On the basics of textual criticism of Runic inscriptions

Abstract

Evidence of literacy and education among speakers of the Old Turkic runic script is already attested in the earliest known stone steles of the Second Eastern Turkic Khaganate along the Orkhon River, dating to the first third of the eighth century. Monuments of the Uyghur Khaganate bear traces of multiple compositional layers, suggesting the hereditary continuity of a distinct professional class engaged in intellectual and educational activity. As with other literary languages of antiquity and the Middle Ages, the written literary language, often referred to as a runic koine, emerged from a supra-dialectal oral tradition, grounded not only in epic poetry but also in ritual and cultic poetic forms. Numerous Yenisei epitaphs, produced between the eighth and twelfth centuries in honour of various members of the ruling elite of the Old Khakass state, preserve within their structure and content elements of such ritual poetry, particularly funeral laments. The Yenisei memorial inscriptions reflect the deep historical roots and perceived sacral status of the ancient Proto-Runic scribal tradition. They preserve features of the earliest stages of runic textual production, in which stone inscriptions reflect earlier draft versions of texts originally composed on portable writing materials. The presumed prototypes of these stone epitaphs include wooden rods inscribed on all sides, as well as flat wooden tablets bearing inscriptions on a single surface and bound at the edges with cords or straps. It is highly probable that oral koine traditions acquired written form at an early stage within Proto-Turkic ritual practice. The archaic writing technique characterized by a vertical progression (“ascending ladder” structure, in which texts are read from bottom to top) is particularly noteworthy. Since this feature is attested in both Yenisei and Orkhon epitaphic monuments, it likely derives from a common and ancient prototype shared by these traditions. With the spread of Manichaeism in the Uyghur and Old Khakass polities, local runic scripts came to be used within a literate religious environment. Monastic communities were established, and literacy became more widespread. While traditional reverence for natural elements such as mountains and rocks persisted, numerous runic prayer inscriptions were produced on such surfaces. In general, the foundations of runic textual criticism may be divided according to the genres of written monuments, including Orkhon and Yenisei epitaphic texts, as well as various types of rock inscriptions, such as individual prayers and more broadly didactic or homiletic texts.