Armenian literature

Armenian literature. The Armenian Church fostered literature, and the principal early works are religious or hagiographical, most of them translations. The first major Armenian literary work is a 5th cent. translation of the Bible; its language became the standard of classical Armenian. Early Mesopotamian influence resulted in Syriac translations (Aphraates and St. Ephraem Syrus). Armenia then turned to the West for literary inspiration, producing translations of many religious works (Athanasius, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, and John Chrysostom). Among secular works are renderings of Aristotle and of the romance of Alexander. The original writings of the golden age are confined to saints' lives and histories. The 5th-century history of Moses of Khorni contains practically all that is known of pre-Christian Armenia, its folklore and epics. Later historians include Thomas Ardzruni (10th cent.), Matthew of Edessa, who described the Crusades, and Stephanos Orbelian, who wrote of the Mongol hordes (13th cent.). A tradition of nationalistic epic poetry, influenced by Muslim form, emerged; the best-known example is David of Sassoun. The principal figure of the 12th cent. is Catholicos Narses IV, a prelate and poet notable for his literary style. After the decline of Armenian cultural centers in the 14th cent., the literature of Armenians abroad was heavily influenced by their host countries. In 18th-century Constantinople, Mechitar (1676–1749), a monk of the Catholic Armenians, founded a community (the Mechitarists) to cultivate Armenian letters. Their headquarters are now in Venice, and they are the principal Armenian publishers. Anticipated by the late 18th-century folk poetry of Sayat Nova (=Haroutioum Sayadian), the 19th cent. saw a considerable revival of Armenian letters and the establishment of a modern literary language. The major novelists of the 19th cent. were Khachatur Abovian and Hagop Melik-Agopian (called "Raffi"). The 1915 Turkish massacres sent many Armenian writers (including Hagop Ochagan, Nigoghos Sarafian, and Zareh Vorpuni) into exile, which became the subject of their writing. After the incorporation of part of Armenia into the Soviet Union in 1921 the poet Leguiche Tcharentz and novelist Alexander Bakountz perished in Stalin's purges. Notable writers of the period were the poet Avetik Issahakian and the historical novelist Derenik Demirdjian. More recent figures include the poets Parouyr Sevak, Hovhannes Chiraz, and Hrant Matevosian.

Bibliography

See Z. C. Boyajian, ed., Armenian Legends and Poems (2d ed. 1959); J. Etmekjian, An Anthology of Western Armenian Literature (1980).