Continuing with the photos taken by a friend during his recent visit to Armenia, here we have a few items from the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan, the capital city. This research institute holds the largest collection of Armenian manuscripts (and many other kinds of items) in the world, largely nationalized (i.e. stolen) from the Church. St Mesrop (362-440), for whom the institute is named, was a priest and monk who invented the Armenian alphabet and laid the foundations of the nation’s entire literary tradition; a statue of him is placed outside the main building.
A Gospel book of the 13th century, made in Cicilia, the southeast coastal region of Asia Minor. In the late 11th century, many Armenian fled to this region when their native land was invaded by the Seljuk Turks, such that it came to be known as Lesser Armenia.
Illustrations of the Annunciation and Nativity of Christ from another Gospel book.
A metal cover for a Gospel book.
The Targmanchats Gospel book, dated to 1232, decorated by two artists who were both named Gregory. This is a very common named among Armenians, after the Saint who evangelized them at the beginning of the 4th century, Gregory the Illuminator.
A copy made for display purposes of an ivory cover for a Gospel book; the original was made in the 6th century.
A decorated page of a Gospel book, with another scene of the Annunciation.
Some scrolls in the form of flowers, used as protective amulets against various ailments and misfortunes.
Here we see them attached to prayer scrolls, which were also used as a means of warding off evil.
