Pre-Cyrillic Slavic writing
Encyclopedia
There is some evidence that the early Slavs
may have used a writing system
or a form of proto-writing prior to the introduction of Christianity
and of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets in the mid 9th century. But there is no extant evidence of pre-Christian Slavic writing, and the hypothesis rests on indirect evidence.
in his work An Account Of Letters briefly mentioned that, before the introduction of Christianity, Slavs used a system he had dubbed "strokes and incisions" or "tallies and sketches" in some translations (Old Church Slavonic
: ). He also provided information critical to Slavonic palaeography
with his book.
Another contemporary source, Thietmar of Merseburg
, describing a temple on the island of Rügen
, a Slavic pagan stronghold
, remarked that the idols there had their names carved out on them ("singulis nominibus insculptis" Chronicon 6:23 ).
This is not directly connected to the question of possible 8th-century Slavic writing, as Thietmar wrote in the 11th century, and the Conversion of Pomerania
took place only in the 12th century.
word for "to write", derives from a Common Balto-Slavic word for "to paint, smear", found in Lithuanian
"paint, write", "smudge", "sooty, dirty", from the same root as Old Slavic (also ) "coloured" (Greek ), ultimately from a PIE
root "speckled, coloured" (Latin "paint", Tocharian , "paint, write"). This indicates that the Slavs named the new art of writing in ink, as "smearing, painting", unlike English which, with Old English } English write, transferred the term for "incising (runes)" to manuscript writing. The other Germanic languages use terms derived from Latin scribere. A Slavic term for "to incise" survives in OCS "lot" originally the incision on a wooden chip used for divination (Russian
"number, tally mark", from the same root as Greek ).
Early Slavs
The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies in Migration period and early medieval Europe whose tribal organizations indirectly created the foundations for today’s Slavic nations .The first mention of the name Slavs dates to the 6th century, by which time the Slavic tribes inhabited a...
may have used a writing system
Writing system
A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...
or a form of proto-writing prior to the introduction of Christianity
Christianization of Bulgaria
The Christianization of Bulgaria was the process by which 9th-century medieval Bulgaria converted to Christianity. It was influenced by the khan's shifting political alliances with the kingdom of the East Franks and the Byzantine Empire, as well as his reception by the Pope of the Roman Catholic...
and of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets in the mid 9th century. But there is no extant evidence of pre-Christian Slavic writing, and the hypothesis rests on indirect evidence.
Evidence from early historiography
The 9th century Bulgarian writer, Chernorizets HrabarChernorizets Hrabar
Chernorizets Hrabar was a Bulgarian monk, scholar and writer who worked at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century, developing Medieval Bulgarian literature and spreading Old Church Slavonic.- Name :...
in his work An Account Of Letters briefly mentioned that, before the introduction of Christianity, Slavs used a system he had dubbed "strokes and incisions" or "tallies and sketches" in some translations (Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
: ). He also provided information critical to Slavonic palaeography
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
with his book.
Another contemporary source, Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg was a German chronicler who was also bishop of Merseburg.-Life:...
, describing a temple on the island of Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
, a Slavic pagan stronghold
Cape Arkona
Cape Arkona is a cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Cape Arkona is the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park....
, remarked that the idols there had their names carved out on them ("singulis nominibus insculptis" Chronicon 6:23 ).
This is not directly connected to the question of possible 8th-century Slavic writing, as Thietmar wrote in the 11th century, and the Conversion of Pomerania
Conversion of Pomerania
Medieval Pomerania was converted from Slavic paganism to Christianity by Otto von Bamberg in 1124 and 1128 , and in 1168 by Absalon .Earlier attempts, undertaken since the 10th century, failed or were short-lived...
took place only in the 12th century.
Evidence from etymology
The SlavicSlavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
word for "to write", derives from a Common Balto-Slavic word for "to paint, smear", found in Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
"paint, write", "smudge", "sooty, dirty", from the same root as Old Slavic (also ) "coloured" (Greek ), ultimately from a PIE
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....
root "speckled, coloured" (Latin "paint", Tocharian , "paint, write"). This indicates that the Slavs named the new art of writing in ink, as "smearing, painting", unlike English which, with Old English } English write, transferred the term for "incising (runes)" to manuscript writing. The other Germanic languages use terms derived from Latin scribere. A Slavic term for "to incise" survives in OCS "lot" originally the incision on a wooden chip used for divination (Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
"number, tally mark", from the same root as Greek ).