On two lost medieval Serbian reliquaries the staurothekai of King Stefan Uros I and Queen Helen

Abstract

This essay discusses two lost medieval Serbian staurothekai known only from written sources. One, belonging to the Serbian King Stefan Uros I, was described as a sumptuous item in the Hungarian spoils of war following their victory over the Serbian army in Macva in 1268. The other staurotheke, with an extensive inscription, was Queen Helen?s gift to the monastery of Sopocani, a foundation of her husband Uros I. Based on the available facts, it has been assumed that this reliquary came into the possession of a Serbian ruler of the House of Brankovic in the fifteenth century, eventually ending up in the Habsburg geistliche Schatzkammer and playing an important role in the Pietas austriaca programme. It is known from the surviving descriptions that the staurothekai had the shape of a two armed cross, and were made of gold and lavishly adorned with precious stones. Apart from their substantial material worth, documented with precision, both staurothekai had a distinct sacral meaning and ideological function.