Gotische Graffito-Inschriften aus der Bergkrim

Zeitschrift fur Deutsches Altertum und Deutsche Literatur. 2016. Vol. 145. P. 141–157.

Vinogradov A., Korobov M.

The article is dedicated to the sensational discovery of five Gothic graffiti in the Mountainous Crimea where the use of the Gothic language was attested by the sources, but never in written form. The graffiti are scratched on two re-used fragments of early Byzantine cornice from the Mangup Basilica and dated to the 2nd half of the 9th – 10th  centuries. Two of them are typical Byzantine invocations, one is a commemoration (?) with a formula of modesty, one is barely survived, and one contains a quotation from Ps 76, 14-15 and a liturgical (probably Gothic poetic) text. The inscriptions are written in archaic variant of Wulfila’s alphabet. The discovered graffiti are of great importance not only for the history of the Crimean Goths and their language, but also for the history of Gothic writing and culture in general.The article is dedicated to the sensational discovery of five Gothic graffiti in the Mountainous Crimea where the use of the Gothic language was attested by the sources, but never in written form. The graffiti are scratched on two re-used fragments of early Byzantine cornice from the Mangup Basilica and dated to the 2nd half of the 9th – 10th  centuries. Two of them are typical Byzantine invocations, one is a commemoration (?) with a formula of modesty, one is barely survived, and one contains a quotation from Ps 76, 14-15 and a liturgical (probably Gothic poetic) text. The inscriptions are written in archaic variant of Wulfila’s alphabet. The discovered graffiti are of great importance not only for the history of the Crimean Goths and their language, but also for the history of Gothic writing and culture in general.

Keywords: готский язык, Gothic language, Крым, Crimea, готы, goths

Publication based on the results of: Similarities and differences in the dynamics of cultural and political development in Eastern and Western Europe, 1000-1700 (2016)