Helena of Moscow
| Helena of Moscow | |
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| Helena with her husband Alexander Jagiellon | |
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Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania |
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| Tenure | 1495–1506 |
| Spouse | Alexander Jagiellon |
| Issue | |
| Two miscarriages | |
| House | Rurik Dynasty (by birth) House of Jagiellon (by marriage) |
| Father | Ivan III of Russia |
| Mother | Sophia Palaiologina |
| Born | 19 May 1476 Kremlin, Moscow |
| Died | 20 January 1513 (aged 36) Vilnius |
| Burial | Cathedral of the Theotokos, Vilnius |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
Helena Ivanovna of Moscow (Russian: Елена Ивановна; Lithuanian: Elena; Polish: Helena Moskiewska; 19 May 1476 – 20 January 1513) was an uncrowned Grand Duchess of Lithuania and Queen of Poland as a wife of king of Poland Alexander Jagiellon. Her childless marriage was a constant source of tension between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which broke out in a series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars.
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Biography [edit]
Helena was the daughter of Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow, and Sophia Palaiologina, niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos.[1] Helena was a younger sister of Grand Prince of Moscow Vasili III of Russia.
In 1494, Alexander Jagiellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania, sent a delegation to Moscow to negotiate peace in the first Muscovite–Lithuanian War. As part of the peace treaty, Helena was betrothed to Alexander. On February 15, 1495, the marriage ceremony was held in the Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius, in the presence of Macarius, Metropolitan of Kiev.
Her father forbade Helena to convert to Catholicism. As an adherent to the Eastern Orthodox Church beliefs she was ineligible to become Queen of Poland and was never crowned.[1] These religious differences created tension in the court and gave Ivan III an excuse to interfere in Lithuanian affairs accusing Alexander of mistreating Helena and repressing Orthodox believers. This became the pretext to renew the Muscovite–Lithuanian War in 1500.[2] The war ended with a truce in 1503; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost about a third of its territory.
Despite political tensions, the marriage was a loving one.[1] Helena was pregnant twice (in 1497 and 1499), but both pregnancies ended in miscarriages. The second miscarriage left her severely ill and unable to bear children. Alexander died in August 1506. Helena's brother Vasili III attempted to use her influence in an unsuccessful bid to become King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. The war between Lithuania and Moscow resumed. Helena wanted to return to Moscow, but Sigismund I the Old would not allow her. When she attempted to secretly run away to Bryansk, she was arrested and held in Trakai and later Birštonas.[3] Such treatment of the widow angered her brother Vasili III and became a pretext for another war between Lithuania and Moscow. According to a rumor, she was poisoned by Mikołaj Radziwiłł. She was buried in the Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius.[4]
Ancestry [edit]
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16. Dmitriy Ivanovich Donskoy | |||||||||||||||
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8. Vasiliy I Dmitriyevich of Moscow |
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17. Eudoxia Dmitriyevna of Suzdal | |||||||||||||||
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4. Vasily II Vasiliyevich of Moscow |
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18. Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania | |||||||||||||||
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9. Sophia of Lithuania |
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19. Anna of Smolensk | |||||||||||||||
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2. Ivan III Vasilevich of Moscow |
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20. Vladimir the Bold | |||||||||||||||
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10. Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Serpukhov |
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21. Elena of Lithuania | |||||||||||||||
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5. Maria Yaroslavna of Borovsk |
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22. Feodor Feodorovich "Goltiay" Koshkin | |||||||||||||||
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11. Maria Feodorovna Goltiayeva Koshkina |
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1. Helena of Moscow |
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24. John V Palaiologos | |||||||||||||||
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12. Manuel II Palaiologos |
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25. Helena Kantakouzene | |||||||||||||||
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6. Thomas Palaiologos |
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26. Constantine Dragaš | |||||||||||||||
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13. Helena Dragaš |
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3. Sophia Palaiologina |
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28. Andronico Asano Zaccaria | |||||||||||||||
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14. Centurione II Zaccaria |
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29. Mavros of Arcadia | |||||||||||||||
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7. Catherine Zaccaria of Achaea |
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30. Leonardo II Tocco | |||||||||||||||
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15. Creusa Tocco |
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Trivia [edit]
Marie Louse Gonzaga de Nevers was the second Polish Queen after Helena whose family tree lead to the Byzantine emperor (Andronikos II Palaiologos).
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Stone, Daniel (2001). The Polish–Lithuanian State, 1386–1795. A History of East Central Europe. University of Washington Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-295-98093-1.
- ^ Nowakowska, Natalia (2007). Church, State and Dynasty in Renaissance Poland: The Career of Cardinal Fryderyk Jagiellon (1468-1503). Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 9780754656449.
- ^ Семенкова, Т. Г.; Карамова, О. В. (2005). "ДОЧЬ ИВАНА III ЕЛЕНА – КОРОЛЕВА ПОЛЬСКАЯ". Русские великие княгини, царевны и царицы. Москва. pp. 10–11. Unknown parameter
|cahpterurl=ignored (help) - ^ miastaeuropy.pl, Wilno - zabytki Wilna.
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Helena of Moscow
Born: 19 May 1476 Died: 20 January 1513 |
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| Royal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Elisabeth of Austria |
Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania 1495–1506 |
Succeeded by Barbara Zápolya |
| Preceded by Elisabeth of Austria |
Queen consort of Poland 1501–1506 |
Succeeded by Barbara Zápolya |
