Robert W. Thomson

The Hexaemeron by St Basil of Caesarea was a fundamental source for Christian writers describing the nature of the physical cosmos, not least in Armenia, where scholars attempted to reconcile theories derived from Greek antiquity with the Bible. The first part of this volume is a survey of references to Basil in Armenian writers from the fifth to the fourteenth centuries, and more particularly of the influence of the Hexaemeron on their cosmology. The second part is an English translation of the Armenian version. The commentary to the translation identifies the expansions and changes made by the Armenian translator, and justifies numerous divergences from the text of the critical edition [Erevan 1984] in favour of readings also attested in the Syriac version [Leuven 1995, CSCO 550], for the Armenian derives from the latter, not directly from the Greek. There are detailed Indices for the Armenian, Greek, Syriac and Latin sources quoted, the Armenian technical terms, and the topics discussed by Basil. The translations of the Hexaemeron in Syriac, Armenian, Arabic, Georgian and Old Slavonic contain only the original nine homilies, not the further two on the creation of man later added by Basil's brother, Gregory of Nyssa.

A Study of the Armenian Version of Saint Basil's Hexaemeron and Its Influence on Medieval Armenian Views about the Cosmos

Saint Basil of Caesarea and Armenian Cosmology

Thomas F. Mathews

Nina G. Garsoïan

Syria and Armenia in the Formative Period

East of Byzantium

Jean-Pierre Mahé

A collection of essays reflecting the scholarship of a retired Columbia University professor of early and medieval Armenia, in sections on Iran and Georgia, Armenian and Byzantine history, linguistics and literature, and art history and epigraphy. Subjects include the princely nobility of Georgia, uses of psalms in some early Armenian authors, and the Apostles in Armenian art. Fifteen of 28 papers are in French. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Armenian Studies in Honour of Nina G. Garsoïan

From Byzantium to Iran

This textbook contains 17 lessons covering the principal grammatical points of classical Armenian, along with nine selected readings & an extensive vocabulary list. The texts presented as reading exercises include extracts from the Gospels & from the classical Armenian writers. "The author's command of his subject, & his skill in teaching, are made abundantly clear in every chapter. There is little doubt that this textbook will be the welcome standard primer for some time to come."-John A. C. Greppin in Revue des etudes Armeniennes.

An Introduction to Classical Armenian

This book presents the two texts, Georgian and Armenian, in English translation for the first time. The Introduction and Commentary draw attention to the ways in which the unknown Armenian translator changed his original material in a pro-Armenian fashion. His rendering became the standard source for early Georgian history used by later Armenian historians.

The Medieval Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles : the Original Georgian Texts and the Armenian Adaptation

Rewriting Caucasian History

These indices give the complete vocabulary of the Armenian translation of the works attributed to Pseudo-Dionysius. They are based on the critical edition of the Armenian text by R.W. Thomson, Louvain 1987 [CSCO 488]. In the Greek-Armenian Index each different rendering of a Greek word is listed with a reference to its first occurrence. The Armenian-Greek Index lists each different Greek word translated by the same Armenian word. Since the translation of Pseudo-Dionysius, made in Constantinople by Step'annos of Siwnik', is precisely dated to between 715 and 718, these indices are of great importance for the study of Armenian translation technique. This book will therefore be of value to several groups: 1. scholars interested in the study of Pseudo-Dionysius, both in the original Greek and in the oriental versions; 2. those involved in the study of classical Armenian literature, and especially in texts translated from Greek; 3. linguistics interested in Indo-European languages in general, and the study of translation technique in particular.

Robert W. Thomson

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