Mihanović’s fragment of the Acts of the Apostles ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Михановићев одломак Апостолa, Mihanovićev odlomak Apostola) is one of the oldest preserved

Glagolitic The Glagolitic script ( , , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed that it was created in the 9th century for the purpose of translating liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic by Saints Cyril and Methodi ...

manuscripts written in

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic languages, South Slavic subgroup of the ...

, a passage from the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

. Features of the Serbian vernacular appear in it, and the

Serbian recension of Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic subgroup of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European ...

would later develop under this influence. It is considered, on the basis of some language features (e.g. replacement of the letter '' f '' with the letter '' p '', i.e. ''Stepan'' instead of ''Stefan'') and the Glagolitic alphabet itself, that it originated at the end of 11th century or early 12th century in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; , , classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter zay ...

Zahumlje Zachlumia or Zachumlia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Zahumlje, Захумље, ), also Hum, was a medieval principality located in the modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia (today parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, r ...

. The manuscript itself consists of two sheets of

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

, 24 cm × 18.5 cm in size, on which is inscribed the part of ''

'', according to the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

rite and is related, in place and time of origin, to the so-called Gršković's fragment of the Acts of the Apostles. Manuscript was found glued on the cover of a 1262 Serbian transcript of ''Ilovička krmčija'', Zakonopravilo, in the collection of Cyrillic manuscripts of

Antun Mihanović Antun Mihanović (10 June 1796 – 14 November 1861) was a Croatian poet and lyricist, most famous for writing the national anthem of Croatia, which was put to music by Josip Runjanin and adopted in 1891. Klanjec, his birthplace, holds a monument ...

, and is considered the oldest preserved transcript, collection of civil and ecclesiastical regulations of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, which was translated by

Saint Sava Saint Sava (, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; Glagolitic: ; ; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1235/6), known as the Enlightener or the Illuminator, was a Serbs, Serbian prince and Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox monk, abbot of Studenica Monastery, Studeni ...

at the beginning of the 13th century. Today, the artifact is kept in the library of

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under the patronage of the Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer under the name Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (, JAZU) since its ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

References

Sources

* Old Church Slavonic language Medieval texts in Serbian Serbian manuscripts Serbian literature Church Slavonic manuscripts Church Slavonic literature Glagolitic inscriptions {{Serbia-hist-stub

See also

References

Sources