What happened in Rus' before the calling of Rurik. Old Russian writing, monastic scriptoria and chronicles

In history, there are several varieties of writing among the Slavs. Slavic writing was used to conclude contracts, transfer notes, and for other purposes. For example, you can find information about this from Archimandrite Leonid Kavelin in his Collection: “On the homeland and origin of the Glagolitic alphabet and its relationship to the Cyrillic alphabet” (1891). There is a special day dedicated to Slavic writing. Today it is celebrated by Russians as the day of veneration of Cyril and Methodius, although it is known that neither Cyril nor Methodius invented the Russian alphabet. They just transformed it - shortened it and adapted it in order to make it easier to translate Christian manuscripts from the Greek language. For example, the historian Dobner (Czech Republic) can find a whole study on the topic: “Is the so-called now Cyrillic alphabet really an invention of the Slavic Ap. Cyril? (1786 edition).

Writing, as a derivative of the famous Christian saints Cyril and Methodius, appeared in Rus' in the period from 900 to the early 1000s. Until that time, the Slavs used a different script. We meet the data of the chroniclers about the conclusion of treaties of the book. Igor and Prince. Oleg with the Byzantine kingdom (907-911) even before the arrival of the Cyrillic alphabet in Rus'.

Some historians called it "Khazar writing" (Persian, Fakhr ad-Din, 700), speaking of the southwestern Slavs of a particular historical period. Others called it “an independent Russian letter”, referring to the “Thessalonica legend”, in which there is a mention of Jerome (lived until 420) and his connection with Slavic letters. Some scholars consider Cyril and Jerome from this legend to be the same person, but the dates of the activities of these characters do not match.

Two directions are now divided in which Slavic writing developed:

1. Pictorial views. Creating a three-dimensional image and perception.
2. Descriptive views. Creating planar perception by inscriptions on the plane.

Previously, our ancestors, when talking about objectivity and functions, called their writing:

• word;
• by letter;
• a book;
• diploma.

Types of writing throughout the history of the Slavs, arranged in chronological order of their time of appearance and use:

• Glagolitic- middle of the tenth century;
• initial letter(Old Slovenian) - presumably the end of the 10th century;
• ABC- a variant of pre-revolutionary tsarist Russia;
• Alphabet- 1918 (Lunacharsky's reform).

Some scholars present the Glagolitic as one of the ways to pronounce and write the capital letter. But this issue is still being investigated. Here is what the Russian philologist Sreznevsky I.I. tells us. (1848):

Turning to the Glagol alphabet, we note first of all how it is similar and how it differs from the Cyrillic alphabet. Most of its letters in their form differ not only from Cyrillic, but also from other well-known ones. Similar to Kirillov's d, x, m, p, f, w ... The choice of letters is the same. The order of the letters is also the same ... The peculiarity of many Glagolitic letters has long led to the conclusion that the Glagolitic alphabet is the ancient alphabet of the pagan Slavs and, therefore, is older than the Cyrillic alphabet; this was believed by Count Grubishich, Dr. Anton; This is also believed by the well-known German philologist J. Grimm. It is hardly possible to refute this, assuming that the ancient simple features were replaced by curly and complex ones in the now known Glagolitic alphabet later, due to special, unknown reasons; however, it is also difficult to refute the fact that the letters of the Glagolitic alphabet of unknown origin were never simpler, but were invented by an idle literate person as they are, without any deviation from the ancient Slavic scripts. It is true that the features of the Glagolitic alphabet are generally rude and some are open to the left side, as if they were used for writing from the right hand to the left, but the roughness of the drawing of the letters is not a sign of antiquity, and the opening of some to the left side could also be an accidental expression of the inventor's taste ...

The Slavic letter was used in 4 variations: 2 main and 2 auxiliary. Separately, one should dwell on such varieties of writing that historians of modern science still cannot ignore. These are the following types of writing among the Slavs of different nationalities:

Features and Reza. By their names, one can judge their origin - they drew letters and cut them. This is a type of lettering.

Da'Aryan Thrags - used to convey the multidimensionality and imagery of runes.

Kh'Aryan Karuna (runic, runic, runic) - used by priests, consisted of 256 runes, which formed the basis of the Devanagari, Sanskrit languages.

Rasen Molitsy - a letter from the Etruscans.

Now there is enough evidence that the Slavic tribes and peoples settled on the Earth long before Christianity. Therefore, anthropologists often find blue-eyed Hindus in India, Kalash in Pakistan, or mummies of European appearance among archaeological sites in China. Therefore, Aryan writing can also be remotely called Slavic, or Slavic-Aryan, as it is more convenient for anyone to understand. The Slavs of modern Russia and the countries adjacent to it with ethnic identity are most close to the Glagolitic and Initial letters, as well as Runes, Traits and Reza.

What is special about Slavic writing and culture

The Glagolitic was most often used to seal business relationships in trade matters. She executed contracts, other papers, which are confirmation of the concluded transaction. In support of this, a fairly large number of ancient treaties have remained today, written down precisely in the Slavic Glagolitic alphabet. The following words are associated with this name:

• to speak - to speak;
• verbasha - speaking, pronouncing;
• verb - we speak;
• verb is action.

The initial letter as the capital part of the words had different styles of writing. The following several options for the artistic image of ancient letters can be cited as an example:

Ostromir initial letters - taken from the Ostromir Gospel (1056-1057)

teratological (or animal) style - features of animals and birds were included in the image of the letter

initials - colored letters, where, in addition to fantastic animals, human characters were also depicted (about 800)

Ottonian style of the Western Slavs - large letters, with gilding and patterned weaves

illustrated initial letter - each capital letter was illustrated with different fairy tale characters and themes

filigree beeches (from the old name - "beeches", and not "letters" from the All-Light Diploma of Shubin-Abramov Anania Fedorovich) - the letters were decorated with the finest pattern

Guslitsky style - comes from the Old Believer settlement Guslitsy

Vetka style in Belarus

There are many variants of the image of Slavic letters. Our ancestors the Slavs were famous masters of arts and arts. Therefore, letters could be depicted by scribes with a creative approach. The main feature of the initial letter is that it formed the basis of such languages ​​\u200b\u200bknown to us as Latin (Latin) and English.

The worldview of the Slavs was changed even by modifying the written language. If earlier letters and words were perceived volumetrically with a semantic and figurative-symbolic load, now they are perceived on a plane, faceless, carrying only sounds that add up to words.

Researchers of Slavic mythology believe that such a transfer of perception from volumetric "holographic" to flat writing began approximately from the time of the Germanization of Rus'. Apparently, the influence of the West has always been fatal for the Russians and Slavs in general, which is why the leading Russian minds of the times of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy mentioned it so often.

When is the day of Slavic writing celebrated?

Slavic culture in historical data has undergone various changes. This suggests that scientists have not yet stopped their research - new artifacts found are being studied. The date when the writing of the Slavs and their culture was honored also changed. The very same Slavic mythology and history does not confirm the fact that the ancient Slavs celebrated some special day dedicated to their writing. Nevertheless, it is worth considering the appearance of such events at a later time, approximately when Christianity came to Rus'.

Most often, this date was associated with Cyril and Methodius. It was at that time that they began to allocate a certain day on which they remembered the merits of these two reverend fathers. Only the date has changed:

• May 11 - Christian enlighteners were remembered by the "Thessalonica brothers";
• May 24 - Bulgarians today, along with these two saints, also remember their culture;
• July 5 - in the Czech Republic;
• January 30 - the inhabitants of Russia recalled Slavic writing and culture at the suggestion of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR (1991).

May 24- a generally accepted holiday in Slavic culture and writing. It was declared the "Day of Slavic Culture and Literature" in 1985, when the 1100th anniversary of the death of Methodius was celebrated in the USSR. Therefore, today this holiday is entirely served from the point of view of the Orthodox Church. However, those who remember and honor the legacy of the more ancient ancestors of the Slavs, and now honor the ancient Slovenian Letter. On this day, ancient letters are painted on asphalt, in underground passages, in squares, everywhere in the cities of the country.

In scientific circles, some believe that the Slavs once had one language, but there were many ways to display it on any medium. Writing could be written on metal (coins, jewelry), birch bark, leather, stone. The peculiarity of Slavic writing lies in the fact that, first of all, it carried Svetorussky (in some reading - "Holy Russian") images. Simply put, we understand that it was a figurative letter, and not flat, carrying a deeper meaning than just sound.

And Veles said:
Open the song box!
Unroll the ball!
For the time of silence is over
And it's time for words!
Songs of the bird Gamayun

... It's not scary to lie dead under the bullets,
It's not bitter to be homeless,
And we will save you, Russian speech,
Great Russian word.
A.Akhmatova

Not a single culture of a spiritually developed people can exist without mythology and writing. There is very little factual data about the time, conditions for the emergence and formation of Slavic writing. The opinions of scientists on this issue are contradictory.

A number of scientists say that writing in Ancient Rus' appeared only when the first cities began to appear and the Old Russian state was formed. It was with the establishment of a regular managerial hierarchy and trade in the 10th century that there was a need to regulate these processes through written documents. This point of view is highly controversial, because there is a number of evidence that the writing of the Eastern Slavs existed even before the adoption of Christianity, before the creation and spread of the Cyrillic alphabet, as evidenced by the mythology of the Slavs, chronicles, folk tales, epics and other sources

Pre-Christian Slavic writing

There is a number of evidence and artifacts confirming that the Slavs before the adoption of Christianity were not a wild and barbaric people. In other words, they knew how to write. Pre-Christian writing among the Slavs existed. The first to draw attention to this fact was the Russian historian Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (1686-1750). Reflecting on the chronicler Nestor, who created The Tale of Bygone Years, V.N. Tatishchev claims that Nestor created them not from words and oral traditions, but based on already existing books and letters, which he collected and streamlined. Nestor could not, from words, so reliably reproduce the Treaties with the Greeks, which were created 150 years before him. This suggests that Nestor relied on existing written sources that have not survived to this day.

