(Redirected from Byzantine Greek)
'Medieval Greek' (
Greek: Μεσαιωνική Ελληνική) is a linguistic term that describes the fourth period in the history of the
Greek language. Its symbolic boundaries start with the transfer of the capital of the
Roman Empire from
Rome to
Byzantium (Constantinople) in
330 AD, and end with the fall of
Constantinople to the
Ottoman Empire in
1453 AD, spanning therefore more than a millennium. As medieval Greek co-exists with the history of the
Byzantine Empire, another term often used to describe the language of the period is 'Byzantine Greek'.
History
When the capital of the
Roman Empire was transferred to
Constantinople in the
4th century AD, the official language of the state continued to be
Latin, yet the literary and spoken language of the entire Eastern part of the Empire continued to be Greek. Greek was also the language of the church and education, while the university preserved a
diglossia between the two. Even though this new Greco-Latin diglossia lasted more than two centuries, the
Byzantine emperors had been favouring the official use of Greek over Latin since the beginning. Latin was preserved on inscriptions and coinage until the
11th century AD. The separation of the mixed or non Greek-speaking populations of the
Western part of the Empire, accelerated the Hellenisation of the
Eastern one. Later, when Greek dynasties of emperors established themselves on the Byzantine throne and changed the official language of the public services, Greek displaced Latin completely. The Greeks of the
Eastern Roman Empire retained the
Roman name, and the medieval Greek state of
Byzantium continued to refer to itself as "Ρωμανία" (Rome), long after the city of Rome and the western half of the Roman Empire were overrun by barbarians. Eventually, "Romans" (Ρωμαίοι) became a synonym for "Greeks" (Έλλην). The name "Ρωμαίοι" (Romans) was used as a broad title of political prestige whereas the term "Ρωμιοί" ("Romioi") was developed in order to describe both the ethno-cultural identity of the Greeks and their Roman citizenship. The name "Ρωμαίοι" symbolised the awe of the old
Roman Empire, and typically declared the land claims of the Byzantine state.
Evolution from Hellenistic to Medieval ''Koine''
The cultural and linguistic center of the Greek World during the Byzantine era, as it had once been
Athens, was
Constantinople. The capital acted as a linguistic center on Byzantine Hellenism, for both literary (Atticist) and popular-vulgar (spoken) forms of speech. The
diglossia in Byzantium was defined by the medieval ''literary Koine'', which had elements of archaism (equivalent to the Hellenistic
Atticism), and the spoken or ''popular Koine'' which was the authentic successor of
Koine Greek. In the way that Western scholars used Classical Latin for their literary work, the Byzantines tended to use archaisms with elements of Atticism, and usually tried to imitate in their works, in speech and manner, the great attic writers-models of the classical period.
Paul the Silentiary wrotes at the time of
Justinian I his "Description of
Hagia Sophia" (Έκφρασιν του Ναού της Αγίας Σοφίας) with
iambs and
Homeric hexameters that were characterised as a ''dark and poetic language''. The historians
Procopius and Critobulus imitated
Thucydides while
Anna Komnene had a general Atticist literary style. The members of the Church up until the 4th century AD followed the example of the Apostles and use the Medieval ''Koine''. However from the 4th century and forth, the language of the church became
Atticistic due to the intervention of the
Cappadocian Fathers who had been educated in
Greek schools of
rhetoric. In that respect, the Church was using the older language of the Greeks in order to fight off their older
pagan religion. By that time most of the popular masses had already been converted to Christianity, however the introduction of the Atticistic language attracted also rich Greek
pagans of higher social status. Thus the Atticist
rhetoric helped the Byzantine state to fight off the
heresies, and the vernacular ''Koine'' enhanced the literary speech with elements from the spoken language. While there was a constant interaction and mutual influence between the written (namely the widely diffused text of the Gospels) and the spoken language, both vary significantly depending on the time or place that they were spoken, written or recorded. Thus, while the spoken language of the early centuries is still similar to the Hellenistic
Koine , from the eight century onwards it takes up a form much nearer to
Modern Greek, even though in vernacular texts, in their most part written down by educated monks and literati, the language is distorted so as to match the rules of classical Greek grammar.
