A full account of the Armada is given in the curious Spanish work, La felicisima Armada, <kc., published in 1588, a copy of which, with Lord Burleigh’s manuscript notes, is in the British Museum. Froude {History, vol. xii.) gives valuable extracts from Spanish manuscripts bearing on the expedition.

The county is well watered by numerous streams. The principal are the Callen, the Tynan, and the Tallwater, flowing into the Blackwater, which, after forming the boundary between this county and Tyrone, empties itself into the south-western angle of Lough Neagh. The Tara, the Newtown-Hamilton, the Creggan, and the Fleury flow into the Bay of Dundalk. The Cam or Camlin joins the Bann, which, crossing the north-western corner of the county, falls into Lough Neagh to the east of the Blackwater. The Newry canal, communicating with Carlingford Lough at Warrenspoint, six miles below Newry, proceeds northwards through the county of Armagh for about 21 miles, joining the Bann at Whitecoat. The Ulster Canal commences at Charlemont on the River Blackwater, near its junction with Lough Neagh, proceeding through the western border of the county, and passing thence to the south-west by Monaghan and Clones into Upper Lough Erne, after a couse of 48 miles.

The geological features of the county are various and interesting. The granite of Slieve Gullion, an offset of the granite district of Down, is often used for millstones, being very hard and fine grained. The Newry Mountains and the Fathom Hills are also composed of granite. Around Camlough large beds of mica-slate exist. Slate quarries have been worked partially at Dorcy, Newtown-Hamilton, Creggan Duff, and in the neighbourhood of Crossmaglen. Lead mines have been worked, but without much success, in several parts of the county. There are extensive deposits of lignite in the district near Lough Neagh. The other mineral substances found are potters’ clay and a variety of ochres.

The total population in 1821 amounted to 197,427 souls. In 1831 the population was 220,134, and in 1841 it was 232,393, but in 1851 the numbers had declined to 196,085, and by the census of 1871 it was 179,260.

The land is in general but indifferently cultivated, yet owing to the occupation of the peasantry in the linen manufacture they are better lodged, clothed, and fed than in most other parts of Ireland. The cultivation of grain has been for some time slightly on the decrease, and the number of acres under flax diminished from 27,245 in 1866 to 7530 in 1872; but in the green crops there has been considerable increase. The total number of acres under crops amounted in 1872 to 172,550, viz., wheat, 10,599; oats, 68,487; barley, bere, and rye, 379; beans and pease, 254; potatoes, 32,799; turnips, 7998; other green crops, 3287; flax, 7530; meadow and clover, 41,164.

The farms are in general very small, and show less tendency to decrease in number than in most other parts of Ireland. In 1872 there were 6220 holdings of less than five acres each. Notwithstanding this, their owners are generally in circumstances of comparative comfort, owing to their employment in the linen manufacture. There are few* who do not keep at least one cow, or a few sheep; none but the poorest cottar is without a pig. The usual diet is oatmeal, potatoes, and milk-porridge, varied sometimes by salt-herrings. The better description of farmers use animal food, chiefly bacon and poultry.

The principal manufacture, and that which has given a peculiar tone to the character of the population, is still that of linen, though it has somewhat declined of late. It is noways necessary to the promotion of this manufacture that the spinners and weavers should be congregated in large towns, or united in crowded and unwholesome factories. On the contrary, most of its branches can be carried on in the cottages of the peasantry. The men devote to the loom those hours which are not required for the cultivation of their little farms; the women spin and reel the yarn during the intervals of their other domestic occupations. Smooth lawns, perennial streams, pure springs, and the open face of heaven, are necessary for perfecting the bleaching process. Hence the extensive bleachers dwell in the country with all their assistants and machinery. Such is the effect of this combination of agricultural occupations with domestic manufactures, that the farmers are more than competent to supply the resident population of the county with vegetable, though not with animal food; and some of the less crowded and less productive parts of Ulster receive from it a considerable supply of oats, barley, and flour. Apples are grown in such quantities as to entitle the county to the epithet applied to it, the orchard of Ireland.

