| Minervina | |
|---|---|
 Imaginary portrait (1587) | |
| Roman empress | |
| Tenure | 306–307 (alongside Galeria Valeria 306–307 and Valeria Maximilla 306–307) |
| Spouse | Constantine I (disputed) |
| Issue | Crispus |
Minervina was either the first wife or a concubine of Constantine I, and the mother of his eldest son Crispus.
Constantine served as a hostage in the court of Eastern Roman Emperor Diocletian in Nicomedia, thus securing the loyalty of his father Constantius Chlorus, Caesar of the Western Roman Empire.
When Constantine wanted to strengthen his bonds with the other Tetrarchs, in 307 AD he married Fausta, the daughter of the emperor Maximian. This marriage has caused modern historians to question his relationship to Minervina and Crispus. If Minervina were his legitimate wife, Constantine would have needed to secure a divorce before marrying Fausta according to canon 8 of the First Council of Nicaea, which would have required an official written order signed by himself, but no such order is mentioned by contemporary sources. This has led many historians to conclude that the relationship between Constantine and Minervina was informal and to assume her to have been an unofficial lover. However, Minervina might have already been dead by 307. A widowed Constantine would need no divorce.
Literary sources refer to Minervina as a concubine, but a panegyric called her a wife.[1] Barnes, Woods and the PLRE view the panegyric as proof that she was married to Constantine,[2][3][4] while Pohlsander considers the possibility of the panegyrist not being entirely truthful.[1]
Neither the true nature of the relationship between Constantine and Minervina nor the reason Crispus came under the protection of his father will probably ever be known. The offspring of an illegitimate affair could have caused dynastical problems and would likely be dismissed, but Crispus was raised by his father in Gaul. This can be seen as evidence of a loving and public relationship between Constantine and Minervina, which gave him a reason to protect her son.
The story of Minervina is quite similar to that of Constantine's mother Helena. Constantine's father later had to divorce her for political reasons, specifically, to marry Flavia Maximiana Theodora, the daughter of Maximian, in order to secure his alliance with his new father-in-law. Constantine, in turn may have had to put aside Minervina in order to secure an alliance with the same man. Constantius did not dismiss Constantine as his son, and perhaps Constantine chose to follow his father's example.
Whatever the reason, Constantine kept Crispus at his side. Constantine even entrusted his education to Lactantius, among the most important Christian teachers of that time, who probably started teaching Crispus before 317. Crispus was sentenced to death by Constantine's order in 326.