sad end of the Arsacid dynasty. This book ends with a long lament over
the pitiful plight of Armenia. It contains also a bitter invective
against the author’s contemporaries—princes, judges, clergy,
soldiery—in short against all who, being careless of duty and
regardless of the ideal, lead the people astray.
Moses of Khorene has left other works besides his History, one of which
is a Geography, containing, among other things, an account of the
British Isles.
For 1400 years, the History of Moses of Khorene was revered and
accepted as the only authentic History of Armenia; and it was not till
the nineteenth century that criticism was directed against it, not only
by Armenian scholars, but also by French, German, Italian, English, and
Russian scholars. This criticism was chiefly levelled at the principal
source from which the Armenian historian professed to draw his
information.
Arshak the Great, according to Moses, after casting off the Macedonian
yoke and conquering Assyria, set his brother, Wargharshak, on the
throne of Armenia. So commences the Arsacid dynasty. The new king
wished to know what kind of men had been ruling the country before him.
Was he (he asked) the successor of brave men or of bad men? He found an
intelligent man, a Syrian, named Mar-Abas-Katina, and sent him to his
brother, Arshak the Great, with this letter:—
“To Arshak, the king of the earth and the sea, whose form and person
are like unto the gods and whose triumphs are above those of all kings;
the greatness of whose mind can fathom all things of earth,
Wargharshak, thy youngest brother and comrade in arms, appointed by
thee King of Armenia, greeting. Victory ever attend thee.
“I have received from thee the behest to encourage bravery and
wisdom. I have not forgotten thy counsel. On the contrary, I have done
all that my mind could devise or my skill carry into effect, and now,
thanks to thy guardianship, I have put this country in order. And next
I want to know who, before myself, has subdued the land of Armenia, and
from whom are descended the noble families who are established here.
There does not seem to be any fixed grade of classes; among the chief
men, it is impossible to ascertain which is highest and which lowest;
so that some confusion ensues. I therefore beg that the archives may be
opened in the presence of this man whom I have sent to present himself
in thy great country, in order that he may bring back the information
that is desired by thy son and brother.”
This Syrian (says the historian) found in the library at Nineveh a book
translated from the Chaldean into Greek, by order of Alexander the
Great, which contained various ancient histories. From this book
Mar-Abas copied only the authentic history of Armenia, which he took
back to Wargharshak, who, esteeming this document his most precious
treasure, preserved it with great care in his palace and engraved part
of it on a stone monument.
It is this document of Mar-Abas-Katina that Moses of Khorene cites as
his chief authority for the early authentic history of Armenia, though
he also mentions several other native and foreign writers as sources of
his work.
With regard to these statements, critics point out that the library of
Nineveh was not in existence in the second century B.C., as it was
destroyed in 625 B.C.; some even maintain that Mar-Abas-Katina was a
fictitious personage, invented by Moses of Khorene to give more weight
to his own statements, in accordance with the universal custom of his
time, when contemporary writings were continually ascribed to the great
men of old or even to imaginary characters. Moses of Khorene, say these
critics, was himself a great lover of the folklore, legends, and epics
of his country, but he knew that, if he gave these as his only source
of information, his History would gain no credence, especially as, at
the period when he wrote, just after the establishment of Christianity,
everything pagan was regarded with suspicion. Moreover, Moses, being
himself a bishop, could not have avowed such a source for all his
statements, though, as we have said, he quotes from the epics and says
that some of the contents of his work are derived from them. It is,
however, generally admitted that Moses of Khorene had in his hands such
a book as he describes and that this book was one of his sources. The
book has even been traced.
As to Mar-Abas-Katina, although his book may not have been compiled
under the circumstances described in the History, Moses may have
believed that he was the author of the book in his possession.
Professor Mar has even found, in Arabic literature, some independent
traces of Mar-Abas-Katina.
There is also some controversy about the date of Moses of Khorene
himself. By some he is placed even as late as the seventh century,
because his writings contain references to events as late as that
period.
But it is not difficult to account for this without disputing the
generally received date of the historian, for, when we consider how
many ancient books have been re-edited, we see how easily the work
before us may have been touched up by a later hand in the seventh
century. [38]
In concluding this account of Moses of Khorene, we must acknowledge
that he has not only rendered much service to Armenian history, but
that his book is one of the great works of all literature, and, if it
were better known, would take a high place among the masterpieces of
the world.
The most momentous event in the national life of Armenia—an event
which was the chief determining factor in the early history of the
country—was the change of religion made by the adoption of
Christianity, the foundation of which had been already laid by King
Abgarus (A.D. 3–34) and the preaching of the Apostles St. Thaddeus
(A.D. 33–48) and St. Bartholomew (A.D. 49), and finally established
by Tiridates (A.D. 286–342). By this the Armenians were entirely
severed from the pagan Persians and brought into close contact with the
Greeks, whose representative was then the Emperor of Byzantium. As a
result of this religious agreement, a treaty was concluded in 319
between Tiridates and Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome,
by which the two Christian monarchs bound themselves to defend each
other against all pagans.
The adoption of Christianity meant, to the Armenians, a revolution in
their whole view of life, a severance from their ancestral beliefs,
though these beliefs have left traces in Armenian folklore which are
visible even to this day. These beliefs and the folklore arising out of
them were regarded by the Christian clergy as a poisonous flower grown
up in the fields of paganism. The historians of the period have
chronicled the efforts of the clergy to exterminate every relic of the
old faith. Temples were pulled down and churches built in their stead;
images and other monuments were broken in pieces; heathen books and
records were destroyed; pagan festivals were turned into Christian
ones. We learn from Faustus of Byzantium that laws were even made
against the use and the singing of pagan songs, but, notwithstanding
this persecution, according to Faustus and other historians, the
Armenians “languished for these songs.” Even as late as the fifth
century, when there was an attempt to restore paganism in Armenia,
Vasak Suni had books of these songs copied and distributed among the
people in order to win them back to heathenism. This had the effect of
rekindling hostility against the songs, and the books were destroyed
when Christianity finally triumphed, although, as we have shown above,
echoes of the songs are to be heard as late as the eleventh century.
Gregory the Illuminator (A.D. 239–325), who converted Armenia to
Christianity, belonged to the royal race of the Arsacidae. He had
studied at Caesarea. He and his family had hellenising tendencies in
religion, education, and politics. There was a section opposed to
Hellenism which favoured Syrian ideas and, in politics, inclined to
Persia. At this early period of Christianity, the Bible was read in
Greek in the north-west provinces of Armenia, while in the south-east
provinces it was read in Syriac. During this period, schools were
established for the education of the young on Christian principles. Out
of the pupils in these schools about 100 were chosen to be sent to
educational centres abroad, where Greek learning was taught. At the
time when this contact of Armenians with Greek culture took place, the
ancient glories of Hellas were past, and Greek scholars busied
themselves chiefly with theological subtilties. Of course the main
object of educating the students from the Christian schools was to
indoctrinate them in religious lore and fit them for the priesthood,
but, nevertheless, the youths also brought away with them a tincture of
Greek culture, and this led to the rise of the Golden Age of Armenian
literature.
