Women's leadership and authority: Jelena of Anjou between political influence, care and cult

This article examines the model of women's leadership and authority in the medieval context through the case of Jelena of Anjou, a Serbian medieval Queen whose influence extended beyond formal political power. Drawing on primary historical sources, particularly hagiographic texts, as well as relevant Serbian and international historiography, the article challenges traditional interpretations that confine women's roles in premodern societies to the private or exclusively devotional sphere. Instead, women's leadership is approached as a form of authority grounded in moral legitimacy, social responsibility, and longterm cultural impact. The analysis focuses on three key dimensions of Jelena of Anjou's activity: political influence exercised without formal authority, care for the poor and marginalized as a form of public authority, and the education and upbringing of girls as a long-term social and cultural strategy. Particular attention is given to the process through which a historical figure is transformed into an object of cult, as well as to the mechanisms of cultural memory that ensured the durability of Jelena's authority within the Serbian cultural space. The article examines how hagiographic discourse translates social and political action into the language of spiritual virtues, thereby stabilizing and legitimizing women's authority across generations. By applying theoretical perspectives from cultural studies and memory studies, the article demonstrates that the cult of Jelena of Anjou should be understood not only as a religious phenomenon, but also as a cultural mechanism that integrates women's leadership into collective memory. A comparative analysis of the reception of Jelena of Anjou in Serbia and France further highlights the culturally conditioned nature of women's authority: while Serbian tradition incorporates her legacy into a framework of sanctity and cult, the French context largely preserves her image within historical and dynastic memory, without developing a religious cult. The article concludes that Jelena of Anjou represents a complex and effective model of women's leadership in the Middle Ages, whose significance transcends its historical context and offers valuable insights into the relationship between authority, gender and cultural memory.