Кръст с влашки надпис на жупън Костадин
A Cross with a Walachian Inscription by жупън Костадин

Summary/Abstract: The paper proposes a reading and a translation with a short commentary of an inscription in Walachian, written in Cyrillic letters on a large stone cross with ornaments and drawings. The cross was situated in the Palace Complex in the town of Balchik on the Black Sea coast. Approximately in the middle of the inscription the name "Costandin", preceded by the title "Zhupan", may be distinguished. Peculiarities of the text are the use of scriptura continua, the presence of ligatures and superscript letters. Some parts of the text are partly or completely erased and accordingly the letters in these places cannot be deciphered or allow for multiple readings. Still, due to the good quality of the photographs and the suitable application of computer tools it proved possible to identify some of the previously undeciphered letters.According to the authors, the inscription on the cross, as well as the cross itself, was created in a Bulgarian environment. The suggested reading (in modern Rumanian orthography) and translation (in English, here) of the text are as follows: "Cu vrearea tatalui, a fiului §i a sfeatului duh radicatu sa aceasta sfeante cruce cu toate celtuiala dumnealui jupanu Costandin kam... ce... os.. a ...rin §i s au radicat i zilile luminatului doman". "By the Will of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit this holy cross was erected entirely at the expense of the ruling Zhupan Costandin ... was erected in the days of the enlightened..."

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