Prince Lazar is a Serbian prince, holder of the Castle of Red Stone and leader of the Serbian army at Kosovo in 1389. The name gathers a cluster of princes (the commander at Kosovo, a prince guarded aboard the Orient Express, the Red Prince of Byzantium, and possibly the Romanian prince Vibescu) who may or may not be one person. Red is their common mark.
| Type | Character |
| Title | Prince (sovereign of Serbia) |
| Seat | Castle of Red Stone |
| Spanish entry | Príncipe Lázaro |
The title
In Serbia the sovereign is called prince, not king: it is the highest rank, and therefore scarce and contested: “the prince of Vivescu of many states, evidently”. The holder inherits the castle and decides for the stronghold.
The four seats
- Castle of Red Stone, “at this moment under the command of Prince Lazar”, who rules it as heir.
- Field of Kosovo, 1389, where the operation “is mainly over Prince Lazar’s area”. He leads the Serbian army; the decision attributed to him is whether to open the gates or let the torcos (Turks) in. His role is both political and religious. His fall to the Ottomans makes him “the last king”, a martyr of the faith remembered 500 and 600 years later in Serbian Christian tradition. See Battle of Kosovo.
- Private car of the Orient Express, where “a prince on board the train requires protection”. He is escorted (“prince, we have to go to your bedroom”) and searched for compartment by compartment, and his presence is why the whole train is inspected.
- Red faction of Byzantium, headed by the Red Prince.
Appearance and belongings
He has “special red silk shoes, magical belongings”. As Red Prince he “wears red garments and sometimes a kind of half hood”, with “plumes” over them. A searched compartment held “several poems dedicated to Hercules and buffaloes”.
Other princes of the cluster
- Alexander Obrenovich, “a young man of about twenty”, known for controversial political approaches to foreign powers.
- Mony Vibescu, Romanian prince, whose name is spelled variously (Vivoescu, Vivescu, Vibescu, Vibesco). He practiced sorcery: “he made some liquids by which he was affected.” The Romanian variant is credited with a full military record (“war medals, he really was in all of them”) and with winning his country’s independence.
- The title Prince of Chance is applied to the prince with respect to a battle.
Conflicting accounts
- One account gives the prince a full war record; another states that he “was never in a war situation”.
Open questions
- Whether Prince Lazar and Prince Vibescu are one man or two.
- Whether the Red Prince is Lazar or the head of another house.
- What the red silk shoes do; what the “plumes” and the garment called secopa are.
- From whom he inherits the Castle of Red Stone.
- Whether “Prince of Chance” is a nickname, an office, or another battle.
- His face, age and voice are not recorded.