Baibulo la Chigothic​—Chipambano Chapadera

AGOTH anali gulu la mafuko a Germanic, mwinamwake ochokera ku Scandinavia. M’zaka mazana oyambirira a Nyengo Yathu, anasamukira kutali ndithu kummwera ku Black Sea ndi mtsinje wa Danube, kumalire enieni a ufumu wa Roma.

Buku loyambirira lotulutsidwa m’chinenero cha Germanic linali Baibulo la Chigothic. Lerolino matembenuzidwe ameneŵa alipo m’zidutswa zokha. Komabe, lidakali matembenuzidwe apadera ndi aphindu a Malemba Opatulika. Chifukwa?

Ulfilas​—Mmishonale ndi Wotembenuza Baibulo

Wotembenuza Baibulo limeneli anali Ulfilas, amene nthaŵi zina amadziŵika ndi dzina lake la Chigothic lakuti Wulfila. Malinga ndi kunena kwa wolemba mbiri wotchedwa Philostorgius, Ulfilas anali mbadwa ya akapolo amene anatengedwa pa kuukira kwa Agoth kuloŵa mu Cappadocia, tsopano mbali ya kummaŵa ya Turkey. Anabadwa pafupifupi mu 311 C.E., anaikidwa kukhala mbusa ndi Eusebius wa ku Nicomedia pafupifupi zaka 30 pambuyo pake ndipo anaphunzitsidwa kugwira ntchito monga mmishonale pakati pa Agoth.

“Pofuna kulangiza ndi kuchulukitsa ophunzira ake,” akutero wolemba mbiri Will Durant akunena, “iye anatembenuza moleza mtima Baibulo lonse kusiyapo Mabuku a Mafumu kuchoka m’Chigiriki kupita m’Chigothic.” (The Age of Faith) Lerolino, kupatulapo zidutswa za buku la Nehemiya, malembo apamanja okha a Baibulo la Chigothic omwe sanawonongedwe ali mbali za Malemba Achigiriki Achikristu.

Chinenero cha Chigothic sichinali cholembedwa. Chotero Ulfilas anayang’anizana ndi chitokoso cha kutembenuza chimene chinafunikira luso lapadera. Olemba mbiri ya chipembedzo amakedzana amamtamanda chifukwa cha kupanga mndandanda wa malembo a Chigothic wa zizindikiro 27, wozikidwa pa mindandanda ya malembo ya Chigiriki ndi Chilatini. Ndiponso, The New Encyclopædia Britannica imapereka ndemanga yakuti “iye anapanga mawu Achikristu a Germanic, amene ena a iwo akugwiritsiridwabe ntchito.”

Mbiri Yoyambirira ya Baibulo la Chigothic

Ulfilas anamaliza kutembenuza kwake isanafike 381 C.E. ndipo anafa zaka ziŵiri kapena zitatu pambuyo pake. Kutchuka kwa buku lake kumatsimikiziridwa ndi The Encyclopedia Americana, imene imanena kuti “matembenuzidwewo anali kugwiritsiridwa ntchito kaŵirikaŵiri ndi Agoth amene anasamukira ku Spain ndi Italy.” Ndithudi, mwakuona unyinji wa zidutswa zomwe zinapulumuka, kukuonekera kuti makope ambiri a Baibulo la Chigothic anapangidwa. Mwachionekere, malembo apamanja ambiri anapangidwa mu scriptoria ya ku Ravenna ndi Verona, m’dera limene Agoth anakhazikitsa ufumu wawo. Scriptoria zinali zipinda za m’malo a anthu achipembedzo mmene malembo apamanja analembedwa.

Mtundu wa Agoth unatha pafupifupi mu 555 C.E., pambuyo pa kugonjetsanso Italy kwa wolamulira wa Byzantium, Justinian I. Pambuyo pa kuzimiririka kwawo, Tönnes Kleberg akunena kuti, “chinenero cha Chigothic ndi miyambo ya Chigothic ya mu Italy zinazimiririka, osasiya umboni uliwonse. Malembo apamanja a Chigothic sanalinso okondweretsa. . . . Kwakukulukulu anamamatulidwa ndi kufufutidwa. Chikopa chofufutidwa chokwera mtengocho chinagwiritsiridwanso ntchito kulembapo zinthu zatsopano.”

