By Jake Goshert, Department of Communications, Diocese of the Armenian Church of
As designs, they're intricate and nuanced. In the hands of artists, each one is a masterpiece.
On November 1, 2006, the
REALITY OF THE MYTH
“There is sufficient mythology making us believe the letters appeared in a vision and were literally outlined by the hand of God,” said Dr. Abraham Terian, professor of Armenian patristics and academic dean of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle, NY, one of the evening's three speakers. “But this is pure myth.”
Dr. Terian outlined the story of Mashdots as told by Koriun, a historian writing shortly after the invention of the alphabet. Dr. Terian recently completed a new English translation of Koriun's biography.
He said Mashdots did in fact have a leading part in the creation of the alphabet. But the letters came about through study of letter design and hard work, rather than a grand vision from God, according to Koriun's history, Dr. Terian said.
“In the history it says that 'as he begot the Armenian alphabet we called him father,'” Dr. Terian said, relaying the story from his recent translation. “So it was not a divine hand but it was Mesrob Mashdots' own hand writing — begetting — the letters.”
The story relates that to create the alphabet, Mashdots traveled to a Greek-speaking region and once he came up with his draft letters he worked with a Greek calligrapher to fine-tune the designs. Terian outlined some of the similarities between the Greek and Armenian script. The finished alphabet, he said, was a culmination of a decade of work and several design models.
“He must have been working very hard to come up with an Armenian alphabet, perhaps to fulfill an evangelical endeavor,” he said, noting that the goal of the project was to create an alphabet to allow for the spread of Christianity to the masses.
“When Mesrob Mashdots was thinking about evangelizing his people, he was following in the footsteps of St. Gregory,” Dr. Terian added. “Mashdots was realizing the people of the
Along with working on the Armenian alphabet, Dr. Terian pointed out that he is also credited with creating the Georgian script and the alphabet of the Caucasian Albanians, who lived in present day
The Armenian alphabet also served to unite a fragmented people, Dr. Terian said, giving diverse communities a stronger centralized connection.
Mashdot's designs have withstood time, Dr. Terian said. They have changed little over the centuries and remain very similar today to the original designs.
BEAUTY OF THE SHAPE
Along with providing an outlet for language, the letters are also beautiful designs. Speaking at the lecture, which was organized by the Krikor and
A lecturer at the
“This is a culturally important alphabet,” she told the 45 people gathered at the
The Armenian Ministry of Culture invited Puzzovio to hold a one-woman exhibition of her work at the Armenian National Gallery in October 2005. She returned to
“The idea is to design characters that harmonize well. It is not an easy task,” she said, as she shared historic and modern examples of Armenian lettering with the audience.
Examples of her work were showcased throughout the week at the Diocese and in her talk she used photos from her trip to
“I wonder if the permanent rendition of letters carved in stone is a deep-rooted effort to leave a lasting legacy of the Armenian language,” said Puzzovio, who traveled to
Rounding out the trio of speakers that evening was Peter Bain, a designer who spoke about the use of typography in design and how various Armenian fonts achieved different design goals.
Bain, principal of Incipit, a Brooklyn-based design studio, spoke about the connection between lettering, layout, and page design and how they all tie together to tell a cohesive story.
“Typeface design is taking a series of letters and creating a cohesive set,” he said, outlining ways the Armenian letters were designed to make them appealing and readable.
Source: Website of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of
http://www.armenianchurch.net/
Released Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Original title and subtitle: Diocesan lecture looks at design of letters; Speakers trace evolution of Armenian alphabet
Photo: Dr. Abraham Terian, professor of Armenian patristics and academic dean of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in
