Serena verch Honorius Theodosius

• Preferred Name: Serena verch Honorius Theodosius^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}
  
• Alternate Name: Stilicho
  
• Alternate Name: DE ROME
  
• Gender: F
  
• FSID: LTCC-9B2
  
• Death: 22 AUG 408 in Constantinople, Anatolia, Eastern Roman Empire at LATI: N1.15 LONG: E8.75
  
• Birth: ABT 370 in Coca, Segovia, Castilla y León, España at LATI: N1.2151 LONG: E4.5217 with note: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B09WWNRLF8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr= Flavia Serena pertenecía a una familia provinciana. Nació en el centro de España, en territorio de los antiguos vacceos, tal vez en la ciudad de Cauca (actual Coca). La familia se engrandeció gracias a las hazañas de su abuelo el Conde Teodosio. Muerto su padre, fue protegida y adoptada por su tío el emperador Teodosio quien la llevó a la corte de Constantinopla. Joven y de talento, rodeada de intelectuales, alcanzó allí un elevado nivel cultural. Casó con Estilicón, general de Teodosio, de origen vándalo, pero hombre culto. Muerto Valentiniano II, pasó a Occidente con su esposo y su tío. A la muerte de Teodosio, Estilicón gobernó el Imperio de Occidente en nombre de Honorio. Aunque en medio de sobresaltos, Serena vivió 13 años de gloria como gran señora del Imperio. Pero al final, la desgracia se cebó con su familia. Su marido y su hijo Euquerio fueron asesinados. Por envidia y venganza, ella fue falsamente acusada de traición y murió también ejecutada en Roma.
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Plaque on the left side of the apse of San Nazaro Maggiore in Milan, Italy. It bears the text of an epigram, ascribed to Augustinus, celebrating the fact that faithful Serena, wife to General Stilicho, adorned the grave of Saint Nazarius (put here in 396 AD by Saint Ambrose in this basilica founded by him) as a vote for the happy return of her husband.
  
  The Latin text says roughly: Why, what a groove of the cross we bend on which the hollow part of the world has been raised up to the roof of a retirement, sacrataeque it is hidden the pieces, the head of Nazarius the whole of life, and rejoiceth that on this place, Ambrose has set his seal to the image of Christ, the return of her husband chiseled in the marble that has libycis not sure,..Clear of Stilicho, happy to enjoy the Germans the pledges of their own."
  *******************
  Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
  
  2. HONORIUS . Claudius names "Honorius" as father of "Serena" in his poem Laus Serenæ[92]. The primary source which confirms that he was the brother of Theodosius has not yet been identified. m MARIA, daughter of ---. Claudius names "Flaccillam Mariam" as mother of "Serena" in his poem Laus Serenæ[93]. Honorius & his wife had two children:
  
  a) THERMANTIA . Claudius names "Serena minor, prior…Thermantia natu" as the daughters of "Honorius" in his poem Laus Serenæ[94].
  b) SERENA . Zosimus records that "Serenæ, principis Theodosii fratris filiæ" was the wife of "Stelichonum" who was one of the two commanders of the Roman army[95]. m STILICO, son of --- (-23 Aug ----). Zosimus records the death "X Kal Sep, Bassi Philippique consulatu" of "Stelicho"[96]. Stilico & his wife had three children:
  
  i) EUCHERIUS .
  ii) MARIA (-[Feb/Mar] 407).
  iii) HERMANTIA (-415).
  
  Serena, the daughter of Honorius, brother of Emperor Theodosius, was the Aunt of Arcadius and Honorius, the sons of Emperor Theodosius. Thus Honorius married his first cousins, both of whom died as virgins.
  
  === Academic.edu The women of the Theodosian dynasty ===
  When news of Stilicho’s death spread, a murderous pogrom was launched in the cities of northern Italy against the defenceless wives and children of Germanic soldiers serving in the Roman army. Unsurprisingly, on hearing of this atrocity, the husbands immediately deserted the Roman army and joined the invading Goths.
  Serena and her surviving daughter Thermantia had found themselves outcasts after Stilicho’s death. Thermantia had been recently divorced and sent back to her mother (see later), while Serena had been left with nothing, her husband’s assets all confiscated. Mother and daughter sought refuge in Rome – conceivably even attempting to make a home for themselves in the old imperial residence on the Palatine.
  Also living in Rome that summer was Galla Placidia, now aged around twenty, still unmarried and evidently still left out in the cold by her brother’s court in Ravenna. But when Serena was accused of secretly parleying with Alaric, the Roman Senate – according to the account of Zosimus – decided to consult Serena’s cousin and former foster daughter Placidia, the only member of the imperial family available, on the decision of whether the former regent’s wife should be put to death for her crimes. Placidia’s answer was yes. A sentence of strangulation was passed on Stilicho’s widow.28.
  The death of Serena did not change the plans of Alaric. He hindered provisions from coming up the Tiber from Portus, and the Romans were soon pressed by hunger and then by plague. Help had been expected from Ravenna, and as none came the Senate at length decided to negotiate. Having surrounded the city and reduced the inhabitants to the verge of starvation, he effected an entry at night through the Salarian Gate, doubtless by assistance from within, on August 24th 410 A.D.
  
  Maria
  Western Roman Empress Constort 398-407
  Maria (+ 407) was the first Empress Consort of Honorius, Western Emperor (rule 395 – 423). She was the first daughter of Stilicho and Serena.
  In February 398, Maria married Honorius, who was then not yet 14 years old. In The Epithalamion29 written in their honor by Claudian30 places his flattering description of Maria in the mouth of Venus, a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty and fertility, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Claudian praised Maria’s knowledge of Greek and Latin poetry. The poet claims that Serena and Maria read all the major poetic texts from Homer onward, including the love poetry of Sappho of Lesbos, whose praise of erotic love of women makes her poetry controversial even today.
  In the same Epithalamion, Claidian addresses Honorius’s youth, perhaps to quell any doubt about the propriety the bridegroom’s age. He assures the listeners that it is true that the youth is “unexperienced with passion’s first fever” but that the “impatient lover chafes at the delay.” Claudian also notes that the wedding has been long planned, having Honorius say, “her I seek who hath long been betrothed to me,” and claiming that Stilicho owed him his daughter in exchange for the emperor’s support. The poet then describes the wedding in fine detail, allowing us to recapture the pageantry of the occasion. Honorius (or more likely his advisors) selected gifts to give his bride, including the ancient jewels worn by Livia, the first emperor Augustus’s wife, thus linking this wedding with all those of previous emperors.
  By this marriage with Honorius, Maria became Western Roman Empress consort, until her dead in 407.
  Figure 17. The Locket of Maria
  As it turned out, all this celebration and ritual came too naught. Honorius never consummated the marriage. In less than a decade, Maria became ill and died as a virgin. Why did Honorius fail to do his marital duties? Perhaps he was simply too young, but we will never know for sure, for the palace and its eunuchs kept its secrets.
  Maria was buried in the imperial mausoleum connected with the south transept of the Constantinian basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, and she was buried with a locket, probably a gift from her husband, that sheds further light on Placidia’s standing in 404. The locket was inscribed with the names of Honorius and the other members of the imperial family in the West, except Placidia. The carving in gold translates roughly as “Long live Honorius, Maria, Stilicho, Serena! Long live Stilicho, Serena, Thermantia, Eucherius.” Her exclusion suggests that Placidia was not a welcome member of the royal household, and she certainly was not welcomed by her brother Honorius, who ordered the locket.
  
  Thermantia
  Western Roman Empress consort 408
  Aemilia Materna Thermantia (+ 415) was the second Emperess Consort of Honorius, Western Emperor (rule 395 – 423) and the second daughter of Stilicho and Serena. Like any good general, Stilicho first tried to secure his back, meaning his place at the court. Together with Serena and Gallia Placidia, he arranged for Honorius to marry his younger daughter Thermantia, thus linking his family again to the succession in the hopes that this time Honorius would father a child. Though this marriage also remained childless.
  However, the wedding would prove short-lived. Stilicho had proposed an alliance with Alaric I of the Visigoths in order to enforce the claims of Honorius to the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. But at the time of the wedding, Alaric I and his army were on their way to Italy, which would finally and in the 3 sieges of Rome and the sack of the city on August 24th, 410.
  Fearing treason Honorius commanded in 408 his wife Thermantia to be taken from the imperial court in Ravenna and to move to Rome to be restored to her mother (= divorce). In the same year Honorius ordered the murder of Stilicho, his wife Serena and their son Eucherius.
  The 7th century Greek Chronicon Paschale mentions that Thermantia presumably died months earlier. Her husband never remarried. Honorius died childless in 423.