It was the aim of the Greek Empire at this time to make the Armenian
Church a branch of the Greek Church and to gain a political ascendency
over the Armenians, but the head of the Armenian Church and the leaders
of the intellectual movement were resolved on religious and national
independence. Towards that end two important steps were taken. In 404,
the Armenian alphabet was invented, and, in 491, the Armenian Church
was separated from the Greek Church.
The Armenian language belongs to the Indo-European group. Though it has
been regarded by some as an offshoot of the Iranic branch, recent
scholars of eminence have maintained its right to rank as a distinct
branch, intermediate between the Iranic and the European. It has a very
independent character and many peculiarities of its own; it has also
great strength and flexibility. It has a great number of roots, and is
capable of expressing ideas of all kinds and denoting fine shades of
meaning. It is read from left to right like European languages. It is
rich in particles, to which circumstance its expressiveness is partly
due. It has also a treasure of dialectic words, which have the effect
of importing vigour to Armenian speech. It is not harsh in sound, as
has been alleged by some who are imperfectly acquainted with it. Its
alphabet consists of thirty-six characters, with which it is possible
to represent every variety of sound, consisting of vowels as well as
consonants; it has no vowel points, in this respect resembling the
European, and differing from most oriental, alphabets. The spelling is
almost perfectly phonetic.
The language of the period with which we are dealing was Grabar or
Ancient Armenian, which remained the literary language till the
beginning of the nineteenth century and is still the Church language,
being used in all religious services. Modern Armenian has not departed
very widely from Grabar. During pagan times, the Armenians had an
alphabet of their own, but, on the introduction of Christianity, it was
discarded on account of its pagan origin.
The honour of being the inventor of the new Armenian alphabet belongs
to St. Mesrop (361–440), a former secretary of King Tiridates. He
found some of the ancient letters and invented others to complete the
alphabet in 404. St. Mesrop and St. Sahak (353–439) were the
forerunners of the Armenian intellectual movement, the former as the
inventor of the alphabet, the latter, together with his pupils, as the
translator of the Bible into Armenian. This translation is called
“the Queen of Translations.” The language is so simple and direct,
and, at the same time, so beautiful, that there is nothing to be
compared with it.
The Armenian translation of the Bible is the foundation-stone of
Armenian Christianity. Perhaps no translation of the Scriptures has
ever made so deep an impression on a people as this one has made on the
Armenians. By them it was taken as a symbolical history of their own
country. Did not the events recorded in the very first chapters happen
in Armenia? and also the second Creation after the Flood? Did not their
beloved mountain, Ararat, figure in the latter story? In the Bible they
found even the names of their national heroes, Haik and Vahagn, though,
as we have seen, for the latter names only the translators are
responsible. Other Bible stories resemble the records of Armenian
history. Moses led his tribe from the land of bondage into a land of
freedom, just as Haik did. All the stories of suffering under a foreign
yoke and of revolt against oppression have their parallels in the
annals of Armenia.
At the end of the fourth century (374–383), Nerses the Great was
Catholicos. During these ten years he displayed great energy. Under his
rule, many councils were held and many regulations drawn up to
safeguard the morals of the people. In addition to this, a number of
schools, hospitals, orphanages, almshouses, and other charitable
institutions arose under his supervision. A contemporary historian says
that during Nerses’ term of office, upwards of 2000 abbeys and
monasteries were built. These religious houses served as centres, not
only of religious life, but also of learning, where numerous
ecclesiastics and teachers were trained. This intellectual movement,
which was of a purely religious and educational character, not merely
lived through the political tempest of those times, but gradually grew
and progressed. In the year 400, the representative of the Arsacid
dynasty on the throne was Vramshapuh, an able monarch, who, being
himself a lover of peace, did much to encourage and foster the
intellectual movement and to keep the country free from foreign foes
and internal dissensions. King Vramshapuh reigned twenty-one years and
it was, approximately, these years that constituted what is called
“the Golden Age of Armenian literature.”
St. Sahak (353–439), who, with St. Mesrop, was the moving spirit of
the intellectual movement, was Catholicos during part of this period.
The Golden Period was of short duration, only lasting twenty-five
years, but it was rich in achievements. The students educated abroad on
their return originated a new literature, pervaded by Christian ideas.
They considered themselves as torch-bearers in the new movement, and
all their work is animated by inspiration.
This period is one of marvellous activity. The new national alphabet
had charms that wrought like magic and, coupled with the new religion
of hope, captivated all Armenian hearts. Armenians realised that it was
a religion for the people, not merely for the great and powerful. All
over Armenia national schools were opened. Nearly every book of
importance written in Greek and Syriac was translated into Armenian, as
well as some of the Latin authors. Translation was a recognised
profession, and “translator” was a title of honour, like the
European “doctor.” There are upwards of fifty chronicles and
histories written in ancient Armenian, which is richer in literature
than the Greek of the same period, and the Armenian language is so
flexible and so well adapted to the exact rendering of every kind of
literature that if, for instance, the Anabasis of Xenophon were lost,
it might be reproduced in Greek, almost word for word, from the
Armenian version. Among the writings which now survive only in
Armenian, the originals having been lost, are the Homilies of St. John
Chrysostom, two works of Philo on Providence, together with some of his
Biblical commentaries, the Chronicle of Eusebius, the works of St.
Ephrem and others.
Besides translations, Armenia produced, during the period with which we
are concerned, original works, chiefly of an historical character.
These give very succinct accounts of the Persian and Mongol invasions,
and throw fresh light on the state of the East during the Middle Ages.
As these works lie outside our present subject, we cannot here even
name their authors. Those who wish to investigate them are referred to
what we have written elsewhere. [39]
What is most remarkable is that, at the very beginning of the
intellectual movement, when the alphabet had just been formed, the
literary language is so highly developed, so rich and subtle, that it
is more like a language which is the product of centuries of culture.
This very fact shows that culture was no novelty in Armenia. The new
movement only introduced a fresh era in Armenian civilisation.
Twenty-five years after the introduction of the Armenian alphabet, the
Arsacid dynasty fell (428), the last king being Artashir III. From this
time the Armenians have ceased to be politically independent.
From 432 onwards, the greater part of Armenia was governed by Persian
satraps. The Persians regarded with great apprehension the adoption of
Christianity in Armenia, as this caused the Armenians to enter into
closer relations with the Greeks. As a matter of fact, at the end of
the fourth century, the Greeks came to aid the Armenians in driving
away the Persians. It was the aim of the Persians to eradicate
Christianity from Armenia. In order to further this object, they
declared war on the Greek Empire. The latter, instead of fighting, made
peace with the Persians, accepting very humiliating terms. The
Armenians were left to their fate, but, nevertheless, they resolved to
stand up for their religion against the Persian monarch, who led a
great army against them with the intention of enforcing Zoroastrianism.
At this time there was no Armenian king. The majority of the remaining
princes and nobles, however, formed a regular army, the people gladly
serving as volunteers, though there was a very small party, led by
Prince Vasak Suni, that were inclined, for political reasons, to
entertain the Persian proposals.
All this took place between 449 and 454. The first religious war (451)
is known as Vardanantz, because Vardan Manikomian, who was the
commander-in-chief of the Armenian army of defence, was the moving
spirit in the struggle of Armenian Christianity against the religion of
Persia. He fell in the battle of Avarair, but his fame survived him and
he is the most beloved of Armenian heroes.
