
Ceramic icon of St. Theodor, Preslav, ca. 900 AD, National Archaelogical Museum, Sofia
The 'Preslav Literary School' (Pliska Literary School) was the first literary school in the medieval
Bulgarian Empire. It was established by
Boris I in
885 or
886 in
Bulgaria's capital, Pliska. In
893,
Simeon I moved the seat of the school from
Pliska to
Bulgaria’s new capital,
Preslav.
The Preslav Literary School was the most important literary and cultural centre of
Bulgaria and all
Slavs until the capture and burning of
Preslav by the
Byzantine Emperor
John I Tzimisces in
972. A number of prominent Bulgarian writers and scholars worked at the school, including
Naum of Preslav (until
893),
Constantine of Preslav,
John Exarch,
Chernorizets Hrabar, etc.
The school was also a centre of translation, mostly of
Byzantine authors, as well as of poetry, painting and painted ceramics. The school is likely to have had a key role for the development of the
Cyrillic alphabet, as the earliest Cyrillic inscriptions have been found in the area of
Preslav (see also
Cyrillic alphabet).
See also
★
History of Bulgaria
★
Ohrid Literary School
★
Naum of Preslav
★
Cyrillic alphabet