Mesrop Machtots  (vers 361, à Hatsegats, Arménie — 17 févr. 440, à Vagharchabad, Arménie)
Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց (մօտ 361, Հացեկաց - 17 փետ. 440, Վաղարշապատ)

Armenian Apostolic Church Sainte-Marie at Décines (© Philippe Pilibossian)

According to tradition, the Armenian Church has apostolic origins, as Armenia is said to have been evangelized by two of Christ’s twelve apostles: St. Bartholomew and St. Jude (also known as St. Thaddaeus). Early in the fourth century, under the influence of St. Gregory the Illuminator (c. 240-326), Armenia embraced Christianity. Armenia’s official conversion was marked by the baptism of some four million Christians in only a few months time. This occurred in 314, just after Roman Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, tolerating the practice of Christianity, but not yet granting official recognition to the religion. Soon after, St. Gregory built an edifice over a pagan sanctuary: Echmiadzin Cathedral, the first cathedral in Christendom.

The conversion to Christianity decided the fate of the Armenians. Situated at the outer reaches of the Christian West, the Armenian people would always have a strong sense of moral independence, profound unity and undaunted cultural vitality. At the same time, they were to experience cruel isolation and suffer oppression at the hands of the Persians, the Arabs and the Turks.

In Armenia, the Scriptures were initially taught in Greek and in Syriac. Interpretation was often required during religious services. Greek and Syriac, and occasionally Pahlavi, were used for public administration since they were the only written languages. As a result, written languages were necessarily languages of translation. At the time, Armenia was under Persian domination. The Persians were opposed to the dissemination of Greek literature in the territories under their control, fearing that it would serve the interests of Byzantium. Syriac literature alone was deemed acceptable. Using foreign languages in the realms of culture and public administration had serious disadvantages. Thus, it became increasingly urgent to create an Armenian alphabet.

It was during the reign of Vramshapuh (392-414) that Mesrop Mashtots (360-441) made his invaluable contribution to Armenian culture: the Armenian alphabet, which he invented between 392 and 406. A native of Hatsekats in the canton of Taron, Mesrop held a variety of administrative and military posts at the Arsacid Royal Chancery. He had a gift for languages, speaking Greek, Persian, Syriac and Armenian. He chose to become a monk, with a mission to evangelize the province of Siunik (present-day Karabakh), where paganism was still predominant. There he founded one of his first monasteries. He then took his preaching to the province of Goghtha, to the east of Nakhichevan. Without a translation of the Scriptures, however, he found it difficult to preach in Armenian, so he sought the advice of Sahak Partev (Sahak the Great), the patriarch of the Armenian Church.

Hratchia Adjarian is the greatest Armenian linguist; his specialty: the Armenian Language and its dialects. He is rightly considered the founder of Armenian dialectology. He arrived in Paris is 1895 and attended the linguistics courses in the Sorbonne and other institutions. He was selected a member of the Paris Linguistic Society in 1897. In 1909, under the directorship of Antoine Meillet, he received his doctoral diploma.

His publications in French:

«Croisements de mots en arménien» (Cross-breeding of Words in Armenian), Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique (Reports of the Linguistic Society) - n° X, Paris, 1898.
«Etude sur la langue laze» (A Study of the Laz Language), Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique - n° X, Paris, 1898.
«Les explosives de l’ancien arménien» (The Explosives in Ancient Armenian), La Parole ou Revue internationale de Rhinologie, Otologie, Laryngologie et Phonétique expérimentale (The International Word or Review of Experimental Rhinology, Otology, Laryngology and Phonetics), Paris, 1899.
«Gutturales issues de semi-occlusives par dissimilation» (Guttural Issues of Semi-occlusives by Dissimilation), Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique - n° XIV, Paris, 1906-08.
«Étymologies arméniennes» (Armenian Etymology), Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique - n° XV, Paris, 1908-1909.
«Classification des dialectes arméniens» (Classification of Armenian Dialects), Champion, Paris, 1909.
«Recueil de mots kurdes en dialecte de Novo-Bayazet» (Compendium of Kurdish Words in the New-Bayazet Dialect), Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique - n° XVI, Paris, 1909-11.
«Étymologies arméniennes» (suite-continuation), Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique - n° XX, Paris, 1918.
«Étymologies arméniennes», Revue Études Arméniennes, III, Librairie Paul Geuthner, Paris, 1923.

