Helena Lekapene
Encyclopedia
Helena Lekapene (c. 910 – 19 September 961) was the Empress consort of Constantine VII
. She was a daughter of Romanos I
and his wife Theodora
.
in 912 and his brother and successor Alexander in 913, left the throne of the Byzantine Empire
to Constantine VII. Constantine was only seven years old when assuming the throne. The Empire was placed in the care of Regent
s.
Nicholas Mystikos
, Patriarch of Constantinople
was the principal regent until March 914. He was displaced by Zoe Karbonopsina
, mother of the young Emperor. Zoe reigned with the support of influential general Leo Phocas until 919. However Leo led the Byzantine army
into a series of lost battles against Simeon I of Bulgaria
in a phase of the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
. This strengthened the opposition to the Regent and her favorite general.
In 919, a coup d'état
involving various factions managed to remove Zoe from power. The new effective Regent was Romanos Lekapenos, Drungarios
(admiral) of the Byzantine navy
. Romanos orchestrated the marriage of Helena to Constantine VII as a way to secure a connection to the legitimate Macedonian dynasty
.
was a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor
by other writers, active during the reign of her husband. The description of her marriage at the chronicle places the event in April or May 919. The groom was still four or five months sort of his fourteenth birthday. The age of Helena is not recorded but she was likely also underage. They would not have children until the 930s.
Romanos was proclaimed basileopatōr
("father of the emperor") on the occasion of the marriage. In September, 920, Romanos was invested as kaisar (Caesar
). On 17 December 920, Romanos was crowned co-emperor and in effect became the senior of the two associate emperors.
Helena was now married to the junior co-ruler. Her mother,Theodora who was crowned as Augusta in January, 921 and was her senior in palace hierarchy until her death on 20 February, 922.
Helena became in effect the senior Empress of the palace following the death of her mother. But not the only one. Her brother Christopher Lekapenos
became co-emperor in 921. Prior to his elevation to the throne, Christopher was married to Sophia, daughter of magistros Niketas. Sophia was crowned empress in February 922. They had three children.
In 924, there was a senior Emperor (Romanos), two junior emperors (Constantine VII and Christopher) and two Empresses (Helena and Sophia). However Romanos crowned two more of his sons as co-emperors, Stephen Lekapenos
and Constantine Lekapenos
. By 933, Stephen was married to Anna, daughter of Gabalos. No children are mentioned by the chronicle. By 939, Constantine Lekapenos was married to another Helena, daughter of patrikios Hadrian. Helena died on 14 January 940 and subsequently Constantine married Theophano Mamas on 2 February 940. Constantine had a son but which wife was the mother is not recorded.
With the favor of Romanos, Christopher held seniority among the four junior co-emperors. He was the heir to the throne while Constantine VII, Stephen and Constantine Lekapenos were to remain junior co-rulers. However Christopher died in 931. Romanos did not advance his younger sons in precedence over Constantine VII. His son-in-law was now the heir over his own sons. Helena bound to become the principal Empress upon the death of her father.
This period lasted until 16 December 944. Fearing that Romanos would allow Constantine VII to succeed him instead of them, his younger sons Stephen and Constantine arrested their father and carried him off to the Prince's Islands compelling him to become a monk
.
Having never exercised executive authority, Constantine remained primarily devoted to his scholarly pursuits and relegated his authority to bureaucrats and generals, as well as his energetic wife Helena.
Their marriage resulted in the birth of several children, including:
Romanos II was the co-ruler and heir. When Constantine VII died on 9 November 959, Romanos II succeeded him to the throne. His own wife Theophano convinced him to sent all five of his sisters to the convent
of Kanikleion. Helena seems to have retired from palace life after this point. Her death on 19 September 961 is among the last events recorded in the Theophanes Continuatus chronicle.
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Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
. She was a daughter of Romanos I
Romanos I
Romanos I Lekapenos was Byzantine Emperor from 920 until his deposition on December 16, 944.-Origin:...
and his wife Theodora
Theodora, wife of Romanos I
-Empress:Her origins and background are not known. She became the mother-in-law to Constantine VII in May or June, 919 with the marriage of the young Emperor to her daughter Helena Lekapene...
.
Background
The deaths of Emperor Leo VI the WiseLeo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
in 912 and his brother and successor Alexander in 913, left the throne of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
to Constantine VII. Constantine was only seven years old when assuming the throne. The Empire was placed in the care of Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
s.
Nicholas Mystikos
Nicholas Mystikos
Nicholas I Mystikos or Nicholas I Mysticus was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 901 to February 906 and from May 912 to his death in 925. His feast day in the Orthodox Church is May 16.Nicholas was born in the Italian Peninsula and had become a friend of the Patriarch Photios...
, Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
was the principal regent until March 914. He was displaced by Zoe Karbonopsina
Zoe Karbonopsina
Zoe Karbonopsina, also Karvounopsina or Carbonopsina, i.e., "with the Coal-Black Eyes" , was fourth wife of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise and the mother of Constantine VII....
, mother of the young Emperor. Zoe reigned with the support of influential general Leo Phocas until 919. However Leo led the Byzantine army
Byzantine army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
into a series of lost battles against Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
in a phase of the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
The Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Byzantines and Bulgarians which began when the Bulgars first settled in the Balkan peninsula in the 5th century, and intensified with the expansion of the Bulgarian Empire to the southwest after 680 AD...
. This strengthened the opposition to the Regent and her favorite general.
In 919, a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
involving various factions managed to remove Zoe from power. The new effective Regent was Romanos Lekapenos, Drungarios
Drungarios
A droungarios, also spelled drungarios or, in its English form, drungary, was a military rank of the late Roman and Byzantine Empires, signifying the commander of a droungos.-Late Roman and Byzantine army:...
