The First Records in Slovenian Language

The earliest known examples of the Slovene language have been preserved in the remarkable Brižinski spomeniki (Freising manuscripts, c 1000 ). Most likely, the Freising Manuscripts are also the first continuous text written in any Slavic language, but certainly the first written in Latin script. The manuscripts consist of two penitential forms, and a sermon about the original sin and an invitation to repent. Palaeographic and historic studies also suggest that the extant manuscripts are copies of earlier documents, while the language analysis shows that the language predates the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius and the Old Church Slavonic. It is assumed that the original documents would have been created in the 8th century. The language in the Manuscripts also predates the division of the Slovene into dialects, the division that is visible in the later manuscripts, such as Stična Manuscript, Čedad Manuscript and Rateče Manuscript that were recorded in the 15th century.