Maps of Power

Helen – a Catholic Noblewoman, Serbian Queen and Interreligious Donor connecting East and West in the 13th/14th Centuries (IDCEW)

Places

ID Name Class Description
118619 Bratoš Place Bratoš was donated by the Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska (ca. 1230-1314) to the Monastery of the Holy Mother of God Ratačka, which was confirmed by the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin (reigned 1282-1321) in the year 1307 (Azь Stefanь Urošь, samodrьžavьnyi kralь srьbьski i pomorьsky ... i sь synomь moimь Stefanomь ... daju talanьtь svetomu hramu tvojemu, ježe jestь u Rьtьčьka, svetoi Bogorodici Rьtьčьkoi, Duboicu, Zьburina, i Brьtošь, i Toplišь, Šaptine i Spilani' i sь megami, kako je obladala gospogja mi mati kralica Jelena, i ona je dala i zapisala, to potvrьdi kraljevьstvo mi i zapisa, da je na pištu starьcemь i na odeždu slěpimь i hromymь i bratii).
122843 Goliqueline Place The Byzantinо-Serbian border in Macedonia became the central subject of negotiation between the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin (reigned 1282-1321) and Charles de Valois (1270-1325) in 1308, when the latter was aiming to conquer the Byzantine Empire. The French ambassadors met the Serbian King in his tents at Goliqueline (date et actum in tentoriis nostris apud Goliqueline). Since the Serbian King was staying in tents at this time (in tentoriis nostris), Goliqueline was certainly not a residence or a settlement, but a plot of land (perhaps a summer pasture) that was in the mountains. If Kotraža (2) is to be located in the same area, then it could well be that both King Stefan Milutin and his mother, the Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska (ca. 1230-1314), stayed in the region during the Serbian campaigns against the Byzantine Empire.
119588 Gradac Monastery, Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Mother of God Place The Gradac Monastery is situated in the region of Ras on the river Ibar and on the slopes of Mount Golija. It was founded by the Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska (ca. 1230-1314), as stated by her biographer the Serbian Archbishop Danilo II (ca. 1270/75-1337) (Danilo 75-80). She was buried in this church in 1314. Even though the church belongs to the Raška style, it also has very distinct gothic elements. As such, this church represents a fine example of Western and Eastern influences merged in one edifice. It is a single nave edifice with an octagonal dome. The narthex has two paracclesions that resemble the Žiča Monastery, but also the Studenica Monastery (as seen in one paracclesion which is dedicated to St. Simeon Nemanja and in the arrangement of certain painted themes). Under the roof is a series of arcades with consoles. The church has rich sculptural and fresco decoration. The largest part of the interior of the edifice is made of marble (especially visible in the altar screen). Out of two marble sarcophagi, one belongs to the Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska.
124319 Gurdić (Kotor), Franciscan Monastery, Church of St. Mary Place The Franciscan Monastery in Gurdić in the city of Kotor was built by the Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska (ca. 1230-1314) in 1288, when she brought the Franciscans from Dubrovnik to Kotor. Today in ruins (only the foundations remain), it was a single nave edifice with rectangular apse. It probably had a Gothic vault. On the Northern side was a sacristy with an apse (semicircular on the inside and three-sided on the outside. The monastery was ruined by the Venetians in the 17th century.
122849 Kotraža (2) Place The Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska (ca. 1230-1314), the mother of the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin (reigned 1282-1321), confirmed in Kotraža (na Kotraži) the borders, which Dubrovnik held during the reign of her husband Stefan Uroš I (reigned 1243-1276). If Goliqueline is to be located in the same area, then it could well be that both King Stefan Milutin and his mother stayed in the region during the Serbian campaigns against the Byzantine Empire.