His primary Armenian works:

Հայերէն արմատական բառարան (Root Dictionary of Armenian), Ա. հրատ. (1^st edition), 1926-1935:
Լիակատար քերականութիւն Հայոց լեզուի՝ համեմատութեամբ 562 լեզուներու (Comprehensive Grammar of the Armenian Language, Compared with 562 Languages), 12 հատոր (12 volumes), Հայկական ՍՍՌԳԱ հրատ. (SSRGA Publishing), Երեւան (Yerevan): 
Հայոց անձնանունների բառարան (Dictionary of Armenian Personal Names), 5 հատոր (5 volumes), Ա. հրատ. (1^st edition), 1942-1962:
Հայոց լեզուի պատմութիւն (History of the Armenian Language), 2 հատոր (2 volumes), 1942-1962:
Մ. Մաշտոցի եւ գրերու գիւտի պատմութեան աղբիւրները ու անոնց քննութիւնը (The Sources of the History of M. Masdots and the Discovery of the Alphabet and their Examination), 1907:
Հայոց գրերը (The Armenian Alphabet), 1925:
As well as catalogs of ancient manuscripts.

Translated by Y.K.

Read Fr. Nerses Akinian’s article on Hratchia Adjarian (Հանդէս ամսօրեայ, LXVII, 1953, July-September, pp. 443-465.(pdf 1,3 Mo) 

Following Hübschmann, Meillet was the linguist of international standing who accorded Armenian its correct position and value. Armenian was at the center of his interests. It’s worth noting also that he was H. Adjarian’s beneficent teacher.

First a student of Carrière, he attended Hübschmann’s lectures, then went to Vienna, to the Mkhitarist monastery, where he learned Armenian fundamentally with Fr. Dashian, 1890-1891. Subsequently, he travelled to Tbilisi, the center of Eastern Armenians, and Ejmiatzin, after which to the Venice Mkhitarist monastery, where he became a member the St. Lazar academy.

1902-1906 he was a professor of Armenian at the Paris École des langues orientales (School of Oriental Languages) and in 1906 was appointed lecturer in comparative grammar at Collège de France, where he remained for 30 years. As a result of his studies, he was associated with Indo-European languages from the beginning, and in 1903 had already published his monumental Introduction to the Comparative Study of Indo-European Languages. Among his lectures, he published Le Slave commun (Common Slavic), 1914, Grammaire du vieux perse (Grammar of Old Persian), 1916, Caractères généraux des langues germaniques (The General Characteristics of Germanic Languages), etc.

Demanding and reserved as a scientist, he was, however, a warm Armenophile and participated in all sorts of organizations beneficial to Armenians, as well as becoming an active member of the Armenian National Delegation.

With Charles Diehl and Frédéric Macler, he was the founder of La Revue des Études Arméniennes  (Review of Armenian Studies), which lasted 10 years.

Translated by Y.K.

German linguist, founder of Armenology in Germany.

He received his education in various German cities, specializing in Semitic and Oriental languages.  In March 1874 he went to the Venice Mkhitarist monastery, where he mastered Armenian. In 1875 he presented his dissertation at the Leipzig University, and in 1876 he was appointed professor in Iranian languages in Leipzig, and in 1877 at the Strasbourg University in comparative philology.

Since 1875 the center of his studies was the Armenian language. It was he who provided the final proof that Armenian was an independent branch of the Indo-European group of languages, and not a subsidiary dialect of the Iranian or Arian branch. This theory of his encountered passionate opposition at first, but today is part of the scientific field. It’s not surprising that he has earned the admiration of Armenians. Unfortunately, though, only the first part of his Armenian Grammar, entirely devoted to etymology, has been published. With its accurate observations and conclusions, this opus remains a fundamental guide to this day. His other works are The Topographical Names of Ancient Armenia, and many other works Das indogermanische Vocalsystem  (The Phonetic System of Indo-Germanic), Etymologie und Lautlehre der ossetischen Sprache (Ossetian Etymology and Phonetics), and Persischen Studien (Persian Studies). It most also be noted that he was H. Adjarian’s teacher.

He died and was buried in Strasbourg.

Translated by Y.K.