Who invented the alphabet of the Russian language briefly. Who was the first to create the alphabet of the Russian language? What information is there about him? The emergence of the Slavic alphabet
The role of writing in the development of the entire human society cannot be overestimated. Even before the appearance of the letters we are familiar with, ancient people left various marks on stone and rocks. At first these were drawings, then they were replaced by hieroglyphs. Finally, writing using letters, which is more convenient for transmitting and understanding information, has appeared. Centuries and millennia later, these signs-symbols helped restore the past of many peoples. A special role in this matter was played by written monuments: various codes of laws and official documents, literary works and memoirs of prominent people.
Today, knowledge of that language is an indicator not only of a person’s intellectual development, but also determines his attitude towards the country in which he was born and lives.
How it all began
In fact, the foundation for the creation of the alphabet was laid by the Phoenicians at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. They came up with consonant letters that they used for quite a long time. Subsequently, their alphabet was borrowed and improved by the Greeks: vowels already appeared in it. This was around the 8th century BC. e. Further, the history of the Russian alphabet can be reflected in the diagram: Greek letter - Latin alphabet - Slavic Cyrillic alphabet. The latter served as the basis for the creation of writing among a number of related peoples.
Formation of the Old Russian state
From the 1st century AD, the process of disintegration of the tribes that inhabited the territory of Eastern Europe and spoke a common Proto-Slavic language began. As a result, Kievan Rus was formed in the area of the middle Dnieper, which later became the center of a large state. It was inhabited by part of the Eastern Slavs, who over time developed their own special way of life and customs. The story of how the Russian alphabet appeared was further developed.
The growing and strengthening state established economic and cultural ties with other countries, primarily Western European ones. And for this, writing was needed, especially since the first Church Slavonic books began to be brought to Rus'. At the same time, there was a weakening of paganism and the spread of a new religion throughout Europe - Christianity. This is where the urgent need arose for the “invention” of the alphabet, thanks to which the new teaching could be conveyed to all Slavs. It became the Cyrillic alphabet, created by the “Thessaloniki brothers”.
The important mission of Constantine and Methodius
In the 9th century, the sons of a noble Thessalonica Greek, on behalf of the Byzantine emperor, went to Moravia - at that time a powerful state located within the borders of modern Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Their task was to introduce the Slavs who inhabited Eastern Europe to the teachings of Christ and the ideas of Orthodoxy, as well as to conduct services in the native language of the local population. It was no coincidence that the choice fell on the two brothers: they had good organizational skills and showed particular diligence in their studies. In addition, both were fluent in Greek and Constantine (shortly before his death, after being tonsured as a monk, he was given a new name - Cyril, with which he went down in history) and Methodius became the people who invented the alphabet of the Russian language. This was perhaps the most significant result of their mission in 863.
Cyrillic base
When creating the alphabet for the Slavs, the brothers used the Greek alphabet. They left the letters corresponding to the pronunciation in the languages of these two peoples unchanged. To designate the sounds of Slavic speech that were absent among the Greeks, 19 new signs were invented. As a result, the new alphabet included 43 letters, many of which were subsequently included in the alphabets of the peoples who once spoke a common language.
But the story about who invented the alphabet of the Russian language does not end there. During the 9th-10th centuries, two types of alphabet were common among the Slavs: the Cyrillic alphabet (mentioned above) and the Glagolitic alphabet. The second contained a smaller number of letters - 38 or 39, and their style was more complex. In addition, the first signs were used additionally to indicate numbers.
So did Kirill invent the alphabet?
For several centuries now, researchers have found it difficult to give an unambiguous answer to this question. In the “Life of Cyril” it is noted that “with the help of his brother... and students... he compiled the Slavic alphabet...”. If this is really the case, then which of the two - Cyrillic or Glagolitic - is his creation? The matter is complicated by the fact that the manuscripts written by Cyril and Methodius have not survived, and in later ones (dating back to the 9th-10th centuries) none of these alphabets are mentioned.
