Princess Milica of Serbia

Princess Milica Hrebeljanović née Nemanjić (Serbian: Милица Немањић Хребељановић · ca. 1335 – November 11, 1405) also known as Empress (Tsaritsa) Milica, was a royal consort of Serbia by marriage to Prince Lazar, and regent of Serbia during the minority of her son, despot Stefan Lazarević from 1389 to 1393.

Saint

Milica Nemanjić Hrebeljanović
Милица Немањић Хребељановић
Tsaritsa Milica
Born1335
DiedNovember 11, 1405
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
Burial
Ljubostinja
SpouseLazar of Serbia
IssueStefan Lazarević
HouseNemanjić dynasty
FatherVratko Nemanjić
ReligionSerbian Orthodox
Statue of Princess Milica in Trstenik

She later became a Serbian Orthodox nun under the name Jevgenija. She is the author of "A Mother's Prayer" (Serbian: Молитва матере) and a famous poem of mourning for her husband, My Widowhood's Bridegroom (Serbian: Удовству мојему женик).

Biography

Early life

She was the daughter of Prince Vratko Nemanjić (known in Serb epic poetry as Jug Bogdan), who as a great-grandson of Vukan Nemanjić, Grand Prince of Serbia (ruled 1202-1204)), was part of the collateral, elder branch of the Nemanjić dynasty. Her husband was Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović. She was the fourth cousin once removed of Emperor Dušan of Serbia.

Regency

After the death of her husband at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Milica ruled Serbia until 1393 when her son, Stefan Lazarević Hrebeljanović, came of age to take the throne.[1]

Nun

She founded the Ljubostinja monastery around 1390 and later took monastic vows at her monastery and became the nun Eugenia (Јевгенија, later abbess Euphrosine, Јефросина) around 1393.[2]

Ljubostinja monastery was founded by Princess Milica

In later diplomatic negotiations with Sultan Bayezid I, Eugenia and Euphemia, the former Vasilissa of Serres, both travelled to the Sultan's court in 1398/99.[3]

In 1403, Eugenia went to the Sultan at Serres, arguing in favour of her son Stefan Lazarević in a complicated dispute that had emerged between her two sons and Branković.[2]

Writer

Princess Milica was also a writer. She wrote several prayers and religious poems. In 1397 she issued the "A Mother's Prayer" together with her sons at the Dečani monastery.[4] She commissioned the repairing of the bronze horos of Dečani.[2]

Death and burial

She was buried in Ljubostinja, her monastery. She was canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Family

With Prince Lazar she had five daughters and three sons:

Legacy

Street names

Several streets throughout Central Serbia are named after the Princess. In the once thriving industrial city of Trstenik, Serbia, the main street that runs directly through city center is named Kneginje Milice. Trstenik, Serbia, is the closest major city to her burial site at Ljubostinja Monastery.

There is a Kneginje Milice street also located in Lazarevac, in borough Lukavica. The street is about 250 m long. Near that street is Kolubarski trg and Zivojina Zujovica street.

See also

References
  1. Vujić, Joakim (2006), "The transformation of symbolic geography: Characteristics of the Serbian people", in Trencsényi, Balázs; Kopeček, Michal (eds.), Late enlightenment emergence of the modern 'national idea, Budapest New York: Central European University Press, p. 115, ISBN 9789637326523.
  2. Gavrilović, Zaga (2006), "Women in Serbian politics, diplomacy and art at the beginning of Ottoman rule", in Jeffreys, Elizabeth M. (ed.), Byzantine style, religion, and civilization: in honour of Sir Steven Runciman, New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 75–78, ISBN 9780521834452.
  3. Ćirković, Sima M.; Korać, Vojislav; Babić, Gordana (1986). Studenica Monastery. Belgrade: Jugoslovenska Revija. p. 144. OCLC 17159580.
  4. Popovich, Ljubica D. (1994). "Portraits of Knjeginja Milica". Serbian Studies. North American Society for Serbian Studies. 8 (1–2): 94–95. Archived from the original on 2017-11-23. Retrieved 2015-05-29. Pdf.

Sources
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