The King’s Mellifluous Tongue

This article on social history examines the study of Middle Armenian manuscripts at the Cilician court, placing the language’s development within a Mediterranean context that includes Outremer French and Byzantine Greek. In particular, it argues that King Het‘um I (d. 1270) bolstered his status a...

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Main Author: Pifer, Michael
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari 2024-10-01
Series:Armeniaca
Subjects:
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.30687/arm/2974-6051/2024/01/004
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author Pifer, Michael
author_facet Pifer, Michael
author_sort Pifer, Michael
collection DOAJ
description This article on social history examines the study of Middle Armenian manuscripts at the Cilician court, placing the language’s development within a Mediterranean context that includes Outremer French and Byzantine Greek. In particular, it argues that King Het‘um I (d. 1270) bolstered his status as educated king through the commission of two works from theologian Vardan Arewelc‘i (d. 1271): an encyclopedic compendium and commentary on grammar, which aided vernacular study in different ways. By balancing the microhistory of these manuscripts against the macro-history of Cilician Middle Armenian’s configuration in writing, this article shows how vernacular Armenian became an object of elite study, seemingly capable of representing all the knowledge in the world.
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record_format Article
series Armeniaca
spelling doaj-art-a283739be8ef453b8b37f91cba3a85112025-08-20T02:14:50ZdeuFondazione Università Ca’ FoscariArmeniaca2974-60512024-10-013110.30687/arm/2974-6051/2024/01/004journal_article_21069The King’s Mellifluous TonguePifer, Michael0University of Michigan, USA This article on social history examines the study of Middle Armenian manuscripts at the Cilician court, placing the language’s development within a Mediterranean context that includes Outremer French and Byzantine Greek. In particular, it argues that King Het‘um I (d. 1270) bolstered his status as educated king through the commission of two works from theologian Vardan Arewelc‘i (d. 1271): an encyclopedic compendium and commentary on grammar, which aided vernacular study in different ways. By balancing the microhistory of these manuscripts against the macro-history of Cilician Middle Armenian’s configuration in writing, this article shows how vernacular Armenian became an object of elite study, seemingly capable of representing all the knowledge in the world. http://doi.org/10.30687/arm/2974-6051/2024/01/004Byzantine Greek. Educated king. Het'um. Medieval Cilicia. Middle Armenian. Old French. Social history. Vardan Arewelc'i. Vernacular. Žłlank‘
spellingShingle Pifer, Michael
The King’s Mellifluous Tongue
Armeniaca
Byzantine Greek. Educated king. Het'um. Medieval Cilicia. Middle Armenian. Old French. Social history. Vardan Arewelc'i. Vernacular. Žłlank‘
title The King’s Mellifluous Tongue
title_full The King’s Mellifluous Tongue
title_fullStr The King’s Mellifluous Tongue
title_full_unstemmed The King’s Mellifluous Tongue
title_short The King’s Mellifluous Tongue
title_sort king s mellifluous tongue
topic Byzantine Greek. Educated king. Het'um. Medieval Cilicia. Middle Armenian. Old French. Social history. Vardan Arewelc'i. Vernacular. Žłlank‘
url http://doi.org/10.30687/arm/2974-6051/2024/01/004
work_keys_str_mv AT pifermichael thekingsmellifluoustongue
AT pifermichael kingsmellifluoustongue