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The Glagolitic script (Glagolitsa) is the oldest known Slavic script and supposedly was created by the missionaries St Cyril (827-869 AD) and St Methodius (826-885 AD). They needed it to translate the bible and other religious texts into Old Slavic language when the Slavic world converted to Christianity. The letters were probably modeled after a cursive Greek script. With their translations which were based on a slavic dialect of the Thessaloniki area, they created the literary standard known as Old Church Slavonic.
The name »Glagolitic« comes from the fourth letter of the script, »glagol«. »Glagol« in turn stems from the Serbo-Croatian glagoljica, from Old Church Slavonic glagolŭ - »word«. The script was also referred to as »azbuka« which is a generic term derived from the names of the first two letters of the alphabet. The Glagolitic script consists of 33 basic letters whose order is mainly based on the Greek script, apart from some letters that represent Slavic sounds not found in Greek language. The origin of the shape of the non-Greek Glyphs is unknown, some say they are derived from hebrew or Coptic script, but there is little evidence. The earliest documents written in Glagolitic are from the 9th century. Glagolitic was used until the 12th century and then gradually replaced by Cyrillic, sometimes Latin in liturgical uses. Only in Croatia was it used in church until the 19th century, because in 1248, the Croats had been given special permission by Pope Innocent IV to use their own language and script in liturgy. In Croatia, the rounded shapes of the Glagolitic Glyphs (seen above) also evolved into a very distinctive, more square variant which features a lot of ligatures. Today, Glagolitic is a dead script only used for research and scholarly purposes. |
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The Missal of Hrvoje is probably the most interesting Glagolitic book. It is a liturgical book written in 1404 by a Glagolitic scribe Butko. It has 94 beautiful illuminations, 380 colourful initials (some of them in gold), and many more small initials. Some initials contain architectural elements of the city of Split. The book has been kept in the Library of the Turkish sultans (Topkapi Saray) in Constantinople since the 16th century. Once bound in precious covers, from 19th century Hrvoje\'s Missal is in leather binding. It is written in two columns on 488 pp (22.5x31 cm), and contains also some music notation.
(Source: http://www.hr/darko/etf/et03.html author: Darko Zubrinic) |
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The first Croatian printed book in Glagolitic letters appeared as early as 1483, only 28 years after Gutenberg\'s Bible, 6 years after the first printed book in Paris and Venice, one year before Stockholm, 58 years before Berlin and 70 years before Moscow. It was a Missal (440 pp, 19x26 cm), unfortunately it is not known where it was printed. The Croatian Glagolitic Script was the fifth to appear in the history of European printing, very soon after the Latin, Gothic, Greek and Hebrew scripts. Eleven preserved copies of the first Croatian incunabulum are kept in
* The Library of Congress in Washington, * in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, * in the National Library in Vienna, * in Apostolic Library in the Vatican (two copies), * and in Croatia (six copies). (Source: http://www.hr/darko/etf/et03.html author: Darko Zubrinic) |
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Constantine’s Slavonic Alphabet – the Glagolitic
»The invention and first drawaing of the Slavonic alphabet is a historic achievement and most convincing proof of his inner duty. Moreover, he took into consideration only Old Bulgarian’s phonetic features. We think we should make an introductory note bevor delving in details into Constantine’s achievement. It seems that heretofore efforts to answer the cardinal question for whom – cui bono – the Bulgarian alphabet was invented and for whom the Greek texts were translated into Bulgarian have been somewhat biased, preconceived and rigid. This is clearly expressed in the multiple restriction of phrases with ›if‹ and ›however‹. A fully unbiased and impartial study could rest on the assumption only – and then, naturally, be subjected to a critical test – that the creation of a literary language had been intended for a people whose language and language characteristics were embedded in its foundation, therefore, for the Bulgarians. The more frequent concept, that Constantine invented his alphabet to facilitate his Moravian mission, does not pass the critical test of substantial grounds and time. Constantine invented the Bulgarian-Slav alphabet on his own decision, not commissioned or obliegt by secular or church auhtorities. The New alphabet was not nessecary for the fulfilment of his mission; moreover, the introduction and distribution of this alphabet set additional and absolutely needless difficulties. The Moravians were alredy using Latin characters. There was no reason for Constantine to create a new script for them. On the contrary, it would have been strange to create a New alphabet that no one demanded in a language that no one spoke in a country he did not know and for a people that did not need it for it already had a time-honoured script. Constantine’s further behaviour showed that he did not need adapt his Alphabet to the Moravian language. He would have done it had his alphabet been intended for the Moravians; he could have done it in advance because Rostislav’s ambassadors would have enlightened him while still in Constantinople. And last, he should have done it in Moravia for he made translations there. But he did nothing of the kind. His Alphabet was not changed; it had been intended exclusively for Old Bulgarian.« Credits Hoffer Edle von Sulmtal, Angelica; Margaritoff, Michael: About Cyrill and Methodius. An Attemtpt to Establish the Nationality of the Slav Apostles Constantine and Methodius and an Explanation of Some Circumstances Related to This Question, first edition , Otechestven Front Publishing House, Sofia, 1989, pp. 277–279; second edition, Tangra TanNakRа All Bulgarian Foundation, Sofia, 1999. |
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