Eirene (Jerina) Kantakuzene

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Leo van de Pas

Eirene (Jerina) Kantakuzene

Legg inn av Leo van de Pas » 05 mai 2005 06:42:21

ESNF III Tafel 187

Here we find Eirene Kantakuzene as second wife of Djuradj Vujovic Brankovic, Despot of Serbia. She is marked off as having died on 3 May 1457 at Rudnik.

However, I have been told of a Serbian source which has her dying as a nun in 1473 and another Serbian source has her act as regent for her son in 1458 and 1459.

Can anyone confirm any more details about her? Also the name of her mother seems to be unknown.

With many thanks.
Leo van de Pas
Canberra, Australia

Peter Stewart

Re: Eirene (Jerina) Kantakuzene

Legg inn av Peter Stewart » 05 mai 2005 09:25:06

""Leo van de Pas"" <leovdpas@netspeed.com.au> wrote in message
news:01f201c55125$2c9aa7e0$c3b4fea9@email...
ESNF III Tafel 187

Here we find Eirene Kantakuzene as second wife of Djuradj Vujovic
Brankovic, Despot of Serbia. She is marked off as having died on 3 May
1457 at Rudnik.

However, I have been told of a Serbian source which has her dying as a nun
in 1473 and another Serbian source has her act as regent for her son in
1458 and 1459.

Can anyone confirm any more details about her? Also the name of her mother
seems to be unknown.

The following details are from Donald Nicol's _The Byzantine Family of
Kantakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) ca 1100-1460: A Genealogical and
Prosopographical Study_ (Washington, 1968). Eirene is no. 71 on pp. 184-188.

According to sources cited, she was the eldest sister of Georgios
Palaiologos Kantakouzenos (Sachatai), archon in Smederevo, who was a
grandson of Matthaios Kantakouzenos, titular co-emperor & later despot of
Morea (died 1391) and "probably" a son of Demetrios Palaiologos
Kantakouzenos, sebastokrator & despot of Mistra (died 1384). Some other
historians have suggested he belonged to the next generation after this. In
any case, his mother is unkown as is that of his sister Eirene if not the
same.

The marriage to Djuradj Vukovic Brankovic took place on 26 December 1414, in
Serbia, and Eirene was his second or third wife. She was not beloved by her
husband's subjects - "Eirene's reputation in Sernbian folklore is not
flattering and in the ballads of Smederevo she is referred to as 'the
accursed Eirene' (Jerina proklita)" [op cit, p. 185].

Djuradj "died on 24 December 1456 leaving his youngest son Lazar...as
successor under the regency of Eirene. Less than a year later, on the night
of 2-3 May 1457, Eirene herself died at Rudnik". She had been arrested there
by Lazar, who may have poisoned her - the historian Theodoros Spandounes,
son of her great-niece, related that Lazar had put poison in her salad, in
order to come into his inheritance [p. 186].

Nicol cites Serbian sources, and doesn't mention any to the effect that
Eirene lived on after 1457. Her rule as regent of Serbia was clearly before
May of that year and not in 1458 or 1459.

Peter Stewart

Peter Stewart

Re: Eirene (Jerina) Kantakuzene

Legg inn av Peter Stewart » 05 mai 2005 12:32:57

I should have thought of this before:

Lindsay Brook discussed the parentage of Eirene in 'The Problematic Ascent
of Eirene Kantakouzene Brankovic', _Studies in Genealogy and Family History
in Tribute to Charles Evans on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday_ (Salt
Lake City, 1989) 4-16.



He also stated that she died at Rudnik on 2-3 May 1457. However, he
considered that she was born ca 1400, and this fits much better with her
known marriage date of 26 December 1414 than the conjecture of Nicol (quoted
below) that she was the daughter of a man who had died in 1384, especially
as she became regent for her son after December 1456, when a woman born by
1384/5 would have been around 70 years old and not at all likely to have a
son too young to rule at once in his own right.



Lindsay discussed the possibility that Eirene's father might have been
Theodoros Kantakouzenos (died 1410), who in turn _may_ have been a son of
Demetrios Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, sebastokrator & despot of Mistra (died
1384). He also suggested that Eirene's mother could have been Helene,
daughter of the co-Emperor Ioannes (Uros) Doukas who died (as a monk,
Joasaph) before 24 February 1324. His wife's identity is not certain, but
she may have been a daughter of Radoslav Chlapen, lord of Kastoria and
Vodena by an unknown woman.



