History of the language: who invented the Russian alphabet?

"How does the Motherland begin," as the old and heartfelt song sings? And it begins with a small: with love for their native language, with the alphabet. All of us from childhood got used to a certain kind of letters in the alphabet of the Russian language. And as a rule, we rarely think: when and under what conditions did writing arise, who invented the Russian alphabet? Nevertheless, the existence and emergence of a letter is an important and fundamental milestone in the historical maturation of every people in the world, contributing to the development of its national culture and self-awareness. Sometimes in the depths of the century, the specific names of the writers of a particular people are lost. But in the Slavic context this happened not so. And those who invented the Russian alphabet are known so far. Let us learn more about these people.

What is an alphabet?

The very word "alphabet" derives its origin from the first two letters of Greek letters: alpha and beta. It is known that the ancient Greeks made many efforts to develop and disseminate writing in many countries of Europe. Who first invented the alphabet in world history? Scientists are arguing about this. The main hypothesis is the "ABC" Sumerian, which occurs about five thousand years ago. One of the most ancient (known) is the Chinese and Egyptian alphabets . Writing develops from drawings to signs, turning into graphic systems. And the signs began to display sounds.

The development of writing in the history of mankind can not be overestimated. In the language of the people, his writing reflected life, way of life and knowledge, historical and mythological characters. Thus, reading ancient inscriptions, modern scientists can recreate what our ancestors lived.

History of the Russian alphabet

Slavic writing has, you can say, a unique origin. Its history lasts about a thousand years, it contains many secrets.

• In times of paganism, the Slavic peoples had written letters, called traits or cuts. Slashes and dashes were made on a tree (special tags).
• After Vladimir accepted Christianity (in fact, this event happened two times: the first - at Olga, in 957, the second - at Vladimir, in 988), Russia could no longer do without the books that were needed in worship (hymns and chapels) . However, the Greek confessors did not speak Russian. So the need arises for sending church services in their native language and translating the Bible and other holy places.
• Transitions to the divine service in the Slavonic language presupposed the existence of a written language, a Slavic literary language, since the translation of divine books into common folk language would not lead to an accurate transfer of content.

Cyril and Methodius

With these names the creation of the alphabet is firmly connected in the question of who invented the Russian alphabet. Let's go back to the IX century. In those days (830-906) Great Moravia (the Czech Republic) was one of the major European states. And Byzantium was the focus of Christianity. Prince Moravian Rostislav in 863 refers to Michael the Third, the Byzantine emperor at that time, requesting the holding of divine services in the Slavonic language to strengthen the influence of Byzantine Christianity in the region. In those days, it is worth noting, the cult was sent only in those languages that were displayed on the Jesus cross: Jewish, Latin and Greek.

The Byzantine ruler, in response to Rostislav's proposal, sends to him a Moravian mission consisting of two brother monks, the sons of a noble Greek, who lived in Salouni (Thessaloniki). Michael (Methodius) and Constantine (Cyril) and are considered the official creators of the Slavic alphabet for church ministry. It was named after Cyril and was called "Cyrillic." Konstantin himself was younger than Mikhail, but even the brother recognized his intelligence and superiority in knowledge. Cyril knew many languages and had spoken skills, participated in religious verbal disputes, was a wonderful organizer. This, according to many scientists, allowed him (along with his brother and other assistants) to combine and summarize the data, creating the alphabet. But the history of the Russian alphabet began long before the Moravian mission. And that's why.

Who invented the Russian alphabet (ABC)

The fact is that historians unearthed an interesting fact: even before departure, the brothers had already created a Slavic alphabet, well-adapted to convey the speech of the Slavs. It was called Glagolitic (it was recreated on the basis of the Greek letter with elements of Coptic and Hebrew signs).

Glagolitic or Cyrillic?

Today, scientists from different countries largely recognize the fact that the first Old Slavic alphabet was still the Glagolit, created by Cyril as early as 863 in Byzantium. He presented it in a fairly short time. And another, different from the previous one, the alphabet Cyrillic was invented in Bulgaria, a little later. And there are still disputes about the authorship of this, undoubtedly, the cornerstone of the invention of the Slavic history. After a brief history of the Russian alphabet (Cyrillic alphabet) it looks as follows: in the tenth century it penetrates into Russia from Bulgaria, and its written recording is completely made out only in the XIV century. In a more modern form - from the end of the XVI century.