Jefimija - Biography

Biography

Her secular name was Jelena. She was a daughter of Kesar Vojihna of Drama, and the wife of Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević, another medieval Serbian feudal lord. She is a tragic and majestic figure in Serbian history of the Mrnjavčević family. Raised at the court of her father, who was one of the chief officers of the crown. Vojihna took part in the equitable juristiction of the exchequer, and was styled not merely king's treasurer or treasurer of the exchequer, but kesar (equivalent to lord high treasurer) and officer of the exchequer. (A holder of the post of kesar would be the third highest ranked great officer of the state, below Despot and Sevastokrator). Her father secured a proper education for Jelena.

The tragic events in her life seem to have the source of inspiration for her literary compositions, which were engraved on the golden backs of icons or embroidered on shrouds and church curtains rather than written on parchment of paper. The premature death of her infant son Uglješa, which came shortly after the death of her father Vojihna, signaled the beginning of the tragedies which were to befall her. The child was buried together with his grandfather at the Serbian Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos, in Greece, where women were prohibited to enter. The Serbian monastery was far from the city of Serres, where Jelena resided at the court of Despot Jovan Uglješa, her husband. The young mother was unable to visit Mount Athos nor the grave of her son at Hilandar monastery and to mourn there. Women are prohibited from visiting Mount Athos, let alone the monasteries. Instead, she engraved her lament for her beloved son on the back of the diptych (two-panelled icon) which Teodosije, the Bishop of Serres, had presented as a gift to the infant Uglješa at his baptism. The precious piece of art, valuable because of the gold, precious stones, and beautiful carving in wooden panels, became priceless after Jelena's lament was engraved on its back. The beauty of that lament is in its simplicity and its restrained and dignified, yet quite evident, maternal sorrow. The young mother admits that she cannot help grieving. What was intended to be a prayer for the deceased child became the confession of a mother unable to conceal her inner pain for her newborn. Engraved on the icons depicting Mother and Son, Jelena's lament for Uglješa immortalized the sorrow of all mothers mourning their deceased children.