#BK2170
1880
140, [2], III pp.: ill. 20,3x16 cm. No wrappers or binding. Otherwise very good. First edition. Extremely rare imprint. Text in Russian and Ossetian.
One of the earliest Ossetian grammar textbooks compiled by the Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church and Bishop of Vladikavkaz Iosif Chepigovsky (1821-1890) in 1880. The book, aimed at students in local parochial schools, was part of a broader effort to align Ossetia more closely to the Russian Empire after the end of the Caucasian Wars (1864).
According to the National Parliamentary Library of Russia, the first Ossetian language textbook was published by the Finnish linguist Andrey Shëgren (1794-1855) in Saint Petersburg in 1844. Throughout the 1860s, the number of Ossetian grammar books gradually increased, though most were printed outside Ossetia due to the lack of Ossetian types in local printing houses. In the 1870s, after the establishment of the Vladikavkaz Censorship Committee by Chepigovsky, Ossetian-language textbooks began to be published locally, making Chepigovsky’s “Brief Ossetian Grammar” one of the first books issued in Vladikavkaz.
The textbook consists of two sections (grammar and syntax) and uses an Ossetian Cyrillic alphabet devised by Shëgren in 1844 and later revised by Chepigovsky. The first section covers fundamental concepts like nouns, verbs, numbers, pronouns, and adjectives, while the second section details sentence structure and construction. The edition includes numerous Ossetian examples with parallel Russian translations.
Bishop Chernigovsky, originally from Crimea, studied at the Kherson Theological Seminary in Odessa and the Kiev Theological Academy. By September 19, 1857, he was appointed to manage Ossetian parishes and religious-educational institutions in the Vladikavkaz Military-Ossetian District and was elevated to the rank of archimandrite on October 22, 1857. In 1869, Chepigovsky became a member of the Georgian-Imeretian Synodal Office. He returned to Ossetia in 1875 and was consecrated as Bishop of Vladikavkaz and Vicar of the Kartal-Kakheti Diocese of the Georgian Exarchate on November 13, 1875. He learnt Ossetian language and started to encourage book printing in Vladikavkaz. Bishop often traveled around the diocese and worked on translating liturgical texts into the Ossetian language. His notable works include the Ossetian “Primer” and the “Russian-Ossetian Dictionary with Brief Grammar.”
Overall, historically important Ossetian grammar textbook and one of the first editions published in Vladikavkaz.
No copies found in Worldcat.
