Inventing Cyrillic (2024)

· Source ↗

Inventing Cyrillic traces how a writing system formed around Slavic liturgy, but the HN thread says the more important story is its lineage: Glagolitic first, then a Greek-shaped Cyrillic adapted for local sounds and politics.

What Matters

  • Cyrillic’s earliest forms were close to the Byzantine Greek alphabet, with extra letters for sounds like ts, ch, sh, and zh.
  • The post’s political frame matters because scripts in the Balkans and Russia carried church power, state identity, and later propaganda.
  • [HN: @Antibabelic] Many scholars think Cyril and Methodius designed Glagolitic, not Cyrillic; Cyrillic followed as a later successor.
  • [HN: @matusp] Glagolitic had UX problems in Bulgaria, so scribes replaced most glyphs with Greek counterparts while keeping the Slavic writing system.
  • [HN: @axegon_] The article’s chronology appears shaky: Sviatoslav ruled Kievan Rus’ 1500km northeast, and Boris was already out of power by 890.
  • [HN: @necovek] The final paragraph’s Russia angle is the point for many readers: Cyrillic remains a live political symbol, not just a historical script.

Original | Discuss on HN

Related coverage