Who were Cyril & Methodius and how they invented the Slavonic alphabet

Who were Cyril & Methodius?

Cyril and Methodius were brothers from a very noble family. Methodius was the eldest of seven children and Cyril the youngest. They were born in the city of Thessaloniki, then part of the Byzantine Empire, and both received a brilliant education. 

Most likely, they were Greeks by nationality, but scientists are still debating this. 

Cyril and Methodius Icon

Methodius developed a successful military career and was even appointed ‘stratigus’ (that is, a military commander with administrative functions) in one of the Slavic provinces of Byzantium on the territory of modern-day Macedonia. However, later, Methodius became a monk and abbot of the Polychron Monastery. 

Cyril, on the other hand, chose the ecclesiastical path for himself from the beginning. At a very young age, he served under the Byzantine patriarch. But then, his influential patron was killed and Cyril and his followers fled to the Methodius Monastery. 

How and why did Cyril & Methodius decide to create the Slavonic alphabet?

The brothers knew many languages besides their native Greek, particularly Slavic dialects. Thessaloniki was near the border of Byzantium and the Slavic lands and many Bulgarians lived in the city, so one of South Slavic dialects was widespread there. 

There is a legend that, in the 850s, Cyril and Methodius went to Bulgaria as missionaries. They realized that the locals could not read the Gospel and church books, which prevented them from keeping the commandments and living according to Christian custom. 

Old Russian writing in a chronicle

It was impossible to use the Greek or Latin alphabet, as they simply lacked letters to represent some of the Slavic words and sounds. 

So, the brothers decided to help the Slavs and created an alphabet for them, as well as to translate Holy Scriptures. 

The date of appearance of the first Slavic alphabet is considered to be 863, when Cyril and Methodius were in the Slavic state of Great Moravia. During their Moravian mission, they did most of the work of translating texts from Greek. 

Glagolitic script and Cyrillic alphabet

The earliest variant of the Slavic alphabet was ‘Glagolitsa’ or Glagolitic script. Historians believe that the letters were recycled either from the Greek alphabet or partially from the Georgian church alphabet. Some saw in the outlines of the letters even echoes of runic writing.

The Glagolitic script was widely spread on the territory of modern Croatia (on some islands, it was used up to the 20th century). 

Glagolitic script

However, in Russia, Glagolitic was almost never used (and records older than 11th-12th centuries on it were not found). Old Rus’ instead accepted the second most ancient alphabet, the Cyrillic alphabet. And it's still used today. 

Though the Cyrillic alphabet bears the name of Cyril, most likely it was invented by his followers. At the end of the 9th century, they settled in Bulgaria and, with the support of Tsar Simeon I the Great, they created a new alphabet more similar to the Greek script. 

Cyrillic script at the ancient Novgorod letter on birch bark

The Cyrillic alphabet displaced the Glagolitic script, most likely because of the simplicity of writing. But, there may have been political reasons for the spread of this particular version.

READ MORE: 33 facts about the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet