Vekenega (Zadar - Zadar, September 27, 1111) was aCroatianBenedictinenun from theHouse of Madi, a noble family fromZadar. She was the daughter ofČika and the abbess of theBenedictine monastery of St. Maria in Zadar from 1072. She is also known for the richly illuminated evangelistary, which she commissioned in the scriptorium of the monastery of st.Krševan in 1096.[1]
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She was the daughter ofČika, a member of the noble patrician Madi family, known to have founded the Benedictine monastery of St. Mary in Zadar.[2] Čika entered the monastery and became abbess.[3] When the king Petar Krešimir IV placed the monastery under the royal protection, he referred to Čika as his sister.[4]
After the tragic death of Vekenega's husband, Dobroslav, Vekenega became a nun in 1072, and entered the monastery of St. Mary.[5] At some point post-1095, Vekenega replaced her mother as abbess.[3] In 1095 or 1096, the Evangelistary of Zadar, also known as the Vekenega Evangelistary, was created at her request.[6] In 1111 she died and was buried at the monastery.[3]
