A study of the pictorial language of the "hand" in the Armenian medieval manuscript tradition
Abstract: Armenia's history of manuscript production, which spans more than a decade, reveals and shapes its particular religious and cultural traditions. The existing medieval Armenian manuscript is a symbology and viewing object that needs to be understood holistically, condensing from all aspects the multiple elements required for the collective memory and identity construction of Armenians. The paper will focus on an important theme in the illustration of Armenian manuscripts: the language of "gestures" in the Gospels, and through a close reading of the Armenian manuscripts in the collection of the Biti Library in Dublin, the language of the "hand" is considered in the context of hermeneutics and the history of images, trying to interpret the medieval Armenian iconographic tradition and the unique religious and cultural consciousness behind it from a new perspective.
Armenian medieval manuscripts are world-renowned for their size and unique artistic achievements. The history of manuscript production in Armenia, which spans more than ten centuries, reveals and shapes Armenia's special religious and cultural traditions. The existing Armenian manuscripts, spanning ten centuries, are not simply carriers of religion and art, but themselves a symbol and object that need to be viewed and understood as a whole, a conscious cultural creation, and its textual arrangement, language use, image construction, selection of materials, colors, etc., condense all elements necessary for the collective memory and identity construction of Armenians from all aspects.
Due to the special historical and political geography of Armenia, and because its religion (sect) is very different from neighboring political formations in various historical periods, understanding the religious symbols in Armenian medieval manuscripts is important for understanding the construction and boundaries of this civilization. However, at present, there is very little research on Armenian medieval manuscripts in the field of iconography, and the special research on Armenian iconography in the Chinese context is almost blank.
This article draws on numerous authoritative documents in the field of Armenian history and sociology and the field of Armenian manuscript research, in an attempt to provide a clear and complete review of the relevant historical and cultural context. At the same time, this paper attempts to contribute to the field of iconography a case study of religious symbols in Armenian medieval manuscripts. As researchers have lived or have lived in Dublin for a long time and have had the privilege of reading the medieval manuscript collection of the Chester Beatty Library for a long and close time, the following will begin with a historical and cultural review, followed by a case study of representative Armenian painted manuscripts (cataloguing manuscripts beginning with CBLArm) in the library's collection. The case study seeks to illustrate a very interesting theme in the Armenian medieval iconographic tradition: the language of the "divine hand" of the Father-Son in the painted Gospels, the language of the "mortal hand" represented by the author of the Gospel, and the interaction between the two "sign language" images.
The history of religious evolution in Armenia is much more complex than most scholars and historians describe. Not only did the spread of Christianity spread through different geographical paths, but there were also various interactions with Eastern cultures and religions throughout history. These cultural contacts and historical evolutions are often reflected in Armenian manuscript paintings.
Agathangelos' book History of the Armenians recounts the life of the Enlightener Gregory the Illuminator and the history of Armenian conversions to Christianity.
According to this work, King Tiridates III was baptized as a Christian in 301 AD, and Armenia accepted Christianity as the state religion in 301, becoming the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as the national faith. Around 302 , Gregory was given the title Catholicos (καθολικζ) by Tiridadius III , appointed him the head of the state church in Armenia , and consecrated by his friend , Leotius, bishop of Caesarea, whose successor was also known as the Armenian Patriarch. The Armenian Church founded by Gregory was also named the Church of Gregory after him, and later it became a church that believed in the oneness of Christ. Gregory's destruction of pagan temples while spreading Christianity created a rift between Armenia, which was culturally close to Iran (Persia) at that time, and the Eastern world, including Iran (Persia).
The Armenians also preserve the memory of Saint Thaddeus coming from Edessa in Mesopotamia to preach to them during the earlier apostolic period. Although St. Gregory is credited with being the one who converted Armenia to Christianity, Detius and Bartholomew are traditionally regarded as the first to introduce Christianity to Armenia, so the Armenian church is called the Armenian Apostolic Church, and they are enshrined as the patron saints of Armenia. The Monastery of St. Tetius (now located in the West Azerbaijan Province of northern Iran) and the Monastery of St. Bartholomew (now located in Lake Van in southeastern Turkey and Van Province in Iran) were established to commemorate them.
This apostolic tradition is the foundation of the Armenian Church, which demonstrates its exchanges and contacts with some of the great early centers of civilization, such as Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Constantinople. The Christian sects that followed this apostolic tradition and those that followed the Christian tradition initiated by St. Gregory recognized each other in the 7th century, and both sects enshrined Gregory in Artaz, present-day Iran's West Azerbaijani Province, where the martyrdom and tomb of St. Dar were located.
