A FEATHER OR A SWORD? ON COUNT NOVAK AND HIS GLAGOLITIC MISSAL

The paper deals with the life of count Novak Disislavić of the Mogorović kindred, a Croatian nobleman who served as a knight of the Hungarian king Louis of Anjou. It examines his military engagements and cultural contributions and challenges the conventional view of Croatian paleo-Slavic studies, which identifies him primarily as the scribe of the “Missal of count Novak” of 1368. From an early age, Novak actively participated in all of King Louis’ military campaigns, demonstrating bravery during sieges and even saving the king himself during a hunt. His bravery was rewarded with possessions, honours and a prestigious position as a knight at the royal court from 1350 at latest. Apart from his military exploits, Novak’s role as a judge and advisor in the Kingdom of Dalmatia and Croatia after the expulsion of the Venetians from the eastern Adriatic coast in 1358 strengthened his standing in Croatian society. His cultural contribution is the aforementioned Glagolitic missal, which, as noted in the colophon (f. 269), is attributed to him as the author due to the indication “napisah”. This missal is considered one of the exemplary Croatian Glagolitic Missals and served as one of the models for the first Glagolitic incunabula in 1483. These are precisely the reasons why Novak could not have transcribed the missal personally, as the production of such a cultural work is extremely complex. As a patron, he was directly involved in its creation and possibly supervised its production.