Malembo Apamanja Amene Alipo

Ena a malembo apamanja ameneŵa, sanafufutidwe bwino, malembo oyambirira akumasiyidwa akuonekera pang’ono. Zina za zikopa zolembedwapo nthaŵi zambiri zimenezi, zotchedwa palimpsest, zapezedwa ndi kutanthauziridwa. Modabwitsa, Codex Argenteus yotchukayo, yokhala ndi Mauthenga Abwino anayi mumpambo woyamba ndi Mateyu, Yohane, Luka, ndi Marko, inasungidwa yosawonongedwa.

Buku labwino koposa limeneli limalingaliridwa kukhala litachokera mu scriptorium ya ku Ravenna kuchiyambi kwa zaka za zana lachisanu ndi chimodzi C.E. Limatchedwa Codex Argenteus, kutanthauza “Buku la Siliva,” chifukwa chakuti linalembedwa ndi kapezi wasiliva. Masamba a chikopa chofufutidwawo anapakidwa utoto wa purple, kusonyeza kuti mwinamwake chinaperekedwa kwa munthu wachifumu. Malemba a golidi amakongoletsa mizera itatu yoyambirira ya Uthenga Wabwino uliwonse limodzinso ndi mizera yoyambirira ya zigawo zosiyanasiyana. Maina a olemba Uthenga Wabwinowo analembedwanso ndi golidi pamwamba pa ma “archway” anayi oima moyandikana oikidwa pansi pa danga lililonse la malembowo. Zimenezi zimapereka ndemanga pa ndime zolingana nazo m’Mauthenga Abwinowo.

Kubwezeretsa Malembo a Baibulo la Chigothic

Pambuyo pa kuthetsedwa kwa mtundu wa Agoth, Codex Argenteus yamtengoyo inasoŵa. Sinaonekenso kufikira pamene inakhala yodziŵika kwa anthu wamba pakati pa zaka za zana la 16 m’nyumba ya anthu achipembedzo ya ku Werden, pafupi ndi Cologne, ku Germany.

M’chaka cha 1569, matembenuzidwe a Chigothic a Pemphero la Ambuye anafalitsidwa, akumatembenuzira anthu ku Baibulo kumene pempherolo linatengedwako. Dzina lakuti Codex Argenteus linasindikizidwa kwa nthaŵi yoyamba mu 1597. Kuchokera ku Werden malembo apamanja ameneŵa anafikira kukhala m’zosonkhanitsa za mfumu mu Prague. Komabe, kumapeto kwa Nkhondo ya Zaka Makumi Atatu mu 1648, anthu a ku Sweden olakikawo anaitenga limodzi ndi chuma china. Kuyambira 1669 buku limeneli lakhala kwachikhalire mu Uppsala University Library, ku Sweden.

Poyamba Codex Argenteus inali ndi masamba 336, ndipo 187 ali ku Uppsala. Tsamba lina​—lomalizira la Uthenga Wabwino wa Marko​—linapezedwa mu 1970 ku Speyer, mu Germany.

Kuyambira panthaŵi imene bukulo linaonekanso, akatswiri anayamba kuphunzira malembowo kuti avumbule tanthauzo la chinenero chakufa cha Chigothic. Mwa kugwiritsira ntchito malembo apamanja onse amene analipo ndi zoyesayesa zakale za kubwezeretsa malembowo, katswiri wa ku Germany Wilhelm Streitberg anasonkhanitsa ndi kufalitsa mu 1908 “Die gotische Bibel” (Baibulo la Chigothic), lokhala ndi malemba Achigiriki ndi Chigothic pamasamba oyang’anizana.

Lerolino, Baibulo la Chigothic limeneli lili lokondweretsa makamaka kwa akatswiri. Komabe, chenicheni chakuti linapangidwa ndi kukondedwa m’masiku oyambirira a kutembenuza Baibulo, chimatsimikizira chikhumbo ndi kutsimikiza mtima kwa Ulfilas kwa kutembenuza Mawu a Mulungu m’chinenero chomwe panthaŵiyo chinali chamakono. Iye anazindikira molondola kuti kokha mwa njira imeneyi ndi pamene anthu Achigoth angayembekezere kumvetsetsa choonadi Chachikristu.

[Mawu a Chithunzi patsamba 9]

Courtesy of the Uppsala University Library, Sweden