Samuil's Inscription is a medieval text that was found on the tombstone of Samuel of Bulgaria's parents, erected in 992/3 CE. One of the oldest preserved Cyrillic Slavic inscriptions,[1][2] it was made in the First Bulgarian Empire by the order of Tsar Samuel. The text mentions the names of Samuel's parents as well as of his brother David.
| Samuil's inscription | |
|---|---|
 A 19th-century photograph of the original tombstone. The inscription is in the lower right angle | |
| Material | Marble |
| Writing | Old Slavonic |
| Created | 992/3 CE |
| Discovered | Agios Germanos (now West Macedonia, Greece) |
| Present location | National Historical Museum, Bulgaria |
| Culture | First Bulgarian Empire |
The inscription was discovered in 1888 in the village of German, near Lake Prespa, now Greece, during the construction of the new church of the village.[3][4] In 1916, it was taken by Bulgarian occupation authorities to Bulgaria, where it is currently stored at the National Historical Museum in Sofia. Its original location is thought to have been in the town of Prespa on the island of St. Achilles, from where it was subsequently transferred to the old church of German, which dates back to 1006. The dimensions of the tombstone are 125–130 cm high, 52–67 cm wide, and 7–10 cm thick. The inscription has been cited by historians such as Fyodor Uspensky, Yordan Ivanov, and Nicholas Adontz.
Inscription
Original text with reconstructed parts in square brackets and modern-style spaces, capital letters and punctuation (hyphens, commas, two dots and a colon) added:
- ✚ Въ имѧ Ѡт͠ьца и Съ-
- и͠на и Ст҃аго Доу͠ха, а-
- зъ, Самоипⷧь, рабъ Б͠ж[и,]
- полагаѫ памѧть [ѡц]
- ꙋ҃ и матери и брат[оу н-]
- а кръ͠стѣхъ сих[ъ. Се]
- имена оусъпъш[ихъ: Ни-]
- кола рабъ Бж҃и, [Риѱими-]
- ѣ, Давдъ. Написа[но се въ]
- лѣто отъ сътво[рениѣ миро-]
- у ҂ꙅ҃⁖ф҃а҃· инъди[кта ꙅ҃]
The following is the French translation of the inscription by Adontz:
Au nom du Père et du Fils et du Saint-Esprit, moi, Samuel, serviteur de Dieu, je fais mémoire de mon père, de ma mère et de mon frère sur ces croix. Voici les noms des défunts: Nicolas, serviteur de Dieu; Ripsimé et David. Écrit en l'an de la création 6501, indiction VI.
In English, translated from the French:
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, I, Samuel, servant of God, made a memory of my father, of my mother and of my brother on these crosses. Here are the names of the deceased: Nikolas, servant of God, Ripsimia and David. Written in the year 6501 since Creation, VI indiction.
The year 6501 since the creation of the world corresponds to 992-993 CE.[5]
Notes
See also
Literature
External links
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