New Life of the Glagolitic Script. Reactivation of the First Alphabet of the Slavs in Contemporary Croatian Culture

Abstract

The Glagolitic alphabet has always been present in a special way in Croatian culture, first as the script of liturgical books, first prints, and from the 13th century on, also as the alphabet of secular literature. Locally, for example on the island of Krk, the Glagolitic script was used in both functions until the 19th century, and later it was only a cultural relic, recorded in many classical works of Croatian literature. In modern times, especially in the 1990s, one can observe the constantly growing popularity of this script, which is treated as an element of Croatian national identity. The interest in the Glagolitic alphabet continues and is manifested, among others, by Glagolitic courses offered for people of all ages, especially for children and adolescents, by reading Glagolitic texts, scientific research, organizing exhibitions, conferences, and the use of the Glagolitic script in contemporary culture (design, inscriptions, decorating objects or bodies). The alphabet has become a specific code available only to a select few, as a cultural identifier of Croatian life.