Beschreibung:

Pseudo-Dionysius (author); Barsegh and Yakob Sebastats’i (illuminators) Works attributed to Dionysius Areopagita (i.e., pseudo-Dionysius), in classical Armenian (grabar), illuminated manuscript on paper, Monastery of Urǝnka (or Urǝnkar), north of Lake Van, 1733. A splendidly illuminated manuscript of the works of pseudo-Dionysius copied by the scribe Yohannes Baghishets’i, assisted by Petros, Astuastsatur and Nazar Sebastats’i (of Sebastia, now Sivas) and illuminated by the brothers Barsegh and Yakob Sebastats’i for Step’annos abegha (monk) Sebastats’i. 193 x 140 mm, 260 leaves, collation: 18, 2-2112, one column of 30 lines each, the text mostly notrgir (notary) script with some bolorgir (minuscule) and erkat’agir (majuscule) throughout, ruled space: c.138 x 83 mm, catchwords on every verso, includes one full-page illumination with a facing incipit page on a parchment bifolio (ff.4-5). The single columns are outlined by triple black and gold lines forming a box inside which the text was written (mostly at the beginning and end of the manuscript, these incised lines have enabled cracks to develop in many of the leaves, in some cases causing the part of the sheet inside the 'box' to almost detach from the page). Non-Armenian binding of dark brown leather decorated with gold tooling over pasteboard boards, including tooled board edges, gilt and gauffered fore-edges, spine lettered in gold: ԴԻՈՆԷՍԻՈՍ ՍՐԻՍՊԱԳՑԻ [DIONESIOS ARISPAGTS’I], i.e. Dionysius the Areopagite. Marbled paper pastedown and flyleaf with a second style of marbled paper forming a second flyleaf at both beginning and end of book. Provenance: (1) Step’annos abegha (monk) Sebastats’i: original patron from 1733. (2) Khach’ik Mgrdchean, 1838: name inscribed at top of f.5. (3) Given to Prince N. Amaduni by Melkon Balt’azarean, Baghdad 15 July 1904: inscription on f.4. Content: Works attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite (aka pseudo-Dionysius): Heavenly Hierarchy, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, Divine Names, Mystical Theology, Letters. Translated from the Greek into Armenian by Step’anos of Siunik’ in the 8th century. This 18th-century manuscript consists of the Armenian translation of five works attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite. Long ago the author of these texts was conflated with a first-century Athenian saint named Dionysius the Areopagite. The author’s true identity has not yet been determined, but he is now known as pseudo-Dionysius, a Greek theologian who originally composed these works in the 6th century. His writings were first translated from the original Greek into Armenian in the 8th century by Step’anos of Siwnik’ in Constantinople. This Armenian translation was later reworked by another Step’anos (of Poland, i.e. Step’anos Lehats’i) in the 17th century who also used a Latin version for his translation. The corpus of works by pseudo-Dionysius had important theological and spiritual influences on various Armenian theological schools from the 10th to 15th centuries. The continued creation of manuscripts in the 18th century, such as this one from 1733, may seem extremely late by European standards but was not at all uncommon in the Near East in East Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions due to the late introduction of the printing press to these regions. There was an unbroken tradition of manuscript production by Armenians, who continued many of their traditions in decoration and technique, although they were not immune to inspiration from their exposure to printed books. In this manuscript, they continue the long-time use of producing 'bird letters' for initial letters, which are formed by twisting one or more birds into the letter form. The first headpiece introducing the preface is painted using a typical Armenian medieval trilobed design surrounded by interlace. Illumination: The delicately painted floral, bird and insect marginal decorations are completely unrelated to the text and are included simply to embellish and beautify the book. In the 17th t