Pernik sword

The Pernik sword is an early medieval double-edged iron sword unearthed in the ruins of the medieval fortress of Krakra near Pernik, western Bulgaria, on 1 January 1921. It bears an inscription in silver inlay on the blade. The sword is preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Bulgaria in Sofia under inventory number 2044. The sword is 96 centimetres (38 in) in length and up to 4.5 cm (1.8 in) in width.

The inscription, written in the Latin alphabet, was long considered incomprehensible. It reads as follows:

“

+IHININIhVILPIDHINIhVILPN+ [1]

”

In 2005, however, decipherment was claimed by a Bulgarian research group, reading an early West Germanic language (Austro-Bavarian or Lombardic of ca. the 6th to 8th century), with a meaning of "I do not await eternity, I am eternity" (hvil, cognate to English while and German Weile). If the parsing is plausible or at least the identification of the written language is correct, the text is of great importance to the history of Germanic languages.

External links

• http://www.balkanmediaacademy.bg/activity_en.htm Archived version
• http://www.balkanmediaacademy.bg/1mech-5.jpg Archived version
• http://www.g-geschichte.de/EX/Extra/pdfRossenInterview.pdf (in German)

References

• Friedrich E. GRÜNZWEIG: Ein Schwert mit Inschrift aus Pernik (Bulgarien), Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik 61 (2006).
• Dentschewa, Emilia: "Langobardische (?) Inschrift auf einem Schwert aus dem 8. Jahrhundert in bulgarischem Boden". In: Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur, Band 128 (2006) Heft 1, S. 1-11.
• Dentschewa, Emilia: "+IHININIhVILPIDHINIhVILPN+ oder die Botschaft eines Schwertes aus der Zeit des Königreichs der Langobarden (?)" In: Archaeologia Bulgarica IX (2005) Heft 2, S. 99-105.