This war, though it crushed the hopes in which the Armenians had
indulged themselves of regaining their political independence,
nevertheless convinced the Persians of the impossibility of uprooting a
religion which was so firmly implanted in the hearts of the people.
The first religious war was followed by a second, in which the Armenian
princes offered a valiant resistance and the Persians were obliged to
give way. The leader of the resisting princes was appointed satrap by
the Persians. Thus Armenia won back partial independence, the Persians
themselves appointing an Armenian satrap and proclaiming religious
liberty. The Chief of the Magi, who was sent to convert the Armenians
to Mazdiism, returned unsuccessful and reported to the Persian king:
“Even if the immortals themselves came to our aid, it would be
impossible to establish Mazdiism in Armenia.” Although Vardan and his
followers perished in this war, and although the Armenians, apparently,
lost the battle, the struggle resulted in the triumph of the ideal for
which Armenia was struggling—that of religious freedom. This the
Persians realised and never, after this time, did they make any attempt
to force the Armenians to change their faith. Neither did any of the
various Mohammedan conquerors venture on any steps towards bringing
about the conversion of the whole Armenian nation, though they have
enforced conformity on a small scale; they have had to content
themselves with political supremacy. The Mohammedan world has realised
that Christianity is a great power in Armenia, and this is the reason
why the religious heads of the nation—the Catholicos and the
patriarchs—meet with great consideration, not only from the
governments of Christian states, but also from Mohammedan powers; both
by Christian and by Mohammedan countries which have rule over Armenia
these dignitaries are recognised as representatives of their country,
not only in religious, but also in secular affairs. Thus the Christian
National Church has been one of the chief factors of the unity and the
national consciousness which exists among Armenians even up to the
present day, and this is the reason why the battle of Vardan is
regarded as a national triumph and is still annually commemorated. [40]
When Armenia had ceased to be an independent state, its literature
became more religious, as the clergy were anxious to foster devotion.
Christianity introduced a new kind of poetry, namely, Church hymns and
chants. These were called, in Armenian, sharakans. They were not only
written in metre, but they were composed with a view to being sung. The
word sharakan means a “row of gems.” Historians of the Middle Ages
say that the sharakans were mainly written by the “translators,”
i.e., by writers of the fourth and fifth centuries. As a matter of
fact, very few sharakans were written after the thirteenth century.
Since then, no prayers or hymns have been introduced into the Armenian
Church.
It is said by writers of the Middle Ages that St. Sahak arranged the
sharakans for ten voices and St. Stephanos for twenty-six voices,
corresponding to created things—elements, plants, birds, and animals.
There were also women sharakan writers. One of these was Sahakadukht,
who lived in the eighth century. She not only wrote, but also composed
music, and taught singing. Out of modesty, she used to hide behind a
curtain, whence she gave instruction to both sexes. An historian of the
time, Ghevond Eretz, says of her sharakans: “They were angelic songs
on earth.” Singing was considered a great art in Armenia, and
musicians were called “philosophers.” Several of such
“philosophers” were canonised and had the word “philosopher”
prefixed to their names. The fame of some of these musicians spread to
foreign lands. This explains the fact that, when Catholicos Petros
Getadardz went to Constantinople, he took with him a company of
musicians, whom he presented, as a gift, for the service of the
Byzantine court.
There was a revival of sharakan-writing in the thirteenth century,
which was a flourishing literary period. It was during this time that
Bishop Khachatour Tarinetzi invented distinctively Armenian musical
notes, which are quite unrelated to European ones, so that the
Armenians had now, not only an alphabet of their own, but also their
own musical notation, and their hymns could be set to music. This
notation was improved in the eighteenth century.
Armenian hymns are written in a style which is not only picturesque,
but which also has a charm of its own; its colours are very rich; the
pictures it conjures up are vivid. When one remembers that many of them
were written when national life and death were hanging in the balance,
because of foreign oppression, at a time when they had no one to turn
to but the Creator, we understand how it is that so much tenderness,
hope, and devotion are embodied in these “rows of gems,” nor can
one help thinking that Armenian is the natural language for religious
poems. A vein of mysticism runs through many of these hymns, especially
through those written by Gregory of Narek (951–1009), one example of
which—“The Christ-Child”—appears on page 113 of this volume.
But this mysticism is not obscure; on the contrary, it is to the hymn
what light and shade are to a picture serving to bring it into touch
with nature.
Hymns have always been popular among the Armenians. Even peasants know
them by heart and sing them. The hymn tunes are unique, being entirely
independent of those of other Christian nations. Their somewhat strange
rhythm recalls the chorus of singers round the altars of the pagan
gods. No doubt some pagan melodies have found their way into the
Christian hymn tunes of Armenia.
The Armenians are rich in folksongs. The music to which these songs are
set possesses great charm. In it, also, the rhythm is most important.
An Armenian composer, speaking of these folksongs, says:—
“By means of those ethereal and heavenly waves of melody one sees
enchanting mermaids who, after dancing on the banks of large and small
lakes and poising themselves on the waters, allure towards themselves
the pagan Armenians, offering love kisses to all minstrels.”
In later years Armenian music and poetry were affected by European
influence, but in her hymns and folksongs she has musical treasures
that are all her own.
Side by side with the written literature of this period, the unwritten
literature continued to grow. The latter consists mainly of folktales,
fables, and proverbs.
It is easy to distinguish a Christian folktale from a pagan one by the
different ideals embodied in it. Some of the folktales of this period
have arisen out of historical events.
In the folktales, it is the youngest child that is the hero or heroine.
These stories express the people’s outlook on life and are the
product of their experiences, which have been handed down from
generation to generation.
There is a great deal of folklore current in Armenia, some of which has
been collected and published.
Grigor Magistros says that, in his time, unwritten fables in rhyme were
very popular.
There are also many Armenian proverbs. It seems to have been a custom
in ancient times—and the usage is still retained in some places—for
a man to go and meet the girl he wishes to marry on the banks of a
stream or in a forest and to ask her a riddle. If she gives the correct
answer to the riddle, he marries her.
Here are a few of the riddles used on these occasions:—
“What paper is it that you cannot write on? and what sort of pen can
write on this paper?”
A maiden who desires to marry the man should answer:—
“The heart is the paper on which no pen can write; language is the
pen that writes on the heart.”
“What rose is it that opens in the winter and in due time fades and
is gone?”
Answer: “Snow is the rose that opens in the winter; when summer
comes, it fades and is gone.”
“The brother chases the sister, the sister the brother, but neither
can catch the other.”
Answer: “The sun and the moon.”
There is another usage, belonging especially to young girls, which has
given rise to an extensive literature. This literature consists of
charm-verses, which are used for fortune-telling. A selection of these
is given on pages 67–68.
Once a year, on the Eve of Ascension Day, young maidens who want their
fortunes told decorate a bowl with certain specially selected flowers.
Into this bowl each girl casts a token—a ring, a brooch, a thimble.
After filling the bowl with flowers of seven different kinds, and water
drawn from seven springs, they cover it with an embroidered cloth and
take it by night to the priest, who says a prayer over it. They then
put it out in the moonlight, open to the stars, leaving it till dawn.
Next morning, at daybreak, furnished with provisions for the whole day,
they go out of the village carrying the bowl, to the side of a spring,
to the foot of a mountain, or into an open field, gathering, on the
way, various kinds of flowers, with which they deck themselves. Arrived
at their destination, they first play games, dance, and sing, then they
take a beautiful little girl, too young to tell where the sun rises,
who has been previously chosen for their purpose and gaily dressed for
the occasion, and who does not know to whom each token belongs, and
cover her face with a richly wrought veil, so that she may not see what
is in the bowl. The child draws the articles out of the bowl, one by
one, and holds each in her hand. While she does this, one of the party
recites a charm-song, and the owner of each token takes the song which
accompanies it as her fortune.
There are thousands of these charm-songs. In form they are very simple.
Sometimes two consecutive lines deal with quite distinct subjects,
though they rhyme together and their construction is the same. Each is
a perfect poem.
After the end of the Arsacid dynasty, Armenia remained under the rule
of Persia for two hundred years. During this period, sometimes the
whole country fell temporarily into the hands of the Greeks; on other
occasions the same fate befell a few provinces. Speaking generally,
after the fall of the Arsacidae, the eastern—and more
extensive—part of Armenia remained under Persian rule, and the
western—and smaller—part came under Greek dominion. The Greeks and
the Persians were continually fighting with one another for the
possession of the whole country. Armenia was the battlefield, and the
sufferer was always the Armenian people. After the Arabs had embraced
Mohammedanism, they formed a powerful empire, conquering Mesopotamia
and then passing on to Persia. They forced the Persians to become
Mohammedans, and in 640 entered Armenia. Eastern Armenia, which was
then in the hands of the Persians, fell into their possession.
The Greeks greatly dreaded the taking of Armenia by the Arabs, as it
formed a strong barrier against the assault of the Greek colonies in
Asia Minor. Therefore, as they had before fought in Armenia against the
Persians, so they now proceeded to fight against the Arabs; and again
Armenia was the battlefield and the sufferers were the Armenians. The
Greeks came from time to time demanding tribute of them, and if their
demand were resisted, the people were plundered and slaughtered. On the
departure of the Greek army, the Arabs came, making the same demand.
Thus, during the first two hundred years following the fall of the
Arsacidae, the Armenians were between the two fires of the Persians and
the Greeks, and then for another two hundred years between the two
fires of the Greeks and the Arabs. During this period, the Armenian
princes offered resistance from time to time and succeeded in regaining
independence for short intervals. The governors set by the Arabs over
Armenia were in the habit of persecuting the native princes, to prevent
them from organising revolts. Of these governors, the most bloodthirsty
were Kashm and Bugha. The former cunningly invited all the Armenian
princes to the town of Nakhejevan, where they assembled in the church;
whereupon, by order of the government, the church was surrounded by
piles of wood and set on fire, and the princes burnt alive (704). The
army was then set to plunder and slaughter the Armenians and burn the
towns and villages, as the people, deprived of their princes, could
offer no resistance. Many were exiled to the Arab capital, Damascus.
Bugha (850) surpassed even Kashm in his cruelty, but we need not
chronicle his atrocities here. Under such governors as these, the
tribute and the taxes were enormous, and the people became very poor.
There were, however, also good governors, during whose rule the people
were free from oppression and were allowed to pursue their peaceful
occupations.
But gradually the power of the Arabs declined.
The Armenians took advantage of the weakening of the Arab power to form
independent kingdoms. One of the principal noble families during the
period of Arab dominion was that of the Bagratuni. This family was rich
and powerful and had much land in its possession. Under the Arsacidae,
the head of this family was hereditary “coronator” (i.e., he had
the privilege of putting the crown on the king’s head, on the
occasion of a new sovereign). During the rule of the Arabs, the command
of the Armenian army was given to this family. The Bagratuni, though
extremely courageous and patriotic, were also cautious and tactful in
their relations with the Arabs, whom they served faithfully, thus
gaining the respect of the Khalifs. As they also won the love and
esteem of their own countrymen by rebuilding and restoring what the
Arabs had destroyed, they were able to act as mediators between the
Khalifs and the Armenian people. In wars against the enemies of the
Arabs, members of this family had many successes. Once a Persian prince
revolted against the Khalif and a Persian army of 80,000 marched into
Armenia. The Arabs were too weak to make any resistance, but Ashot
Bagratuni with his troops defeated the invaders. After the victory, the
Khalif of Bagdad sent a crown to Ashot, thus making him a king,
thinking, “He is so powerful that, if I do not give him a crown, he
will seize one for himself.”
Thus in 885 Ashot became the first king of the Bagratuni dynasty. The
Greek emperor, Basil I., also sent a crown to Ashot, with a view to
gaining the friendship and influence of Armenia. During the dominion of
the Bagratuni, the régime of the Arsacidae was restored and the
country prospered. Ani, which was the seat of government during the
greater part of this period, though formerly it was little more than a
fortress, became one of the most flourishing cities of the time. It was
full of fine edifices—churches, palaces, museums, etc.—and was
called “the city of a thousand and one churches.” Its fame even
spread to foreign lands.
There were several other noble Armenian families with ambitions. In 908
one of these—the Ardzruni family—made the lands they held into a
kingdom, called Vaspurakan, with Van as a capital city. In taking this
step they were encouraged by the Arabs, who were watching with alarm
the growing power of the Bagratuni.
In 908 another Armenian kingdom was set up with Kars as its capital.
Ashot III., who was then the king of the Bagratuni dynasty, was quite
aware that the Arabs were encouraging the formation of small Armenian
kingdoms, but he offered no opposition, leaving his rivals alone to
serve the people each in his own way.
This Ashot was one of the greatest sovereigns of this dynasty. He was
called “Ashot the Compassionate” because of his love of the people
and his numerous charitable provisions for their benefit. It was said
that he would never dine without sending for some beggars out of the
street to share the meal with him.
The most renowned as well as the wisest and most powerful king of this
dynasty was Gagik I. (990–1020), under whom the country enjoyed its
period of greatest prosperity.
The danger of the Arabs was past, but now a new peril threatened the
East, that of the Seljukian Turks, who came from Central Asia in search
of a new country. Persia and Mesopotamia fell before them and they
entered Armenia. Several of the Armenian princes offered them stout
resistance with some success, but, fearing that this success was only
temporary, others transferred themselves and their subjects to more
secure parts of the country.
The Seljuks conquered Persia and established a Persian kingdom of their
own, but the new Persia was no longer Zoroastrian, but Mohammedan.
Armenia again became a battlefield. The Greeks also claimed the city of
Ani, and this led to many conflicts in which the Armenians made a brave
defence. The town, however, fell through treachery and the Greeks
devastated some parts of the country, treating the inhabitants no
better than the Arabs and the Seljuks had done. In order to weaken the
power of Armenia, they also made attempts to exterminate the native
princes and nobles.
About the same time, the Seljuks again invaded Armenia and completed
the desolation which the Greeks had begun. They wrought great
destruction in Ani.
The last king of the Bagratuni dynasty was unable to re-establish his
kingdom and was killed by the Greeks. His two sons and his grandson
were poisoned. So ended the race of the Bagratuni whose dynasty had
lasted 160 years.
During the rule of this house, the country had a period of rest and the
energies of the people were directed to the restoration and development
of the country. The ruined monasteries and churches were rebuilt,
schools were again established; commerce, arts, and handicrafts throve.
