TeTra | Khachik Harutyunyan "Daily Life in Armenian Colophons"

TeTra Research Seminar | August 29th, 2024
Khachik Harutyunyan (Scientific Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage/Matenadaran, Yerevan)
•Daily Life in Armenian Colophons•
Colophons of Armenian manuscripts take a special place with their original and rich information among the medieval Armenian written monuments. These written sources are first of all leading primary sources that furnish evidence on the Armenian scribal world, its untiring elaborators, scriptoria, and the work of manuscript production. From this point of view, numerous pieces of information, preserved and handed down to generations, are of great value for the study and elucidation of various questions concerning the Armenian codicology.
However, it is characteristic that these sources are not only the main informer of the details having to do with the production, the purchase, or the restoration of manuscripts but also very often they are unique primary sources that give firsthand evidence on social, political events, daily life, popular mode of life of the time.
In these written sources, one can often find references to everyday difficulties, human relations, the high cost of food, hunger, and natural disasters. Thanks to the colophons, we discover details related to the livelihood, concerns, and fears of medieval man, which are very important for completing our understanding of the Middle Ages. During the seminar, we will talk about medieval life and other phenomena related to it, which have come to light thanks to the Armenian colophons.
matenadaran.academia.edu/KhachikHarutyunyan