c. 1335–1405

Milica Hrebeljanović

Princess, wise ruler and nun Evgenija

Pillar of the state after Kosovo

Milica Hrebeljanović, born Nemanjić (of the line of Vukan Nemanjić), was one of the most significant women in Serbian history. After the tragic death of her husband, Prince Lazar, at Kosovo in 1389, she took on the burden of governing the state on behalf of her underage sons.

In the hardest times for Serbia, she showed exceptional diplomatic wisdom and courage, managing to save the people and the state from complete destruction. When her son Stefan Lazarević came of age, she withdrew to her endowment, Ljubostinja, and took monastic vows under the name Evgenija, devoting herself to prayer and literature.

“She who was a ruler became a handmaid of the Lord, exchanging the purple for the monastic habit.”

Ljubostinja

Ljubostinja Monastery, her endowment near Trstenik, became a refuge for the widows of the Serbian nobles who fell at Kosovo. There, together with the nun Jefimija, she nurtured the culture of remembrance, embroidery and the written word, preserving the spirit of the people in the hardest of times.