William R Veder

Chernorizets Hrabar, whose name translates to 'Hrabar the Monk,' was a Bulgarian scholar and writer active in the First Bulgarian Empire during the late 9th and early 10th centuries. He is primarily credited with authoring 'On the Letters,' a significant medieval text written in Old Church Slavonic. The identity and exact authorship of Hrabar have been subjects of scholarly discussion, with theories suggesting his name might have been a pseudonym for other prominent figures of the era, or even Tsar Simeon I himself.

His work, 'On the Letters,' explored the development of the Slavic alphabet, particularly the Glagolitic script, and the translation of religious texts into Slavic. He also documented a pre-Christian Slavic writing system that used 'strokes and incisions,' which he described as inadequate for capturing the full nuances of the spoken language. Scholars debate whether this text was a defense of Slavic language and script against Greek criticism or a specific defense of Glagolitic over the emerging Cyrillic alphabet. The treatise survives through numerous manuscript copies, primarily in Cyrillic, though the original is believed to have been in Glagolitic.

The historical figure known as Chernorizets Hrabar, whose name signifies 'Hrabar the Monk,' remains somewhat enigmatic. While credited with a significant literary work, his precise identity and the authorship of his writings have been debated among academics. Some scholars propose that 'Chernorizets Hrabar' may have been a pen name adopted by other notable intellectual figures of the First Bulgarian Empire, such as Constantine of Bulgaria, John the Exarch, Clement of Ohrid, or even Tsar Simeon I. The term 'Chernorizets' refers to a monk, specifically one of the lowest monastic rank, while 'Hrabar' is thought to be his given name, though it is sometimes translated as 'the Brave' or 'the Brave One,' suggesting it could have been a nickname.

Chernorizets Hrabar's sole attributed work is 'On the Letters' (O pismenehь), a foundational medieval treatise composed in Old Church Slavonic. Written in the late 9th or early 10th century, the text draws inspiration from Greek grammatical traditions and scholia. Its primary focus is the origin and development of the Glagolitic alphabet and the subsequent translation of the Bible into Slavic languages. Hrabar also provides crucial insights into early Slavic paleography by describing a pre-Christian writing method involving 'strokes and incisions,' which he deemed insufficient for accurately representing spoken language. This form of writing is speculated by some to be akin to runic script, though no definitive examples have survived. The prevailing scholarly interpretation suggests Hrabar penned this work to champion the Slavic language and its script, possibly in response to critiques from Greek scholars, or as a defense of the Glagolitic alphabet against the nascent Cyrillic script.

The treatise 'On the Letters' has been preserved through a substantial number of manuscript copies, existing in seventy-nine versions categorized into seven textual families, along with several abridged versions. While all these families likely stem from a single original text, none of the surviving copies perfectly represent the original, nor can they be definitively linked as direct sources for one another. Importantly, all extant manuscripts are written in Cyrillic, despite the original protograph being in Glagolitic, indicating significant changes and corruption during transcription. The oldest surviving manuscript dates to 1348, created by monk Laurentius for Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria. The work's historical significance is underscored by its inclusion in early printed editions, such as Ivan Fedorov's East Slav primer in 1578, making it one of the earliest printed works by a Bulgarian author.

“In the past, the Slavs did not have books, but read and divined by means of strokes and incisions, being pagans. Having been baptised, they had to write the Slavic speech with Roman and Greek letters without any system. But with Greek letters how can one write words such as God, or life, or very, or church, or waiting, or width, or meal, or where, or youth, or tongue, and other similar ones? And so it was for many years. Then the mankind-loving God [...] sent them Saint Constantine the Philosopher, called Cyril, a just and upright man, and he created thirty-eight letters for them, some in the manner of Greek letters, and some in accordance with Slavic speech.”