Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 1.djvu/814

Rh ARMENIA

738

ARMENIA

of Armenia, his request met with a refusal. Then the emperor had the Armenian bishops in the Roman territorj' assemble and recognize the Council of Chalcedon. He chose for the office of patriarch a bishop named John, with residence at Avan. Thus in 593 the Armenian Church found itself divided into two sections. Soon after the Iberians fell away, with their Catholicos Kiouron at their head, rejecting Monophysitisra and the authority of the Armenian patriarch. For a time the .Albanians also declared themselves independent, but soon came back. When Heraclius had conquered the country and thus de- prived the Persians of their control for the second time (629), he obtained from the Catholicos Ezr the condemnation of Nestorius and all heretics, without any mention being made of Chalcedon. The union with the Greeks thus effected lasted during the life- time of Heraclius. But in the Synod of Tvin (645) Chalcedon was again condemned. Meanwhile, the Arabs had attacked the country, which fell, an easy victim, before them, and so Armenia, which once had its own rulers and was at other times under Persian and Byzantine control, passed into the power of the Caliphs.

III. Literature, Early, Medieval, and Mod- ern. — Of the literature of pagan Armenia only a few fragments have come down to us. The founda- tion of what we know as Armenian literature must therefore be sought in Christian times. Very rich in itself. Christian Armenian literature dates from the invention of the national alphabet by Mesrob. In these first years of the fifth century were composed some of the apocryphal works which, like the "Dis- courses" attributed to St. Gregory and the "History of Armenia" said to have come from Agathangelus, are asserted to be the works of these and other well-known men. Connected with early Armenian literature are the names of such illustrious persons as Isaac the Great and Mesrob, by whom an im- petus was given to the literature of the country. They translated the Bible from a SjTiac version and revised their translation by means of the Septuagint of the Hexapla, and the Greek text of the New Testament. There followed various other transla- tions which for the most part are of great impor- tance, since the originals of many have been lost. Of these we may mention the "Homilies" of St. John Chrysostom, two works of Philo on "Providence", together with some of his Biblical commentaries, the "Chronicle" of Eusebius, and the works of St. Ephrem. This early period of Armenian litera- ture also produced original compositions. Eznik of Kolb wrote a " Refutation of the Sects", and Koroun the " History of the Life of St. Mesrob and of the Beginnings of Armenian Literature". These men, both of whom were disciples of Mesrob, bring to an end what may be called the golden age of Armenian literature.

The medieval period opens with comparative sterility. The first name of importance is met with in the eighth century, that of John Otznetzi, sur- named the "Philosopher". A "Discourse against the Paulicians", a "Synodal Discourse", and a col- lection of the canons of the councils and the Fathers anterior to his day, are the principal works of his now extant. About the same time appeared the translations of the works of several of the Fathers, particularly of Sts. Gregory of Nyssa and Cyril of Alexandria, from the pen of Stephen, Bishop of Siounik. It was two centuries later that the cele- brated "History of Armenia" by the Catholicos John VI came forth, covering the period from the origin of the nation to the year A. d. 925. A contemporary of his, Ananias of Mok, an abbot and the most celebrated theologian of the time, com- posed a treatise against the Thondrakians, a sect imbued with .Vlanicheism. The name of Chosrov,

Bishop of Andzevatsentz, is honoured because of his interesting commentaries on the Breviary and the Mass-Prayers. Gregory of Narek, his son, is the Armenian Pindar from whose pen came elegies, odes, panegyrics, and homilies. Stephen Asoghik, whose "Universal History" reaches down to a. d. 1004, and Gregory Magistros, whose long poem on the Old and New Testaments displays much application, are the last writers worthy of mention in this period.

The modern period of Armenian literature can well be dated from the renaissance of letters among the Armenians in the twelfth century. The Cathol- icos Nerses, surnamed the Gracious, is the most brilliant author in the beginning of this period. Be- sides his poetic works, such as the "Elegy on the Taking of Edessa", there are prose works including a "Pastoral Letter", a "Synodal Discourse", and his "Letters". This age gave us also a commentary on St. Luke and one on the Catholic Epistles. Of note, too, is the Synodal Discourse of Nerses of Lampron, Archbishop of Tarsus, delivered at the Council of Hromcla in 1179, which is anti-Monophy- site in tone. The thirteenth century gave birth to Vartan the Great, whose talents were those of a poet, an exegete, and a theologian, and whose "Universal History" is extensive in the field it covers. Gregory of Datev in the next century composed his "Ques- tion Book", which is a fiery polemic against the Catholics. The sixteenth century saw Armenia in the hands of Persia, and a check was for the time put on literature. However, in scattering the Armenians to all parts of Europe, the Persian invasion had its good effects. They established printing shops in Venice and Rome, and in the following century (the seventeenth) in Lemberg, Milan, Paris, and elsewhere. Old works were republished and new ones given forth. The Mechitarists of Venice have been the leaders in this movement; but their publications, al- though numerous, have been often uncritical. Their brothers, the Mechitarists of Vienna, have been like- wise active in this work and it is to their society that Balgy and Catergian belong, two well-known writers on Armenian topics. Russia, Constantinople and Etchmiadzin are the other centres of Armenian literary efforts and the last-named place is especially worthy of note, imbued as it is to-day w-ith German scientific methods and taste. Looking back over the field of Armenian literature, we note a trait of the national character displayed in the bent the Armenians have had for singing the glories of their land in history and chronicles. Translations have ever been an important part of Armenian literature. Again, the standpoint is religious, and even history seems to have been written rather for its doctrines than for the facts themselves. A last feature is that the golden age came early and with the passing of centuries the Armenian writers grew fewer and fewer.

IV. The Crusades. — Although the native dynasty of the Bagratides, to which tlie Arabs gave the royal crown of Armenia, was foimded under favourable circumstances, yet the feudal system by gradually weakening the country, brought about its ruin. Thus internally enfeebled, .\rmeni.a proved an easy victim for the Seldjukid Turks under Alp-Arslan in the latter half of the eleventh century. To escape death or servitude at the hands of those who had assassinated his relative, Kakig II, King of Ani, an Armenian named Uoupen with some of his country- men went into the gorges of the Taurus Mountains and then into Tarsiis of Cilicia. Here the Byzantine governor of the place gave them shelter. Soon after, the members of the First Crusade appeared in Asia Minor. Hostile as they were to tlie Turks, and un- friendly to the Greeks, these Armenian refugees joined forces with the crusaders. Valiantly they fought with the Christians of Europe, and for their