Vocabulary
Due to the long-term
diglossia between
Latin and
Greek, Medieval Greek borrowed various linguistic elements from the
Latin language, many of which survive in
Modern Greek — most having to do with administration, politics, public life, as well as everyday objects. A number of Latin words and popular phrases can be traced in Medieval Greek include the following ('bold' marking signifies assimilation to the language and survival into Modern Greek):
Common phrases
★ άνω φηλικίσιμε!, ano filikisime < annos felicissimos!
★ βαίνε, vene < bene (venisti!)
★ τούμβικας!, tumvikas < tu vincas!
★ ιμούλτος άννος! imultos annos < in multos annos!
Court titles
'Αύγουστος' (Avgoustos, Augustus), 'Καίσαρ' (kesar, Caesar), 'πρίγκιψ' (Prinkips, Prince), 'κόμης' (Komis, Count), 'μάγιστρος' (magistros, magister), κοιαίστωρ (küestor, quaestor), σιλεντιάριος, (silentiarios, a certain type of court officer), 'παλάτιον' (palation, palace), κουροπαλάτης (kouropalates, from ''curator'' + ''palatium''), ακτουάριος (aktouarios, a court physician)
[1], 'καγκελλάριος' (kankellarios, chancellor), σακελλάριος (sakellarios, treasurer), τιτουλάριος (titoularios, title-bearer), οφφικιάλος (offikialos, an official).
Names
Μαγναύρα (from Latin ''magna aula'', "great hall")
[2] [3], 'Γερμανός', etc.
Nouns
'Αξούγγιον' (axyggion, xigi, animal fat), 'βερίκοκον' (verikokon, apricot), 'βίγλα' (vigla, sentry), 'βούκα/μπούκα' (bouka, point of entry, mouth), γούλα, εξέμπλιον, 'καλαμάριον' (kalamarion, squid), καλλίγιον, 'κάγκελον' (kankellon, railing), 'κάρβουνον' (karvounon, coal), 'κουβούκλιον' (kouvouklion, cubicle), 'στέρνα' (sterna, cistern), 'λουκάνικον' (loukanikon, sausage), 'λωρίον' (> λουρί) (lorion, strap), μάγκιψ, 'μάγουλον' (magoulon, cheek), μακελλάρης (makellaris, butcher), 'μανίκιον' (manikion, sleeve), 'μαρούλιον' (maroulion, lettuce), μενσάλιον, 'μίλλιον' (million, mile), 'μουλλάριον' (moularion, mule), 'οσπίτιον' (ospition, house), 'παλούκιον' (paloukion, stake or pike), 'πανάριον' (panarion, breadbasket), πέδικλον, 'πουγγίον' (poungion, purse), 'σέλλα' (sella, saddle), σέρβουλον, 'σκαμνίον' (skamnion, sitting stool), σκουτέλλιον, 'στάβλος' (stavlos, stable), 'ταβέρνα' (taverna, tavern), 'τάβλα' (tavla, table), 'φλάσκα' (flaska, flask), 'φόρος' (foros, forum, later: tax), 'φούρκα' (fourka, pitchfork), 'φούρνος' (fournos, furnace), 'λάβαρον' (lavaron, banner), 'βούλλα' (voula, bulla, seal), 'τίτλος' (titlos, title), αντιμήνσιον, 'κανδήλιον' (kandilion, candle), μανουάλιον (manoualion, manual), 'φαιλόνιον' (felonion, a priestly vestment), καλένδαι (kalendai, kalends), 'βίσεκτος/δίσεκτος' (visektos, disektos, a leap year), etc.
Adjectives
'Βαρβάτος' (varvatos, bearded), βένετος, μπλάβος (blavos, blue) etc.
