New Armenian Literature

XVII-XVIII centuries

Starting from the XVI century, literature mainly develops outside of historical Armenia. Centers of education and book printing were established in Venice, Constantinople, Rome, Amsterdam, Madras, Calcutta and other places where there were Armenian colonies. In the XVIII century the Congregation of the Holy Fathers of the Mekhitarists on the island of Saint Lazarus in Venice played a significant role in the preservation and development of the Armenian culture, literature, printing, education and science. The following writers were included in the Congregation of Mekhitarists of poets: Mkhitar Sebastatsi - founder of the Congregation (XVII century), Representative of the classic direction Arsen Bagratuni (XVIII century), romantic poet Ghevond Alishan (XIX century) and others.

Armenian historiography revived in the XVII century when significant historical works were created, such as Arakel Davrizhetsi's «History» (completed in 1662), Zakaria Kanakertsi's «Chronography», Grigor Daranaghetsi's «Chronography» (written between 1634-1640). The historical poem by Martiros Ghrimetsi «Armenian kings' reign order and dates» can be emphasized among the most noteworthy ones. In the XVII century, a separate type of historical chronography - travel notes, were formed. Noteworthy authors of historiographic genre are Zakaria of Agulis, Eremia Chelepi Kiumurjan, Minas Amdetsi.

In manuscripts of the XVII-XVIII centuries, some dramatic works were preserved, the oldest of which is the first Armenian drama «The Death of Saint Hripsime», staged in the Armenian Catholic school of Lviv in 1668.

In the literature of the XVIII century such authors as Paghtasar Dpir, Petros Ghapantsi, Naghash Hovnatan, a representative of secular lyrics, introduced new realistic motifs, affirming the dignity of a person, revealing his inner world. The peak of the development of medieval lyric poetry and the manifestation of new trends is the works of the poet and ashugh Sayat-Nova, who created unique samples of love lyric poetry (he also wrote in Georgian and Turkic). In his poems, he expressed the experience of selfless love, created colorful, expressive means of describing the image of the beloved. Humanism, spirit, fighting for the individual’s freedom and opposing the stagnant environment, the beauty of oriental poems, combined with deep penetration into the human’s inner world give us reasons to consider his poetry as a unique phenomenon in the poetry of the late Middle Ages, and the author - the predecessor of romanticism in Armenian and Georgian poetry.