The alphabet at the service of the Scriptures and epics
The written Armenian language originated in the5th century AD. It was the prerogative of the clergy, whose works enriched literature until the Middle Ages. These scholars were first interested in the translation of sacred books, and very soon expanded their study to include history and, of course, theology. The ninth century will be that of the epic, transcribing the gestures of national heroes, real or mythical, like the epic of Sassountsi David. Let us remember the name of Moses of Khorene (Movses Khorenatsi) who transmitted the popular songs and traditions of the pagan period in a long fresco, more epic than historical, which earned him the title of Herodotus of the Armenians!
A literary trinity
Faced with the threat of Arab, then Turkish and Mongolian invasions, monasteries tend to become the main cultural centres of the country. Probably the most important scholar of this period is the poet and religious Gregory of Narek (945-1010). Then came Nerses the Gracious (12th century), whose work focused on sacred poetry and liturgical music, and later Nerses de Lampron (13th century), a cantor of Cilician Armenia. This literary trinity testifies to the thirst for knowledge and the spirit of tolerance of these theologians, convinced ecumenists who advocated a rapprochement between Christians.
The Cilician period (12th-14th centuries)
This period shows signs of a literary revival. Writers such as Mkhitar Gosh and Mkhitar Heratsi showed a willingness to go beyond the limits of religion, to take an interest in science, philosophy, medicine, law, etc. If, at that time, the language of the literary world was moving closer to the spoken language, the political context did not give it the time to complete its mutation towards profane knowledge, emancipated from religious supervision.
Armenian letters go into exile
From the 15th to the 17th century, poets, even if they were religious, sang of love and nature, like Kuchak. The 18th century is a dark period in the history of Armenians, torn between Persians and Ottomans. Literary production suffered, forcing Armenian scholars to flee to Constantinople, Venice, Persia, Rome, or Amsterdam where there were printing houses. From that moment on, Armenian culture developed outside its ancestral lands. In a country that is nothing but ruin and desolation, however, flourish the trouvères(achough) such as Sayat-Nova, Djivani, Chirine, Tourindj, who write, it is true, more often in Turkish and Persian, according to the princely courts they are charged to entertain. The Armenians living in the eastern regions, under Turkish or Persian domination, could only really express this identity in gestation with the appearance of the Russians in Transcaucasia at the beginning of the 19th century.
A rebirth
Numerous schools were established, and Tiflis, populated mainly by Armenians until the beginning of the 20th century, became the center of influence of Armenian culture, also present in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Badganian, Shirmazanian, Nalbandian and so many others are the precursors of this cultural revival, which is accompanied by the promotion of the press, with about twenty Armenian-language newspapers and periodicals. Some authors also try their hand at theatre, often on patriotic and social themes. This intelligentsia, heavily influenced by European currents of thought, is at the origin of the spread of a modern Armenian language, refined and accessible to the people. But it is Khatchatur Abovian who is considered to be the main architect of this literary and linguistic revival. With him, literature opened up to the spoken language, purified of its dialectal nuances and unified, sealing the break with the classical language reserved for monks and scholars, which was widening the gap between the people and the world of knowledge. In Armenia, one city and many streets in the country bear his name.
In Constantinople, scholarly journals were dedicated to purifying the spoken language of its overly dialectical elements, marking the beginnings of a real intellectual movement in the 19th century. Literary salons welcomed lovers of belles-lettres. Many translations were done, especially by French authors, thus satisfying the thirst for knowledge and openness. Armenian novelists and poets of the time were naturally influenced by romanticism, as in all of Eastern Europe. Let us mention for example Krikor Odian, Father Leonce Alichan and Hagop Baronian whose comic plays are still performed in ArmeniaModern Letters
At the beginning of the twentieth century, genocide was an attempt to eradicate the modern Armenian language and culture, which were also the vehicle for regaining national dignity. The Ottoman authorities had understood this well, pointing to Armenian intellectuals as their first victims: on 24 April 1915, some 200 intellectuals, including the poets Daniel Varoujan (1884-1915), Siamanto (1878-1915), Roupen Zartarian (1874-1915) and Krikor Zorab (1861-1915), were the first to be arrested and then deported and massacred. Among those who survived, some took up the pen, often writing more in the language of their host country than in Armenian; these are the writers of exile, of the diaspora. Russian Armenia, which had become Soviet, would have the literary canons of Soviet realism imposed on it, with the sauce of a tolerated nationalism. Writing in the language of the region, East Armenian, these authors, some of whom had experienced tsarism, then independence and, finally, communism, kept the torch of national literature alive, in an orthography reworked by the local "high priests" of Soviet culture, which repelled the purists. These include the poets and novelists Hovannes Toumanian and Avetik Issahakian, the poets Vahan Terian and Avedis Aharonian, and the novelists and novelists Kostan Zarian and Shirvanzade. Let us also mention Yervant Odian, a memorial satirist, the poets Vahan Tékéyan and Medzarents, the novelist Sibil, Lévon Chanth, Hagop Ochagan, Zarifian, and the poet and writer Krikor Beledian, who lives and publishes in France.
