Armenian illuminated manuscript - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Armenian illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

s form a separate tradition, related to other forms of Medieval

Middle age

Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....

Armenian art, but also to the Byzantine

Byzantine art

Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....

tradition. The earliest surviving examples date from the Golden Age

Golden Age

The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...

of Armenian art and literature in the 5th century. Early Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

n Illuminated manuscripts are remarkable for their festive designs to the Armenian culture; they make one feel the power of art and the universality of its language. The greatest Armenian miniaturist, Toros Roslin

Toros Roslin

Toros Roslin ; circa 1210–1270) was the most prominent Armenian manuscript illuminator in the High Middle Ages. Roslin introduced a wider range of narrative in his iconography based on his knowledge of western European art while continuing the conventions established by his predecessors...

, lived in the 13th century.

The Library at Yerevan

Yerevan

Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...

, has the largest collection of Armenian manuscripts, including the Mugni Gospels and Echmiadzin Gospel

Echmiadzin Gospel

The Echmiadzin Gospels is a 10th century Armenian Gospel Book produced in 989 at the Monastery of Bgheno-Noravank in Syunik.- The book :...

. The second largest collection of Armenian illuminated manuscripts is stored in the depository of St. James, in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem

Armenian Quarter

The Armenian Quarter is one of the four quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the four quarters, with the smallest number of residents....

, of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem of Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

's Holy Apostolic Church. Other collections exist in the British Library

British Library

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...

, Bibliotheque nationale de France

Bibliothèque nationale de France

The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...

, and other large collections at the Mechitarist

Mechitarists

The Mechitarists , are a congregation of Benedictine monks of the Armenian Catholic Church founded in 1712 by Abbot Mechitar of Sebastia. They are best known for their series of scholarly publications of ancient Armenian versions of otherwise lost ancient Greek texts.-History:Their eponymous...

establishments in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

and Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, as well as in the United States. The University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

(UCLA) keeps an Armenian illuminated manuscript dating back to the 14th century among its collection of Armenian manuscripts, which is one of the largest in the world. They also have a manuscript of the Gladzor Gospels.

Armenian Prayer Roll

Another form of an illuminated manuscript is a prayer roll, which traditionally included images from the Armenian iconography as well as Biblical passages or teachings but at a much smaller size was a more personal, and portable, religious treasure. Armenian prayer rolls could include iconography applicable to all Christian sects such as images of St. Mark, or St. Luke, or St. John as well as panels depicting important moments in the life of Jesus Christ. For the Armenians, however, the rolls would also include illustrations specific to the history of their country or church. These included St. Gregory the Illuminator credited with bringing Christianity to Armenian in the 4th Century or St. Nerses IV important to the growth of Christianity in Armenia in the 12th century as well as establishing the theology of icon veneration within the Armenian Church. As in the case of other traditional Armenian manuscripts, prayer rolls were drawn and illustrated by hand on vellum. The scroll served as a personal talisman for the protection of its owner or for needs and prayer intentions of members of their family. Prayer rolls were narrow in width and included panels of religious illustration followed by religious text. The rolls were always quite long although exact measurements varied, depending on the number of panels it contained. The owner of this religious artifact could tightly roll the vellum and conceal it when carried. Concealment was crucial for protection of the prayer roll, since illuminated manuscripts and prayer rolls were highly valued and targeted by thieves. Devout Armenians held manuscripts and other works of art of the Church in high regard due to the fact the church and its teachings were an important part of daily life in medieval Armenia; the church fulfilled all spiritual, social, moral and cultural needs.

Techniques and Scripts

About 31,000 manuscripts still survive after continuous invasions of Armenia throughout the centuries and the more recent Armenian Diaspora where hundreds of thousands of Armenians were displaced or massacred. Illuminated manuscripts mostly recount religious teachings and gospels of the Armenians and were handed down through families. So valuable were these manuscripts it was regarded as a sacrilege to sell or damage them, or to allow the manuscripts to fall into enemy hands. Most of the manuscripts were written and illustrated by monks located in monasteries. Many manuscripts are very elaborate, covered in gilt and brilliant colors. However, there is another type of manuscript which was stripped of unnecessary ornamentation, lacking colored backgrounds and painted with transparent colors, often with less than perfect artistry. Manuscripts were adorned with fantastical creatures and birds, which often formed the initial letters of chapters to attract the eye, while providing a mental break during which the beauty of the illustration could refresh the mind and spirit. These brilliantly illustrated letters were followed by “erkat’agir”, an uncial script also known as iron script, as it originally was carved into stone. Notary script known as “notr’gir” was used for writing the script and colophon and “bologir,” meaning “rounded letters” was often used as a minuscule in writing the rubrics, which are sections written in red ink in order to draw attention. Black lettering was used to write the chapters, symbolizing the pain of original sin, while the white paper space symbolized the innocence of birth. The colophon, also written in red ink, was usually found at the beginning or end of the manuscript and would provide information about the scribe, the patron, the artist, the date, when, where, and for whom the manuscript was created. Often the scribe would add notes about his working conditions or anecdotes of wisdom in the colophon and often was carried into the margins of the manuscript. So important was owning a manuscript, the owner would add his name into the script. If a manuscript had multiple owners, multiple signatures might be found within the script.

External links

Matenadaran site
Manuscript Collection at Armenica.org
http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/arts_of_armenia/miniatures.htm and
http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/iaa_miniatures/thumbnails.htm
Evolution of Armenian illumination
THE EVOLUTION OF ARMENIAN GOSPEL ILLUMINATION:THE FORMATIVE PERIOD (9TH - 11TH CENTURIES)
Photos of the Armenian miniatures

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Armenian Prayer Roll

Techniques and Scripts

Further reading

External links