Историческа личност ли е възпята в песнопенията „българка“/„българката“/„българчица“?
Is a Historical Person Glorified in the Chants Designated as “Bulgarian Woman”

Summary/Abstract: Chants designated as “Bulgarian” constitute a stable repertory in the book of the Akolouthiai-Anthologies. They are in four genres, all of which are of festal occasions. The authors of such chants are John Glykys, John Lampadarios Kladas, Nikolaos Koukoumas, Dimitri Dokeianos, John Koukouzeles and Venedictos of Retimnon. The focus is put on chants, designated as “Bulgarian woman”. It is suggested that such chants were devoted to a real historical person who could have been Queen Helena, a descendant of three great families – the Komnenians, the Asens and the Shishmans, sister of the Bulgarian Tsar John Alexander and wife of the Serbian Tsar Stefan Uroš IV Dušan. After the death of her husband, Helena withdrew to Serres, which she made a center of the Serres Principality founded by her. The personal qualities and the respect she inspired made her one of the most influential figures in the Balkans in the fourteenth century. Helena was recognized as a prominent Bulgarian, which undoubtedly earned the nickname “Bulgarian” for her. After her death, she was canonized as a saint. It is suggested that this educated and erudite Bulgarian woman could have been the real historical person glorified in the chants designated as “Bulgarian woman”. Among the arguments in support of this suggestion are: Helena pursued a consistent policy of preserving and maintaining Christian regions where a compact Bulgarian population lived; a large part of the manuscripts with “Bulgarian woman” chants originate from Serres and its region, as well as from monasteries sponsored by Helena; the manuscripts were written after the middle of the fourteenth century, the time when she had already earned a fame that spread widely.

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