14 h 24 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 24 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What keeps a people's memory alive when centuries of foreign rule threaten to silence it?
In Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians, kings, knights, outlaws and mountain fairies share a world of battlefields and enchanted places. The tales of Kosovo and the adventures of Prince Marko bring honour, loyalty and courage into sharp focus. Here, a nation's memory lives in the words its singers carry from one generation to the next.
The Kosovo tales place Tsar Lazar and his lords before the Ottoman army, while Milos Obilic faces doubts about his loyalty. Elsewhere, Prince Marko defends the weak against tyrants, with his horse Sharats beside him. Across these stories, honour demands hard choices, promises bind their makers, and courage becomes the stuff of legend.
What you’ll discover
- The songs of Kosovo Enter an epic drama where battle carries the hopes of a people.
- Marko and his horse Follow a mighty, hard-drinking champion and Sharats through adventures shaped by courage and loyalty.
- Honour under pressure Discover a world where keeping your word matters more than your own comfort.
- Beyond the battlefield Meet mountain fairies and outlaws as heroic tales lead into enchanted places.
- Memory carried in song Explore an oral tradition sustained by singers and the sound of the one-stringed gusle.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy epic songs, fairy tales with dragons and veele, medieval Balkan history, or old village customs, and if you like heroes who joke, drink red wine and keep their word.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A small nation's history lives in song
- Old gods and fairies still live in belief
- Weddings and feasts follow ancient patterns
- Bards sing history to a single string
- Marko is the people's favorite hero
- Marko fights Moors, bullies and sultans
- Loyal heroes and a clever shepherd
- Betrayal and honor run through the songs
- Three verse ballads show a darker tone
- Folk tales add clever girls and strange helpers
Who’s who
- Prince MarkoThe favorite hero of the Serbs, strong and humorous, who fights Turks, Moors and bullies and tells the truth even when it endangers him.
- SharatzMarko's piebald horse, almost human, who warns his master of danger, drinks wine with him and will serve no other rider.
- Banovitch StrahinyaA noble knight who rides alone to the plain of Kossovo to win back his wife from a Turkish chieftain.
- Milosh VoinovitchThe shepherd nephew of Tsar Doushan, who joins the royal wedding party in disguise to protect his uncle.
- Tsarina MilitzaThe wife of Tsar Lazarus, who begs to keep one of her nine brothers at home before the battle of Kossovo.
- Stephan YakshitchA Serbian prince, captured by the Turks, who holds to his Christian faith through imprisonment and temptation.
- PepelyougaThe Serbian Cinderella, named Marra, who is mistreated by her stepmother and helped by her mother's grave.
- Bash TchelikA bound and thirsty prisoner in the folk tale, who rewards a prince's kindness with a dangerous gift.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
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- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians
by Woislav M. Petrovitch; Vuk Stefanović Karadžić · 1914
Prince Marko and his piebald horse Sharatz ride through Serbian ballads of Moors, veele and a lost empire.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What would it take for a whole nation to keep its history alive for five hundred years without a single printed page? In Serbia, the answer was song.
Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 5 min6 h 25 min fast, 9 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 115,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1914by Woislav M. Petrovitch; Vuk Stefanović Karadžić
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A small nation's history lives in song
The book opens with a quick history, because the ballads cannot be understood without it. The Serbs came into the Balkan lands in the seventh century, met the Byzantine world, and took up Christianity. Their ruling families often wasted strength in quarrels over the throne.
The high point comes with Tsar Doushan the Powerful, who in the fourteenth century ruled most of the peninsula. After his early death, the great nobles pulled the empire apart. Then came the decisive blow on June 15, 1389, on the field of Kossovo. Tsar Lazar's army was close to winning by noon, but the lord Vouk Brankovitch left the field with twelve thousand men, and the Turks won.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1914
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Petrovitch, Woislav M., and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić. Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/hero-tales-and-legends-of-the-serbians.
Petrovitch, W. M., & Karadžić, V. S. (2026). Hero tales and legends of the Serbians. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/hero-tales-and-legends-of-the-serbians (Original work published 1914)
Petrovitch, Woislav M., and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić. Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/hero-tales-and-legends-of-the-serbians.
@book{petrovitch2026hero,
author = {Petrovitch, Woislav M. and Karadžić, Vuk Stefanović},
title = {Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/hero-tales-and-legends-of-the-serbians},
note = {First published 1914}
}
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What is Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians about?
It gathers Serbian heroic ballads, verse poems and folk tales, with chapters on history, old beliefs and customs. The best-known songs follow Prince Marko, Tsar Lazar and the heroes of the battle of Kossovo.
Who was Prince Marko?
Marko, called Kralyevitch Marko, is the favorite hero of Serbian song. He was the son of King Voukashin, rides the piebald horse Sharatz and wields a heavy war club. Songs show him as a defender of justice.
What does the battle of Kossovo mean in the book?
Kossovo is the field where Tsar Lazar's army fought the Turks in 1389 and lost. The ballads treat it as the moment the medieval Serbian empire fell, and its memory runs through the whole collection.
The author
Woislav M. Petrovitch
1885–1934 · Serbian writer and folklorist
Librarian; consular service.
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