[On the Battle of Kosovo]
And when Orhan1 had died, his youngest son, named Murad,2 rose and subdued many lands in the west. Finally, he rose against the pious Prince Lazar. Lazar could not bear to wait any longer and to neglect his limbs, and moreover, those of Christ, to be cut and torn apart, but decided either to remove their disgrace from everyone, or to die himself and to testify to this by suffering. Seized by such thoughts, he rose and went against the Ishmaelites, and the conflict took place at a site called Kosovo.3 Among the soldiers who fought in front (of the army), there was one very noble, whom the envious blackened before the lord and suspected as unfaithful. But he, to show his loyalty and at the same time his bravery, found a suitable moment, rushed towards the great leader as if he were a defector, and they opened the way for him. But when he was near, he suddenly charged and thrust his sword into that very proud and fearsome autocrat. There he himself fell among them.4 At first, Lazar’s men resisted and were victorious. But it was no longer time for deliverance. Therefore, the son of that emperor5 again strengthened in that same battle and won, for God allowed that this great [Lazar] and those with him be crowned with the wreath of martyrdom. What happened after that? Lazar achieved a blessed death by having his head cut off, and his dear companions earnestly prayed to die before him, so as not to see his death.
- Tran. note: Orhan Ghazi, second sultan of the Ottoman empire. ↩︎
- Tran. note: Murad I (1326-1389), third sultan of the Ottman Empire. ↩︎
- Tran. note: The 1389 Battle of Kosovo. ↩︎
- Tran. note: Unnamed here, this is hero is first named as Miloš Kobila (Kobilić/Obilić) by Konstanin Mihailović in his Memoirs of a Jannissary. ↩︎
- Tran. note: Bayezid I (c.1360-1403), who was there with his father Murad I and his brother Yakub. After the death of Murad, he quickly had his brother executed and assumed command and the throne. ↩︎
Translated by Books of Jeremiah