The question arises, what was the pre-Christian Slavic writing? How did the Slavs write?

Runic writing (features and cuts)

Slavic runes are a script that, according to some researchers, existed among the ancient Slavs before the baptism of Rus' and long before the creation of Cyrillic and Glagolitic. It is also called the letter "devils and cuts." In our time, the hypothesis of the "runes of the Slavs" has support among supporters of non-traditional ( alternative) history, although there is still no significant evidence, as well as refutation of the existence of such writing. The first arguments in favor of the existence of the Slavic pynic writing were put forward at the beginning of the last century; some of the testimonies cited then are now attributed to the Glagolitic alphabet, and not to the "pynitsa", some turned out to be simply untenable, but a number of arguments remain valid to this day.

So, it is impossible to argue with the testimony of Titmar, who, describing the Slavic temple of Retra, located in the lands of the Luticians, points to the fact that inscriptions were made on the idols of this temple, made by "special", non-Germanic ryns. It would be completely absurd to assume that Titmar, being an educated person, could not have recognized the standard junior Scandinavian ryns if the names of the gods on the idols would have been inscribed by them.
Massydi, describing one of the Slavic temples, mentions some signs carved on stones. Ibn Fodlan, speaking of the Slavs of the end of the 1st millennium, points to the existence of grave inscriptions on pillars among them. Ibn El Nedim speaks about the existence of Slavic pre-Cyrillic writing and even cites in his treatise a drawing of one inscription carved on a piece of wood (the famous Nedim inscription). In the Czech song "Lyubysha's Judgment", preserved in the list of the 9th century, "desks pravdodatne" are mentioned - laws written on wooden boards in some letters.

The existence of pynic writing among the ancient Slavs is also indicated by many archaeological data. The oldest of them are finds of ceramics with fragments of inscriptions belonging to the Chernyakhov archaeological culture, uniquely associated with the Slavs and dated back to the 1st-4th centuries AD. Thirty years ago, the signs on these finds were identified as traces of writing. An example of "Chernyakhovsky" Slavic pynic writing can serve as fragments of ceramics from the excavations near the village of Lepesovka (southern Volyn) or a clay shard from Ripnev, belonging to the same Chernyakhovsky culture and representing, probably, a fragment of a vessel. The signs visible on the shard leave no doubt that this is an inscription. Unfortunately, the fragment is too small to be able to decipher the inscription.

In general, the ceramics of the Chernyakhov culture provides very interesting, but too scarce material for deciphering. So, the Slavic clay vessel, discovered in 1967 during excavations in the village of Voiskovoe (on the Dnieper), is extremely interesting. Its surface is inscribed with an inscription containing 12 positions and using 6 characters. The inscription can neither be translated nor read, despite the fact that deciphering attempts have been made. However, it should be noted a certain similarity of the graphics of this inscription with the pynic graphics. There is a similarity, and not only a similarity - half of the signs (three out of six) coincide with the Futarka pyns (Scandinavia). These are the runes Dagaz, Gebo and a secondary version of the rune Ingyz - a rhombus placed on top.
Other - later - a group of evidence of the use of pynic writing by the Slavs is formed by monuments associated with the Wends, the Baltic Slavs. Of these monuments, first of all, let us point out the so-called Mikorzhinsky stones, discovered in 1771 in Poland.
Another - truly unique - monument of the "Baltic" Slavic pynics are the inscriptions on cult objects from the Slavic temple of Radegast in Retra destroyed in the middle of the 11th century during the German conquest.

Runic alphabet.

Like the pynes of the Scandinavian and continental Germans, the Slavic pynes go back, judging by all, to the North Italian (Alpine) alphabets. Several main variants of Alpine writing are known, which, in addition to the northern Etpysks, were owned by Slavic and Celtic tribes living in the neighborhood. The question of exactly how the Italic writing was brought to the later Slavic regions remains completely open at the moment, as well as the question of the mutual influence of Slavic and Germanic ryniki.
It should be noted that pynic culture should be understood much more broadly than elementary writing skills - this is a whole cultural layer, covering both mythology, religion, and certain aspects of magical art. Already in Etpyria and Venice (the lands of the Etpysks and Wends), the alphabet was treated as an object of divine origin and might have a magical effect. This is evidenced, for example, by finds in the Etpysian burials of tablets with a list of alphabetic characters. This is the simplest form of pynic magic, widespread in the North-West of Europe. Thus, speaking of the Old Slavic runic writing, one cannot help but raise the question of the existence of the Old Slavic runic culture as a whole. The Slavs of pagan times owned this culture; it was preserved, apparently, in the era of “dual faith” (simultaneous existence of Christianity and paganism in Rus' - X-XVI centuries).

An excellent tomy example is the widest use by the Slavs of the Freyra-Ingyz rune. Another example is one of the remarkable Vyatich temporal rings of the 12th century. Signs are engraved on its blades - this is another sign. The third blades from the edges carry the image of the Algiz rune, and the central blade is a double image of the same rune. Like pyna Freyra, pyna Algiz first appeared in Futark; it existed without changes for about a millennium and entered into all pynic alphabets, except for the late Swedish-Norwegian ones, which were not used for magical purposes (about the 10th century). The image of this pyna on the temporal ring is not accidental. Runa Algiz is a rune of protection, one of its magical properties is protection from other people's witchcraft and the evil will of others. The use of the Algiz rune by the Slavs and their ancestors has a very ancient history. In ancient times, four Algiz runes were often connected in such a way that a twelve-pointed cross was formed, which apparently has the same functions as the rune itself.

At the same time, it should be noted that such magical symbols can appear in different peoples and independently of each other. An example of a volume can be, for example, a bronze Mordovian plaque of the end of the 1st millennium AD. from the Army cemetery. One of the so-called non-alphabetic pynic signs is the swastika, both four- and three-branched. Images of the swastika in the Slavic world are found everywhere, although infrequently. This is natural - the swastika, a symbol of fire and, in certain cases, fertility - a sign too "powerful" and too significant for widespread use. Like the twelve-pointed cross, the swastika can also be found among the Sarmatians and Scythians.
Of extraordinary interest is the one-of-a-kind temporal ring, again Vyatka. On its blades, several different signs are engraved at once - this is a whole collection of symbols of ancient Slavic magic. The central blade carries a somewhat modified Ingyz line, the first petals from the center are an image that is not yet completely clear. A twelve-pointed cross is applied to the petals second from the center, which is most likely a modification of the cross of four Algiz runes. And, finally, the extreme petals carry the image of a swastika. Well, the master who worked on this ring created a powerful talisman.

World
The form of the rune World is the image of the Tree of the World, the Universe. It also symbolizes the inner self of a person, centripetal forces striving the World towards Order. In a magical sense, the rune Peace represents protection, the patronage of the gods.

Chernobog
In contrast to the World rune, the Chernobog rune represents the forces pushing the world towards Chaos. The magical content of the rune: the destruction of old ties, the breakthrough of the magic circle, the exit from any closed system.

Alatyr
The rune Alatyr is the rune of the center of the Universe, the rune of the beginning and end of all things. This is what the struggle between the forces of Order and Chaos revolves around; the stone that lies at the foundation of the World; it is the law of balance and return to normal. The eternal circulation of events and their immovable center. The magical altar on which the sacrifice is made is the reflection of the stone of Alatyr. This is the sacred image that is enclosed in this rune.

Rainbow
Rune of the road, the endless path to Alatyr; a path determined by the unity and struggle of the forces of Order and Chaos, Water and Fire. A road is more than just movement through space and time. The road is a special state, equally different from vanity and rest; a state of movement between Order and Chaos. The Road has neither beginning nor end, but there is a source and there is a result... The ancient formula: "Do what you want, and come what may" could serve as the motto of this rune. The magical meaning of the rune: stabilization of movement, travel assistance, a favorable outcome of difficult situations.

Need
Rune Viy - the god of Navi, the Lower World. This is the rune of fate, which cannot be avoided, darkness, death. Rune of constraint, stiffness and coercion. This is a magical ban on the commission of this or that action, and constraint in the material plane, and those bonds that fetter the consciousness of a person.

Krada
The Slavic word "Krada" means sacrificial fire. This is the rune of Fire, the rune of aspiration and the embodiment of aspirations. But the embodiment of any plan is always the disclosure of this plan to the World, and therefore the rune of Krad is also the rune of disclosure, the rune of the loss of the external, superficial - that which burns in the fire of sacrifice. The magical meaning of the Krada rune is cleansing; release of intention; embodiment and implementation.

Treba
Rune of the Spirit Warrior. The meaning of the Slavic word "Treba" is a sacrifice, without which the realization of intention is impossible on the Road. This is the sacred content of this rune. But sacrifice is not a mere gift to the gods; the idea of ​​sacrifice implies the sacrifice of oneself.

Force
Strength is the property of the Warrior. This is not only the ability to change the World and oneself in it, but also the ability to follow the Road, freedom from the shackles of consciousness. The Rune of Strength is also the rune of unity, integrity, the achievement of which is one of the results of moving along the Road. And this is also the rune of Victory, for the Warrior of the Spirit gains Strength only by defeating himself, only by sacrificing his external self for the sake of releasing his inner self. The magical meaning of this rune is directly related to its definitions as a rune of victory, a rune of power and a rune of integrity. The Rune of Strength can direct a person or situation to Victory and gaining integrity, can help clarify an unclear situation and push for the right decision.

Eat
Rune of Life, mobility and natural variability of Existence, for immobility is dead. The rune is symbolizes renewal, movement, growth, Life itself. This rune represents those divine forces that make grass grow, earth sap flow through tree trunks, and blood run faster through spring in human veins. This is a rune of light and bright vitality and a natural desire for movement for all living things.

