Nuschuri
Nuschuri (pronunciation: Nus-chu-ri with ch = [ χ ]; Georgian ნუსხური , nʊsχʊrɪ ) is a type of Georgian script . It is considered to be the second evolutionary stage of the Georgian alphabet, which was developed directly from the oldest variant of the Georgian script Assomtavruli . The Assomtawruli script served as the capital letters for the texts written with Nuschuri. For this reason, some Georgian paleographers consider Nushuri not as an independent font, but as part of the Chuzuri script, which includes the first two levels of the Georgian script as uppercase and lowercase letters.
The word Nuschuri is connected to the Georgian word Nusha ( Georgian ნუსხა ), which in turn derives from the Arabic word Naschī ( Arabic نسخ) originates. According to the dictionary of the Georgian writer Sulchan-Saba Orbeliani , the word Nuscha means "quickly written" in Georgian. Except for the name, Nushuri has nothing in common with the Arabic Naschī script.
The different heights of the letters, angular shapes and inclination to the right are characteristic of Nuschuri. Because of the special shapes of the letters, it is possible to write them bound or unbound. There is also a tendency to simplify the complex shapes of the Assomtavruli letters. The merging of the two letters ( ო and ჳ ) resulted in a new symbol ⴓ for the sound / ʊ / in the Nuschuri script . This symbol was gradually developed as an independent letter (in Mchedruli script it has a different form, but based on the original უ ) and integrated into the letter sequence of the Georgian alphabet.
The first evidence of the Nuschuri script comes from the 9th century. The oldest inscription from the Ateni Sioni Church is dated to 835. In the manuscript , Nuschuri does not appear until 864 in the manuscript "Mrawaltawi of Sinai"; Only a small part of the manuscript is written with Nuschuri, with Assomtawruli being used for the greater part. In the centuries that followed, the number of manuscripts written with Nuschuri increased steadily. In the 12th century Nushuri rules, although the older type of Georgian script is already rated as "difficult to read" by Georgian calligraphers.
Despite the reduced use of the Assomtavruli script, it has never completely lost its role. Thus, even manuscripts written with Nuschuri, the initials and the titles are always written with Assomtawruli. For the epigraphic inscriptions, too, mostly Assomtawruli were used instead of Nushuri. The historical documents issued by the clergy and the ecclesiastical manuscripts were mostly also written in Nuschuri, with lay people preferring a new type of writing called Mchedruli . The Georgian Orthodox Apostle Church repeatedly uses Nushuri script for its liturgical books.
literature
- Matschawariani, E. , Georgische Sovjetenzyklopädie , Volume 7, Tiflis 1984, p. 488.
- Gamqrelidze, T. , The Alphabetical System of Writing and Old Georgian Writing, Tbilisi, 1990 (Georgian თ. გამყრელიძე, წერის ანბანური სისტემა და ძველი ქართული დამწერლობა, თბილისი, 1990).
- Pataridze, R. , Georgian Assomtavruli, Tiflis, 1980 (Georgian რ. პატარიძე, ქართული ასომთავრული, თბილისი, 1980).
- Dschawachischili, I. , Georgian Scriptures or Paleography, Tbilisi, 1949 (Georgian ივ. ჯავახიშვილი, ქართული დამწერლობათა-მცოდნეობა ანუ პალეოგრაფია, თბილისი, 1949).
- Danelia, K / Sardschweladze, S. , Georgische Paläografie, Tiflis, 1997 (Georgian კ. დანელია, ზ. სარჯველაძე, ქართული პალეოგრაფია, თბილისი, 1997).
