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Stefan Lazarević

poet and writer (1374-1427)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ336531
Source-derived summary

Stefan Lazarević (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Лазаревић; c. 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (Serbian: Стефан Високи, romanized: Stefan Visoki), ruled as a Serbian prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislator, ktetor, patron of the arts, poet, and one of the founding members of the Order of the Dragon. The son of Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, he was regarded as one of the finest knights and military leaders of his time. After the death of his father in the Battle of Kosovo, he became ruler of Moravian Serbia and ruled with his mother, Milica (a Nemanjić), until he reached adulthood in 1393. Stefan led troops in several battles as an Ottoman vassal, until asserting independence after receiving the title of despot from the Byzantine Empire in 1402.

Becoming a Hungarian ally in 1403–04, he received possessions, such as Belgrade and the Golubac Fortress. He also held a superior rank in the Order of the Dragon. During his reign, he had a conflict with his nephew, Đurađ Branković, which ended in 1412. Lazarević also inherited Zeta and waged war against Venice. Since he was childless, he designated his nephew Đurađ as heir in 1426, a year before his death.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Stefan Lazarević” is poet and writer (1374-1427). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Stefan, Lazarević and poet, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1377, 1427, 1389, 1402—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1374-01-01, 1377—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. For this dossier, Stefan, Lazarević and poet is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “poet and writer (1374-1427)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q336531. VIAF identifies the subject as 30336762. The Library of Congress control number is n82079076. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1377, 1427, 1389 and 1402.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Stefan Lazarević”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Stefan Lazarević primary sources, Stefan Lazarević archive and Stefan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Stefan Lazarević”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Stefan Lazarević” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.