This was a particularly flourishing time for the national architecture,
which now assumed a new character. Most of the Armenian abbeys and
churches were built during this time, and as these places had always
been seats of learning, alternative erudition revived, original writing
and the transcription of manuscripts going on briskly within the
convent walls. The literature of this period is chiefly of a religious
character. In it we see traces of Arabic influence—the influence of
the eighth century, when Arabic literature was at its zenith. The chief
debt of Armenian literature to the Arabs is the introduction of rhyme,
which is first found in Armenian verse in the eleventh century.
In dealing with this period, as we are only concerned with Armenian
poetry, we must leave unmentioned the historians and other famous prose
writers.
The most remarkable Armenian poet under the Bagratuni dynasty was
Grigor Narekatzi (951–1009), who has been called the Pindar of
Armenia and has also been canonised as a saint. From his pen came
elegies, odes, panegyrics, and homilies. His sacred elegies
(ninety-five in number) are elevated in style, showing Arabian
influence, and very pure in sentiment. His canticles and melodies are
still chanted in the Armenian Church. Verbosity is a characteristic of
his work; in one passage the word “God” is accompanied by ninety
adjectives.
He was greatly loved and revered by the people, but he aroused jealousy
in some of his ecclesiastical colleagues. On one occasion, they went to
the Catholicos with accusations against him. The Catholicos appointed
priests to investigate the case. These priests repaired to the abbey
where Grigor Narekatzi was, arriving about dinner time on a Friday. To
their surprise they found roast pigeons on the table, and reminded
Grigor that it was fast-day, whereupon the latter said, addressing
himself to the pigeons: “If that be so, off with you!” and the
roasted birds took to themselves wings and flew away. The astonished
investigators, without going into the case, turned back and reported
the miracle to the Catholicos. Of course this is an extravagant legend,
but it shows the high estimation in which Grigor Narekatzi was held by
his contemporaries.
The greatest work of this writer and the one on which his fame rests is
Narek. It is divided into ninety-five chapters, and is a tragic
devotional monologue composed of poetical prayers. Here the author
reveals his heart and soul in converse with God. Hope, fear, love,
faith, repentance, entreaty, aspiration, breathe as if mingled with
tears in fine and noble lines and periods. There is a copious stream of
epithets, a flood of rhetoric, an unfailing flow of ideas. With all
this wealth of diction, this work is sincere and strikingly original,
and gives evidence of the author’s high-soaring imagination. He
begins with an address to God, in which he represents himself as one of
the vilest of creatures, saying that, if all the trees in all the
forests of the world were pens and all the seas ink, they would not
suffice to write down his sins, but towards even such sinfulness as
this the mercy of God is great, and the Creator is so powerful that it
will be possible for Him to bleach the sins as white as snow.
This work gives evidence that its author had, on the one hand, great
love of God and a firm faith, and on the other hand a vivid imagination
and poetic fire. All this he has worded together with great skill.
Narek is a mingling of prose and verse. It begins in prose and then
breaks into verse, then again, after continuing to some length, returns
to prose, and so on. It was printed for the first time in 1673 at
Constantinople; in all thirty editions have been published in different
places. It stands by itself, being the only long mystic work in
Armenian literature, mysticism being quite alien to the typical
Armenian mind. Even the mysticism of Narek and a few other works of the
same period has its own peculiarities. It is not so obscure as ordinary
mysticism, partaking, rather, of the nature of allegory.
Notwithstanding its unusual character, Narek was formerly regarded with
veneration little short of that accorded to the Bible itself. Within
recent times superstitious people ascribed to it miraculous medical
qualities, believing that if certain chapters were read over a patient
he would be cured. It was also believed that if any one read certain
chapters—forty in number—with concentrated attention, banishing
thought of everything else, he would have the power of controlling
devils, but this it is said is very difficult and even dangerous,
because while the reading is going on, evil spirits come and try to
distract the mind of the reader, annoying, terrifying, and even
torturing him; if his attention wanders, he may become possessed. All
this shows the value and importance that were attached to Narek. At the
end of this work, the author states that he finished writing it in the
year 1001–2. Gregory of Narek also wrote several songs. Some of his
prayers and sharakans are used in the church services. Another great
writer of this period was Grigor Magistros (—— -1058) who produced
poetry of some value. He was of princely lineage and, unlike the
Armenian authors who were his predecessors or contemporaries, he was a
layman. He gained reputation as a linguist, a scholar, and a writer,
and was one of the greatest politicians of his time. He received the
title of “duke” from the Greek emperors Constantine and Monomachus.
Early in life he gave up politics and retired to his estate, where he
devoted himself to literary pursuits. He wrote both poetry and prose.
His chief poetical work is a long metrical narration (a thousand lines
in extent) of the principal events recorded in the Bible, from the
Creation to the Resurrection of Christ. The author states that this
work was written in three days at the request of a Mohammedan noble who
wished to make acquaintance with the Christian Scriptures and who,
after reading the poem, became converted to Christianity. Grigor
Magistros was almost the first poet to adopt the use of rhyme,
introduced into Armenia by the Arabs. In his work Grigor Magistros
tells some interesting stories which he has learnt from the peasants.
One is the following. The lark, fearing that heaven would fall down,
lay on her back, stretching up her feet towards the sky, thinking she
would thus prevent the catastrophe. Some laughed at her and said,
“With your spindle legs, you want to become a tree, O bird, with a
mind capacious as the sea.” The lark replied, “I am doing what I
can.”
At the end of the eleventh century, chronicles and histories were
written in ancient Armenian (Grabar), but there was also a language of
the people, in which books for popular use, such as collections of
medical recipes, began to be written at this period, as well as songs.
When the country again lost its independence many migrations took
place. It was not only peasants and citizens who migrated; some of the
nobles also sought more secure dwelling places in mountainous
districts. The majority of these settled in the region of the Taurus
Mountains, and there the emigrants multiplied to such an extent that
they equalled the Greeks in number. In their new home they built many
churches and abbeys, where they educated the boys of the settlement.
Soon they established a number of villages and small towns, and the
princes set up fortresses. The Byzantine emperors rather encouraged
this progress, as they thought that the existence of small
buffer-states on their frontier would serve as a barrier against the
attacks of Mohammedan countries. One of these princes, Rubin by name,
established himself there in 1080. He chose an impregnable stronghold,
and the Armenians of the neighbourhood came and put themselves under
his protection. Other Armenian princes, settled in the surrounding
districts, adopted him as their chief. Having concentrated and
strengthened his power, he ruled his little realm—which was called,
after him, the Rubinian Principality—with great wisdom for fifteen
years. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine, in 1095. Constantine
extended his dominions by taking some almost impregnable fortresses
from the Greeks. During his reign many Europeans began to come, with
their armies, to the East. They wore the badge of the cross on their
arms, and were therefore called “Crusaders.” They cleared Palestine
and Syria of Mohammedans and set up new Christian principalities in
those countries. The Armenians called these strangers “Latins”
because they were all Catholics of the Roman Church. Constantine
rendered great services to the Crusaders by furnishing them with
guides, providing them with provisions, etc., and the European princes,
as an acknowledgment, conferred on him the title of “marquis.”