My apologies for going to an earlier study first.



And let me take this opportunity to inform the newsgroup that Lindsay, who
is a most distinguished scholar of medieval genealogy, suffered a serious
accident recently; and to hope that he will make a quick & full recovery, as
I'm sure all participants would wish for him.



Peter Stewart


"Peter Stewart" <p_m_stewart@msn.com> wrote in message
news:CLkee.3469$31.1510@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
""Leo van de Pas"" <leovdpas@netspeed.com.au> wrote in message
news:01f201c55125$2c9aa7e0$c3b4fea9@email...
ESNF III Tafel 187

Here we find Eirene Kantakuzene as second wife of Djuradj Vujovic
Brankovic, Despot of Serbia. She is marked off as having died on 3 May
1457 at Rudnik.

However, I have been told of a Serbian source which has her dying as a
nun in 1473 and another Serbian source has her act as regent for her son
in 1458 and 1459.

Can anyone confirm any more details about her? Also the name of her
mother seems to be unknown.

The following details are from Donald Nicol's _The Byzantine Family of
Kantakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) ca 1100-1460: A Genealogical and
Prosopographical Study_ (Washington, 1968). Eirene is no. 71 on pp.
184-188.

According to sources cited, she was the eldest sister of Georgios
Palaiologos Kantakouzenos (Sachatai), archon in Smederevo, who was a
grandson of Matthaios Kantakouzenos, titular co-emperor & later despot of
Morea (died 1391) and "probably" a son of Demetrios Palaiologos
Kantakouzenos, sebastokrator & despot of Mistra (died 1384). Some other
historians have suggested he belonged to the next generation after this.
In any case, his mother is unkown as is that of his sister Eirene if not
the same.

The marriage to Djuradj Vukovic Brankovic took place on 26 December 1414,
in Serbia, and Eirene was his second or third wife. She was not beloved by
her husband's subjects - "Eirene's reputation in Sernbian folklore is not
flattering and in the ballads of Smederevo she is referred to as 'the
accursed Eirene' (Jerina proklita)" [op cit, p. 185].

Djuradj "died on 24 December 1456 leaving his youngest son Lazar...as
successor under the regency of Eirene. Less than a year later, on the
night of 2-3 May 1457, Eirene herself died at Rudnik". She had been
arrested there by Lazar, who may have poisoned her - the historian
Theodoros Spandounes, son of her great-niece, related that Lazar had put
poison in her salad, in order to come into his inheritance [p. 186].

Nicol cites Serbian sources, and doesn't mention any to the effect that
Eirene lived on after 1457. Her rule as regent of Serbia was clearly
before May of that year and not in 1458 or 1459.

Peter Stewart

T. Stanford M. S. P. Momm

Re: Eirene (Jerina) Kantakuzene

Legg inn av T. Stanford M. S. P. Momm » 06 mai 2005 02:22:38

----- Original Message -----
From: "Leo van de Pas" <leovdpas@netspeed.com.au>
To: <GEN-MEDIEVAL-L@rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 8:47 PM
Subject: Eirene (Jerina) Kantakuzene


ESNF III Tafel 187

Here we find Eirene Kantakuzene as second wife of Djuradj Vujovic
Brankovic, Despot of Serbia. She is marked off as having died on 3 May 1457

at Rudnik.
However, I have been told of a Serbian source which has her dying as a nun
in 1473 and another Serbian source has her act as regent for her son in 1458

and 1459.
Can anyone confirm any more details about her? Also the name of her mother
seems to be unknown.

With many thanks.
Leo van de Pas
Canberra, Australia


Leo,
I don't have my materials in front of me right now, but the 1457 death
could have been a misunderstanding of some phrase such as 'left the world',
meaning that she became religious. Acting as regent from a religious house
seems to have been common in the Balkans and Ukrano-Russias.
Ford.

Athanasios Styliaras

Re: Eirene (Jerina) Kantakuzene

Legg inn av Athanasios Styliaras » 27 mai 2005 14:27:44

Eirene Kantakuzene was the daughter of the byzantium emperor.

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