Empress Milica and the Dragon of Jastrebac

Some of the famous heroes of were considered to be dragon-like, such as despot Vuk Grgurević, known as the Fiery Dragon Wolf, and despot Stefan Lazarević, son of Empress Milica. In appearance they did not differ from other people, except that they had wings under their armpits.

There is a folk poem about the relationship between Empress Milica and the Dragon of Jastrebac. The following verses describe the dragon’s visits with the Empress at night:

Little by little, for a long time, 
The Jastrebac Mountains shine 
And the dragon of Jastrebac starts his flight        
from the freezing water from Zmajevac. 
So he gets alongside Krusevo straight
Then he will come down to the white towers, 
He will fall onto the soft mattresses, 
He will breathe fire, 
And with the Empress lay down on the pillows. 

The dragon had been visiting Milica for a year before Emperor Lazar noticed that his wife was so sad and pale, and asked her to tell him what was troubling her. The Empress told him about these visits, and he advised her to ask the dragon if there was anyone else but God that he was afraid of the next time he visited her. Milica managed to get the dragon to confide in her and found out that the only man he feared was Vuk the Dragon-Despot. Emperor Lazarus sent a letter to Vuk, who came to Kruševac and killed the dragon after chasing him down in the clouds.