To figure out who invented the Russian alphabet, scientists have conducted a lot of research. In particular, they compared one and the other with alphabets that existed even before their appearance and analyzed the results in detail. They never came to a consensus, but most agree that Cyril most likely invented the Glagolitic alphabet, even before his trip to Moravia. This is supported by the fact that the number of letters in it was as close as possible to the phonetic composition of the Old Church Slavonic language (designed specifically for writing). In addition, in their style, the letters of the Glagolitic alphabet were more different from the Greek ones and bear little resemblance to modern writing.
The Cyrillic alphabet, which became the basis for the Russian alphabet (az + buki is the name of its first letters), could have been created by one of Konstantin’s students, Kliment Ohritsky. He named her that in honor of the teacher.
The formation of the Russian alphabet
Regardless of who invented the Cyrillic alphabet, it became the basis for the creation of the Russian alphabet and the modern alphabet.
In 988, Ancient Rus' adopted Christianity, which significantly influenced the future fate of the language. From this time on, the formation of our own writing began. Gradually, the Old Russian language, the alphabet of which is based on the Cyrillic alphabet, is being improved. This was a long process that ended only after 1917. This was when the final changes were made to the alphabet we use today.
How the Cyrillic alphabet has changed
Before the Russian alphabet acquired the form it has today, the fundamental alphabet underwent a number of changes. The most significant reforms were in 1708-10 under Peter I and in 1917-18 after the revolution.
Initially, the Cyrillic alphabet, which was very reminiscent of the Byzantine script, had several extra, doublet letters, for example, и=і, о=ѡ - they were most likely used to convey Bulgarian sounds. There were also various superscripts that indicated stress and aspirated pronunciation.
Before the reign of Peter I, the letters denoting numbers were designed in a special way - it was he who introduced Arabic counting.
In the first reform (this was caused by the need to compile business papers: 7 letters were removed from the alphabet: ξ (xi), S (zelo) and iotized vowels, I and U were added (they replaced the existing ones), ε (reverse). This made it much easier alphabet, and it began to be called “civil.” In 1783, N. Karamzin added the letter E. Finally, after 1917, 4 more letters disappeared from the Russian alphabet, and Ъ (er) and b (er) began to denote only the hardness and softness of consonants .
The names of the letters have also changed completely. Initially, each of them represented a whole word, and the entire alphabet, according to many researchers, was filled with a special meaning. This also showed the intelligence of those who invented the alphabet. The Russian language has preserved the memory of the first names of letters in proverbs and sayings. For example, “start from the beginning” - that is, from the very beginning; “Fita and Izhitsa - the whip is approaching the lazy one.” They are also found in phraseological units: “to look with a verb.”
Praise to the Great Saints
The creation of the Cyrillic alphabet was the greatest event for the entire Slavic world. The introduction of writing made it possible to pass on the accumulated experience to descendants and tell the glorious history of the formation and development of independent states. It is no coincidence that they say: “If you want to know the truth, start with the alphabet.”
Centuries pass, new discoveries appear. But those who invented the alphabet of the Russian language are remembered and revered. Proof of this is the holiday, which is celebrated annually on May 24 all over the world.
Kuban State University
Faculty of Management and Psychology
on document management on the topic:
"History of the Russian alphabet: from antiquity to the present day"
Completed by a student
2nd year preschool educational institution:
Teterleva Elena
Krasnodar 2010
Introduction
1. The emergence of the Slavic alphabet
2. Cyrillic letters and their names
3. Composition of the Russian alphabet
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
When conveying speech in writing, letters are used, each of which has a specific meaning. A set of letters arranged in a prescribed order is called alphabet or ABC .
Word alphabet comes from the name of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: α- alpha; β - beta(in modern Greek - vita).
Word ABC comes from the name of the first two letters of the ancient Slavic alphabet - Cyrillic: A - az; B - beeches.
How did the alphabet come about? How did it develop in Rus'? The answers to these questions can be found in this abstract.
1. THE APPEARANCE OF THE SLAVIC ABC
Alphabet is a system of letters that convey the sounds or phonemes of a language. Almost all known alphabetic writing systems have a common origin: they go back to the Semitic writing of Phenicia, Syria, Palestine of the 2nd millennium BC.
The Phoenicians, who lived on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, were famous sailors in ancient times. They conducted active trade with the states of the Mediterranean. In the 9th century. BC e. The Phoenicians introduced their writing to the Greeks. The Greeks slightly modified the styles of Phoenician letters and their names, while maintaining the order.
In the 1st millennium BC. e. Southern Italy was colonized by the Greeks. As a result of this, various peoples of Italy became acquainted with the Greek letter, including the Latins, the Italic tribe that founded Rome. The classical Latin alphabet was finally formed in the 1st century. BC e. Some Greek letters were not included in the Latin alphabet. During the era of the Roman Empire, the Latin language and writing became widespread. Its influence intensified in the Middle Ages due to the transition to. Christianity of all peoples of Europe. The Latin language became the liturgical language in all states of Western Europe, and the Latin script became the only acceptable script for liturgical books. As a result, Latin has been an international language for centuries.
On the territory of Central Eastern Europe, inhabited by the Slavs, starting from the 6th-7th centuries. Separate unions of Slavic tribes and state associations appear.
19th century the state union of the Western Slavs was known - the Moravian Principality, located on the territory of present-day Slovakia. German feudal lords sought to subjugate Moravia politically, economically, and culturally. German missionaries were sent to Moravia to preach Christianity in Latin. This threatened the political independence of the state. In an effort to maintain independence, the far-sighted Moravian prince Rostislav sent an embassy to the Byzantine Emperor Michael III with a request to send teachers (preachers of Christianity according to the Byzantine rite) to Moravia who would teach the inhabitants of Moravia Christianity in their native language. Michael III entrusted the Moravian mission to Constantine (monastic name - Cyril) and his brother Methodius. The brothers were natives of the city of Thessaloniki (now Thessaloniki), which at that time was part of the Slavic (Bulgarian) territory and was the cultural center of Macedonia. Ancient Thessaloniki was a bilingual city in which, in addition to the Greek language, a Slavic dialect was heard.
Konstantin was a very educated person for his time. Even before his trip to Moravia, he compiled the Slavic alphabet and began to translate the Gospel into the Slavic language. In Moravia, Constantine and Methodius continued to translate church books from Greek into the Slavic language, teaching the Slavs to read, write and conduct worship in the Slavic language. The brothers stayed in Moravia for more than three years, and then went with their disciples to Rome to the Pope. There they hoped to find support in the fight against the German clergy, who did not want to give up their positions in Moravia and hindered the spread of Slavic writing. On the way to Rome, they visited another Slavic country - Pannonia (the area of Lake Balaton, Hungary). And here the brothers taught the Slavs books and worship in the Slavic language.
In Rome, Constantine became a monk, taking the name Cyril. There, in 869, Cyril was poisoned. Before his death, he wrote to Methodius: “You and I are like two oxen; one fell from a heavy burden, the other must continue the journey.” Methodius with his disciples, who received the priesthood, returned to Pannonia, and later to Moravia.
By that time, the situation in Moravia had changed dramatically. After the death of Rostislav, his captive Svyatopolk became the Moravian prince, who submitted to German political influence. The activities of Methodius and his disciples took place in very difficult conditions. The Latin-German clergy in every way prevented the spread of the Slavic language as the language of the church.
Methodius was sent to prison, where he dies in 885, and after that his opponents managed to achieve the ban on Slavic writing in Moravia. Many students were executed, some moved to Bulgaria and Croatia. In Bulgaria, Tsar Boris converted to Christianity in 864. Bulgaria becomes the center of the spread of Slavic writing. Here Slavic schools are created, the original Cyril and Methodius liturgical books (Gospel, Psalter, Apostle, church services) are copied, new Slavic translations from Greek are made, original works appear in the Old Slavonic language (“0 writings of the Chrnoritsa Brave”).
The widespread use of Slavic writing, its “golden age,” dates back to the reign of Simeon (893-927), the son of Boris, in Bulgaria. Later, the Old Church Slavonic language penetrates Serbia, and at the end of the 10th century. becomes the language of the church in Kievan Rus.
The Old Church Slavonic language, being the language of the church in Rus', was influenced by the Old Russian language. It was the Old Slavonic language of the Russian edition, as it included elements of living East Slavic speech.
The Old Slavonic alphabet, which is used to write monuments that have survived to this day, is called Glagolitic And Cyrillic. The first Old Church Slavonic monuments were written in the Glagolitic alphabet, which was supposedly created by Constantine based on the Greek cursive script of the 9th century. with the addition of some letters from other eastern alphabets. This is a very unique, intricate, loop-shaped letter, which was used by the Croats for a long time in a slightly modified form (until the 17th century). The appearance of the Cyrillic alphabet, which dates back to the Greek statutory (solemn) letter, is associated with the activities of the Bulgarian school of scribes. Cyrillic is the Slavic alphabet that underlies the modern Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian alphabet.
2. CYRILLIC LETTERS AND THEIR NAMES
Figure 1 – “Cyrillic letters and their names”
The Cyrillic alphabet, shown in Figure 1, has undergone gradual improvement as it has been used in the Russian language.
The development of the Russian nation at the beginning of the 18th century and the emerging needs for the printing of civil books necessitated the need to simplify the lettering of the Cyrillic alphabet.
In 1708, a Russian civil font was created, and Peter I himself took an active part in making sketches of letters. In 1710, a sample of a new alphabet font was approved. This was the first reform of Russian graphics. The essence of Peter's reform was to simplify the composition of the Russian alphabet by excluding from it such outdated and unnecessary letters as “psi”, “xi”, “omega”, “izhitsa”, “earth”, “izhe”, “yus small”. However, later, probably under the influence of the clergy, some of these letters were restored to use. The letter E (“E” is reverse) was introduced in order to distinguish it from the yotized letter E, as well as the letter Y instead of the small yotized yus.
In the civil font, uppercase (capital) and lowercase (small) letters are established for the first time.
Letter Y ( and short) was introduced by the Academy of Sciences in 1735. The letter Yo was first used by N.M. Karamzin in 1797 to designate the sound [o] under stress after soft consonants, for example: palate, dark .
In the 18th century in a literary language, a sound denoted by the letter Ъ ( yat), coincided with the sound [ uh ]. Bush, Kommersant, thus, practically turned out to be unnecessary, but according to tradition, it was kept in the Russian alphabet for a long time, until 1917-1918.
Spelling reform of 1917-1918. two letters that duplicated each other were excluded: “yat”, “fita”, “and decimal”. Letter b ( er) was saved only as a delimiter, b ( er) - as a dividing sign and to indicate the softness of the preceding consonant. Regarding Yo, the decree contains a clause about the desirability, but not obligatory nature, of using this letter. Reform 1917-1918 simplified Russian writing and thereby facilitated learning to read and write.
3. COMPOSITION OF THE RUSSIAN ALPHABET
The Russian alphabet has 33 letters, of which 10 indicate vowels, 21 consonants, and 2 letters do not indicate special sounds, but serve to convey certain sound features. The Russian alphabet, shown in Table 1, has uppercase (capital) and lowercase (small) letters, printed and handwritten letters.
Table 1 – Russian alphabet and letter names
CONCLUSION
Throughout the history of the Russian alphabet, there was a struggle with “extra” letters, culminating in a partial victory during the reform of graphics by Peter I (1708-1710) and a final victory during the spelling reform of 1917-1918.
“Where does the Motherland begin,” as the old and soulful song says? And it starts small: with love for the native language, with the alphabet. Since childhood, we have all become accustomed to a certain type of letters in the Russian alphabet. And as a rule, we rarely think about: when and under what conditions did writing arise, who invented the Russian alphabet? Nevertheless, the presence and emergence of writing is an important and fundamental milestone in the historical maturation of every people in the world, contributing to the development of its national culture and self-awareness. Sometimes, in the depths of centuries, the specific names of the creators of the writing of a particular people are lost. But this is not how it happened in the Slavic context. And those who invented the Russian alphabet are still known today. Let's find out more about these people.
What is the alphabet?
The word “alphabet” itself comes from the first two letters of the Greek letter: alpha and beta. It is known that the ancient Greeks put a lot of effort into the development and spread of writing in many European countries. Who was the first to invent an alphabet in world history? There is scientific debate about this. The main hypothesis is the Sumerian "alphabet", which appears about five thousand years ago. The Chinese and Egyptian alphabets are considered one of the most ancient (of the known). Writing develops from drawings to signs, turning into graphic systems. And the signs began to display sounds.
The development of writing in human history is difficult to overestimate. The language of the people and their writing reflect life, everyday life and knowledge, historical and mythological characters. Thus, by reading ancient inscriptions, modern scientists can recreate what our ancestors lived. 
History of the Russian alphabet
Slavic writing has, one might say, a unique origin. Its history goes back about a thousand years and contains many secrets.
- During the times of paganism, the Slavic peoples had writings called traits or cuts. Notches and lines were made on wood (special tags).
- After Vladimir adopted Christianity (in fact, this event happened twice: the first - under Olga, in 957, the second - under Vladimir, in 988) Rus' could no longer do without the books that were needed in worship (psalters and chanters) . However, the Greek confessors did not speak Russian. Thus, there is a growing need to conduct church services in the native language and translate the Bible and other sacred objects.
- Transitions to worship in Slavic also presupposed the presence of writing, a Slavic literary language, since the translation of divine books into a common everyday language would not lead to an accurate transmission of the content.
Cyril and Methodius
The creation of the alphabet is firmly connected with these names in the question of who invented the Russian alphabet. Let's go back to the 9th century. In those days (830-906) Great Moravia (a region of the Czech Republic) was one of the large European states. And Byzantium was the center of Christianity. Prince Rostislav of Moravia in 863 turned to Michael the Third, the Byzantine emperor at that time, with a request to hold services in the Slavic language to strengthen the influence of Byzantine Christianity in the region. In those days, it is worth noting that the cult was performed only in those languages that were displayed on the Jesus cross: Hebrew, Latin and Greek.
The Byzantine ruler, in response to Rostislav's proposal, sent him a Moravian mission consisting of two monk brothers, the sons of a noble Greek who lived in Saluny (Thessaloniki). Michael (Methodius) and Constantine (Cyril) and are considered the official creators of the Slavic alphabet for church service. It is named “Cyrillic” in honor of the church name of Cyril. Konstantin himself was younger than Mikhail, but even his brother recognized his intelligence and superiority in knowledge. Kirill knew many languages and mastered the art of oratory, participated in religious verbal debates, and was a wonderful organizer. This, as many scientists believe, allowed him (together with his brother and other assistants) to connect and summarize the data, creating the alphabet. But the history of the Russian alphabet began long before the Moravian mission. And that's why.
Who invented the Russian alphabet (alphabet)
The fact is that historians have unearthed an interesting fact: even before leaving, the brothers had already created the Slavic alphabet, well adapted to convey the speech of the Slavs. It was called Glagolitic (it was recreated on the basis of Greek writing with elements of Coptic and Hebrew characters).
Glagolitic or Cyrillic?
Today, scientists from different countries mostly recognize the fact that the first Old Church Slavonic alphabet was the Glagolitic alphabet, created by Cyril back in 863 in Byzantium. He presented it in a fairly short time. And another, different from the previous one, Cyrillic alphabet was invented in Bulgaria, a little later. And there are still disputes over the authorship of this, undoubtedly, cornerstone invention for pan-Slavic history. Afterwards, a brief history of the Russian alphabet (Cyrillic alphabet) is as follows: in the tenth century it penetrated into Rus' from Bulgaria, and its written recording was fully formalized only in the XIV century. In a more modern form - from the end of the 16th century.
Around 863, two brothers Methodius and Cyril the Philosopher (Constantine) from Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki), by order of Michael III, the Byzantine emperor, streamlined writing for the Slavic language. The emergence of the Cyrillic alphabet, derived from the Greek statutory (solemn) letter, is linked to the activities carried out by the Bulgarian school of scribes (after Methodius and Cyril).
After 860, when Christianity was adopted in Bulgaria by the holy Tsar Boris, Bulgaria turned into a center from where Slavic writing began to spread. Here the Preslav Book School was created - the first book school of the Slavs, where the originals of Cyril and Methodius' liturgical books (church services, Psalms, Gospels, Apostles) were copied, new translations into the Slavic language from Greek were made, original works written in Old Slavonic appeared (for example, “About the writings of the Black Creator of the Brave”).
Later, the Old Church Slavonic language penetrated into Serbia, and by the end of the 10th century. in Kievan Rus it became a church language. Being the language of the church in Rus', the Old Church Slavonic language was influenced by the Old Russian language. This, in fact, was the Old Church Slavonic language, but only in the Russian edition, since it contained living elements of the speech of the Eastern Slavs.
Thus, the ancestor of the Russian alphabet is the Old Russian Cyrillic alphabet, borrowed from the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet and spread after the baptism of Kievan Rus (988). Then, most likely, there were 43 letters in the alphabet.
Later, 4 new letters were added, and at different times, 14 old ones were excluded as unnecessary, since the corresponding sounds were missing. The first to disappear is the iotized yus (Ѭ, Ѩ), then the big yus (Ѫ) (which returned in the 15th century, but disappeared again at the beginning of the 17th century), and E iotized (Ѥ); other letters, sometimes slightly changing their shape and meaning, have remained to this day in the alphabet of the Church Slavonic language, which has long and erroneously been identified with the Russian alphabet.
Spelling reforms of the 2nd half of the 17th century. (associated with the “correction of books” during the time of Patriarch Nikon), the following letter set was recorded: A, B, C, D, D, E (with a different spelling variant Є, which was sometimes considered a separate letter and placed in the alphabet after Ѣ, i.e. . to the position of today's E), Zh, S, Z, I (for the sound [j] there was a variant Y that differed in spelling, which was not considered a separate letter), I, K, L, M, N, O (in 2 forms that differed spelling: “wide” and “narrow”), P, R, S, T, U (in 2 forms that differed spelling: Ѹ и), Ф, Х, Ѡ (in 2 forms that differed orthographically: “wide” and “narrow”, and also as part of a ligature, which was usually considered a separate letter - “ot” (Ѿ)), Ts, Ch, Sh, Shch, b, ы, b, Ѣ, Yu, Ya ( in 2 forms: Ѧ and IA, which were sometimes considered different letters, and sometimes not), Ѯ, Ѱ, Ѳ, ѳ. The capital yus (Ѫ) and a letter called “ik” (similar in shape to the current letter “u”) were sometimes also introduced into the alphabet, although they did not have any sound meaning and were not used in any words.
The Russian alphabet existed in this form until 1708-1711, i.e. before the reforms of Tsar Peter I (Church Slavonic remains so today). Then the superscripts were abolished (this “abolished” the letter Y) and many doublet letters used to write different numbers were removed (with the introduction of Arabic numerals this became irrelevant). Then a number of abolished letters were returned and canceled again.
By 1917, the alphabet officially had 35 letters (actually 37): A, B, C, D, D, E, (E was not considered a separate letter), ZH, Z, I, (Y was not considered a separate letter), I, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, F, X, C, Ch, Sh, Shch, Kommersant, S, b, Ѣ, E, Yu, I, Ѳ, ѳ. (Formally, the last letter was included in the Russian alphabet, but in fact it was almost never used, appearing only in a few words).
The result of the last major reform of writing in 1917-1918 was the emergence of the current Russian alphabet of 33 letters. It also became the written basis for most of the languages of the peoples of the USSR, which until the twentieth century. There was no written language or it was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet during the years of Soviet power.
Cyril and Methodius were the first to come up with the alphabet. Cyril and Methodius were brothers and Christian preachers and were the first to create the Old Slavonic alphabet and language. They developed a special alphabet for writing texts - the Glagolitic alphabet. They are revered as saints in both the West and the East. In Russian Orthodoxy, the day of remembrance of the saints: Methodius - April 6, Cyril - February 14.
The Slavic alphabet was created Cyril and Methodius.
By the way, this does not mean that before that time all people were illiterate. Before the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabet, there was Velesovitsa. Even villagers could write a simple message.
the question involuntarily arises: why is everyone so silent about the Old Russian initial letter???? which has ancient roots going back to the runes (which in general were the matrix of the universe) each symbol carried enormous information. CREATED - it means invented....... and if these symbols already existed then what is it called???? or is it all fiction about the ancient Slavic initial letter???????
The Byzantine Emperor Michael III had a hand in the creation of the Slavic alphabet, on whose orders the brothers-monks, Greeks by nationality, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius streamlined the writing of the Old Church Slavonic language. The creators of the alphabet were the most educated people of their time. Kirill And Methodius were engaged in educational activities. The Slavs owe it to them for the appearance of the alphabet. There was an urgent need for this: Greek religious texts urgently needed to be translated for the Slavs, as Christianity expanded its possessions. According to scientists, around 863 they created the Slavic alphabet of more than 43 letters. Their original number is unknown. The basis of the Slavic letter was the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet, but Slavic speech contained many more sounds, so they also had to be designated by letters.
In connection with the need for Christian preaching among the Slavs, the creation of Slavic writing was caused.
The translation from Greek of the Bible and liturgical texts into the Slavic language was entrusted to the apologist of Eastern Christianity Constantine (Cyril) and his brother Methodius by Emperor Michael III and Patriarch Photius.
It is these two people who are considered the creators of the Glagolitic alphabet.
Scientists claim that the creator of the Cyrillic alphabet is not Cyril, but a disciple of Methodius Kliment Ohridski.
The Slavic alphabet was invented by two people, the brothers Cyril and Methodius. But Kirill's real name was Konstantin. In 869, Constantine became a monk and received the name Cyril. By nationality, Cyril and Methodius are Greeks, born in Thessaloniki, we know the area as Thessaloniki.
And the alphabet was invented in 863.
In general, from the history of the school curriculum, I clearly remember that the following characters were the first to be mentioned in the creation of the alphabet. These are Methodius and Cyril. History takes us to the distant year 863; according to various versions and chronicles, around this time these individuals received the task of systematizing the letters of the written language.
At first there was oral creativity, over time knowledge accumulated, it was necessary to record and perpetuate the exploits of Russian heroes, the glorious deeds of princes. Two Greeks were sent from Byzantium, who created the Russian alphabet within a year; they systematized sounds and symbols into one alphabet. Cyril and Methodius were the first to come up with the alphabet; they became familiar with the alphabet in 863.
The first Old Church Slavonic alphabet is called the Cyrillic alphabet. Named after one of the compilers of Cyril and Mythodius. They were brothers and Christian preachers.
The year of creation of the Cyrillic alphabet is considered to be 863. However, this does not mean that before this time people were illiterate. Before this there were other alphabets. Now there is a debate that the original Cyrillic alphabet was the Glagolitic alphabet.
Of course, these were the famous Cyril and Methodius. It was these two outstanding people who jointly created the Russian alphabet. And it’s not for nothing that the Russian alphabet is called Cyrillic, named after them. The Russian Orthodox Church even elevated them to sainthood.
The name of the Slavic alphabet comes from the name of one of the brothers, Christian preachers - Cyril (Constantine the Philosopher) and Methodius (Michael) from the city of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki), who are its authors.
It is believed that Kirill decided to use letters not just as a means of transmitting sounds, but also to give them names and give them a special meaning. Here is one version of reading the alphabetic Cyrillic message:
Read more here.