Wind
This is the rune of the Spirit, the rune of Knowledge and ascent to the top; rune of will and inspiration; an image of a spiritualized magical Power associated with the element of air. At the level of magic, the rune of the Wind symbolizes the Force-Wind, inspiration, creative impulse.

Bereginya
Bereginya in the Slavic tradition is a female image associated with protection and motherhood. Therefore, the rune of Beregini is the rune of the Mother Goddess, who is in charge of both earthly fertility and the fate of all living things. The Mother Goddess gives life to souls who come to incarnate on Earth, and she takes life when the time comes. Therefore, the Beregini rune can be called both the rune of Life and the rune of Death. The same rune is the rune of Fate.

Oud
In all branches of the Indo-European tradition, without exception, the symbol of the male member (the Slavic word "Ud") is associated with the fertile creative force that transforms Chaos. This fiery force was called Eros by the Greeks, and Yar by the Slavs. This is not only the power of love, but also a passion for life in general, a power that connects opposites, fertilizes the emptiness of Chaos.

Lelya
The rune is associated with the element of water, and specifically - Living, flowing water in springs and streams. In magic, the Lelya rune is the rune of intuition, Knowledge beyond the Mind, as well as spring awakening and fertility, flowering and joy.

Rock
This is the rune of the transcendent unmanifested Spirit, which is the beginning and end of everything. In magic, the rune of Doom can be used to dedicate an object or situation to the Unknowable.

Support
This is the rune of the foundations of the Universe, the rune of the gods. The support is the shaman's pole, or tree, on which the shaman makes his journey to heaven.

Dazhdbog
The rune of Dazhdbog symbolizes the Good in every sense of the word: from material wealth to the joy that accompanies love. The most important attribute of this god is the cornucopia, or, in a more ancient form, the cauldron of inexhaustible blessings. The stream of gifts flowing like an inexhaustible river represents the rune of Dazhdbog. The rune means the gifts of the gods, the acquisition, receipt or addition of something, the emergence of new connections or acquaintances, well-being in general, and also the successful completion of any business.

Perun
The rune of Perun is the god of thunder, protecting the worlds of gods and people from the onset of the forces of Chaos. Symbolizes strength and vitality. The rune can mean the emergence of powerful, but heavy, forces that can move the situation off the ground or give it additional development energy. It also symbolizes personal power, but, in some negative situations, power that is not burdened with wisdom. This is also a direct protection given by the gods from the forces of Chaos, from the destructive effects of psychic, material or any other destructive forces.

Source
For a correct understanding of this rune, one should remember that Ice is one of the creative primordial elements, symbolizing Strength at rest, potentiality, movement in stillness. The rune of the Source, the rune of Ice means stagnation, a crisis in business or in the development of a situation. However, it should be remembered that the state of freezing, lack of movement, contains the potential power of movement and development (signified by the rune There) - just as movement contains potential stagnation and freezing.

Archaeologists have provided us with much material for reflection. Particularly curious are the coins and some inscriptions found in the archaeological layer, which dates back to the reign of Prince Vladimir.

During excavations in Novgorod, wooden cylinders were found dating back to the years of the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, the future baptizer of Rus', in Novgorod (970-980). The economic inscriptions on the cylinders are made in Cyrillic, and the princely sign is cut in the form of a simple trident, which cannot be recognized as a ligature, but only as a totem sign of property, which has changed from a simple bident on the seal of Prince Svyatoslav, Vladimir's father, and retained the form of a trident for a number of subsequent princes. The princely sign acquired the form of a ligature on pieces of silver, coins issued according to the Byzantine model by Prince Vladimir after the baptism of Rus', that is, there was a complication of an initially simple symbol, which, as a generic sign of the Rurikovich, could well have come from the Scandinavian rune. The same princely trident of Vladimir is found on the bricks of the Church of the Tithes in Kiev, but its design differs markedly from the image on the coins, from which it is clear that the bizarre curls do not carry a different meaning? than just an ornament.
An attempt to discover and even reproduce the pre-Cyrillic alphabet was made by the scientist N.V. Engovatov in the early 1960s based on the study of mysterious signs found in Cyrillic inscriptions on the coins of Russian princes of the 11th century. These inscriptions are usually built according to the scheme "Vladimir is on the table (throne) and behold his silver" with only the name of the prince changed. Many coins have dashes and dots instead of missing letters.
Some researchers explained the appearance of these dashes and dots by the illiteracy of Russian engravers of the 11th century. However, the repetition of the same signs on the coins of different princes, and often with the same sound value, made such an explanation insufficiently convincing, and Engovatov, using the uniformity of the inscriptions and the repetition of mysterious signs in them, compiled a table indicating their supposed sound value; this meaning was determined by the place of the sign in the word written in Cyrillic letters.
The work of Engovatov was talked about in the scientific and mass press. However, the opponents were not long in coming. "The mysterious signs on Russian coins," they said, "are either the result of the mutual influence of the Cyrillic and Glagolitic inscriptions, or the result of the engravers' mistakes." They explained the repetition of the same signs on different coins, firstly, by the fact that the same die was used to mint many coins; secondly, by the fact that "insufficiently literate engravers repeated the mistakes that were in the old stamps."
Novgorod is rich in finds, where archaeologists often dig up birch-bark tablets with inscriptions. The main, and at the same time the most controversial, are artistic monuments, so there is no consensus on the "Book of Veles".

"Vlesovaya book" refers to the texts written on 35 birch boards and reflecting the history of Rus' for one and a half millennia, starting from about 650 BC. e. Found it in 1919 by Colonel Izenbek in the estate of the princes Kurakins near Orel. The planks, badly damaged by time and worms, lay in disarray on the library floor. Many were crushed under soldiers' boots. Isenbek, who was interested in archeology, collected the tablets and never parted with them again. After the end of the civil war, the "planks" ended up in Brussels. The writer Yu. Mirolyubov, who learned about them, discovered that the text of the chronicle was written in a completely unknown ancient Slavic language. It took 15 years to copy and decipher. Later, foreign experts took part in the work - orientalist A. Kur from the USA and S. Lesnoy (Paramonov), who lived in Australia. The latter assigned the name “Vles book” to the plates, since in the text itself the work is called a book, and Veles is mentioned in some connection with it. But Lesnoy and Kur worked only with texts that Mirolyubov managed to write off, since after the death of Isenbek in 1943 the tablets disappeared.
Some scholars consider the Book of Vlesova to be a fake, while such well-known experts in ancient Russian history as A. Artsikhovsky consider it quite likely that the Book of Vlesova reflects genuine paganism; the past of the Slavs. D. Zhukov, a well-known specialist in ancient Russian literature, wrote in the April 1979 issue of Novy Mir magazine: "The authenticity of the Vlesovaya Book is questioned, and this all the more requires its publication in our country and a thorough, comprehensive analysis."
Yu. Mirolyubov and S. Lesnoy basically succeeded in deciphering the text of the Book of Woods.
After finishing work and publishing the full text of the book, Mirolyubov writes articles: “Vlesova book” - a chronicle of pagan priests of the 9th century, a new, unexplored historical source” and “Were the ancient “Russians” idolaters and did they bring human sacrifices”, which he sends to address of the Slavic Committee of the USSR, urging Soviet specialists to recognize the importance of studying Isenbeck's tablets. The package also contained the only surviving photograph of one of these tablets. The "deciphered" text of the tablet and the translation of this text were attached to it.

The "deciphered" text was as follows:

1. Vles the book syu p (o) tshemo b (o) gu n (a) shemo u kyi more is a source of power. 2. W hens vr (e) exchanges by menzh yaky by bl (a) g a d (o) closer rshen b (i) to (o) ct in r (y) si. 3. And then<и)мщ жену и два дщере имаста он а ск(о)ти а краве и мн(о)га овны с. 4. она и бя той восы упех а 0(н)ищ(е) не имщ менж про дщ(е)р(е) сва так(о)моля. 5. Б(о)зи абы р(о)д егосе не пр(е)сеше а д(а)ж бо(г) услыша м(о)лбу ту а по м(о)лбе. 6. Даящ (е)му измлены ако бя ожещаы тая се бо гренде мезе ны...
The first person in our country who, 28 years ago, was to conduct a scientific study of the text of the tablet, was L.P. Zhukovskaya is a linguist, paleographer and archeographer, once chief researcher at the Institute of the Russian Language of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Philology, author of many books. After a careful study of the text, she came to the conclusion that the "Vlesov Book" is a fake due to the inconsistency of the language of this "book" with the norms of the Old Russian language. Indeed, the "Old Russian" text of the tablet does not withstand any criticism. There are enough examples of the noted inconsistency, but I will limit myself to only one. So, the name of the pagan deity Veles, which gave the title to the named work, should look exactly like this in writing, since the peculiarity of the language of the ancient Eastern Slavs is that the combinations of the sounds "O" and "E" before R and L in the position between consonants were successively replaced on ORO, OLO, ERE. Therefore, we have primordially our own words - CITY, SHORE, MILK, but at the same time, the words BREG, HEAD, MILKY, etc., which entered after the adoption of Christianity (988), were preserved. And the correct name would be not "Vlesova", but "Veles book".
L.P. Zhukovskaya suggested that the tablet with the text is, apparently, one of the fakes of A.I. Sulukadzev, who bought old manuscripts from rag-makers at the beginning of the 19th century. There is evidence that he had some kind of beech planks that disappeared from the field of view of the researchers. There is an indication about them in his catalog: "Patriarchs on 45 beech boards of Yagip Gan smerd in Ladoga of the 9th century." It was said about Sulakadzev, who was famous for his falsifications, that he used in his forgeries "the wrong language due to ignorance of the correct one, sometimes very wild."
Nevertheless, the participants of the Fifth International Congress of Slavists, held in 1963 in Sofia, became interested in the "Vlesovaya knigi". In the reports of the congress, a special article was devoted to it, which caused a lively and sharp reaction in the circles of history lovers and a new series of articles in the mass press.
In 1970, in the journal "Russian speech" (No. 3), the poet I. Kobzev wrote about the "Vlesovaya book" as an outstanding monument of writing; in 1976, on the pages of the Week (No. 18), journalists V. Skurlatov and N. Nikolaev made a detailed popularization article, in No. 33 of the same year they were joined by Candidate of Historical Sciences V. Vilinbakhov and a well-known researcher of epics, writer V. Starostin. Novy Mir and Ogonyok published articles by D. Zhukov, the author of a story about V. Malyshev, a famous collector of ancient Russian literature. All these authors advocated the recognition of the authenticity of the "Vlesovaya knigi" and presented their own arguments in favor of this.

knot letter

The signs of this writing were not written down, but transmitted using knots tied on threads.
The knots that make up the word-concept were tied to the main thread of the narrative (hence - “knots for memory”, “binding thoughts”, “associating a word with a word”, “talking confusedly”, “knot of problems”, “intricacies of the plot”, “tie” and “denouement” - about the beginning and end of the story).
One concept was separated from another by a red thread (hence - “to write from the red line”). An important thought was also knitted with a red thread (hence - “passes like a red thread through the whole story”). The thread was wound into a ball (hence - “confused thoughts”). These balls were stored in special birch bark boxes (hence - “to say from three boxes”).

The proverb has also been preserved: “What she knew, she said, she strung it on a thread.” Do you remember in the fairy tales Ivan Tsarevich, before going on a trip, receives a ball from Baba Yaga? This is not a simple ball, but an ancient guide. Unwinding it, he read the knot notes and learned how to get to the right place.
The knot letter is mentioned in the “Source of Life” (Second Message): “The echoes of the battles penetrated the world that was inhabited on Midgard-earth. At the very border there was that land and the Race of pure light lived on it. Memory has preserved many times, tying the thread of past battles into knots.

There is also a mention of the sacred knot letter in the Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala”:
“The rain gave me songs.
The wind inspired me with songs.
The waves of the sea brought...
I wound them into one ball,
And in one I tied a bunch ...
And in the barn under the rafters
I hid them in a copper chest.”

In the recording of Elias Lennrot, the Kalevala collector, there are even more interesting lines recorded by him from the famous rune singer Arkhipp Ivanov-Pertunen (1769 - 1841). The rune-singers sang them as an introduction to the performance of the Runes:

“Here I am untying the knot.
Here I dissolve the ball.
I will sing a song from the best
Of the most beautiful I will perform ... "

Maybe, ancient Slavs had balls with knotted letters containing geographical information, balls of myths and religious pagan hymns, spells. These balls were stored in special birch bark boxes (isn't this where the expression: "lie three boxes" comes from, which could have arisen at a time when the myths stored in balls in such boxes were perceived as pagan heresy?). When reading, threads with knots most likely "wound around the mustache" - it may very well be that these are reading devices.

The period of written, priestly culture, apparently, began among the Slavs long before the adoption of Christianity. For example, the tale of Baba Yaga's ball takes us back to the time of matriarchy. Baba Yaga, according to the famous scientist V. Ya. Propp, is a typical pagan priestess. Perhaps she is also the custodian of the "library of balls".

In ancient times, nodular writing was quite widespread. This is confirmed by archaeological finds. On many objects recovered from burials of pagan times, asymmetrical images of knots are visible, which, in my opinion, served not only for decoration (see, for example, Fig. 2). The complexity of these images, reminiscent of the hieroglyphic writing of the Eastern peoples, makes it reasonable to conclude that they could also be used to convey words.

Each hieroglyph node had its own word. With the help of additional knots, additional information was reported about him, for example, his number, part of speech, etc. Of course, this is just an assumption, but even if our neighbors, the Karelians and Finns, had knot writing, then why couldn’t the Slavs have it? Let's not forget that the Finns, Ugrians and Slavs lived together in the northern regions of Russia since ancient times.

Traces of writing.

Are there any traces left nodular writing? Often in the writings of the Christian period there are illustrations with images of complex weaves, probably redrawn from objects of the pagan era. The artist who depicted these patterns, according to the historian N.K. Goleizovsky, followed the rule that existed at that time, along with Christian symbols, to use pagan symbols (for the same purpose as fallen snakes, devils, etc. are depicted on icons).

Traces of nodular writing can also be found on the walls of temples built in the era of "dual faith", when Christian churches were decorated not only with the faces of saints, but also with pagan patterns. Although the language has changed since then, it is possible to attempt (only with some degree of certainty, of course) to decipher some of these characters.

For example, the frequently encountered image of a simple loop - a circle (Fig. 1a) is presumably deciphered as a sign of the supreme Slavic god - Rod, who gave birth to the Universe, nature, gods, for the reason that it corresponds to the circle of a pictorial, i.e. pictographic, writing (that what the Brave called features and cuts). In pictographic writing, this sign is interpreted in a broader sense; Genus - like a tribe, a group, a woman, a birth organ, a verb to give birth, etc. The symbol of the Genus - a circle is the basis for many other hieroglyphic knots. He is able to give words a sacred meaning.

A circle with a cross (Fig. 1b) is a solar symbol, a sign of the Sun and the god of the solar disk - Khors. Such a reading of this symbol can be found in many historians.

What was the symbol of the solar god - Dazhbog? His sign should be more complex, since he is the god not only of the solar disk, but of the entire Universe, he is the giver of blessings, the progenitor of the Russian people (in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" Russians are called the grandchildren of Dazhbog).

After research by B. A. Rybakov, it became clear that Dazhbog (like his Indo-European "relative" - ​​the solar god Apollo) rode a chariot across the sky, harnessed to swans or other mythical birds (sometimes winged horses), and drove the Sun. And now let's compare the sculpture of the solar god of the Western Proto-Slavs from Duplyany (Fig. 2b) and the drawing on the headpiece from the Simonov Psalter of the 13th century (Fig. 2a). Isn't it depicting the symbol of Dazhbog in the form of a loop-circle with a lattice (Fig. 1c)?

Since the time of the first Eneolithic pictographic records, the lattice has usually denoted a plowed field, a plowman, as well as wealth, grace. Our ancestors were plowmen, they also worshiped Rod - this could be the reason for the combination of the symbols of the field and the Family in a single symbol of Dazhbog.

Solar animals and birds - Lion, Griffin, Alkonost, etc. - were depicted with solar symbols (Fig. 2c-e). Figure 2e shows an image of a mythical bird with solar symbols. Two solar symbols, by analogy with the wheels of a wagon, could mean a solar chariot. In the same way, in pictorial, i.e., pictographic, writing, many peoples depicted a chariot. This chariot rode on a firm vault of heaven, behind which the heavenly waters were kept. The symbol of water - a wavy line - is also present in this figure: it is a deliberately elongated crest of a bird and a continuation of the thread with knots.

Pay attention to a certain symbolic tree depicted between the birds of paradise (Fig. 2f), either with a loop or without it. If we assume that the loop is a symbol of the Genus - the Parent of the Universe, then the hieroglyph of the tree, together with this symbol, acquires a deeper meaning of the world tree (Fig. 1d-e).

A slightly complicated solar symbol, in which a broken line was drawn instead of a circle, according to B. A. Rybakov, acquired the meaning of a “thunder wheel”, a sign of the thunder god Perun (Fig. 2g). Apparently, the Slavs believed that thunder comes from the roar produced by a chariot with such "thunder wheels", on which Perun rides across the sky.

Nodular notation from the Prologue.

Let's try to decipher more complex nodular scripts. For example, in the 1400 manuscript "Prologue" a drawing is preserved, the origin of which is obviously more ancient, pagan (Fig. 3a).

But until now, this pattern was taken for an ordinary ornament. The style of such drawings by the famous scientists of the last century F. I. Buslaev was called teratological (from the Greek word teras - a monster). Drawings of this kind depicted intertwined snakes, monsters, people. Teratological ornaments were compared with the design of initial letters in Byzantine manuscripts, and attempts were made to interpret their symbolism in different ways. The historian N. K. Goleizovsky [in the book "Ancient Novgorod" (M., 1983, p. 197)] found something in common between the drawings from the "Prologue" and the image of the world tree.

It seems to me more likely to look for the origins of the composition of the picture (but not the semantic meaning of individual knots) not in Byzantium, but in the West. Let's compare the drawing from the Novgorod manuscript of the "Prologue" and the image on the runic stones of the ancient Vikings of the 9th-10th centuries (Fig. 3v). The runic inscription on this stone itself does not matter, it is an ordinary tombstone inscription. On the other hand, a certain "good warrior Smid" was buried under a nearby similar stone, whose brother (apparently a well-known person at that time, since he was mentioned in the tombstone) - Halfind "lives in Gardarik", i.e. in Rus'. As is known, a large number of settlers from the western lands lived in Novgorod: descendants of the Obodrites, as well as descendants of the Norman Vikings. Wasn't it a descendant of the Viking Halfind who subsequently painted the intro for the "Prologue"?

However, the ancient Novgorodians could have borrowed the composition of the drawing from the Prologue not from the Normans. Images of intertwined snakes, people, and animals can be found, for example, in the headpieces of ancient Irish manuscripts (Fig. 3d). Perhaps all these ornaments have a much more ancient origin. Were they borrowed from the Celts, whose culture goes back to the culture of many northern European peoples, or were similar images known earlier, during the Indo-European unity? This we do not know.

Western influence in Novgorod ornaments is obvious. But since they were created on Slavic soil, traces of the ancient Slavic nodular writing may have been preserved in them. Let's analyze ornaments from this point of view.

