Original scientific paper
A new reading of the Croatian Glagolitic Konavle Inscription from the 11th century
Marica Čunčić
; Staroslavenski institut, Zagreb
Abstract
The reading of the Konavle Inscription was published in 2001 by Niko
Kapetanić and Mateo Žagar. These authors read the first part of the most south Croatian inscription as follows: [is]kl[e]sa goneslavo gospoinъ. In 2005 Gordana Tomović read the fi rst part as follows: ê kl[i]sa(r)hъ ne sl(ê) pacъ ho(ž)d(ъ) bos nъ and presupposes that it is a Serbian inscription from the 13th century. M. Žagar published the same reading again in 2009. The author of this article discovered another reading: ê kl[e]sa to na slêpo to ê koinъ that is: I chiseled that „blindly“, I (did) that, a layman. To chisel stone „blindly“ means even today to cut stone without previously made scheme or plan. Koinъ is the Croatian form of Greek κοινός, with the meaning “ordinary, not consecrated”. It confi rms the Greek presence and infl uence in the
most southern Croatian region in the 11th century. Obviously the Glagolitic scribe, a stone-cutter, was neither a monk nor priest, but a layman who knew the Glagolitic script and was so proud of it that he put down that fact in stone. The paleographic analysis consists of objections to the previous two readings and is illustrated by the picture of the original inscription, the character schemes of previous readings and the new one.
Keywords
Croatian Glagolitic Konavle inscription; 11th century; new reading
Hrčak ID:
48035
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2009.
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