Historical Figures

Helena of Moscow (1476-1513)

Aleksander Jagiellończyk and Helena Moskewska (photo:public domain)

Helena Moskovskaya (1476 - 1513) - the uncrowned Polish queen, daughter of Ivan III the Stern, wife of Aleksander Jagiellończyk. Helena came from the Rurik dynasty. Her mother Zoe (Sophia) Paleolog, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, who was adopted by the Pope, brought models from her homeland to Moscow. Father, Ivan III Srogi, fought fiercely with Lithuania. Their daughter Helena, considered exceptionally beautiful, was brought up in Orthodoxy, the religion of both her parents. Probably just like the mother received a careful education. The Habsburgs tried to get her hand in order to outflank Poland.

The best way to counter this was by counter-proposing. Grand Duke Alexander the Jagiellonian decided to try to get closer to Moscow thanks to his marriage. In May 1493, negotiations began, concerning both the issues of borders between the two countries and the conditions of marriage. On February 6, 1494, the daughter of Ivan III the Stern, Helena, was officially engaged to the Polish king, represented by one of his deputies. Moscow imposed tough conditions on Aleksander Jagiellończyk. The Lithuanians had to agree for Helena to remain faithful to Orthodoxy. They were also not allowed to persuade her to change her religion. In addition, an orthodox church was to be built for her at the castle in Vilnius. The Moscow princess left for Lithuania only in January 1495. On February 15, a Catholic wedding took place in the Vilnius cathedral, during which the pope also said his prayers.

The royal wife found herself in a new homeland, and the marriage turned out to be very successful. The couple shared a love of music, and the Grand Duchess absorbed humanistic ideas and quickly learned the Polish language. When her father sent her angry letters from Moscow, she remained faithful to her husband and took the side of her new subjects. Helena was unable to win the favor of her mother-in-law, Elżbieta Rakuszanka, who was strongly attached to Catholicism.

In 1497, the Grand Duchess became pregnant, which ended in a miscarriage. At the same time, her father tried to get along with the enemies of the son-in-law. In 1500, a war with Moscow broke out. In 1501 Jan Olbracht died and Aleksander left for the Crown to take the throne. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church did not want to hear about the coronation of his wife due to her Orthodox religion, although Helena was called the Polish queen. The lady many times brokered negotiations with her father.

In 1506, Alexander died, and Sigismund the Old took the throne. The new king treated his sister-in-law well, but he did not allow her to leave the country and go to Moscow. The reason was the desire to keep Helena's great fortune and the fact that she knew too much about the situation in Poland and Lithuania. In 1511, the queen tried to leave secretly. However, it was stopped. She died in 1513. There are suspicions that she was poisoned.