Armenian literature (), produced in the Armenian language, has existed in written form since the 5th century CE, when the Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots and the first original works of Armenian literature were composed. Prior to the establishment of the Armenian written language, Armenians used Greek or Aramaic for inscriptions, coinage, and correspondence; Syriac was also used within the Armenian Church. Additionally, a rich oral literature had long existed, fragments of which were documented from the 5th to the 8th centuries. The initial phase of its development witnessed the diversification of genres, with the 5th century recognized as its "Golden age."
The restoration of the Kingdom of Armenia in 885 held significant implications for literary endeavors. Following its decline in 1045, the Armenian state found renewed formation in Cilicia and Zakarid Armenia, emerging as a novel hub for literary advancements. From the 12th century onward, literature flourished not only in Classical Armenian but also in the Middle Armenian literary language. Throughout the High Middle Ages, literary pursuits extended to the diaspora. The 17th–18th centuries marked a period of resurgence across all Armenian literary genres.
In the 19th century, modern Armenian literature developed, with two main vernacular literary standards, Western and Eastern Armenian, replacing Classical Armenian as the main literary language.
History
Reports on Pre-Mashtots literature and ancient Armenian folklore
Several antique and ancient Armenian sources, both directly and indirectly, attest to the existence of Armenian script and literature predating the 5th century. Notable authors contributing to this historical narrative include Philo of Alexandria (1st century), Philostratus (2nd-3rd centuries), Hippolytus of Rome (2nd–3rd centuries), and others. The recognition of pre-Mashtots Armenian writing as a scholarly concept emerged as early as the 1830s.
Within the medieval Armenian context, discussions on pre-Christian writing persisted. In the late 13th century, Vardan Areveltsi explicitly acknowledged the existence of pre-Christian Armenian writings, citing evidence such as the discovery of a coin in Cilicia bearing the name of a pagan Haykazuni king in Armenian letters during the reign of King Levon.
Mikhail Diakonoff and O. Kudryavtsev proposed the notion that Armenians possessed specialized secret writings as early as the 3rd-1st centuries BCE, which were employed for composing temple books and chronicles. Supporting evidence includes the works of the priest Olumpus, whose temple stories were translated into Syriac by Bardaisan in the 2nd-3rd centuries. Nikolai Marr endorsed the idea of writing in the Armenian language several centuries BCE, a perspective that Valery Bryusov echoed regarding the first four centuries of the Common Era. However, this concept faced criticism from Hrachia Acharian.
The rich oral literature of the Armenian people predates the establishment of the Armenian alphabet. The earliest Armenian writers drew upon a well-developed tradition of oral storytelling. Historians of the 5th-8th centuries preserved examples of early folklore. Among the most ancient preserved Armenian legends, tales and myths are Hayk, Aram, Ara the Beautiful, Tork Angeh, Artavazd, Vahagn, Tigran, Azhdahak, Yervand and Yervaz. The narrative "Tigran and Azhdahak", set in the 6th century BC, introduced the first female character. Mythologized historical stories emerged between the 7th and 2nd centuries BC. The preserved epic passage narrates the story of Artashes II, the King of Greater Armenia (2nd century BC), and his beloved Satenik. Some folklore tales reveal a Proto-Indo-European cultural layer, such as "The Birth of Vahagn", while others are linked to the Urartian past, as seen in medieval Armenian songs depicting the cult of the tree of life.
Despite the prevalence of oral traditions, the church during the Middle Ages opposed folk singers and storytellers, known as gusans or minstrels. Elizabeth Redgate noted that the church actively hindered the spread of pre-Christian oral traditions, viewing them as a challenge to its ideology.
Several Armenian epics from the Christian era have endured. The oldest, the "Persian War", recounts events between the 3rd and 5th centuries, documenting the struggle against the Sasanian Empire. Portions of this epic were recorded as early as the 5th century. "The War of Taron", documented in the 7th-8th centuries, narrates 5th-century events. The poetic epic "David of Sassoun," taking shape between the 7th and 10th centuries, expresses social and religious protest against Arab oppression while preserving echoes of the pre-Christian past, rooted in the common Indo-European origins of Armenian mythology. The narratives surrounding the ancient Armenian rulers Trdat III and Arshak II, alongside the stories of commanders Mushege and Vardan Mamikonyan during the fourth and fifth centuries, together encapsulate significant artistic, historical, and educational significance. Beyond being mere historical records, these legends act as cultural guiding lights, conveying not only aesthetic appeal and historical weight but also enduring moral lessons, making indispensable contributions to Armenia's rich heritage. Sentimental folklore creations date back to the 13th-14th centuries, with the first compilation of folk songs assembled in 1620.
Early literature
Only a handful of fragments have survived from the most ancient Armenian literary tradition preceding the Christianization of Armenia in the early 4th century, largely preserved by Movses Khorenatsi. The start of Christian Armenian literature dates to around the year 406 with the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop for the purpose of translating Biblical books into Armenian.