The successors of Constantine extended still further the boundaries of
the principality. After gaining possession of the mountains and
strongholds, they came to the plains of Cilicia and imposed their rule
as far as the sea-coast. At this time the Byzantine Empire was very
weak, and the Mohammedan Seljuks and Arabs were not very strong, as
they had become divided among themselves and were engaged in strife
with one another. The Crusaders had also formed new Christian
principalities in those regions, so that the Rubinians had no fears
either of Mohammedans or of any other foe. Precisely one hundred years
after the accession of Rubin I., the Armenians possessed the extensive
reach of territory between the Taurus Range and the sea, where they had
built many fortresses, towns, and even ports.
Leo II. (1185) succeeded in repelling the attacks of the Sultan of
Damascus and other Mohammedan rulers, even taking some towns from them.
During this period, Saladin, Sultan of Egypt, taking advantage of
dissension among the crusading princes, attacked them, and took
Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine (1187).
Then a new Crusade was started, led by the German Emperor Frederick
Barbarossa. This monarch sent emissaries to Leo, asking his help
against the Mohammedans, promising him a crown as a reward. Leo
supplied the Crusaders with provisions and rendered them other
assistance. Barbarossa died without fulfilling his promise, but the
crown was sent by his successor, Henry VI., after consultation with the
Pope of Rome. Leo was crowned king in 1198. The following year, the new
Armenian king also obtained recognition from the Byzantine Emperor, who
sent him a crown. Leo still further extended his dominions and put the
whole kingdom into excellent condition. He did not, like the
Bagratunis, re-establish the régime of the Arsacidae, but tried to
imitate European institutions, inviting many French, English, and
German experts to his kingdom, giving them appointments in the court,
the army, and the council. Many new schools were opened in this reign
in which the teaching was entrusted to learned Europeans as well as to
Armenians.
Arts and handicrafts, commerce and agriculture also flourished under
this king. Leo died in 1219 after a reign of thirty-four years. For his
great services to his people, he was called “Leo the Benefactor.”
It was under the rule of this king that Armenia entered into close
relations with Europe. Just as the Zoroastrian Persians and afterwards
the Greeks had inflicted all kinds of persecutions on the Armenians in
order to convert them to their religions, so also in the reign of Leo
II. and for many years afterwards the popes of Rome did everything
possible to make the Armenians join their Church. The popes promised
the Armenians help against the Mohammedans, they even offered to
organise a Crusade, but the first condition was that the Armenians
should become Catholics. When the Armenians did not accept these
advances, a number of Catholic priests came to Armenia and tried to
convert them. These priests were called “Unitors.” At this time the
Tartars (who were heathens) became very strong and conquered Persia.
The Armenian king when this conquest took place was Hetum. This king,
though he maintained friendly relations with the courts of Europe,
attached little weight to promises emanating from these quarters; he
therefore formed an alliance with the Tartars against the Mohammedans.
He tried to indoctrinate his new allies in Christian ideas and almost
effected their conversion to Christianity. That he did not quite gain
his object is due to external causes. Hetum, in conjunction with the
Tartars, fought successfully against many Mohammedan sultans, but the
Egyptian mamelukes grew strong and the Tartars became Mohammedans
(1302), whereupon enmity arose between them and the Armenians. Three
Mohammedan races—Seljuks, Tartars, and mamelukes—one after another
attacked Cilicia, devastating the country and plundering many towns.
The Armenians asked assistance from the Pope and from European kings;
help was promised from France, but it never came, so the Tartars
conquered Cilicia and slew its king, who, however, was avenged by his
youngest brother, Ashin, who collected an army and drove the Tartars
out of the country (1308).
The Mohammedan kingdoms became very powerful at this time. The
mamelukes dominated, besides Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, and Syria as far
as the Euphrates.
The common aim of all the Mohammedan governments was to destroy the
independent kingdom of Armenia, because it was the only Christian state
in Asia that was capable of rendering assistance to European sovereigns
should any of them enter on a new Crusade in order to gain possession
of the Holy Sepulchre. When the mamelukes heard that the European
states were planning a new Crusade, they formed an alliance with the
Tartars and the Sultan of Iconia and devastated Cilicia. But the
Armenians made a brave defence and the mamelukes granted a peace for
fifteen years. By this peace it was agreed that the King of Armenia
should pay a certain amount of tribute and the mamelukes should restore
the places they had taken. Again there was talk of a Crusade, and the
Sultan of Egypt again attacked Cilicia. Leo V. (King of Armenia) asked
for help from Europe, but the only assistance given was 10,000 florins
sent by the King of France and a few sacks of corn from the Pope. This
was not what the Armenians wanted; in fact they were again left to
their fate. The Mohammedan sultan offered to restore Leo’s kingdom if
he would swear on the Cross and the Gospels that he would have no
dealings with the Crusaders. Leo V. died in 1341, and as he had no
children the throne passed to the Lusignan dynasty.
There were only four kings of this dynasty: the last king was Leo VI.
(1365–1375). He was taken prisoner when the sultan invaded and
devastated Cilicia. Thus ended the kingdom of Armenia. After a few
years, through the mediation of John, King of Castille, Leo was set at
liberty. He came to Europe to ask for help in regaining his kingdom.
There was a talk of a Crusade specially on behalf of the Armenians, but
it never went beyond the stage of promises, and the last King of
Armenia died in Paris in 1393 and is buried there in the Abbey of St.
Celestin.
We have spoken mostly of Cilicia during this period. If we wish to
complete the picture of the devastation of Armenia, we must name
Zenghis Khan, Tamerlane (1387), and other enemies of the human race,
but we will not enter into particulars of their work of desolation.
The period whose history we have sketched (twelfth to fourteenth
centuries), especially the two former centuries, is called the Silver
Age of Armenian literature. The independence of Armenia gave a
breathing space which facilitated the production of literary works.
This is the period of the revival of learning and also the period when
Armenia came in contact with the countries of Western Europe and became
acquainted with Western civilisation.
Catholicos Nerses, surnamed “the Gracious,” is the most brilliant
author of the beginning of this period (1100–1173). He was the
great-grandchild of Grigor Magistros, and his brother Grigorios was
Catholicos before him. His songs and sharakans are greatly loved by the
people and some of the latter are sung in the churches. He was
canonised as a saint. Nerses was the first Armenian to write very long
poems. He followed his great-grandfather in using rhyme. There is a
great variety of metre in his works. As a rule his long poems are
written in eight-feet lines, the same rhyme being employed nearly
throughout the poem. This practice he abandoned in certain cases for,
as he himself remarks, “it might tire the reader”! He has also
poems written in couplets of short lines, which are the most musical
and successful of his works. Some of his poems have peculiarities of
their own. He sometimes begins the lines of the first stanza with A,
those of the next with B, and so on in alphabetical order, or he uses
the same letter for the beginning of the first line and the conclusion
of the last. He also sometimes makes metrical acrostics of his own
name. Of course these contrivances were in common use in his time.
Sometimes he makes acrostics of the titles or names in dedications of
his poems. But these artificialities do not spoil the poem or give the
impression of a tour de force, in fact they are so unobtrusive that
they might easily escape the reader’s notice. In all he has written
15,000 lines.
One of his long poems entitled Jesus the Son consists of 4000
eight-feet lines. These lines, with very few exceptions, end with the
Armenian syllable -in. Some of the songs in this poem are very
beautiful and are sung in churches.