What do we see in the picture? Firstly, the main thread (it is indicated by an arrow), on which hieroglyphic knots are hung, as it were. Secondly, a certain character who grabbed two snakes, or dragons, by the neck. Above it and on its sides are three complex knots. Simple figure-eight knots imposed between complex knots are also distinguished, which can be interpreted as separators of hieroglyphs.

It is easiest to read the top hieroglyph node, located between the two figure-eight separators. If you remove the snake fighter from the drawing, then the upper knot should simply hang in its place. Apparently, the meaning of this knot is identical to the serpent god depicted under it.

What god does the picture represent? The one who fought the snakes. Famous scientists V. V. Ivanov and V. N. Toporov [authors of the book "Studies in the field of Slavic antiquities" (M., 1974)] showed that Perun, like his "relatives" - thunderers Zeus and Indra, was a snake fighter. The image of Dazhbog, according to B. A. Rybakov, is close to the image of the snake fighter Apollo. And the image of Svarozhich Fire, obviously, is close to the image of the winner of the Rakshasas and snakes of the Indian god - the personification of the fire of Agni. Other Slavic gods, apparently, do not have "relatives" - serpent fighters. Therefore, the choice should be made between Perun, Dazhbog and Svarozhich Fire.

But we do not see in the figure either the thunder sign we have already considered, or the solar symbol (which means that neither Perun nor Dazhbog are suitable). But we see symbolically depicted tridents in the corners of the frame. This sign resembles the well-known tribal sign of the Russian princes Rurikovich (Fig. 3b). As studies by archaeologists and historians have shown, the trident is a stylized image of the Rarog falcon with folded wings. Even the name of the legendary founder of the dynasty of Russian princes, Rurik, comes from the name of the bird-totem of the Western Slavic encouragers Rarog. Details about the origin of the Rurik coat of arms are described in the article by A. Nikitin. The bird Rarog in the legends of the Western Slavs acts as a fiery bird. In essence, this bird is the personification of the flame, the trident is a symbol of Rarog-Fire, and hence the god of fire - Svarozhich.

So, with a high degree of certainty, we can assume that the screensaver from the "Prologue" depicts the symbols of fire and the fire god Svarozhich himself - the son of the heavenly god Svarog, who was an intermediary between people and gods. Svarozhich people trusted their requests during the fire sacrifices. Svarozhich was the personification of Fire and, of course, fought with water snakes, like the Indian fire god Agni. The Vedic god Agni is related to Svarozhich Fire, since the source of the beliefs of the ancient Aryan Indians and Slavs is one.

The upper node-hieroglyph means fire, as well as the fire god Svarozhich (Fig. 1f).

Groups of nodes to the right and left of Svarozhich are deciphered only approximately. The left hieroglyph resembles the symbol of the Family tied on the left, and the right one resembles the symbol of the Family tied on the right (Fig. 1 g - i). The changes may have been caused by an inaccurate transfer of the initial image. These knots are almost symmetrical. It is quite possible that the hieroglyphs of the earth and sky were previously depicted in this way. After all, Svarozhich is an intermediary between the earth - people, and the gods - heaven.

Knot-hieroglyphic writing the ancient Slavs, apparently, was very complex. We have considered only the simplest examples of knot hieroglyphs. In the past, it was available only to the elite: the priests and the highest nobility - it was a sacred letter. The bulk of the people remained illiterate. This explains the oblivion of nodular writing as Christianity spread and paganism died out. Along with the pagan priests, the knowledge accumulated over millennia, written down - "tied" - with a knot letter, also perished. Nodular writing in that era could not compete with a simpler writing system based on Cyrillic.

Cyril and Methodius - the official version of the creation of the alphabet.

In official sources, where Slavic writing is mentioned, Cyril and Methodius are presented as its only creators. The lessons of Cyril and Methodius were aimed not only at creating the alphabet, as such, but also at a deeper understanding of Christianity by the Slavic peoples, because if the service is read in their native language, it is understood much better. After the Slavic alphabet of Cyril and Methodius was created, people wrote down Slavic speech in Latin or Greek letters, but this did not fully reflect the language, since Greek does not have many sounds that are present in Slavic languages. Services in the Slavic countries that were baptized were held in Latin, which led to an increase in the influence of the German priests, and the Byzantine Church was interested in reducing this influence. When an embassy from Moravia headed by Prince Rostislav arrived in Byzantium in the 860s, the Byzantine emperor Michael III decided that Cyril and Methodius should create Slavic letters that would be used to write sacred texts. If Slavic writing is created, Cyril and Methodius will help the Slavic states to gain independence from the German church authorities. In addition, this will bring them closer to Byzantium.

Constantine (in tonsure Cyril) and Methodius (his secular name is unknown) are two brothers who stood at the origins of the Slavic alphabet. They came from the Greek city of Thessalonica (its modern name is Thessaloniki) in northern Greece. South Slavs lived in the neighborhood, and for the inhabitants of Thessalonica, the Slavic language, apparently, became the second language of communication.

The brothers received world fame and gratitude from their descendants for the creation of the Slavic alphabet and translations of sacred books into the Slavic language. A huge work that played an epochal role in the formation of the Slavic peoples.

However, many researchers believe that work began on the creation of the Slavic script in Byzantium, long before the arrival of the Moravian embassy. The creation of an alphabet that accurately reflects the sound composition of the Slavic language, and the translation into Slavonic of the Gospel - a most complex, multi-layered, internally rhythmic literary work - is a colossal work. To complete this work, even Constantine the Philosopher and his brother Methodius "with his henchmen" would need more than one year. Therefore, it is natural to assume that it was precisely this work that the brothers did back in the 50s of the 9th century in a monastery on Olympus (in Asia Minor on the coast of the Sea of ​​​​Marmara), where, according to the Life of Constantine, they constantly prayed to God, “engaging in just books."

Already in 864, Constantine and Methodius were received with great honors in Moravia. They brought the Slavic alphabet and the Gospel translated into Slavonic. Students were assigned to help the brothers and to train with them. “And soon (Konstantin) translated the entire church rite and taught them both morning, and hours, and Mass, and Vespers, and Compline, and secret prayer.” The brothers stayed in Moravia for more than three years. The philosopher, already suffering from a serious illness, 50 days before his death, "put on a holy monastic image and ... gave himself the name Cyril ...". He died and was buried in Rome in 869.

The eldest of the brothers, Methodius, continued the work he had begun. According to the Life of Methodius, “... having planted two priests of his students as shorthand writers, he translated incredibly quickly (in six or eight months) and completely all the books (biblical), except for the Maccabees, from Greek into Slavic.” Methodius died in 885.

The appearance of sacred books in the Slavic language had a powerful resonance. All well-known medieval sources that responded to this event report how "some people began to blaspheme Slavic books", arguing that "no nation should have its own alphabet, except for Jews, Greeks and Latins." Even the Pope intervened in the dispute, grateful to the brothers who brought the relics of St. Clement to Rome. Although the translation into a non-canonized Slavic language was contrary to the principles of the Latin Church, the pope, nevertheless, condemned the detractors, saying, allegedly, quoting Scripture, like this: "Let all peoples praise God."

Not one Slavic alphabet has survived to this day, but two: Glagolitic and Cyrillic. Both existed in the IX-X centuries. In order to convey sounds reflecting the features of the Slavic language, special signs were introduced into them, and not combinations of two or three main ones, as was practiced in the alphabets of Western European peoples. The Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets almost coincide in letters. The order of the letters is also almost the same.

As in the very first such alphabet - Phoenician, and then in Greek, Slavic letters were also given names. And they are the same in Glagolitic and Cyrillic. According to the first two letters of the alphabet, as you know, the name was compiled - "alphabet". Literally, this is the same as the Greek "alphabeta", that is, "alphabet".

The third letter - "B" - lead (from "know", "know"). It seems that the author chose the names for the letters in the alphabet with meaning: if you read the first three letters “az-buki-vedi” in a row, it turns out: “I know the letters.” In both alphabets, letters were also assigned numerical values.

The letters in Glagolitic and Cyrillic had completely different shapes. Cyrillic letters are geometrically simple and convenient for writing. 24 letters of this alphabet are borrowed from the Byzantine statutory letter. Letters were added to them, conveying the sound features of Slavic speech. The added letters were built to maintain the general style of the alphabet. For the Russian language, it was the Cyrillic alphabet that was used, which has been transformed many times and is now well-established in accordance with the requirements of our time. The oldest record in Cyrillic was found on Russian monuments dating back to the 10th century.

But the Glagolitic letters are incredibly intricate, with curls and eyelets. There are more ancient texts written in the Glagolitic alphabet among the Western and Southern Slavs. Oddly enough, sometimes both alphabets were used on the same monument. On the ruins of the Simeon Church in Preslav (Bulgaria), an inscription was found dating back to about 893. In it, the top line is in Glagolitic, and the bottom two are in Cyrillic. The question is inevitable: which of the two alphabets did Constantine create? Unfortunately, it was not possible to answer it definitively.

1. Glagolitic (X-XI centuries)

We can only tentatively judge the oldest form of the Glagolitic alphabet, because the monuments of the Glagolitic alphabet that have come down to us are not older than the end of the 10th century. Looking at the Glagolitic, we notice that the forms of its letters are very intricate. Signs are often built from two parts located as if on top of each other. This phenomenon is also seen in the more decorative design of the Cyrillic alphabet. There are almost no simple round shapes. They are all connected by straight lines. Only single letters correspond to the modern form (w, y, m, h, e). According to the shape of the letters, two types of Glagolitic can be distinguished. In the first of them, the so-called Bulgarian Glagolitic, the letters are rounded, and in the Croatian, also called Illyrian or Dalmatian Glagolitic, the shape of the letters is angular. Neither one nor the other type of Glagolitic has sharply defined boundaries of distribution. In later development, the Glagolitic adopted many characters from the Cyrillic alphabet. The Glagolitic alphabet of the Western Slavs (Czechs, Poles and others) did not last long and was replaced by the Latin script, and the rest of the Slavs later switched to a Cyrillic type script. But the Glagolitic alphabet has not completely disappeared to this day. So, it was used before the beginning of the Second World War in the Croatian settlements of Italy. Even newspapers were printed with this font.

