Translations made acquainted Armenian people with the most important foreign antic and medieval works.
All along its history Armenian national literature is accompanied by translations made from different languages: Greek, Syriac, Latin and Arabic. These translations were one of the most important factors insuring its evolution and one of the main sources nourishing it. In the Middle Ages, fewer translations were made from Georgian, Persian, Old French, Turkish, Ethiopian, English, Italian, Polish and Spanish.
Translators began their activities in Armenia almost straight after the creation of the alphabet (405) on the initiative of Mesrop Mashtots and Sahak Parthev, and with their active participation.
Translated works played a noticeable role in the Armenian literature development, the deepening of the Armenian readers’ culture and enrichment of the Armenian language. They also reflected centuries-old cultural connections of the Armenian nation with its close neighbors, i.e. Greeks and Syrians, as well as Georgians, Arabs, Persians and Europeans.
Through theses translations Armenians were acquainted with the antic philosophy and natural sciences, the Christian theology, the medieval literature and the most important discoveries of medieval medicine, which stimulated the creation of their own works in these spheres.
In the scope of history and culture, translations and original works differ from each other only conventionally, as their contents and their form represent two equivalent aspects of a single literary process. In fact, medieval readers had not real idea of the difference existing between these two aspects; national and foreign authors deserved the same respect in their eyes. Evidence of this is given by thousands of Armenian manuscripts in which original Armenian works and translations are copied side by side, without any differentiation. Seldom can we see medieval work collections containing only Armenian works.
In medieval Armenian literature, as in all Christian eastern literatures, translations are preceding national works emergence; nevertheless, in Armenia the move from translations to original works in the 5th century wss done in such a short period that the fact is still amazing specialists. Only a few decades after the first translations Armenian authors, such as Mashtots, Koriun, Eznik Koghbatsi, Faust of Byzantium, Agathangelos, Yeghishe, Movses Khorenatsi and Ghazar Parpetsi joined their efforts to create numerous original works of great value.
By the way, the creation of this original literature never hindered to the activity of translators. On the contrary, this activity stretched out new spheres and lasted until our time.
Read more on OLD ARMENIAN TRANSLATIONS - Article by Levon TER-PETROSIAN
Translators began their activities in Armenia almost straight after the creation of the alphabet (405) on the initiative of Mesrop Mashtots and Sahak Parthev, and with their active participation.
Translated works played a noticeable role in the Armenian literature development, the deepening of the Armenian readers’ culture and enrichment of the Armenian language. They also reflected centuries-old cultural connections of the Armenian nation with its close neighbors, i.e. Greeks and Syrians, as well as Georgians, Arabs, Persians and Europeans.
Through theses translations Armenians were acquainted with the antic philosophy and natural sciences, the Christian theology, the medieval literature and the most important discoveries of medieval medicine, which stimulated the creation of their own works in these spheres.
In the scope of history and culture, translations and original works differ from each other only conventionally, as their contents and their form represent two equivalent aspects of a single literary process. In fact, medieval readers had not real idea of the difference existing between these two aspects; national and foreign authors deserved the same respect in their eyes. Evidence of this is given by thousands of Armenian manuscripts in which original Armenian works and translations are copied side by side, without any differentiation. Seldom can we see medieval work collections containing only Armenian works.
In medieval Armenian literature, as in all Christian eastern literatures, translations are preceding national works emergence; nevertheless, in Armenia the move from translations to original works in the 5th century wss done in such a short period that the fact is still amazing specialists. Only a few decades after the first translations Armenian authors, such as Mashtots, Koriun, Eznik Koghbatsi, Faust of Byzantium, Agathangelos, Yeghishe, Movses Khorenatsi and Ghazar Parpetsi joined their efforts to create numerous original works of great value.
By the way, the creation of this original literature never hindered to the activity of translators. On the contrary, this activity stretched out new spheres and lasted until our time.
Read more on OLD ARMENIAN TRANSLATIONS - Article by Levon TER-PETROSIAN
