This is a list, or a time table, of how in different dialectical areas the Old (Church) Slavonic and after it Church Slavonic was used. Now Old Slavonic is the language used by Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius in Moravia. It is the language of the original translation of the Bible, of which today exist only four copies, three in Glagolitic and one in Cyrillic. It is the language they used to translate various religious texts and some secular ones. Most today exist in later copies written by scribes who were not familiar with Old Slavonic language and therefore these copies also have features of scribes' languages, but the original can be reconstructed without much difficulty.
Church Slavonic has a much longer history and it is the language used today in Slavonic Orthodox Churches. It is different than Old Slavonic which ceased to be used around the later half of the 11th century and as I said exists only in copies. There exists not one Church Slavonic language, although in most Orthodox Churches the Russian version is used. Church Slavonic is based on local dialects of the scribes and it is based on Old Slavonic to an extent. It did not fully evolved from it, it is basically a mixture of Old Slavonic and local dialects or a recension of Old Slavonic.
The table shows the time period in which a certain version of the Old Slavonic and Church Slavonic was in use, what alphabet was used and of what rite were the texts.
Old Slavonic
- texts are usually named after the place they were found or by the person that found them, and some texts are named after the scribe or the author.
Old Pannonian
- early 9th century;
- Latin alphabet;
- Western rite;
- texts: only the Freising manuscripts.
Old Moravian
- since 863 AD to the late 10th century at least;
- Glagolitic alphabet (round form);
- both Western and Eastern rite, predominantly Western;
- texts: the Kiev missal and the Prague fragments.
Old Macedonian (original Old Slavonic)
- since around 886 AD until 11th c. AD (since then Church Slavonic);
- exclusively Glagolitic alphabet (round form);
- mostly/only Eastern rite;
- texts: Codex Zographiensis, Codex Assemanius, Psalterium Sinaiticum, Euchologium Sinaiticum, Glagolita Clozianus, Ohrid Folios, Rila Folios, and in Cyrillic the Zographos Fragments and the Inscription of Tsar Samuil.
Old Bulgarian
- since around 886 AD until 11th c. AD (since then Church Slavonic);
- Cyrillic alphabet;
- mosly/only Eastern rite;
- texts: Savva's book, Codex Suprasliensis, Enina Apostol, Hilandar Folios, Macedonian Folio, Undolskij's Fragments, Sluck Psalter.
Church Slavonic
- texts in the various dialects of Church Slavonic number in thousands and are of both sacral and secular form.
Croatian Church Slavonic
- since 10th century until early 20th century (since then vernacular and sometimes Latin);
- exclusively Glagolitic (angular and cursive forms), but also Latin and Bosnian Cyrillic;
- Western rite;
- texts: oldest is the Baška tablet.
Russian Church Slavonic
- since mid-10th c. AD (around 945 AD) until today;
- Cyrillic alphabet;
- Eastern rite;
- texts: oldest notable are the Ostromir gospel and the Tale of bygone days (Povest' vremenych let).
Serbian Church Slavonic (Srpskoslovenski)
- since 10th century at least until 18th century (since then Russian Church Slavonic);
- exclusively/only Cyrillic alphabet;
- early on both Western and Eastern rite, after only Eastern rite;
- texts: oldest are in Glagolitic: Codex Marianus, Grašković fragment, Mihanović fragment; all the rest are in Cyrillic: Miroslav's Gospel, Vukan's Gospel, Humač tablet (could be Croatian), Temnić inscription, and other fragments, the Law of Tzar Dušan in several manuscripts also, the translation of the Alexandrida, The Book of Enoch, etc.
This is not a complete list, but only something I'm trying to systematise.
Church Slavonic has a much longer history and it is the language used today in Slavonic Orthodox Churches. It is different than Old Slavonic which ceased to be used around the later half of the 11th century and as I said exists only in copies. There exists not one Church Slavonic language, although in most Orthodox Churches the Russian version is used. Church Slavonic is based on local dialects of the scribes and it is based on Old Slavonic to an extent. It did not fully evolved from it, it is basically a mixture of Old Slavonic and local dialects or a recension of Old Slavonic.
The table shows the time period in which a certain version of the Old Slavonic and Church Slavonic was in use, what alphabet was used and of what rite were the texts.
Old Slavonic
- texts are usually named after the place they were found or by the person that found them, and some texts are named after the scribe or the author.
Old Pannonian
- early 9th century;
- Latin alphabet;
- Western rite;
- texts: only the Freising manuscripts.
Old Moravian
- since 863 AD to the late 10th century at least;
- Glagolitic alphabet (round form);
- both Western and Eastern rite, predominantly Western;
- texts: the Kiev missal and the Prague fragments.
Old Macedonian (original Old Slavonic)
- since around 886 AD until 11th c. AD (since then Church Slavonic);
- exclusively Glagolitic alphabet (round form);
- mostly/only Eastern rite;
- texts: Codex Zographiensis, Codex Assemanius, Psalterium Sinaiticum, Euchologium Sinaiticum, Glagolita Clozianus, Ohrid Folios, Rila Folios, and in Cyrillic the Zographos Fragments and the Inscription of Tsar Samuil.
Old Bulgarian
- since around 886 AD until 11th c. AD (since then Church Slavonic);
- Cyrillic alphabet;
- mosly/only Eastern rite;
- texts: Savva's book, Codex Suprasliensis, Enina Apostol, Hilandar Folios, Macedonian Folio, Undolskij's Fragments, Sluck Psalter.
Church Slavonic
- texts in the various dialects of Church Slavonic number in thousands and are of both sacral and secular form.
Croatian Church Slavonic
- since 10th century until early 20th century (since then vernacular and sometimes Latin);
- exclusively Glagolitic (angular and cursive forms), but also Latin and Bosnian Cyrillic;
- Western rite;
- texts: oldest is the Baška tablet.
Russian Church Slavonic
- since mid-10th c. AD (around 945 AD) until today;
- Cyrillic alphabet;
- Eastern rite;
- texts: oldest notable are the Ostromir gospel and the Tale of bygone days (Povest' vremenych let).
Serbian Church Slavonic (Srpskoslovenski)
- since 10th century at least until 18th century (since then Russian Church Slavonic);
- exclusively/only Cyrillic alphabet;
- early on both Western and Eastern rite, after only Eastern rite;
- texts: oldest are in Glagolitic: Codex Marianus, Grašković fragment, Mihanović fragment; all the rest are in Cyrillic: Miroslav's Gospel, Vukan's Gospel, Humač tablet (could be Croatian), Temnić inscription, and other fragments, the Law of Tzar Dušan in several manuscripts also, the translation of the Alexandrida, The Book of Enoch, etc.
This is not a complete list, but only something I'm trying to systematise.
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