Irene Kantakouzene
| Irene Kantakouzene Branković Ειρήνη Καντακουζηνή Јерина Бранковић | |
|---|---|
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| Despoina of Serbia | |
| Tenure | 1414– |
| Born | c. 1400 Constantinople |
| Spouses | Đurađ Branković |
| Issue | Lazar Branković |
| House | Kantakouzene |
| Father | Theodore Kantakouzenos |
| Mother | Tsarevna Jelena of Serbia |
Irene Kantakouzene (Template:Lang-el, Byzantine Greek: [iriˈni kantakuzziˈni]; Template:Lang-sr, pronounced [jɛ̌rina brǎːŋkɔʋit͡ɕ], c. 1400 – May 2/May 3, 1457 at Rudnik) was the wife of Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković. In Serbian folk legends, she is the founder of many fortresses in Serbia.
Family
Irene was one of the sisters of George Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, according to Theodore Spandounes, a 16th century historian and other sources.[1] According to the genealogy Donald Nicol has constructed, George and Irene had at least four other siblings: Andronikos Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, Thomas Kantakouzenos, Helena Kantakouzenos, and one more sister who married a king of Georgia.[2] Although he speculates their father was Demetrios I Kantakouzenos, Nicols is "certain" that their grandfather was Matthew Kantakouzenos and their great-grandfather the Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos.[2]
Irene married Đurađ Branković on 26 December 1414, Irene having come to Serbia from Thessalonika; he would not become Despot of Serbia until 1427, by which time they had been married 13 years.[1] No contemporary source states which of Branković's five children were also Irene's, although the youngest, Catherine, bore the name of Kantakouzenos, and Maria-Mara was the daughter of one of Branković's earlier wives.[3] Based on portraits of Irene with Đurađ Branković and his five children from a chrysobull preserved at the monastery of Esphigmenou on Mount Athos, dated 11 September 1429, Nicol suggests that Stephen and Lazar were her children too. He also adds that Theodore Spandounes "records at the time of their mutilation by the Sultan Murad II in 1441 Gregory and Stephen were aged sixteen and fifteen respectively, which, if correct, signifies that Gregory too must have been a child of Eirene".[4]
Marriage and children
Irene married Đurađ Branković, Prince of Serbia on December 26, 1414. They had at least six children:[5]
- Todor Branković (d. before 1429). Not mentioned in the Masarelli manuscrpipt, probably died early
- Grgur (Gregory) Branković (c. 1415 - October 16, 1459 – October 17, 1459). Mentioned first in the Masarelli manuscript. Father of Vuk Grgurević.
- Mara Branković (c. 1416 - September 14, 1487). Mentioned second in the Masarelli manuscript. Married Murad II of the Ottoman Empire.
- Stefan Branković (c. 1417 - 1476). Mentioned third in the Masarelli manuscript. Blinded in 1441. Claimed the throne of Serbia following the death of his younger brother Lazar.
- Catherine Cantacuzena (c. 1418 - 1490). Married Ulrich II of Celje. Mentioned fourth in the Masarelli manuscript.
- Lazar Branković (c. 1421/27 - January 20, 1458 – June 20, 1458). Mentioned fifth and last in the Masarelli manuscript.
Legends
Being a Greek and with her brothers very influential to the new despot, people began to dislike her, attributing to her many vicious and evil characteristics including that building of Smederevo was her caprice. In folk poetry she has been dubbed Prokleta Jerina (the "Damned Jerina" or "Jerina the Cursed"), but nothing of this can be confirmed from historical sources.
The Maglič fortress, nearby Kraljevo in Serbia is also known as the fortress of damned Jerina. It was built in 13th century. Damned Jerina, who used to throw her lovers into the deep well inside the walls, built it, the legend reads.[6]
The Užice fortress has the legend similar to this. In local tradition she is described as a cruel queen who threw children from highest tower to dark river Đetinja. The meaning of river's name can be translated as "of the children".
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić wrote several Serbian folk songs where she is mentioned: "Đurđeva Jerina", "Dva Despotovića", "Ženidba Đurđa Smederevca", "Kad je Janko vojvoda udarao Đurđa despota buzdohanom", "Oblak Radosav"[7] and "Starina Novak i knez Bogosav".
The anthroponym Irina became Jerina and it can be seen from three aspects: (1) From the aspect of phonetic adaptation of the anthroponym: the Greek name Irina became the Serbian name Jerina; (2) from the aspect of derivation of the appellative jerina (the ruins of an old town) from the anthroponym Jerina, and (3) from the aspect of the change in the meaning of the name Irina (meaning "peace" in Greek) into the name which bears a negative connotation in Serbia and the name that becomes a protective name: that is, the new-born female children, in the families which have no male children, are named Jerina in order to stop the birth of further female children.
Serbian writer Vidan Nikolić wrote a novel Prokleta Jerina about her life. Some earlier versions of this novel had a title "The Shadow of the despotess"[8]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Donald M. Nicol, The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) ca. 1100-1460: a Genealogical and Prosopographical Study (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 1968), p. 184
- ^ a b Nicol, Byzantine Family, p. 176
- ^ Nicol, Byzantine Family, p. 187
- ^ Nicol, Byzantine Family, pp. 187f
- ^ Template:MLCC
- ^ "Ethno Serbia Tour - Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro". Travel Library. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
- ^ "Облак Радосав – Викизворник" (in Template:Sr icon). Sr.wikisource.org. 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Zena i mirisi". Uzice.net. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
References
- Marek, Miroslav. "Kantakuzenos family". Genealogy.EU.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - Marek, Miroslav. "The Brankovici". Genealogy.EU.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher=