Book Description

This book offers a reevaluation of the character of medieval (12-17th century) Armenian literature and language. It contains a number of contributions by leading Armenologists (Cowe, Russell, Thomson, and Stone) and of a younger generation of scholars who attempt to confront the traditional approach of this period with the new insights gained in modern occidental medieval studies. One may call these papers New because they study the literary highlights not only of Cilician Armenia of the Crusader period, but of all Armenia and put these in a wider cultural context: the authors emphasize both inner-Armenian continuity and contemporary external (Persian, Turkish) literary and linguistic influences. The papers concern Armenian lyrical poetry, models for the evaluation of the medieval Armenian literary production (both traditional and new), and the linguistic conditions which favoured such a production. Particular attention has been given to the cultural background of Armenian grammatical studies and to the character of the first Armenian grammars printed in the Occident.