Ulfilas

"Wulfila" redirects here. For the spider genus, see Wulfila (spider).
Ulfilas
𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌰
Ulfilas Translates the Bible by Willhelm Lindenschmit, 1879
Bornc. 311
Roman Dacia
Died383(383-00-00) (aged 71–72)
Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Known forOverseeing translation of the Bible into Gothic
TitleApostle of the Goths[1]
Confessor of the Faith
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Ulfilas (Greek: Ουλφίλας; c. 311 – 383),[a] known also as Wulfila(s) or Urphilas,[5] was a 4th-century Gothic preacher of Cappadocian Greek descent. He was the apostle to the Gothic people.[5]

Ulfila served as a bishop and missionary, participated in the Arian controversy, and is credited with converting the Goths to Christianity[6] as well as overseeing translation of the Bible into the Gothic language.[7] For the purpose of the translation he developed the Gothic alphabet, largely based on the Greek alphabet, as well as Latin and Runic characters.[8] Although the translation of the text into Gothic has traditionally been ascribed to Ulfila, analysis of the text of the Gothic Bible indicates the involvement of a team of translators, possibly under his supervision.[9][10]

  1. ^ Parvis, Berndt & Steinacher 2016, p. 49.
  2. ^ Bennett, William H. An Introduction to the Gothic Language, 1980, p. 23.
  3. ^ Wolfram 1988, p. 76; Wiles 1996, p. 41.
  4. ^ Ebbinghaus 1991, p. 236.
  5. ^ a b Thompson 2008, p. vi.
  6. ^ Ratkus 2009, p. 38.
  7. ^ Klein, Jared S.; Ratkus, Artūras, eds. (2024). Studies in Gothic. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. xv. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198896692.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-889669-2.
  8. ^ Falluomini, Carla (2015). The gothic version of the Gospels and pauline Epistles: cultural background, transmission and character. Arbeiten zur neutestamentlichen Textforschung. Berlin: De Gruyter. pp. 18–21. ISBN 978-3-11-033450-0.
  9. ^ Ratkus, Artūras (2018). "Greek ἀρχιερεύς in Gothic translation: Linguistics and theology at a crossroads". NOWELE. 71 (1): 3–34. doi:10.1075/nowele.00002.rat.
  10. ^ Miller 2019, pp. 13–18.


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