Constantine of Preslav () was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

, one of the most important men of letters working at the

Preslav Literary School The Preslav Literary School ( bg, Преславска книжовна школа), also known as the Pliska Literary School or Pliska-Preslav Literary school was the first literary school in the medieval Bulgarian Empire. It was established by ...

at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century. Biographical evidence about his life is scarce but he is believed to have been a disciple of Saint Methodius. After the saint's death in 885, Constantine was jailed by the Germanic clergy in

Great Moravia Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to ...

and sold as slave in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. He escaped to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, moving to Bulgaria around 886 and working at the

. He was one of the most prolific and important writers in

Old Bulgarian Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and othe ...

(the Bulgarian recension of Old Church Slavonic). His most significant literary work was ''Учително евангелие'' ('' The Didactic Gospel''), usually dated to the first years of the reign of Bulgarian

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Simeon I, 893 – 894. The work represents a compilation of lectures about a number of church holidays and is the first systematic work treating sermons in Slavic literature. The compilation also features the poetic preface ''Азбучна молитва'' (''Alphabet Prayer''), the first original poetry in Old Church Slavonic. In 894 Constantine of Preslav wrote the historical work ''Историкии'' (''Histories''), the first historical chronicle in Slavic literature.The authorship of ''Histories'' is questioned by some historiographers - Проданов, Николай. Проблеми на историческата текстология. Върху материал от българската историопис VII–ХХ век, Велико Търново 2006, с. 30–34. In 906, by commission from Simeon I, the author translated ''Четири слова против арианите'' (''Four Epistles against the Arians'') by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, as a response to the beginning of the spread of heresies in medieval

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. Constantine is also the alleged author of ''Служба на Методия'' (''Service for Methodius''), in which he relates the struggle of Saint Methodius for the recognition of Old Church Slavonic, as well as of ''Проглас към евангелието'' (''Proclamation of the Holy Gospels'') in which he rejects and admonishes the admiration of the foreign language (mean.

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

) and champions Old Bulgarian for the development and elevation of

Bulgarian culture A number of ancient civilizations, including the Thracians, ancient Greeks, Scythians, Celts, ancient Romans, Goths (Ostrogoths and Visigoths), Slavs ( East and West Slavs), Varangians and the Bulgars have left their mark on the culture, h ...

. None of the original works of Constantine of Preslav has survived the burning of

Preslav The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav ( bg, Велики Преслав, ), former Preslav ( bg, link=no, Преслав; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Emperor

John I Tzimisces John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign. Background John I Tzimiskes ...

in 972 and the period of

Ottoman rule Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

(1396 – 1878). All of his works are known from copies, the earliest of which date back to the 12th and the 13th century.

Notes

External links

Gallucci, E. Ucitel’noe Evangelie di Costantino di Preslav (IX-X sec.). Tradizione testuale, redazioni, fonti greche. - Europa Orientalis, XX (2001), 49-138
9th-century births 10th-century deaths 9th-century Bulgarian writers 10th-century Bulgarian writers Bulgarian translators Bulgarian historians Bulgarian male writers Preslav Literary School Old Church Slavonic writers {{Bulgaria-writer-stub