Irina Kantakuzina or Jerina Branković was the wife of the Serbian despot Đurađ Branković and the daughter of the Byzantine Sevastokrator Dimitrije I Kantakuzin. She ruled the Serbian state as a despotic regent after the death of her husband, despot Đurađ, in 1456, and for less than a year. The story of her death is linked to her son Lazar, who wanted to avenge all her misdeeds by poisoning her salad, in order to inherit power.
What misdeeds are referred to here, and where does the epithet ‘cursed’ come from?
The people nicknamed her ‘Cursed Jerina’, and the story behind her nickname is closely related to the construction of the Smederevo Fortress. Despot Đurađ Branković ordered the commencement of the construction of the court, but the organization of the works was in the hands of his wife and her brother Đorđe Kantakuzin.
During the construction of the Smederevo Fortress, the despot’s wife forced the people to work in corvée labor, so even pregnant women had to work and carry heavy stones. For this reason, the Small Town (part of the fortress where the court was located) was built very quickly in just 2 years (1428-1430).
In addition to forcing people into corvée labor, ‘Cursed Jerina’ is also remembered for ordering the blinding of her sons Grgur and Stefan, although many historical sources attribute this event to the Turks who captured both in 1441 and blinded them.
Besides Grgur and Stefan, Jerina and Đurađ had three more children: Teodor (popularly called Todor), Lazar, and Katarina. As Jerina’s marriage to Đurađ was his second, it is believed that his older daughters Jelena and Mara were not Jerina’s daughters. This fact could ‘justify’ Jerina’s decision to send Mara to the Turkish court and marry her to Sultan Murat II, making Mara the second Serbian princess to marry a Turkish sultan after Princess Olivera Lazarević, daughter of Prince Lazar.
According to folk tradition, Jerina was known for her infidelity and is believed to have beheaded every young man she spent the night with if she found out he had been unfaithful.
Apart from family intrigues and scheming, a famous incident is her dispute with the Serbian nobility when she sold grain, leaving the people starving. This event caused the Serbian nobility to turn their backs, and the city, without defenders, fell into enemy hands.
In folklore, not only is Jerina remembered as a negative figure, but there is also a myth that whenever she lay on grass, the grass would turn black when she stood up.
Regardless, her political influence was immense, and although brief, she ruled the Serbian state at one point. Folk traditions can be believed or not, but they certainly exist. It is up to us to educate ourselves and learn something new, but it is also up to us to decide what we will believe and what we won’t.