Cyrillic alphabet

The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe.

Origins

The plan of the alphabet is derived from the early Cyrillic alphabet, itself a derivative of the Glagolitic alphabet, a 9th century uncial cursive usually credited to two brothers from Thessaloniki, Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius. The glyphs in the Cyrillic alphabet are, however, mainly Byzantine Greek letters. Some of them, especially those representing sounds that did not exist in medieval Greek, retain their Glagolitic forms.

Related Topics:
Early Cyrillic alphabet - Glagolitic alphabet - 9th century - Uncial - Cursive - Thessaloniki - Saint Cyril - Saint Methodius - Byzantine - Greek

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Whereas it is widely accepted that the Glagolitic alphabet was invented by Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, the origins of the early Cyrillic alphabet are still a source of much controversy. Though the alphabet is usually attributed to Saint Clement of Ohrid, a Bulgarian scholar and disciple of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, the alphabet is more likely to have developed at the Preslav Literary School in northeastern Bulgaria, where the oldest Cyrillic inscriptions (dating back to the 940s) have been found. The strong Byzantine influence which Preslav experienced as Bulgaria’s capital in the 9th and the 10th century is a plausible reason for the incorporation of Greek letters into the Glagolitic alphabet. The theory is further supported by the fact that the Cyrillic alphabet replaced almost completely the Glagolitic one in northeastern Bulgaria as early as the end of the 10th century, whereas the Ohrid Literary School—where Saint Clement worked—continued to use the Glagolitic alphabet until the 12th century.

Related Topics:
Glagolitic alphabet - Clement of Ohrid - Preslav Literary School - Bulgaria - 940 - Byzantine - Preslav - Greek - 10th century - Ohrid Literary School - 12th century

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There are also other theories regarding the origins of the Cyrillic alphabet, namely that the alphabet was created by Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius themselves, or that it preceded the Glagolitic alphabet, representing a "transitional" stage between Greek and Glagolitic cursive, but these have been widely disproved. Although Cyril is almost certainly not the author of the Cyrillic alphabet, his contributions to Glagolitic alphabet and hence to the Cyrillic alphabet are still recognised, as the latter is named after him.

Related Topics:
Saint Cyril - Saint Methodius - Glagolitic alphabet

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