The antiquities consist of cairns and tumuli; the remains of the fortress of Eamania near Armagh, once the residence of the kings of Ulster; the Dane’s Cast, an extensive fortification in the south-east of the county, extending into the county of Down; spears, battle-axes, collars, rings, amulets, medals of gold, ornaments of silver, jet, and amber, <kc., have also been found in various places. The religious houses were at Armagh, Clonfeacle, Killevy, Kilmore, Stradhailloyse, and Tahenny. Of military antiquities the most remarkable are Tyrone’s ditches, near Poyntz-Pass, Castle Roe, the fort of Navan, the castles of Criff-Keirn and Argonell, and that in the pass of Moyrath.

Armagh, together with Louth, Monaghan, and some smaller districts, formed part of a territory called Orgial or Urial, which was long subject to the occasional incursions of the Danes.

The county was made shire ground in 1586, and called Armagh after the city, by Sir John Perrott. When James I. proceeded to plant with English and Scotch colonists the vast tracts escheated to the crown in Ulster, the whole of the arable and pasture land in Armagh, estimated at 77,800 acres, was to have been allotted in sixty-one portions. Nineteen of these, comprising 22,180 acres, were to have been allotted to the church, and forty-two, amounting to 55,620 acres, to English and Scotch colonists, servitors, native Irish, and four corporate towns, —the swordsmen to be dispersed throughout Connaught and Munster. This project was not strictly adhered to in the county of Armagh, nor were the Irish swordsmen or soldiers transplanted into Connaught and Munster from this and some other counties.

Armagh is now divided into eight baronies, viz., Armagh, Fews Lower and Upper, Oneiland East and West, Orior Lower and Upper, and Tiranny. It contains twenty-nine parishes and parts of parishes, the greater number of which are in the archdiocese of Armagh, and a few in the diocese of Dromore. The county is in the Belfast military district, having barracks at Armagh and Newry. The constabulary force has its headquarters at Armagh, the county being divided into five districts. Assizes are held at Armagh, where the county prison, the county infirmary, and ,the district lunatic asylum are situated. The only savings bank in the county is at Armagh. There are two poor-law unions, Armagh (partly in Tyrone) and Lurgan (partly in Antrim and Down). The valuation of rateable property in 1872 amounted to £410,757. The chief towns are— Armagh, population in 1871, 8946; Lurgan, 10,632; Portadown, 6735; and part of Newry, with 5321 inhabb tants, the remainder of this place, with 9616 inhabitants, being in the county of Down. The county returns three members to the imperial parliament, two for the county generally,—constituency in 1873, 7044; and one for Armagh city,—constituency, 621.

In the towns and level parts of the county the Protestant religion, in its two principal forms of the Episcopal and Presbyterian, predominates; but the Roman Catholic faith is prevalent in the mountainous and less cultivated parts. By the census returns of 1871 the Roman Catholics number 85,057, or nearly one-half of the gross population. The number of children at school in 1871 amounted to 19,887, of whom 14,838 attended the various “National Schools.” There were in the same year twenty-one persons who knew nothing but the native Erse, and 3903 were able to speak both that language and the English.

Armagh, a city and parliamentary borough in the above county, 64 miles north of Dublin, in lat. 54° 20' 55 z, N., and long. 6° 37' 57" W. It derives its name of Ard-macha, or High-Field, from its situation on the sides of a steep hill called Drumsailech, or the Hill of Willows, which rises in the midst of a fertile plain. Of high antiquity, and, like so many other Irish towns, claiming to have been founded by St Patrick, it long possessed the more important distinction of being the metropolis of Ireland; and, as the seat of a flourishing college, was greatly frequented by students from other lands, among whom the English and Scotch were said to have been so numerous as to give the name of Trian-Sassanagh, or Saxon Street, to one of the quarters of the city. Of a synod that was held here as early as 448, we have interesting memorials in the Booh of Armagh. Exposed to the successive calamities of the Danish incursions, the English conquest, and the English wars, and at last deserted by its bishops, who retired to Drogheda, the venerable city sank into an insignificant collection of cabins, with a dilapidated cathedral covered with shingles. From this state of decay, however, it was raised by the unwearied exertions of Primate Robinson (otherwise Lord Rokeby), which, seconded as they have been by similar devotion on the part of his successors of the Beresford family, have made of Armagh one of the best-built and most respectable towns in the country. As the ecclesiastical metropolis of both the Anglican and Roman organisations, it possesses two cathedrals—of which the Catholic.is of the more recent construction—and two archiépiscopal palaces. As the county town it has a court-house, a prison, a lunatic asylum, and a county infirmary. Besides these, there is a fever hospital, erected by John George Beresford; a college, which Primate Robinson was very anxious to raise to the rank of a university; a public library founded by him, and containing upwards of 14,000 volumes; an observatory, which has become famous from the efficiency of its astronomers; and a number of churches and schools. Almost all the buildings are built of the limestone of the district, but the Anglican cathedral is of red sandstone. Population of the parliamentary borough in 1871, 8946.

According to their own legendary history, in which ancient traditions are curiously incorporated with Biblical lore, the Armenians are descendants of Ξaik, a spn of Togarmah, the grandson of Japhet, who fled from the tyranny of Belus of Assyria and settled in the country which now, in their language, bears his name. The conquest of the land by Semiramis, and the revolt of Barvir against Sardanapalus, are the chief events in the early ages. Tigranes or Dikran is regarded as the contemporary and ally of Cyrus, and the history of his reign is recorded in detail. His son, Vahakin, who succeeded him, was celebrated for his strength, and was deified after his death. The dynasty came to an end in the person of Vahi, who was defeated by Alexander the Great, 328 B.c.

The Armenians threw off the Macedonian yoke in 317 β.c., and chose Ardvates as their king; but on his death, about thirty-three years afterwards, they submitted to the Seleucids of Syria. About 190 b.c., Artaxias, who had been appointed governor by Antiochus the Great, took advantage of that monarch’s defeat by the Romans and proclaimed Armenia Major independent. It was this prince who afforded an asylum in his court to the exiled Hannibal. The example of revolt was followed in Lesser Armenia by Zadriades, whose descendants maintained their position till the time of Tigranes IL, when their territory was annexed to Greater Armenia.

About the middle of the 2d century b.c., the great Parthian king, Mithridates I., who had already extended his empire over Syria, established his brother, Valarsaces (Wagharshag), in Armenia, and thus rendered him the founder of one of the most important branches of the Arsacid family. The new king greatly promoted the prosperity of the country by founding cities, establishing laws, and rewarding persons of talent. The most celebrated of his successors was his great-grandson, Tigranes II., who made himself master of Syria, the Lesser Armenia, and many Parthian provinces, and would, ’probably, have been the founder of an extensive empire had not the solicitations of his fathef-in-law, Mithridates of Pontus, brought him into collision with the Romans. In reward for the submission which he ultimately made to Pompey, he was allowed to keep possession of Armenia, with the exception of the provinces of Sophene and Gordyene, which were erected into a separate kingdom for his son, Tigranes. He ] continued a faithful ally of the Romans till his death, 1 about 55 b.c., when he was succeeded by his son, Arta- i vasdes, who, having adopted a more independent policy, was taken prisoner by Antony and carried to Alexandria, where he was afterwards beheaded by Cleopatra in 30 b.c.

A period follows of nominal Roman supremacy and actual anarchy; 170 independent’ families all asserting themselves to the best of their ability, and a few of them succeeding in establishing their petty principalities. At length a usurper, Erovant, an Arsacid by the female line, made himself in some sort master of all the kingdom about 58 A.D., and maintained his position till he was expelled by Ardashes (Exedarus), a more direct representative of the race, who was repeatedly dethroned and restored by Parthian and Roman interference, but managed to do something for the amelioration of his country.

