Claim: Starina Novak (born in the 1530s) studied at the monastery of Poreč and began a career as a hajduk after he was imprisoned and beaten by Turks, which led him to learn the use of weapons and formed his četa (which is an armed band organized as a rebellion force) who started a violent fight against the Turks.
Evidence: 1530
Poreč, Ottoman Empire (now Donji Milanovac, Serbia) He studied at the monastery of Poreč and was fluent in both Serbian and Old Slavonic. He began his career as a hajduk at an early age after he was imprisoned and beaten by Turks, losing all his teeth (hence the name Old Novak) that led him to leave his birthplace and take refuge in the forests of the Timok Valley where he quickly learned the use of weapons and military from a hajduk harambaša (commander). He soon formed his own četa (hajduk band) and started a violent fight against the Ottomans. A cheta (Albanian: çeta; Bulgarian: чета; Serbian: чета / četa; Turkish: çete; Greek: τσέτης) was an armed band organized by the mostly Bulgarian, Serbian, Albanian, Greek and Aromanian population on the territory of the Ottoman Empire that undertook anti-Ottoman activity.