Another of his long poems is an elegy on the Fall of Edessa which was
taken from the Crusaders by the Turks in 1144. This is an allegory: the
town itself recounts its misfortunes and addresses itself to other
cities of the world, to the mountains, to the seas, and begs them not
to judge her by what she is in her present condition, but assures them
that she was once a crown bearer and in a most happy state, but now she
is in mourning, and misfortune has befallen her. As Nerses was a
contemporary of the event which forms the subject of the poem, the
latter has an historical value, being a first-hand source of
information relating to the times of the Crusaders.
Nerses also wrote a long poem narrating the history of Armenia from the
days of Haik up to his own time. Leo III., one hundred and fifty years
after the poet’s death, asked the bishop Vahram Rabun to continue the
poem from the death of Nerses to his own time (1275), thus giving the
annals of the Rubinian dynasty. In writing this sequel, in 1500 lines,
he said: “It is a bold act to continue the work of Nerses the
Gracious,” but he adds that, knowing that with gold thread embroidery
black threads are sometimes introduced, he consented to undertake the
labour.
It is not within our province here to describe the great work achieved
by Nerses in other directions, but he was much beloved by his people
and has left an immortal name as the greatest personality of his age.
We only here record one incident to show the breadth of his ideas. In
the town of Edessa pestilence was raging and sufferers from the disease
were taken out of the town and segregated. It was considered hopeless
to cure them, as it was believed that the disease came as a punishment
from God. Nerses sent out an epistle to the plague-stricken people,
offering them consolation, saying that, in compensation for their
suffering, they would receive eternal bliss. In this letter, he
declares that the disease was not sent from Heaven as a punishment and
people should not avoid the sick; on the contrary, it was their duty to
care for their brethren when they were in distress, and he assured them
that, with patience and right treatment, it was possible to get rid of
the disease.
This counsel made an immense impression on the people, as they had the
word of the Catholicos that this was not a heaven-sent chastisement;
they nursed the patients and in a short time the pestilence was stayed.
This idea of Nerses, though it is now commonly held, was very
remarkable in the age in which he lived. Nerses the Gracious is
considered the Fénelon of Armenia. Some of his elegies are perfect
gems of poetic art. One of his prayers is divided into twenty-four
verses, according to the twenty-four hours, one verse to be used each
hour, but, seeing that this is sometimes impracticable, he says that it
might be read in three portions of light verses in the morning, at
noon, and at night. If this division is also impossible, he recommends
that it should be read in two portions, in the morning and evening.
This prayer has been translated into thirty-six languages, of which
English is one.
An example of the work of Nerses the Gracious, entitled “The Arrival
of the Crusaders,” is given in this volume on page 58.
This is hardly a representative poem and is not the best specimen of
the author’s work. It was inserted because of the interest of the
Crusades for Europeans. The gems of his work may be found among the
sharakans, which we can say without hesitation will bear comparison
with any work of this class in any language of the world.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to do justice to these hymns in a
translation. Nerses also wrote verses for children, and riddles, both
in the vernacular.
In general, his language is simple and expressive. He also composed
short fables, according to a contemporary historian; some of these were
recited at weddings and other festivals.
Mkhitar Gosh was the author of one hundred and fifty fables, marked by
good taste, purity, and elegance. He died in 1213. He is called the
Aesop of Armenia.
The following is a specimen of Mkhitar Gosh’s fables: The owl sent
matchmakers to the eagle, asking his daughter in marriage, in these
terms: “You are the ruler of the day; I am the ruler of the night. It
will be better for us to form an alliance by marriage.”
The proposal was accepted.
After the wedding, the bridegroom could not see by day and the bride
could not see by night. Therefore the falcons ridiculed them, and their
marriage was unhappy.
This fable is meant as a warning against marriages between Christians
and pagans.
Many of Mkhitar Gosh’s fables are very original and have a charm of
their own.
Another famous fabulist was Vardan Aigektzi. His collection of fables
is called The Book of the Fox. Several additions have been made to this
work by later hands, so that the book has no uniformity of style and
some fables in the collection are childish and trivial.
This is one of the fables in this book:
Mankind is like three fools. The first went to the tops of the
mountains trying to catch a wind, and take it home, but though he tried
a hundred years he never caught a wind that was as big as a drop of
rain. The second, taking with him a number of servants and a great deal
of money, sat down by the side of a river, trying to use its waters as
a tablet on which to inscribe an elegy, but he could not form a word or
trace a letter, though he laboured for a hundred years. The third tried
to surpass the others by undertaking two enterprises at once. He had a
huge bow made with arrows to match, and tried by night to shoot at the
stars and other heavenly bodies and bring them home, that he alone
might have light, but he could not catch a spark. Besides this, during
the day he ran after his own shadow, but never caught it, though he
tried for a hundred years.
The moral of this fable is the futility of human life and human
endeavour. “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
Moses Kaghankatvatzi (seventh century) mentions in his history some
interesting fables. In one of them, which arose when there was a great
famine in the land, the story is put into the mouth of a
personification of the grain millet, whose narrative is to this
effect:—
“I, Millet, was lying in an unknown place in the village of Kaku, in
the province of Shakashen. All the purchasers treated me with contempt
and rejected me. Then came my brother, Famine, and dominated the land.
From that day I went and sat on the tables of the King and the
Catholicos.”
Armenian apologues and proverbial sayings are worthy of attention. Here
are a few characteristic specimens; some of these are rhymed in the
original, in others the contrasted words rhyme:—
One fool threw a stone into a well; forty wise men were unable to get
it out.
He crossed the sea safely, and was drowned in a brook.
They were reading the Gospel over the wolf’s head. He said: “Hurry
up! The sheep will get past.”
They asked the partridge: “Why are your feet red?” “From the
cold,” he replied. “We have seen you in the summer as well,” they
rejoined.
Are you the corn of the upper field? (Who are you that you should be
set above others?)
A black cat has passed between them. (Referring to friends who have
quarrelled.)
Whenever you touch a stone, may it become gold! (A blessing.)
The donkey began its tricks on the bridge.
Light for others, fire for the house. (A saint abroad, a devil at
home.)
The black donkey is tied up at the gate. (A worthless thing is always
at hand.)
Here is a riddle by Nerses Shnorhali:—
I saw an outspread white tent, wherein black hens were perched, that
laid eggs of various kinds and spoke in human language. (A book.)
Between the end of the thirteenth century and the beginning of the
fourteenth lived, almost contemporaneously, three great poets, all
ecclesiastics:—Constantine Erzingatzi, Hovhannes Erzingatzi, and
Frik, who were almost the last singers of the dying Armenian kingdom.
The first of these, Constantine Erzingatzi, was born about 1250–1260
in Erzingan. From early youth he showed poetic talent and gained favour
from the people, but incurred the jealousy of his own associates. In
one of his poems he says he cannot tell why his enemies hate him and
expresses a desire to know their reason. Erzingatzi had a friend, a
certain Amir Tol, who lived in Tabriz. Erzingatzi used to send his
poems, as he wrote them, to this friend, who entered them in a book.
