠPA УHO У K ЬCTГO C ИME HA [+Stefan, son of King Uroš, grandson of Saint Simon the Monk (Stefan the First-crowned), great-grandson of Saint Symeon]. The bones of the two-year-old boy were found in the grave below the tombstone. Because of the inscription, the location of the tomb, and the fact that the buried person bore the name Stefan, it is assumed that the mentioned person was the first child of Queen Helen and King Uroš I [3] (p. 94). If this is to be accepted, Prince Stefan was born and passed away a few years before the birth of his brother Stefan Dragutin (born around 1250) [4] (p. 11).

In 1276, a conflict broke out between Queen Helen's husband Uroš I and their eldest son Stefan Uroš Dragutin. King Uroš I abdicated, and less than two years later died in Hum. He was buried in his endowment, the Sopo´cani Monastery. During the reign of her sons, Stefan Uroš Dragutin (r. 1276–1282) and Stefan Uroš II Milutin (r. 1282–1321) Queen Helen maintained provincial administration in the Zeta and Travunija until 1306 [5] (p. 357). Travunija (Latin Tribunia) was a South Slavic medieval principality that was part of medieval Serbia (850–1355). Travunija stretched from the city of Dubrovnik to the Bay of Kotor. It bordered Zahumlje in the northwest and Duklja in the southeast. During the second part of the 12th century, Travunija was fully incorporated into the united Serbian medieval states (Raška and Zeta) under the rule of the Nemanide dynasty. From that time on Travunija existed as a semi-separate principality within the Serbian lands. Under the same name, sometimes also called the *Trebigne of the Ragusans*, this region belonged to the Serbian medieval kingdom, later empire, until 1355.

In Zeta (present-day Montenegro) and Travunija, Queen Helen had her own army and chancellery. She proved to be a very successful administrator, governing regions with a mixed Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholic population. She helped renovation of four Franciscan abbeys in Kotor, Bar, Ulcinj, and Shkodër (present-day Albania). Together with her sons, Kings Dragutin and Milutin, she also helped the renovation of the Benedictine abbey of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus on Boyana river. Today, the church is almost destroyed, but the inscription, written in Latin and kept today at the Historical Museum in Shkodër, testifies to their ktetorship. Queen Helen became a nun around 1295 in the Church of St. Nicholas in Shkodër. She died at her court in Brnjaci on 8 February 1314. She was canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church three years later. Even though her feast day is still celebrated on November 12 (October 30), some authors are questioning her conversion to Orthodoxy [6] (pp. 104–106).

## **2. The Sopo´cani Monastery**

Painted between 1263–1268 [7] (p. 18), the figure of Queen Helen appears twice in the Holy Trinity Church of the Sopo´cani Monastery, the endowment of King Stefan Uroš I, built from 1259 to 1270, near the source of the Raška River in the region of Ras, the center of the Serbian medieval state, located 15 km west of the present-day town of Novi Pazar. In the narthex, King Stefan Uroš I's royal family is shown standing in front of the Mother of God with Christ. King Stefan Uroš I is depicted with their eldest son, Stefan Dragutin, heir to the throne, on the southern part of the eastern wall of the narthex, while Queen Helen is shown behind him, on the southern wall, with their younger son, Stefan Uroš II Milutin (Figure 1). From an iconographical point of view, this is not a founder's composition but a portrait of the royal family, which is the first of its kind in Serbian medieval painting. Helen is shown as a tall, beautiful young woman with a crown on her head. She is dressed in the Byzantine manner, in a purple *divitision* (διβητ*η*´σιoν) decorated with a wide collar—a *maniakon* (μενϭεк´ϭoν). On the front, the dress is decorated with a *loros* (λЗρo*ς*)—a wide decorated ribbon wound around the torso so that one end hung down in front and and the other hung over the right arm. The loros is decorated with precious stones and pearl

wreaths. On the side of the dress there is a circular decoration—*rota*—a motif that dates back to Antiquity. Queen Helen is wearing a simple and open crown—a *stemma* (στ*ε*´μμα).