• m. ABT 384 in Roman Empire
• m. ABT 387 in Milano, Lombardia, Italy

1. Thermentia Maria des Vandales, b. 385 in Roman Empire     d. February/March 407 in Ravenna, Italy, Roman Empire

1. Title: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy:
   Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ITALY,%20Kings%20to%20962.htm#Theodosiusdied395;
   Note: Two brothers, parents not known: 1. THEODOSIUS (-beheaded early 376). A general under the service of Emperor Valentinian I, he was decapitated by Emperor Gratian[49]. m THERMANTIA, daughter of ---. The Pauli Historiæ Romanæ names "Theodosius genitus patre Theodosio matre Thermantia"[50]. Theodosius & his wife had one child: a) THEODOSIUS (Cauca, near Valladolid 11 Jan 347-Milan 17 Jan 395, bur 8 Nov 395 Constantinople). Emperor Theodosius & his first wife had two children: i) ARCADIUS (end 377-1 May 408). ii) HONORIUS (Constantinople 9 Sep 384-15 Aug 423). Emperor Theodosius & his second wife had one child: iii) GALLA PLACIDIA ([388/early May 394][80]-Rome 27 Nov 450). 2. HONORIUS . Claudius names "Honorius" as father of "Serena" in his poem Laus Serenæ[92]. The primary source which confirms that he was the brother of Theodosius has not yet been identified. m MARIA, daughter of ---. Claudius names "Flaccillam Mariam" as mother of "Serena" in his poem Laus Serenæ[93]. Honorius & his wife had two children: a) THERMANTIA . Claudius names "Serena minor, prior…Thermantia natu" as the daughters of "Honorius" in his poem Laus Serenæ[94]. b) SERENA . Zosimus records that "Serenæ, principis Theodosii fratris filiæ" was the wife of "Stelichonum" who was one of the two commanders of the Roman army[95]. m STILICO, son of --- (-23 Aug ----). Zosimus records the death "X Kal Sep, Bassi Philippique consulatu" of "Stelicho"[96]. Stilico & his wife had three children: i) EUCHERIUS . Zosimus records that "Eucherio Stelichonis filio" fled but was brought back to Rome after the death of his father and strangled[97]. ii) MARIA (-[Feb/Mar] 407). Zosimus records that "Honorio principi" married "Stelicho…filiam…ex Serena", naming her "Mariam" in a later passage[98]. Iordanes records that "Stilico…comis…duæ filiæ Maria et Hermantia" were both wives of Emperor Honorius but died as virgins[99]. The Chronicle of Marcellinus also names the two sisters and records the same information[100]. m (398) as his first wife, Emperor HONORIUS, son of Emperor THEODOSIUS I & his first wife Flacilla --- (Constantinople 9 Sep 384-Aug 423). iii) HERMANTIA (-415). Zosimus records that "Imperator…Honorius" married "sororem eius Thermantiam" after the death of "Maria coniuge"[101]. Iordanes records that "Stilico…comis…duæ filiæ Maria et Hermantia" were both wives of Emperor Honorius but died as virgins[102]. The Chronicle of Marcellinus also names the two sisters and records the same information[103]. m (408, repudiated end 408) as his second wife, Emperor HONORIUS, son of Emperor THEODOSIUS I & his first wife Flacilla --- (Constantinople 9 Sep 384-Aug 423).
   
2. Title: Serena VanSpanje in the Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-2015
   Author: she may have been born in Spain, but it is unlikely, and for sure she didn't die in Afghanistan
   Publication: Name: http://search.ancestry.ca/collections/9289/records/22714687;
   Note: Name: Serena VanSpanje Gender: f (Female) Birth Place: Gallaecia, Spain Death Place: Lāṯ, Nimruz, Afghanistan Spouse: Flavius Stilicho Children: Thermantia Roman Empire URL: https://www.genealogieonline.n...
   
3. Title: Academia.edu -The women of the Theodosian dynasty
   Publication: Name: https://www.academia.edu/27933209/The_Women_of_the_Theodosian_dynasty_The_founders_of_female_power_in_the_Byzantine_state_updated_but_still_draft_version_;
   
4. Title: Serena Van Spanje in the Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-2015
   Author: pretty sure this is incorrect
   Publication: Name: http://search.ancestry.ca/collections/9289/records/22713990;
   Note: Name: Serena Van Spanje Gender: f (Female) Birth Date: 0379 Birth Place: Spain Death Date: 0408 Death Place: La, Nimruz, Afghanistan Death Age: 29 Spouse: Flavius Stilicho Children: Thermantia Constantinople URL: https://www.genealogieonline.n...
   
5. Title: Ancestry Family Trees
   Author: Ancestry Family Tree