Jefimija ( sr-Cyrl, Јефимија, ; 1349–1405), secular name Jelena Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Мрњавчевић, link=no,
or ), was a
Serbian noblewoman, wife of
Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević, considered to be the first female Serbian poet.
Biography
Her father was
Caesar Vojihna, member of the collateral branch of
Nemanjić dynasty
The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent Serbian dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal and imperial house produced List of Serbian monarchs, twelv ...
. Jefimija's mother,
Caesaraea Jelena, after the death of her husband became an Orthodox nun under the name Jevpraksija (Eupraxia) and in 1358 made a considerable donation to the
Koutloumousiou monastery.
[''The medieval aristocracy on Mount Athos'',]
p. 102
/ref>
Jefimija's ''Lament for a Dead Son'' and ''Encomium of Prince Lazar
Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар Хребељановић; – 15 June 1389) was a medieval List of Serbian monarchs, Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empir ...
'' are famous in the canon of medieval Serbian literature. Her lament for her beloved son was carved on the back of the diptych
A diptych (, ) is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by a hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a ...
, (two-panelled icon representing a virgin and Child) which Teodosije, Bishop of Serres
Serres ( ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki.
Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northern Greece. The c ...
, had presented as a gift to the infant Uglješa at his baptism. The infant child Uglješa Mernjavčević Despotović lived only until the age of 4 and is buried next to his maternal grandfather, Caesar Vojihna of Drama, in the Hilandar monastery
The Hilandar Monastery (, , , ) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbs, Serbian Serbian Orthodox Church, Orthodox monastery there.
It was founded in 1198 by two Ser ...
. The piece of art has Jefemija's lament engraved on its back. Apart from being considered the first Serbian female poet, Jefimija was also as a skilled needlewoman and an engraver, whose works were saved and preserved until today.
Encomium of Prince Lazar
File:Jefimija - aer, kraj XIV veka.jpg, Embroidered cross standard
File:Jefimijina-zavesа.jpg, Embroidered iconography
File:Pohvala knezu Lazaru.jpg, Poem
Issue
Jefimija and her husband Despot Jovan Uglješa, member of the ruling House of Mrnjavčević had, at least three children, two boys and one girl, who was the only one to reach adulthood:
* Tvrtko Mrnjavčević Despotović (d. 1366)
* Uglješa Mrnjavčević Despotović (d. 1371), buried in the Hilandar monastery next to Vojihna, his maternal grandfather
* Eupraxia Mrnjavčević Despotović, became a nun in 1405
Legacy
She is included in ''The 100 most prominent Serbs
''The 100 most prominent Serbs'' () is a book containing the biographies of the hundred most important Serbs as compiled by a committee of academicians at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The committee members were Sava Vuković (bishop) ...
''.
See also
* Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina
* Princess Milica of Serbia
Princess Milica Hrebeljanović née Nemanjić ( · ca. 1335 – November 11, 1405) also known as Empress (''Tsaritsa'') Milica, was a List of Serbian consorts, royal consort of Serbia by marriage to Prince Lazar, who fell in the Battle of Kosovo ...
* Saint Angelina of Serbia
* Mara Branković
Mara Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Мара Бранковић; – 14 September 1487), or Mara Despina Hatun, in Europe also known as ''Amerissa'', ''Sultana Maria'' or ''Sultanina'', was the daughter of Despotate of Serbia, Serbian monarch Đurađ Br ...
* Olivera Despina Olivera is the female version of Oliver, with Oliveras also a Catalan surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Alfredo Olivera (1908-?), Uruguayan chess master
*Baldomero Olivera (born 1938), Filipino chemist
*Benjamin Oliveras (born 198 ...
* Jelena Balšić
* Saint Helen of Serbia
Saint Helen of Serbia (; – 8 February 1314) was the queen consort of the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval), Serbian Kingdom, as the spouse of King Stefan Uroš I, who ruled from 1243 to 1276. Their sons were later Serbian kings Stefan Dragutin (12 ...
* Simonida
* Katarina Branković
Katarina Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Катарина Бранковић, ; 1418–1492), also known as Kantakuzina (, ''Kantakouzena'') was the Countess of Celje, through the marriage with Counts of Celje, Count of Celje Ulrich II, Count of Celje, Ulr ...
References
Sources
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefimija
1349 births
1405 deaths
14th-century Serbian nuns
15th-century Serbian nuns
14th-century poets
15th-century poets
14th-century women writers
15th-century women writers
Medieval Serbian poets
Medieval Serbian princesses
Serbian epic poetry
Serbian women poets
14th-century Serbian writers
15th-century Serbian writers
15th-century women artists