Source details
Razgovor ugodni naroda slovinskoga
Andrija Kačić Miošić, Razgovor ugodni naroda slovinskoga, digitized 1801 edition, “Pisma od vitezova neretvanskih.”
- Relevance to the family history
- The poetic passage names Nikola Nonković as a cavalier of the Neretva and connects his Venetian honour with battlefield courage.
- Printed pages
- 231
- PDF pages
- 247
Transcript of the cited text
Original Croatian text
„Na prvoga Novković Nikola, ljuta zmija, na glasu viteza, kavalira od Neretve mutne. Prid junacim na vojsku iđaše, često turske glave odsicaše. Ne bijaše boja ni mejdana brez viteza Novković Nikole. Njemu dužde dade za junaštvo od Neretve lipo kavalirstvo, svitlo krilo od zlata kolajne, koje no su viteško zlamenje.”
English translation
“First comes Nikola Novković,
a fierce dragon, a knight of renown,
a cavalier of the murky Neretva.
He went before the heroes into battle
and often struck off Turkish heads.
There was no battle or contest
without the knight Nikola Novković.
For his heroism the Doge gave him
the fair cavaliership of the Neretva,
a shining wing from a golden medallion,
the emblem of knighthood.”Editorial and translation note
This is a literary rather than archival source. The transcript retains Ikavian and archaic forms while transliterating the old print into modern characters. The surname appears in the edition as Novkovich/Novković. The translation conveys the sense: “ljuta zmija” is an epic compliment for martial strength, and “mejdan” means a battle or single combat.