Syrian-Armenian businessman and philanthropist Gabriel Chemperjian has donated to Matenadaran a Sharaknots (Hymnal) copied in 1491, in memory of his wife, Anzhel Chemperjian.
It should be noted that this manuscript was discovered during a visit to Vienna by a delegation headed by the Director of Matenadaran.
The newly acquired manuscript is a Sharaknots with Armenian neumes (khazs), copied in the village of Am in the province of Bitlis (scribe: Priest Hovhannes). To date, the village of Am has been mentioned only once in manuscript sources, without a precise indication of its location. In 1497, Hovhannes, the same scribe, copied a Gospel there, which is also preserved at Matenadaran.
Thus, this newly donated manuscript is not only the earliest known example created by the same scribe in the same village, but also the only one in whose principal colophon the scribe Hovhannes precisely identifies the location of the village of Am as being in the province of Bitlis.
Matenadaran expresses its gratitude to Gabriel Chemperjian for this valuable donation and for his contribution to the enrichment of the manuscript heritage.
