Matenadaran

The Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, known as the Matenadaran, is the main repository of Armenian manuscripts and one of the richest manuscript collections in the world. It stands at the head of Mashtots Avenue in Yerevan, Armenia, in a severe basalt building designed by Mark Grigoryan and completed in 1957, with a statue of Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet in 405 AD, and his pupil Koryun at the entrance. The institution grew from manuscripts gathered at Etchmiadzin and was nationalised after the Soviet takeover in 1920, then moved to its present building. The collection holds roughly 23,000 manuscripts and fragments in Armenian and other languages, covering medicine, philosophy, history, astronomy, law, geography and theology, along with illuminated gospels. Exhibits include the Lazarian Gospel of 887, the Echmiadzin Gospel of 989, and works by Movses Khorenatsi, Grigor Tatevatsi and Toros Roslin, whose 13th-century miniatures are among the finest of the Cilician school. Some manuscripts are huge, such as the 55 kg Mush Homiliary, and others tiny, the size of a matchbox. Manuscripts are displayed in climate-controlled cases in darkened halls, and the ground floor includes a hall on the history of the Armenian script and a section on the Armenian printing tradition. The museum approach is thematic and chronological, with rooms arranged by period and subject, and guided tours explain pigments, parchment, binding and the survival of books through invasions and the genocide. A restoration and conservation laboratory on site treats damaged volumes using traditional and modern methods, and a newer research wing and digitisation programme preserve images of the collection. The exterior is lined with statues of major medieval scholars, including Khorenatsi and Frik. Visitors wanting to see manuscripts closely are advised to take the guided tour, since labels are limited. A complete visit lasts about two hours.