We explore a folio manuscript that gives us a glimpse into 4 millennia of astronomical knowledge and Armenian cultural history. In this post, you will find the YouTube video exploring these shipwrecked finds, and a full video transcript (with relevant sources and links).

YouTube Video

YouTube Video Transcript

Here, you will find the complete transcript of the video in the previous section with hyperlinked references/citations.

Intro

This is a folio from a manuscript from 1642 CE depicting the Armenian liturgical calendar. However, it’s not just a page from a manuscript. 

Hi! I’m Dr. Smiti Nathan, and I’m an archaeologist. In this video, we’re going to explore how this artifact gives us a glimpse into 4 millennia of astronomical knowledge and Armenian cultural history.

Background

This region has a deep history of astronomical observation. From their rock art, figurines, and maps, archaeologists and historians have learned just how much ancient Armenians understood about the cosmos. Even ancient Armenian writing contained elements of celestial symbolism. 

Some of these ideas were preserved over time in later documents, including calendars. Celestial bodies have influenced many ancient calendars. 

Haykian Calendar

Let’s first examine the ancient Armenian calendar. The formation of the Armenian calendar in 2341 BCE has been attributed to Hayk Nahapet, who is often viewed as the legendary founder of Armenia. Hayk is often associated with characteristics of a creator god, as well as a thunder god and war god. Hayk’s origin story is often entwined with the Biblical figure Bel, also known as Nimrod, whom he slays with his arrow. Hayk is still a central figure in modern Armenian nationality and ideas of ancestry. 

The Armenian calendar appears to have symbolic associations with the Orion constellation, which was known in Armenian tradition as the Hayk constellation. The beginning of the Armenian Haykian calendar changed year to year, but the major holiday, Navasard, was fixed. It was observed when the Betelguese star of the Hayk constellation rose in the sky, known as the heliacal rising of this star.

This calendar was composed of 360 days, divided into 12 months of 30 days each. 5 additional days, known as Aveleac, were tacked onto each year.

Medieval Calendar

301 CE is often marked as the time when Christianity entered Armenia and their calendars changed too.

Armenians in the Medieval Period (c. 500 – 1500 CE) developed two calendars: the Armenian Major Calendar and the Armenian Minor Calendar. The Major Calendar was formed by the order of Armenian Catholicos Movses Eghivandetsi in 552 CE. It was divided into the same number of months and days as the Haykian calendar. However, it had a movable start to the beginning of the year, Navasard 1. The Minor Calendar was formed in 1112 CE and now had a leap year.

Often, calendars usually fall into one of three types: lunar, solar, and lunisolar. The medieval Armenian calendar is an example of a lunisolar calendar that arranged the liturgical calendar with natural seasonal cycles and daily/hourly, weekly, and yearly cycles.

Across time, Armenian calendars relied on natural cyclical processes. For example, these could include the changing of the seasons or the passage of stars and constellations through the night sky. These natural processes informed calculations and timings of things like the passage of  day, as well as dates for equinoxes and solstices. Combining natural events and religious observances reflected the synchronization of beliefs held by Medieval Armenians.

Folio Artifact

If we go back to the first example we showed, these folio pages date to 1642 CE and are currently held in Our Lady of Bzummār Convent in Bzummār, Lebanon. You can see the Armenian liturgical calendar depicted as a circular calendar. The calculations and movement of the sun and constellations are represented within the circular calendars. Surrounding them are eight angelic beings. This artifact depicts the synchronization of the natural and religious worlds that we mentioned before. 

Outro

These folios showing the medieval Armenian calendar reflect a history of astronomical knowledge and calendar systems that stretches back to the 3rd millennium BCE. If you are interested in learning about other ancient calendars, we have a video on that linked below.

This video is part of our Artifact of the Day series, where we take a quick look at one intriguing object from the past. If you’re interested in watching another artifact of the day video, check out the video here.

Credits

Brooke Norton: Series Lead, Co-Producer, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Noor Hanania: Lead Video Editor, Peer Reviewer, Logo Designer

Anya Gruber: Peer Reviewer

Sneh P. Patel: Peer Reviewer

Smiti Nathan: Director, Co-Producer, Support Video Editor, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Patreon Supporters

Thank you to our paid Patreon members for supporting the creation of this video:

Nancy Fulton, James D., Giancarlo Annese, Thomas Martin, Stuart A. Griffin, Tagg, Ann Brookens, Diana Madden, Cole Guinn, Seemingly Unrelated Podcast, Chris

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