Helena, daughter of Alypius
Encyclopedia
Helena, daughter of Alypius was the wife of Constantine VIII
, Emperor of Constantinople.
mentions her only briefly:
"Constantine while still a young man, had married a lady called Helena. She was a daughter of the renowned Alypius, then the leading man in the city and member of a noble family held in high repute. This lady, who was not only beautiful but also virtuous, bore him three daughters before she died."
Their three daughters were:
At the time of their marriage Constantine VIII was the co-ruler of his older brother Basil II
. Basil reigned as senior Byzantine Emperor from 976 to 1025 but never married. Which would make Helena the only Augusta during his reign. Constantine VIII would only become senior Emperor in 1025. Psellos does not mention if she was still alive by that point.
, a Paphlagonia
n nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Moesia
. This theory would make Helena a maternal grandmother of Constantine X
and John Doukas
.
Wells has further suggested two daughters of the above proposed union. The first suggested daughter is Marija, the wife of Ivan Vladislav. The second daughter is "Sophia", an alleged wife of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos. Manuel was the father of Isaac I Komnenos
and John Komnenos, the latter being the father of Alexios I Komnenos
.
The theory apparently serves as a way to trace the ancestry of the Doukas
and Komnenos
families to the Macedonian dynasty
. However if such a descent exists, primary sources are silent about it.
Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII was reigning Byzantine emperor from December 15, 1025 until his death. He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the younger brother of the eminent Basil II, who died childless and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in his hands.-Family:As...
, Emperor of Constantinople.
Life
The Chronographia by Michael PsellosMichael Psellos
Michael Psellos or Psellus was a Byzantine monk, writer, philosopher, politician and historian...
mentions her only briefly:
"Constantine while still a young man, had married a lady called Helena. She was a daughter of the renowned Alypius, then the leading man in the city and member of a noble family held in high repute. This lady, who was not only beautiful but also virtuous, bore him three daughters before she died."
Their three daughters were:
- Eudokia. Eldest daughter. According to the Chronographia "in childhood she had been attacked by some infectious illness, and her looks had been marred ever since". She later became a nun.
- ZoeZoe (empress)Zoe reigned as Byzantine Empress alongside her sister Theodora from April 19 to June 11, 1042...
. - TheodoraTheodora (11th century)Theodora was a Byzantine Empress. Born into the Macedonian dynasty that had ruled the Byzantine Empire for almost two hundred years, she was co-empress with her sister Zoe for two months in 1042 and sole empress from 11 January 1055 to after 31 August 1056...
.
At the time of their marriage Constantine VIII was the co-ruler of his older brother Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
. Basil reigned as senior Byzantine Emperor from 976 to 1025 but never married. Which would make Helena the only Augusta during his reign. Constantine VIII would only become senior Emperor in 1025. Psellos does not mention if she was still alive by that point.
Possible descendants
Ronald Wells, a modern genealogist, has suggested that Eudokia did not remain a nun for life. He has theorised an identification of Eudokia with the otherwise unnamed wife of Andronikos DoukasDoukas
Doukas, latinized as Ducas , from the Latin tile dux , is the name of a Byzantine Greek noble family, whose branches provided several notable generals and rulers to the Byzantine Empire...
, a Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...
n nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
. This theory would make Helena a maternal grandmother of Constantine X
Constantine X
Constantine X Doukas was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1059 to 1067.-Reign:Constantine Doukas was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a Paphlagonian nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Moesia...
and John Doukas
John Doukas, Caesar
John Doukas was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a Paphlagonian nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Moesia and younger brother of Emperor Constantine X Doukas...
.
Wells has further suggested two daughters of the above proposed union. The first suggested daughter is Marija, the wife of Ivan Vladislav. The second daughter is "Sophia", an alleged wife of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos. Manuel was the father of Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1057 to 1059, and the first reigning member of the Komnenos dynasty...
and John Komnenos, the latter being the father of Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
.
The theory apparently serves as a way to trace the ancestry of the Doukas
Doukas
Doukas, latinized as Ducas , from the Latin tile dux , is the name of a Byzantine Greek noble family, whose branches provided several notable generals and rulers to the Byzantine Empire...
and Komnenos
Komnenos
Komnenós or Comnenus was the name of a ruling family of the Eastern Roman Empire , who halted the political decline of the Empire from c.1081 to c.1185.-Origins:...
families to the 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,...
. However if such a descent exists, primary sources are silent about it.
External links
- Book 2 of the Chronographia which deals with the period 1025-1028. The text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book.
- Her listing along with her husband and daughters in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley. The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments."