Rearuh

A column remaining from the Throne Hall at Preslav

The Preslav Literary School (Bulgarian: Преславска книжовна школа), also known as the Pliska Literary School, was the first literary school in the medieval Bulgarian Empire. It was established by Boris I in 885 or 886 in Bulgaria's capital, Pliska. In 893, Simeon I moved the seat of the school from Pliska to the new capital, Preslav. Preslav was captured and burnt by the Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimisces in the year 972 in the aftermath of Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria.

History

Old Bulgarian Alphabet

The Preslav Literary School was the most important literary and cultural centre of the Bulgarian Empire and of all Slavs. A number of prominent Bulgarian writers and scholars worked at the school, including Naum of Preslav until 893; Constantine of Preslav; Joan Ekzarh (also transcr. John the Exarch); and Chernorizets Hrabar, among others. The school was also a centre of translation, mostly of Byzantine authors. Finally, it was a centre of poetry, of painting, and of painted ceramics.

The school developed the Cyrillic script:

Unlike the Churchmen in Ohrid, Preslav scholars were much more dependent upon Greek models and quickly abandoned the Glagolitic scripts in favor of an adaptation of the Greek uncial to the needs of Slavic, which is now known as the Cyrillic alphabet.^[1]

The earliest datable Cyrillic inscriptions have been found in the area of Preslav. They have been found in the medieval city itself, and at nearby Patleina Monastery, both in present-day Shumen Province; in Krepcha, which is in present-day Targovishte Province; and in Ravna, present-day Varna Province.

In Ravna, an unusually large number of inscriptions in the form of 330 instances of graffiti were found, written in Old Bulgarian and in other languages. Many were written by lay people, and some are obscene. Some were written in both Cyrillic and other alphabets,^[2] prompting Umberto Eco to label Ravna "a 10th-century language laboratory". Another impressive body of 10th-century Cyrillic inscriptions has been found in the form of a number of leaden pendants, the bulk of which have also been found in an area in northeastern Bulgaria between Preslav and Varna but also extending north into present-day southeastern Romania.^[3]

The Preslav School scriptoria where works were created were scattered over much of present-day northeastern Bulgaria, including churches and monasteries at Preslav, where the remains of 25 churches have been found. Other locations include Pliska, Patleina, Khan Krum, and Chernoglavtsi which are all in present-day Shumen Province; Ravna, in Varna Province; and finally Murfatlar in Dobruja, now in Romania.^[4][5]

See also

• Cyrillic script


• Early Cyrillic alphabet


• First Bulgarian Empire


• History of Bulgaria


• Ohrid Literary School


• Relationship of Cyrillic and Glagolitic scripts

References

External links

• Nikolov, A. The Perception of the Bulgarian Past in the Court of Preslav around 900 AD. - In: State and Church: Studies in Medieval Bulgaria and Byzantium. Ed. by V. Gjuzelev and K. Petkov. American Research Center in Sofia: Sofia, 2011, 157-171

v t e Topics on the Bulgarian Empire
State	Military	Culture
Origin Bulgars South Slavs Old Great Bulgaria States First Bulgarian Empire (681–1018) Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396/1422) De facto independent Bulgarian states from the Second Empire Tsardom of Vidin (1371–1396/1422) Despotate of Dobruja (Principality of Karvuna) (1337/1346–1413) Administration Aristocracy • Great Boyar Council • Council of Preslav Capitals: Pliska (681–893) • Preslav (893–972) • Skopje (972–992) • Ohrid (992–1018) • Tarnovo (1185–1393) • Nicopolis (1393–1396) • Vidin (1393–1396) Important rulers First Bulgarian Empire Asparukh • Tervel • Krum • Omurtag • Boris I • Simeon I • Peter I • Samuel Second Bulgarian Empire Ivan Asen I • Kaloyan • Ivan Asen II • Konstantin Tih • Michael Shishman • Ivan Alexander Economy Bulgarian coinage Bulgarian economy	Bulgarian army Bulgarian navy Conflicts Byzantine–Bulgarian wars Croatian–Bulgarian wars Bulgarian–Hungarian wars Bulgarian–Latin wars Bulgarian–Ottoman wars Bulgarian–Serbian wars Major battles First Bulgarian Empire Battle of Ongal • Siege of Constantinople • Battle of Marcellae • Battle of Pliska • Battle of Southern Buh • Battle of Achelous • Battle of the Gates of Trajan • Battle of Kleidion • Battle of Dyrrhachium Second Bulgarian Empire Battle of Tryavna • Battle of Adrianople • Battle of Klokotnitsa • Battle of Skafida • Battle of Velbazhd • Battle of Rusokastro • Battle of Chernomen • Siege of Tarnovo • Battle of Nicopolis Major uprisings Uprising of Peter Delyan Uprising of Georgi Voiteh Uprising of Asen and Peter Uprising of Ivaylo Uprising of Konstantin and Fruzhin	Literature Bulgarian literature Glagolitic script Early Cyrillic alphabet Cyrillic script Old Church Slavonic Preslav Literary School Ohrid Literary School Royal charters Prominent writers and scholars: Saint Naum • Clement of Ohrid • Chernorizets Hrabar • Constantine of Preslav • John the Exarch • Evtimiy of Tarnovo • Gregory Tsamblak Art and architecture Architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School Painting of the Tarnovo Artistic School Famous examples: Madara Rider • Great Basilica • Round Church • Holy Forty Martyrs Church • Boyana Church • Tsarevets • Baba Vida • Cherven Religion Tengrism Slavic Paganism Christianisation Eastern Orthodox Bulgarian Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid Roman Catholic Bogomilism
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