Wounds of Armenia

Name

The book's full title is Wounds of Armenia: Lamentation of a Patriot (Վերք Հայաստանի. ողբ հայրենասիրի).

Background

Khachatur Abovian was born in Kanaker, a small village near Yerevan in 1809 which was part of Qajar Iran at the time. In 1827, Yerevan was captured by the Russians. From 1830 to 1836, Abovian studied at the Imperial University of Dorpat (nowadays in Tartu, Estonia). Abovian wrote the book in 1841.

Plot

The story which Abovian named Wounds of Armenia is based on an incident which happened in his hometown Kanaker during the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828.

A young Armenian girl named Taguhi is kidnapped by soldiers of Hossein Khan Sardar, the head of the Erivan Khanate. Aghasi, who is the main hero, kills the Sardar's men and saves her. The Persian governor's brother Hassan decides to punish Aghasi and thus destroys a number of Armenian towns.

Evaluation

The 2005 book The Heritage of Armenian Literature by Agop Jack Hacikyan et al. argues that "though symbolic, the incident [central to the plot], was sufficiently potent to arouse sentiments of patriotism, national pride, and dignity". The authors then note that "the book, reads like a poem, in which the author, like a son, is having an honest, forthright talk with the people, in their own Kanaker dialect". They claim "its message is direct and strong: an appeal from the bottom of the heart".

Publications and translations

The novel was first published in 1858 in Tiflis (modern-day Tbilisi, Georgia). It was later published during the Soviet era (1948, 1959, 1975) and in independent Armenia (2005, 2009). Since now the novel had 16 publications in Armenian in separate books.

The novel was translated for the first time into Russian (by Sergey Shervinsky). In 1948, the Russian translated edition was published in both in Yerevan and Moscow and later republished in 1955, 1971 and 1977 in Yerevan. In 1978 and 2005 it was published in Moscow.

In 2005, Vahé Baladouni translated the preface of Abovian's novel into English. It was published in Yerevan by the Museum of Literature and Art. (, )

The novel has also been published in Latvian (1960), Lithuanian (1980) and Romanian (2015).

Notes

References

References

1. Dum-Tragut, Jasmine. (2009). "Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian". John Benjamins Publishing.
2. Baladouni, Vahé. (2010). "Hmayeak Shēms: A Poet of Pure Spirit". University Press of America.
3. Kurkjian, Vahan M.. (2008). "A History of Armenia". Indo-European Publishing.
4. Panossian, Razmik. (2006). "The Armenians from kings and priests to merchants and commissars". Columbia University Press.
5. Hacikyan et al. (2005) p. 204
6. Bardakjian, Kevork B.. (2000). "Wayne State University Press". Wayne State Univ. Press.
7. Petrosian, Irina. (2006). "Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore". Yerkir Publ..
8. Baladouni (2005) p. 4
9. Hacikyan (2005) p. 89 "Khachatur Abovian (1809-48) is regarded as one of the founders of Eastern Armenian ashkharhabar, with his milestone work Verk Hayastani kam Voghb hayrenasiri (Wounds of Armenia, or lamentation of the patriot)."
10. Khachaturian, Lisa. (2009). "Cultivating Nationhood in Imperial Russia: The Periodical Press and the Formation of a Modern Armenian Identity". Transaction Publishers.
11. Nichanian, Marc. (2002). "Writers of Disaster: Arm. Literature in the Twentieth Century". Gomidas Inst..
12. Kazanjian, David. (2003). "Loss: The Politics of Mourning". University of California Press.
13. Hovanesian, Zareh. (2000). "The philatelic History of Armenia". Z. Hovanesian.
14. (2005). "The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the eighteenth century to modern times". Wayne State University Press.
15. Акопян. П. О.. link. ArmenianHouse.org