Kosovo Maiden

Prince Lazar's Dilemma

Prince Lazar's profound dilemma emerged before the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when he was forced to make a decision that would determine the fate of Serbia and its people.

As he unfolded the letter from the Ottoman Sultan Murad, demanding that he choose between the peaceful surrender of the keys to all Serbian cities or facing battle at Kosovo, Lazar was plunged into a human and statesman's torment. His heart and mind wrestled with an impossible question: should he march into a battle he knew was already lost, risking the lives of his warriors, or avoid the fight and spare his people, at the cost of their freedom? Should he submit, living under the chains of slavery, or die honorably on the battlefield?

It was a harrowing choice, for he knew that no matter what he decided, the cost would be immense. Prince Lazar was not a ruler concerned only with his own power or comfort. He was a courageous commander who placed the future of his country above all else, yet he was also a compassionate man, unafraid to shed tears when grief weighed upon him. He wept as he read Murad's threatening letter, revealing just how heavy his dilemma was and how agonizing was the choice before him.

Lazar knew that the Ottoman forces were far larger and far stronger than Serbia's army, and that victory was almost impossible. Yet, honor and freedom mattered more to him than life itself. He decided that his people would not surrender without a fight. With fierce words, he pronounced a curse upon all who would abandon the struggle, a declaration that crystallized his choice.

The Battle and Its Aftermath

During the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the Serbian army, led by Prince Lazar, faced the much larger and better-equipped Ottoman forces commanded by Sultan Murad I. The battle was fierce and bloody, with heavy losses on both sides. Most of the Serbian warriors, including nobles and knights, were killed, leaving families devastated. Prince Lazar himself was captured and executed, becoming a symbol of martyrdom. The majority of surviving Serbian men either died in battle, were taken prisoner, or were later forced to serve as soldiers or laborers under Ottoman rule.

After the battle, Serbia was left politically weakened and socially destabilized. With much of the male population gone, villages were depopulated, families scattered, and local governance disrupted. In the decades that followed, Serbia became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, paying tribute but attempting to preserve some autonomy. One of the harshest demands imposed by the Ottomans was the "Danak u krvi" (Blood Tax), in which Christian Serbian families were forced to give up young boys to serve as soldiers in the elite Janissary corps. Despite these pressures and the centuries of occupation from the late 14th century until the early 19th century, with full independence recognized in 1878, Serbia never abandoned its Christian faith. Churches, monasteries, and religious traditions were maintained even under Ottoman rule, and faith became a cornerstone of national identity and cultural survival.

The Kosovo Maiden

After the Battle of Kosovo, the Kosovo Maiden wanders across the battlefield. On her shoulders she carries white bread, and in her hands, two golden vessels filled with water and wine. She turns over the dead and the wounded, searching for her fiancé Toplica Milan, her godfather Miloš Obilić, and her brother-in-law Kosančić Ivan. She tends to the scattered wounded heroes across Kosovo, washing them with cool water, offering red wine, and breaking white bread for them. As she serves them wine, her sleeves become soaked with blood.

Finally, she comes upon a gravely wounded hero, the young Orlović Pavle. The Kosovo Maiden tends to him with cool water, white bread, and red wine, radiating compassion and humanity. As he dies in her arms, Orlović Pavle speaks, telling her that all three heroes she has sought died bravely in battle.

In these grim moments after the defeat at Kosovo and the collapse of the Serbian state, the Kosovo Maiden becomes one with her people, sharing in their painful fate and loss of freedom. This nameless girl portrays the destiny of many young women who not only will have no one to marry, but have lost fathers, brothers, fiancés, and other loved ones. All their dreams of happiness and everything they cherished lie spilled in blood on the Kosovo field. At the same time, the Kosovo Maiden foreshadows the dark centuries that await the Serbian people, recounting the consequences of the bloody Battle of Kosovo.