# Queen Helen and Gradac (c. 1276)

URL: https://allhistories.com/serbia/timeline/1276-queen-helen-and-gradac
Themes: Rulers & Successions

Helen, queen of Uroš I and mother of Dragutin and Milutin, received a large appanage in Zeta, Travunija and the Ibar region after 1276. She built the monastery of Gradac on the Ibar, whose church combines the Raška tradition with Gothic features. A Catholic by birth, Helen also supported Franciscan and Benedictine houses along the coast. According to her biographer, Archbishop Danilo II, she kept a school at her court for the education of girls. Helen was one of the most influential women of medieval Serbia, an intermediary between Catholic and Orthodox worlds. She was venerated as a saint by the Serbian Church, and Gradac is one of the finest examples of Western influence on Serbian architecture.

## Why it matters
Queen Helen's patronage, including Gradac, embodied the meeting of Western and Byzantine cultures in medieval Serbia.

Ruler at the Time: [Stefan Dragutin](https://allhistories.com/serbia/rulers/stefan-dragutin)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Helen of Anjou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_of_Anjou)
- [Wikipedia — Gradac Monastery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradac_Monastery)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Queen Helen and Gradac](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Queen+Helen+and+Gradac)
- [Wikipedia — Grand Principality of Serbia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Principality_of_Serbia)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Serbian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Serbian_history)