The history of Armenia is a story of survival. Throughout the turbulent history of invasions and deportations the Armenians have tenaciously clung to their Christian religion; their Indo-European language; and an art form - the illuminated manuscripts which plays a key role in preserving cultural continuity by transmitting religious doctrine, historical records, and a blaze of brilliant images.

The record of Armenian illumination can be studied to a large extent through the examination of manuscripts at the Library of St. Thoros in the Monastery of St James, Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem manuscript collection contains 4,000 copies - many of them have been copied in different scriptoria of the holy city, others have been gifts of pilgrims, others have reached Jerusalem after endless wanderings as relics of invasions. Armenian manuscripts represent an inexhaustable source of knowledge which will engage the attention of generation of scholars.

The collection of Armenian illuminated manuscripts in the Library of St. Thoros in the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is one of the largest and most important in the world, second only to the Matenadaran Collection in Yerevan, Armenia. It contains samples of the illumination dating from the tenth to the eighteenth centuries, from all over the provinces of Armenia, Asia Minor, Cilicia, New Julfa, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Khizan. They were donated to the Monastery of St. James in Jerusalem, because for a pious Armenian "dedicating a manuscript to a church or monastery is like dedicating the church itself, and this is thought to secure a place in heaven for the devout."

Armenian Illustrated manuscript
 work of Johannes, the scribe
1053 AD

The importance of the book as a vehicle for transmission of Armenian culture cannot be over estimated. The illuminated manuscript - and in particular, the Gospel Book - is the most significant cultural arti- fact, revealing both its history and the strength of its traditions and heritage. 

Illuminated Gospel Books usually include four types of images:

1. A ten-page set of Canon tables - a sort of an index for comparing similar passages in the four Gospels.
2. Introductory cycle of illustrations depicting varied scenes in the short ministry of Jesus.
3. Portraits of the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, each placed at the beginning of his Gospel.
4. An optional dedication of the donor of Gospel Book (The donor's name was customary inscribed in the colophon, along with names of the artist, scribe, as well as other historical information...thus ensuring salvation for the pious act of commissioning a sacred book - "Happy is those who has a memento in Zion..."

THE ARMENIAN ALPHABET:
The Armenian language is an independent member of the Indo-European family of languages. It is a continuation of a group of languages between Indo-Iranian (Aryan) and Greek but it is distinct from both. The language evolved independently throughout the years, slowly being removed from the early classical literary language. Classical Armenian is still in use in the ritual services of the Armenian Orthodox Church.

For about a century after conversion to Christianity by the Armenians (C. 300), the people of Armenia had to depend on the Greek and Syriac languages, both spoken and written, in their liturgical services, religious books and varied tracts. But, these languages were unitelligible to the common people. 

To remedy this, Bishop Mesrop (Mashtosz) in 404 AD invented the Armenian alphabet. It has thirty-six letters and it corresponds perfectly with the Armenian phonetic system.  It was adapted from the Greek language with a few Persian characteristics. Modern Armenia has added to its language an 'F', and an 'O' representing 'aw".

Armenian Manuscript of 1337AD
by Avag in Tabriz

A school of translators were set up to procure and translate Syriac and Greek copies of the Scriptures and other important religious tracts into the new Armenian language. Much of the literary activity of the fifth century, the golden era of Armenian literature, was devoted to this work. Only in the later part of the fifth century were original works written in the Armenian language.

The monasteries of Armenia were the strongholds of literacy and knowledge. Their scriptoria were destined to play a historical role in Armenian scholarship. Armenian scriptoria have produced more than 100,000 manuscripts, many of them with illumination and decorative lettering. Over 25,000 have survived over the years. 

Armenian manuscripts embrace various fields of knowledge, such as; history, philosopy, law, medicine and mathematics. Armenians have a rich literature of historiography and were highly gifted chroniclers. A particularly valuable feature of Armenian historical writing is the light it shed on events in neighboring countries.