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Film, Video The Life of a Medieval Armenian Manuscript: Transmission of Sacred Texts Across Space, Time & Communities

Event video

Transcript: TEXT

About this Item

Title

  • The Life of a Medieval Armenian Manuscript: Transmission of Sacred Texts Across Space, Time & Communities

Summary

  • Today the Library of Congress holds in its collection a medieval Armenian manuscript, originally copied in Jerusalem in 1321 A.D. at the Armenian monastery of Holy Archangels by a scribe named Nerses Abela. This is the oldest Armenian manuscript held at the Library. It was donated by Henry Foster from Clifton Springs, New York. This manuscript tells the fascinating story of the transmission of not only the treasures of the manuscript itself but the unique connections across socio-political and inter-religious cultures, and across space and time. How and when did the Library acquire this manuscript? What is the history of the transmission of this artifact across time, space, and diverse communities? What content of the manuscript interested the diverse parties to secure and transfer this artifact? These are some of the principal questions addressed in the presentation to explore the ways in which the manuscript held at the Library tells the story of the socio-political context of communities from Jerusalem to Van, to Kharpert, Turkey, to Clifton Springs, New York, and to the heart of western civilization and the capital of the United States of America in Washington D.C. It tells the story of what these communities valued in their engagements with timeless societal questions of politics, religions, languages, and cultures. This single manuscript carries not only its ordinary contents but also the history of the peoples who have interacted with this treasure. This video was made possible through the generous support of the Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative at the Lilly Endowment.

Names

  • Library of Congress
  • Library of Congress. African and Middle Eastern Division, sponsoring body

Created / Published

  • Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 2023-09-22.

Notes

  • -  Group name: African and Middle Eastern Religious Cultures. 5
  • -  Ani Shahinian.
  • -  Recorded on 2023-09-22.

Medium

  • 1 online resource

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2025661452

Online Format

  • video
  • online text
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Library Of Congress, and Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. African And Middle Eastern Division. The Life of a Medieval Armenian Manuscript: Transmission of Sacred Texts Across Space, Time & Communities. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -09-22, 2023. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2025661452/.

APA citation style:

Library Of Congress & Library Of Congress. African And Middle Eastern Division, S. B. (2023) The Life of a Medieval Armenian Manuscript: Transmission of Sacred Texts Across Space, Time & Communities. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -09-22. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2025661452/.

MLA citation style:

Library Of Congress, and Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. African And Middle Eastern Division. The Life of a Medieval Armenian Manuscript: Transmission of Sacred Texts Across Space, Time & Communities. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -09-22, 2023. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2025661452/>.