Inscriptions on bells from the churches in the Smolyan district – epigraphic monuments from the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century

Georgi Mitrinov
Institute for Bulgarian Language, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Abstract

The study is dedicated to the inscriptions on bells from the churches in the Smolyan parish of the Plovdiv diocese. The inscriptions on over 50 church bells have been studied. A thematic classification was made for them, as well as a diachronic classification. Their graphic features are examined. Technical data of the bells and historical information about them are presented. Information is included on the decoration of the bells, as well as on the master bellwrights.

Keywords: Bulgarian epigraphy, inscriptions on church bells, Bulgarian language history, graphic features