Verbs
'Ακκομβίζω', 'βουλλώνω' (boulono, to seal), 'καβαλικεύω' (kavalikevo, to mount a horse), 'κανακεύω' (kanakevo, to dote), 'μισσεύω' (missevo, to emigrate), 'πλουμίζω' (ploumizo, to embellish), 'φουρνίζω' (fournizo, to bake) etc.
Suffixes
★ '-aton': Μαγιστράτον, μανδάτον, δουκάτον etc.
★ '-atos': Αμυγδαλάτος, καρυδάτος, κυδωνάτος, πιπεράτος etc.
★ '-arios': Νοτάριος, σχολάριος etc.
★ '-poullos/poullon': Κομητόπουλλος, Τουρκόπουλλος, Αρχοντόπουλλον, Φραγκόπουλλον etc. (from Latin ''pullus'', 'young animal', 'chick')
★ '-isios': Καστρήσιος, κολονήσιος, βουνήσιος etc. (also spelled -ίσιος; from Latin ''-ensis'',
[4] a suffix denoting a place of origin)
★ '-anos': Δέκανος, Πάγανος etc.
★ '-alion': Μανουάλλιον, Μενσάλλιον, τριβουνάλιον etc.
Phonology
In phonology, both rare and common innovations described in
Koine Greek become more generalised.
★ The vowel η has already been merged with ι, except in
Pontus and
Cappadocia, where it preserved its ancient accent (νύφε, κεπίν, τίμεσον, Ελλένικος, θελυκό, πεγάιδι).
★ The vowel υ and the diphthong οι, which during
Hellenistic Koine had taken the sound of the
French 'u', also merge with ι in the 10th century, except some local dialects such as the ones of
Aegina and
Megara (both on the
Saronic Gulf) and
Cumae in
Italy (κιούτομαι, χιούρος, τσιουλία, Κούμη).
★ The vowel ω is in restricted cases converted into ου (ζουμιν, κλουβίν, κουνούπιν (<), κουπίν, αλωπού, μαιμού, Γιλλού).
★ The vowel ε is occasionally converted to ι when it is succeeded by α and ο, and during the 13th century it loses its accent (μηλέα>μυλιά, λεοντάριν>λιοντάριν), everywhere except in
Pontus,
Cappadocia, the
Ionian Islands and
Southern Italy.
★ The vowel ο is gradually neglected from the termination -ιον, -ιος (καλαμάριν, κουβάριν, σακκίν, χαρτίν, κύρις).
★ The phonetic combination of ου-ε is occasionally pronounced as ο (μόδωκε, οπόχουν, πόναι, οπόκαμεν, πόλειπες).
★ Consonants κ and π are occasionally converted to χ and φ when succeeded by τ (νύχτα, προσεχτικά, σουδαχτικά, εκλεχτοί, εφτά, λεφτός, φτωχός, βαφτίζω).
★ Consonants θ is occasionally converted to τ when preceded by φ and χ (εγεύτη, φτοράν, φτόνος, παρευτύς, εταράχτησαν, να συναχτούν, να δεχτούμε, μάχεστε, επιάστη).
★ The vowel υ from diphthongs αυ and ευ, which from the time of
Koine Greek had already acquired the sound of φ and β, now they're occasionally silenced when succeeded by μ (θάμα, ψέμα), and are converted to π when succeeded by σ (απεζέψασιν, επλέψασιν, ωδήγεψαν, να θεραπέψουν, ανάπαψη).
★ The vowel υ in the combination υν is converted to μ (εύνοστος>έμνοστος, χαύνος>χάμνος, ελαύνω>λάμνω).
★ The nasal consonants μ and ν stop being pronounced when succeeded by voiceless
fricatives (νύφη, άθος, πεθερός).
★ The terminating -ν continues to be pronounced (καλαμάριν, κουβάριν, σακκίν, χαρτίν) and in several occasions appears equivalently (γάλαν, οξύγαλαν, πράμαν, εγίνοτον, επνίγην, εκτίστην).
Notes
References
★ Andriotis, N. ''History of the Greek language''.
★ Tonnet, Henri. ''Histoire du grec moderne''.
External links
★
Use of Greek in the Byzantine Empire
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