**Figure 1.** Queen Helen with Prince Stefan Uroš II Milutin, fresco, 1263–1268, Holy Trinity Church of Sopo´cani Monastery, southeast corner of the narthex, first zone. Photo by Srdan Vulovi´ ¯ c, courtesy of the National Museum of Kraljevo.

In the first zone of the northern wall in the narthex of the Holy Trinity Church of Sopo´cani Monastery, a historical scene from the life of the Nemanide royal family is represented—the death of Queen Anne Dandolo, mother of King Stefan Uroš I (Figure 2) [8] (pp. 24–25). The composition is modeled after the scene of the Dormition of the Mother of God and shows the mourning of Queen Anne. This time, Queen Helen is depicted in the foreground, kneeling in front of the scaffolding, and resting her cheek on her mother-inlaw's hand. She wears a dark blue dress with a purple trimmed cloak and a white scarf on her head. Representations of hour of death of historical figures are extremely rare in Serbian medieval painting and can be found only later in the monasteries of Graˇcanica and the Patriarchate of Pe´c [9] (pp. 99–127).

**Figure 2.** Death of Queen Anne Dandolo. Queen Helen kneeling in front of the scaffolding (detail), 1263–1268. Holy Trinity Church of Sopo´cani Monastery, northern wall of the narthex, first zone. Photo by Srdan Vulovi´ ¯ c, courtesy of the National Museum of Kraljevo.

## **3. The Gradac Monastery**

Queen Helen is depicted in the Church of the Annunciation at the Monastery of Gradac. The Annunciation Church of the Gradac Monastery (Figure 3) was her endowment, built around 1275 on the elevated plateau above the Gradaˇcka river at the edge of the forested slopes of Mt. Golija, 12 km to the west of the medieval fortress of Brvenik. Although the overall ensemble of the wall paintings of the Gradac Monastery was largely damaged, a founder's composition was once depicted on the south wall of the western part of the nave, above a double tomb [10] (p. 81). It is still possible to distinguish several figures from the outlines: the Mother of God presents a monk to the enthroned Christ, followed by King Stefan Uroš I and Queen Helen. Together they are holding a model of the church (Figure 4). Queen Helen is represented in a full-frontal position, usually reserved only for Byzantine emperors [8] (p. 28), which led Danica Popovi´c to the conclusion that she was the first founder [10] (p. 85). The fresco was largely destroyed and today is mostly unrecognizable. However, it is possible to see that Helen is wearing an open crown on her head. Traces of a halo around her head are also visible.

**Figure 3.** Annunciation Church of Gradac Monastery, endowment of Queen Helen, built around 1275. Photo Cedomila Marinkovi´ ˇ c.

**Figure 4.** Queen Helen, first to the right, holding a model of a church together with her husband, King Uroš I. Ktetor's composition, Annunciation Church of Gradac Monastery, south wall of the nave, around 1275. Photo Cedomila Marinkovi´ ˇ c.

#### **4. Queen Helen's Royal Seal**

One letter by Queen Helen—addressed to Prince Ivan Storlat of Dubrovnik and Archbishop Alijard, dated October 28 without the year, and sealed with her royal seal— has been preserved to the present day. The dating of the letter to which the seal was attached is still an open question in Serbian medieval sigillography, but according to the latest literature, it was probably written after 1278. The seal is 4.7 cm in diameter and is made of pure wax (Figure 5). Its copy is nowadays kept in the Collection of Seal Replicas of the National Museum in Kraljevo. It shows the figure of Queen Helen wrapped in a cloak, sitting on a pillow placed on a plain chair, which has no arm or backrest. A flat crown without any details is placed on her head. The inscription, which runs around the depiction reads: CЛʡHA KPAЛIЦA ... ... Б(ЛA)ГOЧУ(EC)TИBЬ ... CΠ ... 3E(MЛ) . . . [Gl(ori)ous queen, pious . . . srb . . . l(and)] [11] (p. 56).

**Figure 5.** Queen Helen represented as a ruler. Replica of the wax seal, Collection of Seal Replicas No. 133. National Museum in Kraljevo. Photo by Srdan Vulovi´ ¯ c, courtesy of the National Museum of Kraljevo.

#### **5. The Monastery of Ðurdevi Stupovi (Pillars of St. George), Chapel of King Dragutin ¯**

The Monastery of Ðurdevi Stupovi (Pillars of St. George—pillar being called ¯ *stolp*, in Old Church Slavonic) was erected in about 1170 as an endowment of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja and dedicated to St. George. The monastery is located near the present-day town of Novi Pazar in the Serbian region of Ras, on the top of a prominent elevation covered with forest. The monastery complex consisted of the Church of Saint George, dining room, refectory, water tanks, and walls around the entrance tower. After the additional construction of apse in the east side in 1282–1283, the entrance tower was turned into a chapel that King Dragutin designed for his tomb (Figure 6). The inside of the chapel is covered in frescos with historical content. Another founder's composition was depicted there. On the south wall of the chapel, a procession of Nemanide monks is approaching Christ on the throne: Symeon Nemanja, Stefan the First-crowned as the monk Simon, King Uroš as the monk Symeon, and Queen Helen. For the first time in Serbian 13th century iconography, a procession of patron saints, i.e., the *Horizontal genealogy of the Nemanide family* is interrupted, and the founder of the church is represented not after his saintly predecessors but on the other, western wall. Queen Helen (Figure 7) is depicted wearing a monastic habit and a white veil, either as a novice or as sign of mourning, and a halo around her head. On the left side, next to her head, is an inscription that reads: IЄЛʡHA BEЛИKA KPAЛIЦA [Helen, the grea<sup>t</sup> queen].

**Figure 6.** Entrance tower of Monastery of Ðurdevi Stupovi turned into the tomb chapel of King ¯ Dragutin, around 1282. Photo Cedomila Marinkovi´ ˇ c.

**Figure 7.** Queen Helen as a widow or novice, procession of Nemanide-monks, after 1282–1283, Monastery of St. George's Pillars, Chapel of King Dragutin, south wall. Photo Nenad Vuki´cevi´c, Blago Fund, Inc.

#### **6. Church of St. Achillius in Arilje**

The Church of St. Achillius is located in the center of the town of Arilje in western Serbia. It was built as the main endowment of King Dragutin, Queen's Helen elder son. According to the preserved inscription, the church was painted around 1295/97 [12] (p. 95), i.e., fifteen years after King Dragutin abdicated in favor of his younger brother Milutin in 1282. Queen Helen is depicted on the south wall of the nave at the back of the Nemanide procession, led before Christ by Stefan the First-crowned as the monk Simon, followed by King Uroš I as the monk Symeon. She is painted wearing a monastic habit (Figure 8) with a halo around her head and an inscription on both sides of the figure that reads: IЄЛЄHA KPA ЛIЦA B Ь C ЄCP ЬCKI Є3EMЛЄ[Helen, the queen of all Serbian lands]. Common belief has it that the reign of Dragutin lasted from 1276 to 1282. Recently, this was questioned by Vlada Stankovi´c who assumes that instead of the brothers and their mother reigning separately, there was a "peculiar (ruling) triumvirate" of King Dragutin, Milutin, and Queen Helen that lasted from the abdication of King Uroš I in 1276 to Milutin's peace agreemen<sup>t</sup> with the Byzantines in 1299 [2] (p. 69). This fact could better explain the appearance of Queen Helen in Arilje, as well as the inscription surrounding her head.

**Figure 8.** Queen Helen as a nun, procession of Nemanide monks, 1295–1297, Church of St. Achillius in Arilje, south wall of the nave. Photo Nenad Vuki´cevi´c, Blago Fund, Inc.
