l.2.: horizontal stroke over в.
l. 3.: ligature ꙋ.
l. 4.: ligature ꙋ.
l. 5.: ligature ꙋ; circumflex over іѵ.
l. 6.р.: ligatures ꙋ and еѵ.
l. 8.р.: double dot over аѵ.
l. 9.: ligature ꙋ. Horizontal stroke over the ligature.
l. 10.: ligature ꙋ.
Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto the ages of
ages.
Commentary
The text represents the priestly exclamation at the beginning of the St. Basil’s and Chrysostom’s liturgies.
Linguistic features: a) phonetic
Itacism:
– ι = η: εὐλογημένι = εὐλογημένη.
– ι = υ: νῖν = νῦν.
– η = ει: βασιλήα = βασιλεία; ἠς = εἰς.
– υ = ει: ἀῢ = ἀεὶ.
– ι = υι: Ἰῦ = Υἱοῦ. Gignac notes the following word forms attested already in Koine: ἱοῦ instead of υἱοῦ, ἱοῖς instead of υἱοῖς (Gignac 1976: 204).
Isochronism:
– o = ω: ἐõνας = αἰῶνας; τõν = τῶν; αἰόνο(ν) = αἰώνων.
Monophthongization of diphthongs:
– ε = αι: κέ = καί; ἐõνας = αἰῶνας. ἐλογημένι. A change in the pronunciation of the diphthong /eu/ at the transition /eu/ > /ev, ef/ is the reason for the loss of the second element of the diphthong in forms such as δετέρου instead of δευτέρου, λεκαί instead of λευκαί (Gignac 1976: 228, 232–233).
b) others і͠ѵ = Υἱοῦ. Abbreviation similar to ѳ͞ѵ = Θεοῦ from inscription SL8.
Based on the numerous deviations from the normal spelling of this banal liturgical text, we can assume that the text was written from memory by a person who spoke the language, knew the alphabet and could write, but not according to the norm of the written language of the era.
