Nerqin Grots Matenashar (Nerqin Grots Book Series) translates into Armenian and publishes the dissertations of Armenian scholars who studied in European, and in rare cases, U.S. universities from the mid 19th to the early 20th centuries. The published translations are accompanied with the originals and summaries in English, as well as with an introduction and commentary. Locked away in archives and libraries, these works have thus far had limited scholarly circulation both for linguistic and political reasons: on the one hand, their authors fell victim to the Stalinist purges, and on the other hand, these works were written in foreign languages. The title of the project – Nerqin Grots Matenashar – refers to the practice of early medieval Armenian translations. In the “Golden Age” of Armenian translation in the 5th and 6th centuries after the creation of the Armenian alphabet, the translated theoretical literature from Greek was called “artaqin grots” – outside books (outside in relation to the Armenian church literature). It was due to these early efforts that Armenian became a language for abstract thinking with its own vocabulary and concepts. If the transformation of Armenian in the Middle Ages was largely possible because of translating foreign authors, in the modern period Armenian authors were writing dissertations on the Armenian context in foreign languages in European and North American Universities. In this case, the self-realization of Armenian modern culture was taking place through these authors’ involvement in a foreign context, when one’s national foundations were reread in relation to the other. As a result, today we face the challenge of translating Armenian writers back into Armenian, hence, the title – Nerqin Grots Matenashar.
Titles of the Series
1. Aschot Johannissyan, Israel Ory und die armenische Befreiungsidee (1913)
2. Missak Khostikian, David der Philosoph (1907)
3. Garegin Owsepian, Die Entstehungsgeschichte des Monotheletismus (1897)
4. Hovhan Hagobian, The Relations of the Armenians and the Franks During the Reign of Leon II, 1186-1219 (1905)
5. Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Monuscrits arméniens illustrés des XIIe, XIIIe et XIVe siècles de la Bibliothèque des Pères Mékhitaristes de Venise. Préface de G. Millet, 2 vols. (1937); L’illustation du Roman de Barlaam et Joasaph. Préface de Ch. Diehl (1937)
6. Avétis Aharonian, Les anciennes croyances arméniennes (1913)
7. Agob Zorian, Die soziale Gliederung des armenischen Volkes im Mitttelalters (1925)
8. Haik Johannissian, Das Literarische Porträt der Armenier (1912)
9. Manuk Abeghian, Der Armenische Volksglaube (1899)