2. Charter (Cyrillic XI century)

The origin of the Cyrillic alphabet is also not completely clear. There are 43 letters in the Cyrillic alphabet. Of these, 24 are borrowed from the Byzantine statutory letter, the remaining 19 are invented anew, but in graphic design they are similar to Byzantine ones. Not all borrowed letters retained the designation of the same sound as in Greek, some received new meanings according to the peculiarities of Slavic phonetics. Of the Slavic peoples, the Cyrillic alphabet was preserved the longest by the Bulgarians, but at present their writing, like the writing of the Serbs, is similar to Russian, with the exception of some signs intended to indicate phonetic features. The oldest form of the Cyrillic alphabet is called the charter. A distinctive feature of the charter is sufficient clarity and straightforwardness of styles. Most of the letters are angular, wide heavy character. The exceptions are narrow rounded letters with almond-shaped bends (O, S, E, R, etc.), among other letters they seem to be compressed. This letter is characterized by thin lower elongations of some letters (Р, У, 3). We see these lengthenings in other types of Cyrillic. They act as light decorative elements in the overall picture of the letter. Diacritics are not yet known. The letters of the charter are large and stand separately from each other. The old statute knows no spaces between words.

The charter - the main liturgical font - clear, direct, slender, is the basis of all Slavic writing. These are the epithets used to describe the statutory letter of V.N. Shchepkin: “The Slavic charter, like its source - the Byzantine charter, is a slow and solemn letter; it aims at beauty, correctness, ecclesiastical splendor. It is difficult to add anything to such a capacious and poetic definition. The statutory letter was formed during the period of liturgical writing, when the rewriting of a book was a charitable, unhurried matter that took place mainly outside the monastery walls, far from the bustle of the world.

The greatest discovery of the 20th century - Novgorod birch bark letters testify that writing in Cyrillic was a familiar element of Russian medieval life and was owned by various segments of the population: from princely-boyar and church circles to simple artisans. The amazing property of the Novgorod soil helped preserve birch bark and texts that were not written with ink, but were scratched with a special “writer” - a pointed rod made of bone, metal or wood. Such tools were found in large numbers even earlier during excavations in Kyiv, Pskov, Chernigov, Smolensk, Ryazan and in many settlements. The well-known researcher B. A. Rybakov wrote: “A significant difference between Russian culture and the culture of most countries of the East and West is the use of the native language. Arabic for many non-Arab countries and Latin for a number of Western European countries were alien languages, the monopoly of which led to the fact that the national language of the states of that era is almost unknown to us. The Russian literary language was used everywhere - in office work, diplomatic correspondence, private letters, in fiction and scientific literature. The unity of the national and state language was a great cultural advantage of Rus' over the Slavic and German countries, in which the Latin state language dominated. Such a broad literacy was impossible there, since to be literate meant to know Latin. For the Russian townspeople, it was enough to know the alphabet in order to immediately express their thoughts in writing; this explains the widespread use in Rus' of writing on birch bark and on “boards” (obviously waxed).

3. Semi-charter (XIV century)

Starting from the 14th century, a second type of writing developed - a semi-charter, which subsequently supplanted the charter. This type of writing is lighter and rounder than the charter, the letters are smaller, there are a lot of superscripts, a whole system of punctuation marks has been developed. The letters are more mobile and sweeping than in the statutory letter, and with many lower and upper elongations. The technique of drawing with a wide-nib pen, which was strongly manifested when writing in the charter, is noticed much less. The contrast of the strokes is less, the pen is sharpened sharper. They use exclusively goose feathers (previously used mainly reed feathers). Under the influence of the stabilized position of the pen, the rhythm of the lines has improved. The letter acquires a noticeable slope, each letter, as it were, helps the general rhythmic direction to the right. Serifs are rare, the end elements of a number of letters are drawn with strokes, equal in thickness to the main ones. The semi-ustav lasted as long as the handwritten book lived. It also served as the basis for the fonts of early printed books. The semi-ustav was used in the XIV-XVIII centuries along with other types of writing, mainly with cursive writing and script. It was much easier to write in semi-charter. The feudal fragmentation of the country caused in remote areas the development of their own language and their own semi-ustav style. The main place in the manuscripts is occupied by the genres of the military story and the annalistic genre, which best reflect the events experienced by the Russian people in that era.

The emergence of the semi-charter was predetermined mainly by three main trends in the development of writing:
The first of these is the emergence of a need for non-liturgical writing, and as a consequence, the emergence of scribes working to order and for sale. The writing process is faster and easier. The master is more guided by the principle of convenience, not beauty. V.N. Shchepkin describes the semi-ustav as follows: “... smaller and simpler than the statute and has significantly more contractions; ... it can be inclined - towards the beginning or end of the line, ... straight lines allow some curvature, rounded ones - do not represent a regular arc." The process of dissemination and improvement of the semi-scriptural order leads to the fact that the statute is gradually being replaced even from liturgical monuments by the calligraphic semi-scriptural script, which is nothing but a semi-scriptural script written more accurately and with fewer abbreviations. The second reason is the need of the monasteries for inexpensive manuscripts. Delicately and modestly decorated, as a rule, written on paper, they contained mainly ascetic and monastic writings. The third reason is the appearance during this period of voluminous collections, a kind of "encyclopedia about everything." They were quite thick in volume, sometimes sewn together and assembled from various notebooks. Chroniclers, chronographs, walks, polemical writings against the Latins, articles on secular and canon law, coexist in them with notes on geography, astronomy, medicine, zoology, and mathematics. Collections of this kind were written quickly, not very accurately, and by different scribes.

Cursive writing (XV-XVII centuries)

In the XV century, under the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, when the unification of the Russian lands was completed and the national Russian state was created with a new, autocratic political system, Moscow turns not only into the political, but also the cultural center of the country. First, the regional culture of Moscow begins to acquire the character of an all-Russian one. Along with the increasing needs of everyday life, a new, simplified, more comfortable writing style was needed. They became cursive. Cursive roughly corresponds to the concept of Latin cursive. Among the ancient Greeks, cursive writing was widely used at an early stage in the development of writing, and it was also partially available among the southwestern Slavs. In Russia, cursive as an independent type of writing arose in the 15th century. The cursive letters, partly interconnected, differ from the letters of other types of writing in their light outline. But since the letters were equipped with a variety of all kinds of badges, hooks and additions, it was quite difficult to read what was written. Although the cursive writing of the 15th century still reflects the nature of the semi-charter and there are few strokes connecting the letters, but in comparison with the semi-charter this letter is more fluent. Cursive letters were largely made with elongations. Initially, the signs were composed mainly of straight lines, as is typical for the statute and semi-statute. In the second half of the 16th century, and especially at the beginning of the 17th century, semicircular strokes became the main lines of writing, and in the general picture of writing we see some elements of Greek cursive. In the second half of the 17th century, when many different variants of writing spread, the features characteristic of this time are also observed in cursive writing - less ligature and more roundness.

If the semi-ustav in the 15th-18th centuries was mainly used only in book writing, then cursive penetrating into all areas. It turned out to be one of the most mobile types of Cyrillic writing. In the 17th century, cursive writing, distinguished by its special calligraphy and elegance, turned into an independent type of writing with its inherent features: the roundness of the letters, the smoothness of their outline, and most importantly, the ability to further develop.

Already at the end of the 17th century, such forms of letters “a, b, c, e, h, i, t, o, s” were formed, which remained almost unchanged in the future.
At the end of the century, the round outlines of the letters became even smoother and more decorative. The cursive writing of that time is gradually freed from the elements of the Greek cursive and moves away from the forms of the semi-ustav. In the later period, straight and curved lines acquire balance, and the letters become more symmetrical and rounded. At the time when the semi-ustav is being transformed into a civil script, cursive writing also follows the corresponding path of development, as a result of which it can be further called civil cursive writing. The development of cursive writing in the 17th century predetermined the Peter the Great reform of the alphabet.

Elm.
One of the most interesting directions in the decorative use of the Slavic charter is ligature. By definition, V.N. Shchepkina: “Elm is Cyril’s decorative writing, which aims to tie a string into a continuous and uniform ornament. This goal is achieved by various cuts and embellishments. The system of writing in ligature was borrowed by the southern Slavs from Byzantium, but much later than the emergence of Slavic writing, and therefore it is not found in early monuments. The first accurately dated monuments of South Slavic origin date back to the first half of the 13th century, while those of the Russians date back to the end of the 14th century. And it was on Russian soil that the art of knitting reached such a flowering that it can rightfully be considered a unique contribution of Russian art to world culture.
Two factors contributed to this phenomenon:

1. The main technique of tying is the so-called mast ligature. That is, two vertical lines of two adjacent letters are combined into one. And if the Greek alphabet has 24 characters, of which only 12 have masts, which in practice allows no more than 40 two-digit combinations, then the Cyrillic alphabet has 26 characters with masts, of which about 450 commonly used combinations were made.

2. The spread of the tie coincided with the period when weak semivowels began to disappear from the Slavic languages: ъ and ь. This led to the contact of a variety of consonants, which were very conveniently combined with mast ligatures.

3. Due to its decorative appeal, ligature has become widespread. She was decorated with frescoes, icons, bells, metal utensils, used in sewing, on tombstones, etc.

