Angelina of Serbia

Saint

Angelina

of Serbia
A detail of Saint Angelina by Andrija Raičević, created around 1645
Right-Believing, Venerable, Mother
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
Major shrineKrušedol Monastery, Serbia
Feast14 July [O.S. 1 July]
12 August [O.S. 30 July]
23 December [O.S. 10 December] (with St. Stephen and St. John Branković)
Despotess of Serbia
Tenure1460 - October 9, 1476
PredecessorHelena Palaiologina, Despotess of Serbia
BornAngjelina Arianiti
c. 1440
Berat, Ottoman Empire
Died1520
Krušedol Monastery, Ottoman Empire
Burial
Krušedol Monastery
SpouseStefan Branković
IssueĐorđe Branković
Jovan Branković
Irene Branković
Maria of Serbia, Marchioness of Montferrat
HouseArianiti
FatherGjergj Arianiti
MotherMaria Muzaka
ReligionSerbian Orthodox Christian

Angelina Branković (Serbian Cyrillic: Ангелина Бранковић; Church Slavonic: Ангели́на Бра́нкович; Albanian: Angjelina Arianiti, Angjelina e Krujës; c. 1440–1520), née Arianiti, was an Albanian princess of who served as Despotess Consort of Serbia through her marriage to Despot Stefan Branković (r. 1458–1459). She was a daughter of Prince Gjergj Arianiti, an important military leader against Ottoman invasion, and Princess Maria Muzaka, his first wife. For her pious life she was proclaimed a saint and venerated as such by the Serbian Orthodox Church as Venerable Mother Angelina (Serbian: Преподобна мати Ангелина, romanized: Prepodobna mati Angelina).[a]

Life

Angelina, born as a member of the Albanian Arianiti family, was the sixth daughter of Gjergj Arianiti (1383–1462), and Maria Muzaka (1410s–1440s), eldest daughter of Despot Andrea III Muzaka and his wife Anna Zenevisi, Lady of Grabossa. In 1460, she married exiled Serbian ruler Stefan Branković (r. 1458–1459), son of the former Despot Đurađ Branković (r. 1427–1456). They met when Stefan came to Northern Albania, to visit Skanderbeg, who was married to Angelina's elder sister Andronika Arianiti. They lived in Shkodër, at the time under Albania Veneta. In 1461, she gave birth to her eldest son Đorđe (anglicised: George), who was named after Skanderbeg and her father Gjergj Arianiti.

Eventually, the couple left Albania for Northern Italy, and acquired castle Belgrado in the region of Friuli. Stefan died in 1476, at family estate in Belgrado. At first, Angelina and their children remained in northern Italy. In 1479, emperor Friedrich III granted them castle Weitensfeld, and Angelina with her children moved to Carinthia.

In 1485, their cousin, titular Serbian Despot Vuk Branković died, and Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus invited Angelina's sons to take over their dynastic inheritance. Angelina and her family went to the Kingdom of Hungary, where her elder son, George, became new titular despot of the Serbian Despotate (1486). The territory of the Despotate had been under the Ottoman Empire since its collapse in 1459. Later Angelina retired in the Krušedol Monastery, in the Fruška Gora mountain of Syrmia, where she died in the beginning of the 16th century.

Marriage and children

Angelina and Stefan were married from 1461 until his death in 1476. They had children:

Sainthood

Members of the Branković dynasty were known among contemporaries for their devotion to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Angelina belonged to the same tradition. She is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, being commemorated with feast days on 1 July and 30 July, also being commemorated on 10 December together with her husband, St. Stephen, and her son, St. John. She wrote a hagiography known as the Hagiography of Mother Angelina (Serbian: Житије мајке Ангелине, romanized: Žitije majke Angeline).

Ancestry

Ancestors of Angelina of Serbia
4. Komnen Arianiti
2. Gjergj Arianiti
10. Nikollë Zaharia
5. Lady of Zaharia
1. Angjelina Arianiti
12. Gjin I Muzaka
6. Andrea III Muzaka
13. Zanfina Arianiti
3. Maria Muzaka
14. Gjon Zenebishi
7. Kirana Zenebishi
30. Gjin Bua Shpata
15. Unknown Daughter

Annotations

  1. ^
    Her name in Serbian was Angelina Branković (Serbian: Ангелина Бранковић/Angelina Branković), née Arianit Komneni. She is also known as simply Despotess Angelina (Serbian: деспотица Ангелина/Despotica Angelina). The Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbian epic poetry calls her Venerable Mother Angelina (Serbian: Преподобна мати Ангелина/Predobra mati Angelina), or simply Mother Angelina or Saint Angelina (Serbian: Света Ангелина/Sveta Angelina, Albanian: Shën Angjelina).

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Преподобная Ангели́на Сербская (Бра́нкович), королева". azbyka.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  2. ↑ Elsie, Robert (2001). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology, and folk culture. New York: New York University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-8147-2214-5.
  3. ↑ Robert Elsie (2003). Early Albania. Harrassowitz. p. 42. ISBN 978-3-447-04783-8.
  4. ↑ Musachi, John (1515). "1515 John Musachi: Brief Chronicle on the Descendants of our Musachi Dynasty". Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  5. ↑ Elsie, Robert (2012). A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History. I.B.Tauris. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3.
  6. ↑ Nadin Bassani, Lucia (2008). Migrazioni e integrazione: il caso degli Albanesi a Venezia (1479-1552) (in Italian). Bulzoni. p. 72. ISBN 978-8878703407.
  7. ↑ Jireček 1918, p. 244.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Elsie, Robert (2000). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology and folk culture. New York University Press. p. 9. ISBN 0-8147-2214-8.
  9. ↑ Jireček 1918, p. 245.
  10. ↑ Ćirković 2004, p. 116.
  11. ↑ Paizi-Apostolopoulou 2012, p. 95-116.
  12. ↑ Andrić 2016, p. 202–227.
  13. ↑ "Saint Angelina of Serbia". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  14. ↑ "Venerable Angelina of Serbia". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  15. ↑ "St. Angelina of Serbia | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese". www.antiochian.org. Archived from the original on 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2025-03-12.

Sources