Old Church Slavonic, Old Cyrillic

Old Slavonic fonts refer to the typefaces used in writing the Old Church Slavonic language, which was the liturgical language of the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe and is still used in some religious communities.

Old Church Slavonic is based on the language used by the Slavs who lived in the region of present-day Macedonia and Bulgaria in the 9th century. It was developed by the brothers Cyril and Methodius, who created an alphabet known as the Glagolitic alphabet, which was later replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet.

The earliest Old Slavonic fonts were handwritten, and it wasn't until the 15th century that the first printed books in Old Church Slavonic appeared. The first printed book in Old Church Slavonic was the Oktoikh, printed in Krakow, Poland in 1491.

The first Old Slavonic fonts used in printing were based on handwriting, with elaborate and decorative letterforms, similar to Gothic script. Later, simpler, more legible fonts were developed, based on the humanist script used in Western Europe.

Today, there are many digital Old Slavonic fonts available, both free and commercial, with a range of styles and designs. Some of the popular Old Slavonic fonts include Ostroměrský, Junicode, and Palaeoslavonic. These fonts are widely used for liturgical texts, historical documents, and cultural publications.