(admiral) of the Byzantine navy
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
. Romanos orchestrated the marriage of Helena to Constantine VII as a way to secure a connection to the legitimate Macedonian dynasty
Macedonian dynasty
The Macedonian dynasty ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest expanse since the Muslim conquests, and the Macedonian Renaissance in letters and arts began. The dynasty was named after its founder,...
.
Reign of Romanos
The work Theophanes ContinuatusTheophanes Continuatus
Theophanes Continuatus or Scriptores post Theophanem is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. gr. 167 manuscript. Its name derives from its role as the continuation, covering the years 813–961, of the chronicle of Theophanes the...
was a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
by other writers, active during the reign of her husband. The description of her marriage at the chronicle places the event in April or May 919. The groom was still four or five months sort of his fourteenth birthday. The age of Helena is not recorded but she was likely also underage. They would not have children until the 930s.
Romanos was proclaimed basileopatōr
Basileopator
Basileopatōr was one of the highest secular titles of the Byzantine Empire. It was an exceptional post , and conferred only twice in the Empire's history...
("father of the emperor") on the occasion of the marriage. In September, 920, Romanos was invested as kaisar (Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
). On 17 December 920, Romanos was crowned co-emperor and in effect became the senior of the two associate emperors.
Helena was now married to the junior co-ruler. Her mother,Theodora who was crowned as Augusta in January, 921 and was her senior in palace hierarchy until her death on 20 February, 922.
Helena became in effect the senior Empress of the palace following the death of her mother. But not the only one. Her brother Christopher Lekapenos
Christopher Lekapenos
Christopher Lekapenos or Lecapenus was the eldest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos and co-emperor from 921 until his death in 931.- Life :...
became co-emperor in 921. Prior to his elevation to the throne, Christopher was married to Sophia, daughter of magistros Niketas. Sophia was crowned empress in February 922. They had three children.
In 924, there was a senior Emperor (Romanos), two junior emperors (Constantine VII and Christopher) and two Empresses (Helena and Sophia). However Romanos crowned two more of his sons as co-emperors, Stephen Lekapenos
Stephen Lekapenos
Stephen Lekapenos was the second son of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos , and co-emperor from 924 to 945. Along with his younger brother Constantine he deposed Romanos I in December 944, only to be themselves overthrown and exiled by the legitimate emperor Constantine VII a few weeks...
and Constantine Lekapenos
Constantine Lekapenos
Constantine Lekapenos or Lecapenus was the third son of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos , and co-emperor from 924 to 945. Along with his elder brother Stephen he deposed Romanos I in December 944, only to be themselves overthrown and exiled by the legitimate emperor Constantine VII a...
. By 933, Stephen was married to Anna, daughter of Gabalos. No children are mentioned by the chronicle. By 939, Constantine Lekapenos was married to another Helena, daughter of patrikios Hadrian. Helena died on 14 January 940 and subsequently Constantine married Theophano Mamas on 2 February 940. Constantine had a son but which wife was the mother is not recorded.
With the favor of Romanos, Christopher held seniority among the four junior co-emperors. He was the heir to the throne while Constantine VII, Stephen and Constantine Lekapenos were to remain junior co-rulers. However Christopher died in 931. Romanos did not advance his younger sons in precedence over Constantine VII. His son-in-law was now the heir over his own sons. Helena bound to become the principal Empress upon the death of her father.
This period lasted until 16 December 944. Fearing that Romanos would allow Constantine VII to succeed him instead of them, his younger sons Stephen and Constantine arrested their father and carried him off to the Prince's Islands compelling him to become a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
.
Reign of Constantine
Constantine VII was restored to his position as senior emperor after twenty-four years as junior co-ruler. On 27 January 945 his brothers-in-law and co-rulers Stephen and Constantine were also deposed. They were sent into exile, leaving Constantine VII sole emperor. Helena was by then the only Empress.Having never exercised executive authority, Constantine remained primarily devoted to his scholarly pursuits and relegated his authority to bureaucrats and generals, as well as his energetic wife Helena.
Their marriage resulted in the birth of several children, including:
- Leo, who died young.
- Romanos IIRomanos IIRomanos II was a Byzantine emperor. He succeeded his father Constantine VII in 959 at the age of twenty-one, and died suddenly in 963.-Life:...
. - Zoe. Sent to a convent.
- TheodoraTheodora, daughter of Constantine VIITheodora, daughter of Constantine VII was the second wife and first Empress consort of John I Tzimiskes.She was a daughter of Constantine VII and Helena Lekapene. Her maternal grandparents were Romanos I and Theodora....
, who married Emperor John I TzimiskesJohn I TzimiskesJohn I Tzimiskes or Tzimisces, was Byzantine Emperor from December 11, 969 to January 10, 976. A brilliant and intuitive general, John's short reign saw the expansion of the empire's borders and the strengthening of Byzantium itself.- Background :...
. - Agatha. Sent to a convent.
- Theophano. Sent to a convent.
- Anna. Sent to a convent.
Romanos II was the co-ruler and heir. When Constantine VII died on 9 November 959, Romanos II succeeded him to the throne. His own wife Theophano convinced him to sent all five of his sisters to the convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
of Kanikleion. Helena seems to have retired from palace life after this point. Her death on 19 September 961 is among the last events recorded in the Theophanes Continuatus chronicle.
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External links
- Her listing along with her siblings in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley. The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments."
- Her profile in "Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership" among other women of the period 750-1000