In parallel with the change in the form of the statutory letter, another form of font is developing - initial letter (initial). Borrowed from Byzantium, the method of highlighting the initial letters of especially important text fragments has undergone significant changes among the southern Slavs.

Initial letter - in a handwritten book, emphasized the beginning of the chapter, and then the paragraph. By the nature of the decorative appearance of the initial letter, we can determine the time and style. In the ornamentation of headpieces and capital letters of Russian manuscripts, four main periods are distinguished. The early period (XI-XII century) is characterized by the predominance of the Byzantine style. In the XIII-XIV centuries, the so-called teratological, or "animal" style is observed, the ornament of which consists of figures of monsters, snakes, birds, animals, intertwined with belts, tails and knots. The 15th century is characterized by South Slavic influence, the ornament becomes geometric and consists of circles and lattices. Influenced by the European style of the Renaissance, in the ornamentation of the 16th-17th centuries we see wriggling leaves intertwined with large flower buds. With the strict canon of the statutory letter, it was the initial letter that made it possible for the artist to express his imagination, humor, and mystical symbolism. An initial letter in a handwritten book is an obligatory decoration of the first page of the book.

The Slavic style of drawing initials and headpieces - teratological style (from the Greek. teras - monster and logos - teaching; monstrous style - a variant of the animal style, - the image of fantastic and real stylized animals in ornament and on decorative items) - originally developed among the Bulgarians in the XII - XIII century, and from the beginning of the XIII century began to move to Russia. “A typical teratological initial is a bird or beast (four-legged) throwing leaves out of its mouth and entangled in weaving coming from the tail (or, in a bird, also from the wing).” In addition to the unusually expressive graphic design, the initials had a rich color scheme. But polychromy, which is a characteristic feature of the XIV century book-writing ornament, in addition to artistic, also had an applied value. Often, the complex design of a hand-drawn letter with its numerous purely decorative elements obscured the main outline of the written sign. And for its quick recognition in the text, color highlighting was required. Moreover, by the color of the selection, you can approximately determine the place where the manuscript was created. So, Novgorodians preferred a blue background, and Pskov masters - green. A light green background was also used in Moscow, but sometimes with the addition of blue tones.

Another element of the decoration of a handwritten, and later printed book, is a headband - nothing more than two teratological initials, located symmetrically one opposite the other, framed by a frame, with braided knots at the corners.

Thus, in the hands of Russian masters, ordinary letters of the Cyrillic alphabet turned into a wide variety of decorative elements, introducing an individual creative spirit and national color into books. In the 17th century, the semi-ustav, having passed from church books into office work, was transformed into civil writing, and its italic version - cursive - into civil cursive.

At this time, books of writing samples appeared - “The Alphabet of the Slavic Language ...” (1653), primers of Karion Istomin (1694-1696) with magnificent examples of letters of various styles: from luxurious initials to simple cursive letters. By the beginning of the 18th century, Russian writing was already very different from previous types of writing. The reform of the alphabet and font, carried out by Peter I at the beginning of the 18th century, contributed to the spread of literacy and education. The new civil font began to print all secular literature, scientific and government publications. In form, proportions and style, the civil font was close to the old antiqua. The same proportions of most of the letters gave the font a calm character. Its readability has improved a lot. The forms of the letters - Б, У, Ь, Ъ, "ЯТ", which were higher in height than the rest of the capital letters, are a characteristic feature of the Peter's font. The Latin forms "S" and "i" began to be used.

In the future, the development process was aimed at improving the alphabet and font. In the middle of the 18th century, the letters “zelo”, “xi”, “psi” were abolished, the letter “ё” was introduced instead of “i o”. New type designs appeared with a high contrast of strokes, the so-called transitional type (fonts of the printing houses of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and Moscow University). The end of the 18th - the first half of the 19th century was marked by the appearance of classic type fonts (Bodoni, Dido, printing houses of Selivanovskiy, Semyon, Revillon).

Starting from the 19th century, the graphics of Russian fonts developed in parallel with Latin ones, absorbing everything new that originated in both writing systems. In the field of ordinary writing, Russian letters took the form of Latin calligraphy. Designed in “copybooks” with a pointed pen, Russian calligraphic writing of the 19th century was a true masterpiece of handwritten art. The letters of calligraphy were significantly differentiated, simplified, acquired beautiful proportions, a rhythmic structure natural to the pen. Among the drawn and typographic fonts, Russian modifications of grotesque (chopped), Egyptian (squared) and decorative fonts appeared. Along with the Latin, the Russian font at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century also experienced a decadent period - the Art Nouveau style.

Literature:

1. Florya B.N. Legends about the beginning of Slavic writing. SPb., 2000.

2. V.P. Gribkovsky, article “Did the Slavs have written language before Cyril and Methodius?”

3. "The Legend of the Letters", translated into modern Russian by Viktor Deryagin, 1989.

4. Grinevich G. "How many thousand years of Slavic writing?", 1993.

5. Grinevich G. “Proto-Slavic writing. Decryption results”, 1993, 1999.

6. Platov A., Taranov N. "The runes of the Slavs and the Glagolitic".

7. Ivanova V.F. Modern Russian language. Graphics and spelling, 2nd edition, 1986.

8. I.V. Yagich The question of the runes among the Slavs / / Encyclopedia of Slavic Philology. Edition of the Department of Russian Language and Literature. Imp. Acad. Sciences. Issue 3: Graphics among the Slavs. SPb., 1911.
9. A.V. Platov. Cult images from the temple in Retra / / Myths and magic of the Indo-Europeans, issue 2, 1996.
10. A. G. Masch. Die Gottesdienstlichen Alferfhnmer der Obotriten, aus dem Tempel zu Rhetra. Berlin, 1771.
11. For more details, see: A.V. Platov. Monuments of the runic art of the Slavs / / Myths and magic of the Indo-Europeans, issue 6, 1997.

It is no secret that the formation of ancient Russian church literature began after such a process as Christianization. According to certain data, literacy in Rus' appeared thanks to Bulgaria, after the well-known religious act took place in 998. This version was not entirely correct. Historians have proven that the Old Russian letters, as well as Old Russian writing, appeared thanks to Cyril and Methodius.

Many people know that in Rus' before 988 they already had to write, and this is a recognized fact. Some researchers argue that writing began to appear as early as the Bronze Age. According to the treatise Chernorizets the Brave, which is dedicated to the emergence of ancient Slavic writing, this process had several main stages. One of the main stages was the adoption of the letters of the Greek and Latin alphabets. That is why the Old Russian letters have well-known origins.

http://artgarmony.ru/

Features of the development of writing in Rus'

The signs of many local peoples also influenced the development of writing. If we talk about the total number of basic such signs, then there were about two hundred of them. According to historians, the bearers of the so-called Chernyakhov culture maintained fairly good relations with the Greeks and Romans. Many representatives of this culture often visited ancient cities, where they acquired certain written skills.

In the Cathedral of St. Sophia, the Sophian alphabet was discovered, which was drawn on the wall with sufficient quality and in large expressive letters. According to some researchers, this alphabet is an ordinary Cyrillic alphabet. The main difference can only be called that the Sofia alphabet is unfinished. By the way, the Old Russian letters are depicted quite neatly here. This suggests that the Sofia alphabet deserves every right to be called pre-Cyrillic, it perfectly reflects the initial stage of the emergence of Slavic writing.

Creation of the first library

It is worth noting that in the 11th century, Yaroslav the Wise created a cultural and educational center in Kyiv, where the first library appeared. In this library, according to historians,
very important political documents, various texts of treaties, etc. were kept. Also here you can see a large number of books, mostly literate translations of Christian literature, church documentation, etc.

Modern research has learned that East Slavic writing appeared solely due to the missions of Cyril.

http://hvrax.ru/

Sources of Old Russian writing

The main source of the emergence of ancient Russian writing nevertheless served as Greek sources. Old Russian symbols also contributed to this. The first Cyrillic alphabet had several variants. One version consisted of 38 letters, and the other 43 letters. Many historians are trying to answer the following question: what exactly was the alphabet that Cyril invented?

If we talk about the Glagolitic alphabet, then this is one of the most mysterious problems of the entire period of the formation of Old Russian writing. By the way, the origin of the Glagolitic alphabet is still unknown. Today, the Old Russian alphabet, inscription and reading, is also a kind of mystery for researchers.

Most importantly, scientists have proven that Cyril put a lot of effort into the appearance in Rus' of the first alphabet, alphabet and writing. Of course, this topic has been discussed enough for many decades, since, unfortunately, there are not many facts about the origin of the writing of Ancient Rus'.

Video: The history of the birth of Slavic writing

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2013 marks the 1150th anniversary
the emergence of Slavic writing and
culture.
Sculptor: Alexander Rozhnikov
Lecturer: Voloshchuk I.P.

History of the Russian font. Old Russian script - Cyrillic

Everyone is called Old Russian
cursive and typefaces
since their inception and up to
before the formation of a new graphic
civil writing and civil
font (late XVII - early XVIII
century).

In 863 the holy brothers Cyril and
Methodius, natives of Thessalonica (Soloniki) in
Macedonia designed for Western
Slavic alphabet and translated into Slavic
a number of liturgical books.
The merit of Cyril is that he
first created the alphabet with a clear and clear
graphics of signs, based on the Greek
uncial letter and supplementing it with letters,
denoting specific sounds
Slavic language (hissing, whistling and
ioted).

He arranged the letters in a certain
sequences, betraying them and digital
meaning. Cyrillic letters during
for many centuries simple and
multiple digits.
With the help of the alphabet invented by him, he
made the first translation of the Bible into
Slavic language.

Books came to Rus' with the official
adoption of Christianity in 988. Along with
In Cyrillic, there was another alphabet-verbal. Full verb letters
their composition did not resemble any of the
famous alphabets. It included features
loops, ovals and semi-ovals.
In Rus', the Glagolitic alphabet did not last long and
was eventually completely ousted
Cyrillic letter.