Isaac, the Catholicos of Armenia, formed a school of translators who were sent to Edessa, Athens, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea in Cappadocia, and elsewhere, to procure codices both in Syriac and Greek and translate them. From Syriac came the first version of the New Testament, the version of Eusebius' History and his Life of Constantine (unless this is from the original Greek), the homilies of Aphraates, the Acts of Gurias and Samuna, the works of Ephrem Syrus (partly published in four volumes by the Mechitharists of Venice). This contains an historical overview of Armenian literary development, and a comprehensive list of authorities. In these first years of the 5th century, some of the apocryphal works, like the Discourses attributed to St. Gregory and the History of Armenia said to have come from Agathangelus, are asserted to be the works of these and other well-known men. This early period of Armenian literature also produced many original compositions, including Eznik of Kolb's "Refutation of the Sects", Koryun's "Life of Mashtots", P'avstos Buzand's History of the Armenians and Ghazar Parpetsi's History of the Armenians. Eznik and Koryun were disciples of Mashtots.
The Golden Age also includes the Histories of Elishe and Movses Khorenatsi, although it has been suggested that the works of these authors may have been composed at a later date.
Medieval era Armenia is known to have been a nation often occupied by nearby powers, such as the Sassanid Empire. The beginning of the medieval era was marked by the Arab conquest of Armenia. The people then started to talk of a great hero who would be able to liberate them and reestablish Armenian sovereignty. David of Sasun, known as Sasuntsi Davit', is the medieval Armenian equivalent of Hercules. For over a thousand years the Daredevils of Sassoun was passed from grandfathers to their grandsons thanks to the Armenian oral tradition, and it is difficult to classify his stories as ancient or medieval. In 1873, the story was first written down by Archbishop Garegin Srvandztiants, who copied word for word the tale as told by a peasant storyteller from Moush named Grbo. Other versions of the tale from various regions of Armenia were copied down in the ensuing years, and during the early Soviet Armenia, the stories were collated into a "unified version"; a narrative which connected dozens of isolated episodes, fragments, and near-complete though differing versions of the legend. One of the most famous treatments of the story was the verse rendition made by Hovhannes Toumanian in 1902. His poem only covers the story of David, which is actually only one of 4 parts of the story, although the central portion.
The four portions of the story are named after their heroes: Sanasar & Balthazar (Sanasar yev Baghdasar), Lion-Mher (Aryuts Mher), David of Sassoun (Sassountsi Davit), and Mher the Younger (Pokr Mher). Sanasar is the father of Lion-Mher, who is the father of David, who is the father of Mher the Younger. Mher the younger is cursed to never bear progeny and his superhuman powers are too much for the world to handle, so he is enclosed in a mountain cave where he waits until the end of the world to come out and restore order. (similar to the western legends of King Arthur or Barbarossa.)
Despite being Christian poetry, numerous fantastic creatures, good and evil, influence the action.
One of the ancestors of the legendary David is the Lady Dzovinar, who agrees to marry the 90-year-old Caliph of Baghdad in order to save her people. Sanasar and Balthasar were their two sons. Sanasar moves to Sassoun, the fortress-town of Armenia, now located in Turkey. He has three children, the eldest of them being the Great Mher of Sassoun, with superhuman powers. Mher's veritable son is David of Sassoun. However, he also gets another son from the Arabic queen of Egypt. He is known as Misra Melik, which literally means "The sovereign of Egypt". He is probably the figure of all of what the Armenians resented; traitors, and foreign oppressors.
Throughout the years the half-brothers fought, and eventually David chops his nemesis in half.
Religious literature
The medieval period opens with comparative sterility. It was mostly important in the 8th century, that of John Otznetzi, surnamed the "Philosopher". A "Discourse against the Paulicians", a "Synodal Discourse", and a collection of the canons of the councils and the Fathers anterior to his day, are the principal works of his now extant. About the same time appeared the translations of the works of several of the Fathers, particularly of St. Gregory of Nyssa and Cyril of Alexandria, from the pen of Stephen, Bishop of Syunik. It was two centuries later that the celebrated "History of Armenia" by the Catholicos John V the Historian came forth, covering the period from the origin of the nation to the year A.D. 925. A contemporary of his, Annine of Mok, an abbot and the most celebrated theologian of the time, composed a treatise against the Tondrakians, a sect imbued with Manicheism. The name of Chosrov, Bishop of Andzevatsentz, is honoured because of his interesting commentaries on the Breviary and Mass-Prayers. Gregory of Narek, his son, is the Armenian Pindar from whose pen came elegies, odes, panegyrics, and homilies. Stepanos Asoghik, whose "Universal History" reaches down to A.D. 1004, and Gregory Magistros, whose long poem on the Old and New Testaments displays much application, are the last writers worthy of mention in this period.
Cilician renaissance