Ornament in the illumination system of the Armenian manuscript Gospels
https://doi.org/10.28995/2658-4158-2023-3-86-108
Abstract
The paper considers the functional and artistic features, the role of ornament in the system of illumination of the Armenian manuscript Gospels. In view of the fact that the Four Gospels were also used as Lectionaries and Aprakos Gospels, the Armenian scribes and miniaturists introduced new design elements into the manuscripts, different from the Byzantine tradition, which visually marked the beginning of the readings. Ornaments were used primarily for this purpose, performing the extremely important functions of subdividing the text. The ornament is present in each of the six structural components of the illumination system, shaping them: in the chorans (in the Epistle of Eusebius and the canons/tables of concordance); in title pages (in headpieces, initials and right marginalia, in letters of the text); in the portraits of the evangelists; under the headings of readings-pericopes; in decorative and narrative marginalia next to rubrics; in full-page and text miniatures. Thus, the ornament became the “lymph” of the artistic organism of the Armenian manuscript book, defining its unity and integrity.
About the Author
S. S. Manukyan
Yerevan State University; Institute of Arts of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia
Seyranush S. Manukyan, Cand. of Sci. (Art Studies), associate professor of the Yerevan State University
1, Alek Manukyan St. Yerevan, 0025;
24, Marshal Baghramyan Av., Yerevan, 0019
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Review
For citations:
Manukyan S.S. Ornament in the illumination system of the Armenian manuscript Gospels. Studia Religiosa Rossica: Russian Journal of Religion. 2023;(3):86-108. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2658-4158-2023-3-86-108
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