The fact that Cyril created a pan-Slavic
alphabet based on knowledge of Slavic
phonetics and the already existing
Russian writing was a phenomenon
progressive, developmental
Slavic culture and mutual communication
between fraternal peoples. new alphabet,
conveying all the features of living speech,
very soon received the widest
spread not only in
Church Slavonic books, but also in secular,
business and ordinary writing.

Cyrillic

Glagolitic
Cyrillic

In the history of the Old Russian font,
basic calligraphic options
Cyrillic:
from the 11th century - a charter letter; Ustav.10th-15th centuries AD
from the 14th century - semi-ustav, which served
sample for typeface in
middle of the 16th century; Poluustav(half-ustav).14th-18th centuries AD
at the beginning of the 15th century, they became widespread
various types of cursive writing; Skoropis (fast writing).14th-18th
th
th
th
centuries A.D.
from the 15th century decorative writing; Vyaz.15th-18
centuries A.D.
th

10. Charter

Ustav.10th-15th centuries AD
Charter - early
calligraphic
Cyrillic form.
The letters of the charter had
almost square
proportions and
different
straightforwardness
and angularity
forms.
Fragment of the manuscript

11.

The letters were placed freely in the line,
There were no spaces between words.
Line spacing is equal to body
letters or a few more, signs of a wide, bold (in racks) style, for
except for a few narrow rounded
letters (O, E, C, P). The letters З, У, Р, Х, Ц, Ш had
strong extension elements that
somewhat enlivened the monotony of everything
letters. The angle of the pen was changed in
writing process and depended on the shape of the letter.

12. An example of a classic statutory letter is the Ostromir Gospel, written in 1056-1057 by deacon Gregory.

13.

Charter

14. Semi-statute

Poluustav(half-ustav).14th-18th centuries AD
Text done
semi-charter, has
lighter overall
picture, the letters are rounder
and smaller, words and
offers
separated by clear
at intervals.
A whole
sign system
punctuation.
Semi-statutory text

15.

The outline is simpler, more plastic and
faster than in a charter letter. Contrast
there are fewer strokes, the pen is sharpened sharper.
Some letters have changed somewhat
duct. Under the influence of the stabilized
pen position improved rhythm
lines. The letter takes on a noticeable slope.
Serifs are rare, terminal
elements of a number of letters are drawn up
strokes, equal in thickness to the main ones.
Semicharter served as the basis for fonts
printed books.

16.

Semi-charter

17.

Kyiv Psalter (RNB. OLDP. F
6)

18.

Reversal of the handwritten Monthly Book. Late XVIII - early XIX
century.

19. cursive

Skoropis (fast writing).14th-18th centuries AD
Certificates, acts, books
already from the 14th century
write cursively.
cursive turned out to be
one of the most
mobile species
Cyrillic
letters.
Cursive alphabet

20.

In the 17th century, cursive writing, distinguished by its special
calligraphy and grace,
turned into an independent type of writing
with its inherent features: the roundness of the letters,
smoothness of their outline, and most importantly,
ability for further development.
It is in cursive, close to the usual
writing, a minuscule could develop
form. Already at the end of the 17th century, there were
such forms of letters a, b, c, e, h, i, t, o, c,
which in the future almost never
have undergone changes.

21.

15th century cursive

22. Elm

Vyaz.15th-18th centuries AD
Elm - special
decorative look
letters,
contact
line in one
continuous
style ornament
arabesque (view
ornament).
Types of knitting

23.

There are two types of knitting: round and angular (
stamped).
In Russian manuscripts, mostly
stamped (angular) ligature developed. One of
basic techniques - tie-mast ligature, in
which two adjacent strokes (boles) of two
neighboring letters turned into one. void,
formed in this case were filled either strongly
oval or almond-shaped letters O,
E, C, or half-masts of adjacent letters, and sometimes
decorative elements.
Executed in gold or cinnabar, they carried
special artistic and decorative load in
various written monuments.

24.

Pskov Chrysostom 16th century ("the book is said to be instructive Gold ...")
Maxim Grek, 1587 ("this word was created by a monk")

25. Civil Petrovsky font

In the 17th century, semi-ustav, moving from
church books in office work,
converted into a civil letter, and its
cursive - cursive - civil
cursive. This is the time when books appear.
writing samples - "The alphabet of the Slavic
language "(1653), primers of Karion Istomin
(1694-1696) with magnificent
samples of letters of various styles: from
sumptuous initials to simple letters
cursive.

26.

New civilian
font began to print
all secular literature
scientific and
state
editions.
Shape, proportions
and style
civil font was
close to old
antique.
European book printers created
wonderful fonts antiqua.

27.

Same proportions
most letters
gave the font
calm character.
Readability of it
has risen a lot.
Forms of letters B, Y, b, b,
"yat", which
the height was higher
other capital letters
are
characteristic
peculiarity
Peter's font.
Civic font. Page with edits of Peter I

28.

Civic font.

29.

As a result of the reform, the Cyrillic alphabet received
most stylistic features
Latin antiqua and thus the appearance
books in Russian was close to
European book. Sketches of new letters
presumably made by himself
Peter I, and further process
font making and editing
took place with his direct participation.

30.

In 1708, for the first time in Russia, a book was published
civil type ("Geometry")

31.

According to his sketches in Amsterdam and Moscow were
made punches and dies for
casting three pins of a new font, after
what was forbidden by the decree of Peter I
apply a semi-charter for publishing a secular
literature, why the new font received
later its name.
The color of the civil font is noticeable
lighter than contemporary Latin, his
serifs are thinner and almost not rounded
at the points of contact with the main strokes.

32.

Handwritten note of Peter I on the inside
side of the binding of the civil alphabet with
corrections of Peter I; 1710.

33.

Civic font letters
XVIII century: beginnings (1st row),
middle (2nd row) and end of the century
(3rd row)
Civil script letters XVIII
century

34. Questions on the topic of the presentation:

1. List four Cyrillic Old Russian
types of writing in historical sequence;
2. In what form of Old Russian writing for the first time
there are pauses between words and punctuation marks?
3. Define the meaning of the word "duct";
4. When writing what type of Old Russian letter
began to use lowercase letters?
5. What type of writing was used for headlines in
the design of the pages of an old Russian book?
6. Define the meaning of the word "scriptoria";
7. What are the changes in the reform process of Peter I in
the beginning of the 18th century occurred in the Russian alphabet?

Hypothesis about pre-Christian writing in Rus'

A significant group of researchers believe that the Slavs were literate before the adoption of Christianity. This opinion was shared by Soviet researchers Istrin V.A., Obnorsky S.P., Yakubinsky L.P., Lvov A.P. and others. A number of sources were used as evidence:

1. "About the Letters" Chernorizets Brave
2. "Lives of Constantine and Methodius"
3. Texts by Arabic author Ibn Fadlan
4. "The book of painting news about scientists and the names of the books they composed" An-Nadima
5. Treaties of Rus' with the Greeks $911, $945

Sometimes the so-called "Book of Veles" is cited as evidence, although it has been proven that this is a forgery of the $XX$ century. The most competent source in this matter can be considered the legend of Chernorizets the Brave "On the Letters":

“Before, the Slavs did not have letters, but they read by features and cuts, they guessed by them, being filthy.”

Remark 1

However, at the moment there is no solid evidence in science for the existence of pre-Christian Slavic writing.

Missionaries Cyril and Methodius

The authors of the Slavic alphabet, Byzantine monks Cyril and Methodius, were on a mission in Moravia: the ruler of this state turned to the Byzantine emperor Michael $III$ with a request to send teachers. Moravia was baptized, but did not have its own written language, which made the process of Christianization difficult. The conditional date of the creation of the Slavic alphabet, therefore, is considered to be $863$ - the beginning of the educational mission of Cyril and Methodius in Moravia.

Remark 2

In science, it is considered proven that Methodius and Cyril created the so-called "glagolitic" . The alphabet in the usual form - "Cyrillic" - created by a student of Cyril, Kliment Ohridsky, based on the Glagolitic alphabet and the Greek alphabet.

Cyril and Methodius were actually teachers of the southern Slavs, while the eastern ones were not included in their activities. But at the same time, monk brothers are considered enlighteners in Rus', the cult of Saints Cyril and Methodius has become very popular. The fact is that the Bulgarian sources, which describe the activities of the monks, were among the first books in Rus' and were widely distributed.

The spread of writing in Rus' after the adoption of Christianity

On a national scale, Slavic writing in Rus' began to spread with the adoption of Christianity.

But since it is known that a small number of Christians lived in Rus' during the pagan period, it can be assumed that they used the Slavic alphabet.

Example 1

Archaeological finds confirm this fact, for example, the “Gnezdovo inscription” on a clay jug.

With the adoption of Christianity, Slavic writing began to spread throughout the Old Russian state. The reason for this was the need to study religious literature and hold services in their native language, since only in this way the process of Christianization was easier. Slavic writing came to Rus' from Bulgaria, since the language of the Bulgarians at that time was as close as possible. In addition, Bulgaria had adopted Christianity a century earlier and already had an impressive volume of translated theological literature. In the process of the spread of writing in Rus', the Cyrillic alphabet significantly prevailed, although it is known that the Glagolitic was also used.

Example 2

An example of the use of the Glagolitic alphabet is “Kyiv Leaflets”, a recording of an excerpt from the liturgy. The appearance of the Glagolitic alphabet seems to be very complex, which is probably why the Cyrillic alphabet replaced it.

There is an opinion according to which the Glagolitic, due to its complexity, was used as a cipher, a secret letter. However, it is important to emphasize that Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets almost coincided in terms of letter composition: $40$ letters in the Glagolitic alphabet, $43$ letters in the Cyrillic alphabet of the $11th century.