122446 Ratac, Church C (Bogorodica Ratačka) Place The Benedictine monastery complex of St. Mary is situated on the Ratac peninsula between Sutomore and Bar. Between the 9th and the 11th century a Benedictine monastery was founded, initially dedicated to Saint Archangel Michael and later to the Holy Mother of God, also known by the name Bogorodica Ratačka (Mother of God from Ratac). The oldest church is from the 11th century and is designated as Church C. The peculiarity of this single-nave building with a dome are the four bays, one of which in the West had probably the function of a narthex. This church is mentioned in the Kotor Charter by the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin (reigned 1282-1321) in 1319, confirming the charter by his mother the Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska (ca. 1230-1314) from 1305 and indicating that the church was dedicated to the Mother of God. A Latin inscription from September 1347 to the left of the Southern entrance to the Church C mentions the monastery's abbot Paulo Rugerii (Marković 2004, 201). The monastery complex consisted of several buildings. Among them three churches stand out. During the 14th and 15th centuries other buildings and fortifications were added to the monastery, especially when there was a danger from the Ottomans. The monastery and its buildings were looted and demolished by the Ottomans in the 16th century. The Venetians turned it into a military fortress, which was later taken over by the Ottomans. The walls of the monastery were especially devastated in the Second World War (1941-1945), where the occupying forces installed artillery and built bunkers. (KJ TDR., 102 nap 205 - Abbas de S. Micaele (!) de Reteza; SN ZSp., 604 - u Rьtьčьka, svetoi Bogorodici Rьtьčьskoi).
124349 Skadar, Church of St. Nicholas Place The Church of St. Nicholas is situated in the vicinity of Skadar. It was erected by the Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska (ca. 1230-1314) in 1280. It is a three nave basilica with a semicircular apse. For the needs of Orthodox liturgies the altar space received short bays and was raised one step above the floor of the church. Also, a semicircular niche was found in the Northern nave for the needs of the proskomedia. The church was ruined in the 1960s.
124353 Skadar, Church of the Sts. Sergius and Bacchus Place The Church of the Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, a Benedictine Monastery, is situated at the Bojana River in the vicinity of Skadar. According to the Chronicle of Bar, the church was the mausoleum of the Vojislavljević dynasty in the 11th century. Two inscriptions in Latin have remained that mention the name of the Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska (ca. 1230-1314) dated to 1290 and 1318 respectively, which highlight her and her son, the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin (reigned 1282-1321), as ktetors probably in the time of the renewal of the church. It is a three nave edifice and each nave ends with a semicircular apse in the East. Unfortunately, the church has been gradually ruined by the Bojana River.
119678 Sopoćani Monastery, Church of the Holy Trinity Place The Sopoćani Monastery is situated near the source of the river Raška in the region of Ras in the vicinity of the city of Novi Pazar. The church was built by the Serbian King Stefan Uroš I (reigned 1243-1276), the son of the Serbian King Stefan Prvovenčani (reigned 1196-1227) around 1260 (PJŠ Pam., 70 - sьzida že crьkovь Sopokjani). The exonarthex and a bell tower were added later, in the first half of the 14th century (resembling the Žiča Monastery). The church is a mausoleum of members of the royal Nemanjić members: the King's mother Anna Dandolo, Stefan Prvovenčani, Grand Duke Djordje and King Uroš I himself. It is a single nave edifice with three bays and a dome and has a three-partite semicircular apse as well as a narthex. On the sides of the narthex are separate chambers. On the outside, the edifice resembles a three-nave basilica (all side rooms, next to the altar, choirs and chapels are placed under one, single-pitched roof), which is also the element that distinguishes this building from the others of the Raška style group. The windows and portals were done by masters from the coastal area in the Romanesque style. The entire church was fresco painted around 1270. After being damaged, the church was reconstructed in the 15th century (at the time some alterations were made). After the Ottoman rule, in the 20th century, this site was reconstructed and renovated.
124324 Svač, Franciscan Monastery, Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary Place The Franciscan Monastery dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary is situated in Svač near the city of Ulcinj and was built by the Serbian Queen Jelena Anžujska (ca. 1230-1314) in 1288. Today in ruins, only the foundations remain, it was a single-nave edifice with a rectangular apse and wooden roof. Fragments of fresco decoration are still visible. In the lunette of the portal of the church, parts of the fresco of the Virgin have been preserved.