Page 277 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

The inscription on the Marble Pillar in the Kosovo Field (1404)
You, the man who walks on this Serbian land, No matter if you are a newcomer or native, No matter who you are or what you are, When you reach this field,
By the name of Kosovo,
You will see many dead bones,
And stony nature surrounding them,
And me in the shape of a cross.
You will see me standing upright in the center of this field, So you cannot overlook or pass by me,
As though I was something idle or insignificant.
So please, come near me oh, dear one,
And see the words I am bearing,
And you will comprehend the reason,
How and why I am standing here,
Because I am telling the truth to you,
No living man could tell you better,
I will tell you everything that happened.
Somewhere around here there was a great nobleman, Whom all in the land wondered, a Serbian hero
Called Lazar, great prince,
Constant pillar of the Faith,
Open sea of the goodness and deepness of wisdom,
Fiery mind and the protector of the foreigners,
The feeder of the hungry, gentle for the rough,
The counselor and the keeper,
Who loved everything Christ loved,
Who walked alone by his own will,
And with his numerous knights
Whom he commanded.
Good husbands, brave husbands,
Husbands both in words and deeds,
Who shone like those bright stars,
Like ground covered with colored flowers,
Dressed in gold and diamonds,
Many selected horses with golden saddles,
Along with their excellent riders,
Noble and glorious,
Despot Stefan Lazarević (1377–1427)
Like the Shepherds Protector,
He leads his spiritual lambs
To die in Christ
And accept the chaplet of suffering,
And take part in the higher glory.
Like one the whole army marched,
With the great and fine gentleman in front, With good soul and stone-hard faith,
As if they saw a magnificent hall or food
They attacked the enemies,
And they overran the true dragon,
And killed the wild beast and the great adversary And the never-sated Hades who devours all,
I am saying Amurad and his son, Descendent of an asp and a snake
A cub of a lion and of a basilisk,
And with them (they killed) many others. Oh, wonders of God’s faith,
The brave sufferer was caught,
By the lawless hands of the Agarens,
He accepted the end with dignity,
And became Christ’s martyr,
The great Prince Lazar.
No one else cut him down, o my beloved,
But the very hand of the murderer, son of Amurad
And all told above happened,
In the year of our God 6897, 12th indict, 15th month, Tuesday, And the hour was the sixth or the seventh,
I do not know, God does.
Prince Stefan Lazarević (1377–1427), the son of Prince Lazar was a poet and a ruler of Serbia. He was only 12 years old when his father was killed in the battle of Kosovo and little Stefan probably never got to know his father as he wanted to.
Being a poet as well as the ruler of Serbia, Prince Stefan felt that he had to pay a tribute to his father and all those knights and men that died in the greatest battle of the time. He erected a pillar at the field where two armies clashed with the poem engraved in the cross.
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