Formula e pagëzimit

The formula e pagëzimit (English: baptismal formula) is the oldest written document with a writing in Albanian which has been found. The document is “Codex Ashburnham” dated November 8, 1462, and it contains various notes on Albania written in Latin by Archbishop Pal Engjëlli.^[1]^[2]

The sentence in Old Albanian is:

Un'te paghesont' pr'emenit t'Atit e t'Birit e t'Spertit Senit.

In modern Albanian it is: Unë të pagëzoj në emër të Atit, të Birit, e të Shpirtit të Shenjtë.^[3] In English it is: "I baptize thee in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit".^[1]

The document is held in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, Italy, where it was discovered in 1915 by Romanian scholar Nicolae Iorga.^[4]

Albanian scripts were produced earlier than Formula e pagëzimit, we know of their existence by earlier references, for example a French monk noted in 1332, that "although the Albanians have another language totally different from Latin, they still use Latin letters in all their books.^[5]^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Janet Byron (1976). Selection among alternates in language standardization: the case of Albanian. Mouton. p. 36. Retrieved 17 May 2012. in Albanian is the short Catholic baptismal formula (Formula e pagezimit) of 1462.2 The formula is in Geg, and written in Roman script; it occurs within a pastoral letter, itself in Latin, of the Archbishop of Durres, Pal Engjelli
^ Oliver Jens Schmitt (2021). Shqiptarët e privilegjuar në Venedik, koha.net, May 30
^ The original sounds like: Un' të pagëzonjt pr'êmënit t'Atit e t'Birit e t'Shpêrtit Shenjt.
^ Academia Republicii Socialiste România, Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1971). "Revue des Études Sud-est Européennes". Revue des études sud-est européennes. 9: 102. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
^ Xhevat Lloshi (1999). Handbuch der Südosteuropa-Linguistik. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 291. ISBN 978-3-447-03939-0. Retrieved 17 May 2012. The first attempts to write the albanian language are to found in the 12th - 13th centuries. It is understandable that the first documents may have been trade, economic, administrative and religious wrtitings compiled by low-rank clerics. A Dominican friar, Guillelmus Adae, knows as Father Brocardus, noted in a pamphlet he published in 1332 that "the Albanians have a language quite other than the Latin, but they use the Latin letters in all their books".
^ Demiraj, Shaban. "Albanian". In Ramat and Ramat (2006), The Indo-European Languages. Page 480

[Byron1976-1] Janet Byron (1976). Selection among alternates in language standardization: the case of Albanian. Mouton. p. 36. Retrieved 17 May 2012. in Albanian is the short Catholic baptismal formula (Formula e pagezimit) of 1462.2 The formula is in Geg, and written in Roman script; it occurs within a pastoral letter, itself in Latin, of the Archbishop of Durres, Pal Engjelli

[2] Oliver Jens Schmitt (2021). Shqiptarët e privilegjuar në Venedik, koha.net, May 30

[3] The original sounds like: Un' të pagëzonjt pr'êmënit t'Atit e t'Birit e t'Shpêrtit Shenjt.

[4] Academia Republicii Socialiste România, Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1971). "Revue des Études Sud-est Européennes". Revue des études sud-est européennes. 9: 102. Retrieved 2010-05-28.

[HinrichsBüttner1999-5] Xhevat Lloshi (1999). Handbuch der Südosteuropa-Linguistik. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 291. ISBN 978-3-447-03939-0. Retrieved 17 May 2012. The first attempts to write the albanian language are to found in the 12th - 13th centuries. It is understandable that the first documents may have been trade, economic, administrative and religious wrtitings compiled by low-rank clerics. A Dominican friar, Guillelmus Adae, knows as Father Brocardus, noted in a pamphlet he published in 1332 that "the Albanians have a language quite other than the Latin, but they use the Latin letters in all their books".

[6] Demiraj, Shaban. "Albanian". In Ramat and Ramat (2006), The Indo-European Languages. Page 480

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