The poems in this collection number twenty-two. The manuscript is
preserved in the library of St. Lazare, Venice. The themes of
Erzingatzi’s poems are—among other things—the love of the rose
and the nightingale, the beauty of nature, the wedding of the flowers,
spring, dawn, and morning. In his love poems, he throws over his
emotions a mystic veil of celestial hue, and some of his lines rise to
a higher level than ordinary amorous verse. For him, love and beauty
are one and the same. He says that one who is without love has no sense
of beauty. He calls his lady-love a breeze of spring, and himself a
thirsty flower, but a flower on which only a hot southern blast is ever
blowing, so that his love-thirst continually endures. He likens his
mistress to the radiant heavenly bodies—the sun, moon, and
stars—but her light is stronger than that of all other luminaries,
for it alone can illumine his darkened heart.
Erzingatzi says that, if he is to have any share in the life of love in
this world, he will be content with one hour of “morning love” that
springs from the heart. For that he is willing to exchange his life. He
prays to God for such love, always emphasising the word “morning.”
Among his works is a beautiful poem on Spring, which begins with a
hundred thousand thanksgivings for the blessing that has flown down
from heaven to earth:—
“It was dark and every stone was ice-bound; there was not a green
herb, but now the earth arrays itself anew. The winter was like a
prison, the spring like a sun that rises in the night. Everything is
merry and joyous; even the dew-bringing cloud thunders gently, spanning
the earth with its bow and causing many swift rivers to flow, which,
without distinction, throw into rapturous intoxication all places of
the earth.
“Terribly roar the streams that come down from the mountains, but,
after strolling to and fro among the meadows in loving fashion, pass on
to touch the face of the sea.
“The birds sing sweetly; the swallow chants psalms, the lark comes,
reciting the praise of the morning. All leap into life—plants, birds,
beasts with their offspring; they all form themselves into one great
flock and dance together. The flowers have assembled in the garden. The
Nightingale, proclaiming the glad things of the great resurrection,
also enters the garden, seeking the Rose.
“When the time is ripe, she opens, and the other flowers, when they
see the splendour of the Rose, run off, over hill and dale, and, from
fear, lose their colour. The Nightingale is intoxicated with the sweet
odour of the Rose. Then takes place a festival of nature and the Rose
sings her own praise.”
The original text of this poem is a real achievement as regards
language, poetical expressions, and art, showing that Erzingatzi was a
master of his craft.
Erzingatzi was also the author of a long narrative poem, called Farman
and Asman, recounting the love adventures of a Persian princess. This
was composed at the request of a Syrian knight and shows some traces of
Persian influence.
Another long narrative poem of this writer, entitled A Girl’s
Questions, seems to owe something to Arabic literature.
Erzingatzi is also the author of many didactic poems. Here are a few
stanzas from another of his poems:—
“Waken from your dreams
And behold, you that were sleeping,
How through all the night
They their sleepless watch are keeping.
Ever circling round
By the will of God who made them:
And heaven’s arches wide
To uplift and hold He bade them.
“I awoke from sleep
And a while I stood and waited.
When the long night passed,
When appeared the dawn belated,—
Many stars of light
Watching stood to greet the morning;
Servants of our God,
All the sky of night adorning.
“Then a Star arose
Near the Morning Star, in Heaven;
Fairer than all stars,
Radiance to that Star was given.
“When the moon beheld
She bade all the stars to vanish.
All turned pale, and set,
As she spoke their light to banish.
Cleared was heaven’s face
And the sun arose in splendour;
Then a Child appeared,
Sweet the Name He had, and tender.” [41]
Hovhannes Erzingatzi (b. 1250) was educated in a monastery on the
confines of Georgia and Armenia under a bishop who was renowned for his
learning. He returned to Erzingan in 1272 and travelled to Jerusalem in
1281, in the course of his journey passing through Cilicia in order to
visit the Armenian royal seat, where King Leon was then reigning. By
his learning and talents he attracted the attention of the Catholicos,
who appointed him director of all the schools in the city.
By order of the Catholicos, he wrote a grammar, remarkable for its dear
and comprehensible style and language. He also came under the notice of
the king. At the annual horse race two of the king’s sons were among
the competitors. On this occasion Erzingatzi made a speech, which left
a great impression and gained him recognition as an orator. In Cilicia
he learnt Latin and made several translations from that language into
Armenian. He wrote many Biblical commentaries, besides other religious
and devotional works, as well as treatises on astrology; but his fame
rests chiefly on his verse. In addition to religious and moral poems,
he wrote love songs, and lays relating to nature. In his ethical as
well as in his love poems we find quaint metaphors and similes.
As, for instance, in the following stanza, where our poet seems to be
forestalling Bunyan:—
“All my sins I once amassed
And sat down before them weeping.
When the caravan went past
With my load I followed, leaping.
Then an angel that we met,
‘Woful pilgrim, whither farest?
Thou wilt there no lodging get
With that burden that thou bearest.’”
In another poem, entitled “Like an Ocean is this World,” which
appears on page 59 of this volume, he uses the metaphor afterwards
employed in Donne’s Hymn to Christ and Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar.
His love poems are exquisitely fresh and rich.
The aesthetic character of his love and his enthusiasm for beauty are
shown by his declaration, in one of the poems, after a rapturous
expression of his passion for a lady of whom he gives a rich-hued
word-portrait, that the only thing that keeps his feelings within
bounds is the knowledge that, after death, her face will wither and its
colours fade.
In 1284 he went to Tiflis, the capital town of Georgia, where he gave,
in the newly-built church, on the occasion of its opening, a discourse
on the movements of the heavenly bodies. This subject had a great
fascination for him and he treated it in a manner that deeply impressed
his hearers, including the king’s son who was present. His discourse
was not a sermon, but a poetical oration. On the prince’s asking him
to write a poem on the same subject, he wrote one of a thousand lines.
At the desire of another prince, he composed another poem on the same
theme.
Khachatur Kecharetzi (better known by his pen-name, Frik) was a priest
who was born at the end of the thirteenth century and died about 1330.
He wrote many poems, several of which are of an allegorical character;
also laments on the state of his country, and several mystic and other
religious poems, as well as love songs; but his most characteristic
work is the poem addressed to God, asking why He is unmindful of the
terrible condition of the Armenian nation, and also enumerating the
inequalities of the world, showing how the wicked prosper and the
righteous suffer.
“If we are useless creatures” (he says) “unworthy of Thy care,
why dost Thou not entirely destroy us?”
An extract from this long poem is given in this volume on page xv.
At the close of the fourteenth century, the glory of Cilicia vanished,
as the Armenian kingdom became extinct, after an existence of nearly
three hundred years; and Armenia once more became the scene of turmoil
and bloodshed.
The fifteenth century opened with the invasion of Tamerlane, when the
country was again desolated and subdued. This was a century of the
overthrow of Eastern civilisation.
The Byzantine Empire, shaken from its foundation, was dashed to pieces,
and its capital, Constantinople, fell into the hands of the Ottomans
(1453), a new Mohammedan power, which aspired to become master of the
whole of Asia. The Turcomans and, later, the Persians, tried to check
the advance of the Turks into their territories. Hence commenced a long
series of wars between the two Mohammedan states which continued
through four centuries, and Armenia passed now into the hands of the
one, now into the hands of the other. The country was again the scene
of war, wherein reigned desolation, fire, and death.
After the occupation of Constantinople, Turkish influence extended over
most of the eastern part of Armenia.
From this time, migrations of Armenians out of their own country into
different parts of the world became more frequent.