Greek minuscule

The minuscule script was a Greek writing style which was used as a book hand in Byzantine manuscripts during the 9th and 10th centuries. It replaced the earlier style of uncial writing, from which it differed in using smaller, more rounded and more connected letter forms, and in using a large number of ligatures. Many of these forms had previously developed as parts of more informal cursive writing. The basic letter shapes used in the minuscule script were the ancestors of modern lower case Greek letters.

From the 10th century onwards, most Byzantine manuscripts of classical and early Christian Greek works were gradually rewritten in the new minuscule style, and few of the older uncial manuscripts were preserved. For this reason, uncial manuscripts are today extremely rare, while early minuscule manuscripts are often the oldest preserved sources attesting an ancient work and may therefore be of central importance for its philological study. Manuscripts from the oldest phase of minuscule writing (mid-9th to mid-10th century) are known in scholarship today as codices vetustissimi ("oldest codices"). Those from the mid-10th to the mid-12th centuries are known as codices vetusti ("old codices"), and later ones as codices recentiores ("newer codices").

Medieval Greek

Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, is the stage of the Greek language between the end of Classical antiquity in the 5th-6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. From the 7th century onwards, Greek was the only language of administration and government in the Byzantine Empire. This stage of language is thus described as Byzantine Greek. The study of the Medieval Greek language and literature is a branch of Byzantine Studies, or Byzantinology, the study of the history and culture of the Byzantine Empire.

The beginning of Medieval Greek is occasionally dated back to as early as the 4th century, either to 330 AD, when the political centre of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople, or to 395 AD, the division of the Empire. However, this approach is rather arbitrary as it is more an assumption of political as opposed to cultural and linguistic developments. Indeed, by this time the spoken language, particularly pronunciation, had already shifted towards modern forms. The conquests of Alexander, and the ensuing Hellenistic period, had caused Greek to spread to peoples throughout Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean, altering the spoken language's pronunciation and structure. Medieval Greek is the link between this vernacular, known as Koine Greek, and the Modern Greek language. Though Byzantine Greek literature was still strongly influenced by Ancient Greek, it was also influenced by vernacular Koine Greek, which is the language of the New Testament and the liturgical language of the church.

Greek

Greek may refer to:

Greece

Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:

The Witcher

The Witcher (Polish: Wiedźmin, Polish pronunciation: [ˈvʲɛd͡ʑmʲin]), by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, is a fantasy series of short stories and novels about the witcher Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's books, "Witchers" are monster hunters who (with training and body modification) develop supernatural abilities at a young age to battle deadly monsters. The books have been adapted into a film and television, video-game and graphic novel series, and the series of novels is known as the Witcher Saga. The short stories and novels have been translated into several languages, including English.

Books

The Witcher short stories were first published in Fantastyka, a Polish science-fiction and fantasy magazine, beginning in the mid-1980s. The first short story, "Wiedźmin" ("The Witcher") (1986), was written for a contest held by the magazine and won third place. The first four stories dealing with the witcher Geralt were originally featured in a 1990 short-story collection entitled Wiedźmin—now out of print—with "Droga, z której się nie wraca" ("The Road With No Return"), which is set in the world before the Witcher stories.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Polish: Wiedźmin 3: Dziki Gon) is a high-fantasy, action role-playing video game set in an open-world environment, developed by CD Projekt RED. Announced in February 2013, it was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 19 May 2015. The game is the third in the series, preceded by The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, which are based on the series of fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.

Played in a third-person perspective, players control protagonist Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter known as a witcher, who sets out on a long journey through the Northern Kingdoms. In the game, players battle against the world's many dangers using swords and magic, while interacting with non-player characters and completing side quests and main missions to progress through the story. The game was met with critical acclaim and was a financial success, selling over 6 million copies in six weeks. The game won multiple Game of the Year awards from various gaming publications, critics, and game award shows, including the Golden Joystick Awards and The Game Awards, becoming one of the most awarded games of all time.