Armenia

The book is published to accompany an exhibition at the Bodleian Library, Armenia: Masterpieces from an Enduring Culture

Armenia: Masterpieces from an Enduring Culture 
By Theo Maarten van Lint and Robin Meyer
Bodleian Library, University of Oxford 2015
ISBN-10: 1851244395
ISBN-13: 978-1851244393

Set like a stronghold south-west of the Caucasus mountains, Armenia is caught between East and West. Briefly a great empire in the first century BCE under King Tigranes the Great, Armenia was later incorporated first by the Sasanian and then the Byzantine Empires. Armenian art, literature, religion and material culture have reinterpreted elements of a wide variety of cultures. Spanning over two and a half millennia, the history of Armenia and the Armenian people is a series of riveting tales, from its first mention under the Achaemenid King Darius I to the independence of the Republic of Armenia from the Soviet Union.

With the help of the Bodleian Libraries’ magnificent collection of Armenian manuscripts and early printed books, this volume tells the story of the region through the medium of its cultural output. Together with introductions written by experts in their fields, close to one hundred manuscripts, works of art and religious artefacts serve as a guide to Armenian culture and history. Gospel manuscripts splendidly illuminated by Armenian masters feature next to philosophical tractates and merchants’ handbooks, affording us an insight into what makes the Armenian people truly unique, especially in the shadow of the genocide that threatened their annihilation a hundred years ago: namely their spirituality, language and perseverance in the face of adversity.

The book is published to accompany an exhibition at the Bodleian Library, Armenia: Masterpieces from an Enduring Culture draws on the Libraries’ magnificent collection of Armenian manuscripts and early printed books, as well as works of art and religious artifacts to tell the story of the region. The book contains nearly two hundred color illustrations of some of the most treasured masterpieces, from philosophical treatises to splendidly illuminated gospel manuscripts. Also including four essays by experts in the field, the book affords ample insight into the perseverance of the Armenian people in the face of tremendous adversity.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Theo Maarten van Lint is Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies at the University of Oxford.
Robin Meyer is a curator in the Department of Special Collections at the Bodleian Libraries.

VISIT THE EXHIBITION:

Armenia: Treasures from an Enduring Culture
October 2015 – January 2016
Bodleian Library, Oxford