Croatian Church Slavonic

The CCS is a bookish language system used in Croatia from the XI/XII c. to the XVII c., written in the Glagolitic script and used predominantly in liturgy and as a marker of a higher literary style within the Medieval Croatian diasystem that was characterized by the Croatian/CCS diglossia (v. Mihaljević 2010) [1]. The CCS developed on the basis of the Old Church Slavonic (acr. OCS) language, created by Sts. Cyril and Methodius for the purpose of translating Greek biblical and liturgical texts, literary texts, and texts concerning administration and law.

The following two facts are an indication of the importance of the CCS within Croatian literacy as well as within the European cultural history in general:

i) in the context of Croatian literacy: the first written books in the context of Croatian literacy: the CCS is the first Croatian literary language, used from the end of the XI c. until 1561. Its significance is reflected in the fact that it is the language of the Baška tablet (1100.), one of the first and most important Croatian written monuments, but also in the fact that it is the language of the first Croatian incunabula, Missale Romanum Glagolitice, which is the first missal in Europe not published in the Latin script and Latin language. Six out of nine Croatian incunabula were printed in CCS.

ii) in the context of the European culture and history, even the history of global Catholic Church: the CCS was the only close-vernacular idiom with a papal constant explicit permission to be used for liturgical purposes (besides Latin, Greek and Hebrew).

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[1] Mihaljević, Milan. 2010. Položaj crkvenoslavenskoga jezika u hrvatskoj srednjovjekovnoj kulturi. Свети Наум Охридски и словенската духовна, културна и писмена традиција (организиран по повод 1100-годишнината од смртта на св. Наум Охридски). Зборник на трудови од Меѓународниот научен собир. Охрид, 4-7 ноември. Скопје: Универзитет „Св. Кирил и Методиј“. 229–238.