When the Arsacids were driven from the Persian throne 1 by the Sassanid Artaxerxes (Ardeshir), Chosroes the Great 1 of Armenia naturally took up arms in their defence; and ‘ he maintained the contest till his assassination by Anag, an Arsacid prince of Persia, when Armenia became subject to the Persian dynasty, 232 a.d. In the massacre of the royal family which ensued, none escaped but Tiridates (Tirdat), a son of Chosroes, who fled to Rome, and afterwards, with the help of the Romans, established himself on the throne, 259 a.d. The first act of his reign was the persecution of the Christians, who had begun to take root in the country during the previous century. St Gregory, surnamed the Illuminator, was cast into prison; but the king being, as he supposed, miraculously cured of a dangerous distemper by the saint, the Christian religion was embraced by himself and most of his people. The introduction of Christianity tended to arouse the animosity of the Persians; and from this period Armenia became the theatre of almost uninterrupted struggles between that nation and the Romans, until Theodosius the Great agreed to cede to Persia the eastern part of the country, which was thence called Persarmenia, while the western part was annexed to the Roman empire. Theodosius nominated Arsaces IV., then nominal king of Armenia, governor of the western division; and the Persian king, to conciliate the people, appointed Chosroes III., a descendant of another branch of the Arsacids, governor of the eastern part. The rule of the Arsacids in Persarmenia ended with Ardashes IV., who was dethroned by Bahram V. of Persia in 428; and from that date Armenia ceased to be a kingdom, and was ruled till 632 by Persian marzbans or governors. The Persians had all along endeavoured to subvert Christianity, and for that purpose had recourse to the most cruel persecutions. Frequent insurrections were the consequence, one of the most remarkable being that which was led by Vartan (see Neumann’s History of Vor fan, by Elisoeus, 1830). From 632 till 839 Armenia was the scene of almost incessant struggles between the Greeks and Mahometans, while its own native prince3 added to the confusion by their rivalries and strife. Ashod, a member of the Pagratid family, which claimed to be of ancient Jewish origin, became master of Central and Northern Armenia about 743, and, being recognised by the caliphs as an independent prince, founded a dynasty which continued till 1079, when Cakig II was assassinated, and his kingdom incorporated with the Greek empire. Another family, which claimed the parricide sons of Sennacherib as its founders, held possession of the province of Vasburagan and some of the neighbouring territory, and maintained its independence till 1080, when it likewise succumbed to Byzantium. During the same period the district northwest of lake Van was held by the Mussulman race of the Merwanids,—called by the Armenians the princes of Abra-huni,—who gave a nominal submission now to the Byzantine government and now to the sultans.

Rhupen (Ruben), a relative of the last king of the Pagratid dynasty, retired to the north of Cilicia, and founded in the shelter of the Taurus a small principality, which gradually extended its boundaries to the Mediterranean, and became known as the kingdom of Lesser Armenia. The Rhupenians entered into alliance with the Crusaders, and formed, along with the kings of Cyprus, the last bulwark of Christianity in the East. They welcomed as allies the Mongolian hordes that overran Asia in the 13th century, and shared in the hostility and vengeance of the Mamelukes. The last king of the family, Leon, or Ghevond VI., was taken prisoner in spite of a Vigorous defence at Gaban in 1375, and, after six years of captivity in Egypt, wandered through Europe till his death, at Paris, in 1393. (See Langlois, Essai sur les rois de la dyn. Roupénienne, St Petersb., 1860; Documents pour servir à l’hist. des Lusignans de la P. Arm., 1859; Le Trésor des chartes T Arménie, 1863.)

About the middle of the 14th century the Kurds had possession of the south of Armenia, the Persians of the north, and the Ottomans of the west. The whole was subjected to the sway of Tim our, of whose cruelties a graphic account has been left by the Armenian, Thomas of Medzoph (see Nève’s Etude sur Thomas de MedzopK). It was mainly governed by Persian officials during the next century, the only national authority being the patriarch. Tn 1604 Shah Abbas, in his contest with Ahmed I., laid the whole country waste, and forcibly transplanted about 40,000 of the inhabitants into Persia, where they settled principally in Ispahan and New Julfa, as they fondly called the city which they founded. Since then the Armenians have had no political position as a nation, though they continue to form an important and valuable portion of the population in Russia, Turkey, and Persia, and their colonies have spread into almost all quarters of the globe. It was calculated, about 1850, that there were approximately four millions of Armenians in the world, of whom 2,500,000 were inhabitants of the Ottoman empire, 1,200,000 of the Russian empire, 25,000 in the empire of Austria, 150,000 in Persia and Azerbijan, 25,000 in continental India and the Archipelago of Asia, and the remaining 100,000 scattered in various countries (Dulau-rier). According to a recent statistician of Turkey (Lejean), there are 400.000 Armenians in the European part of the empire, of whom more than 200,000 are in Constantinople itself. Originally ∙a brave and warlike people, they have become distinguished for their peaceful character and their submissiveness to the government of every country in which they live. (See the articles of Dulaurier and Prince Dadian in Revue des D. Mondes, 1854 and 1867.)

See Saint-Martin’s Mémoires sur l’Arménie, Paris, 1818-19. Brosset’s Vοy. Archeοl. dans la Géorgie et dans l’Arménie en 1847-8, Paris, 1849-51; Boré’s “Arménie” in L’Univers Pittoresque; Curzon’s Armenia, London, 1854; Jaubert’s Voy. en Arménie, &c.; Mo-ier’s Zweite Reise durch Persien u. Armenien; Serpos’s Compendio storico concernente la naz. Arm.; Collection des hist, anc. et mod. de I' Arm., by Langlois; Recueil d’actes et documens rel. à l’hist. de la nation Arm., 3 vols., Moscow; Chamich’s History, trans, by Avdall, Calcutta, 1827; Phahnazarian’s Esquisse de l’hist. de ÎArm., 1856; Dulaurier, Rcch. sur la chron. Arm.; Goerres, Die Japhetitcn und ihre gemeinsame Heimath in Armen., Munich, 1845.

1. History.— This is divided into three periods, from 34 to 302 a.d., from 302 to 491, and from 491 to the present time. (1.) The first period is mainly legendary. The Church of Armenia claims an older than apostolic foundation. Our Lord, they say, corresponded by letter with Akbar, prince of Ur or Orfa; and the apostle Thaddeus, accompanied by Bartholomew and Judas, preached the gospel, and founded a Christian church in Armenia as early as the year 34 a.d. But whatever the value of these primitive traditions, Armenia could hardly be said to have a church at all during this first period, although there are evident traces of Christian worship in the country at a very early time. (2.) The historical founder of the Armenian Church was S. Gregory, called the “Illuminator.” He was a prince of the reigning family of the Arsacidae, who, having been converted to Christianity, was eager for the conversion of his countrymen. In his missionary work he endured many persecutions, but at last managed to win over the king of Armenia and a considerable portion of his subjects. At the king’s desire Gregory went to Caesarea, or Sis, and was there consecrated bishop of Armenia (302 a.d.) His successors afterwards assumed the title of . Patriarch, subsequently Catholicos, and under their rule the infant church grew and prospered. It had to struggle against the opposition of heathen fellow-countrymen and Persian conquerors, but it succeeded in establishing itself in the hearts of the people. The Bible was translated in 410 a.d. ; the Liturgy, said to be very old, was improved; and the Armenian bishops took part in several of the synods of the church, notably in the third oecumenical council (Ephesus, 431 a.d.) About 450 a.d. the Armenian Church suffered a severe persecution, which prevented any of the bishops being present at the fourth oecumenical council (Chalcedon, 451 a,d.), at which Eutyches and hià followers, the extreme opponents of Nestorius, were condemned. The Armenian Church never accepted the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon, and, in 491 a.d., the patriarch, in full synod, solemnly annulled them. This act led to the separation of the Armenian from the orthodox Greek Church. (3.) The period of schismatic existence divides into three—(a), from 491 a.d. to the middle of the 15th century; (δ), from the middle of the 15th to the middle of the 18th centuries; (c), from 1746 down to the present time. It is difficult to account for the schism of the Armenian Church; according to common report, the Armenians were Eutychians, and were virtually cut off from the church when the Council of Chalcedon condemned that heresy, but their own account of the matter in their authoritative documents is very different. They allege that they were misled by false reports when they annulled the fourth council; that it was reported to them that the council had decided in favour of the Nestorian heresy, and that this mistake was confirmed by a letter to the patriarch upon the subject from the bishop of Rome, in which certain words were used which might easily be interpreted in the Nestorian sense. The Patriarch Narses, in his letter to the Emperor Manuel Com-nenus, in 1166, distinctly repudiates the Eutychian heresy, but it is to be noted that, in defending the doctrinal views of his church, he employs the somewhat vague terms in use before the Council of Chalcedon, not those stricter definitions which were in use afterwards; he employs (rvppi^v;, for instance, in its pre-Chalcedonian meaning, not ίνωσις. However occasioned, the separation was gradual; Armenian bishops attended the 5th, 6th, and 7th oecumenical councils (2d of Constantinople, 553; 3d of Constantinople, 680; 2d of Nicaea, 788), and the church acknowledges the decrees of those councils as binding. Cut off from the Eastern Church, the Armenian bishops became all the more closely identified with their native country, and kept alive patriotic feeling in times of great national distress. In spite of many national calamities, foreign domination, internal dissensions, and even banishment, the Armenian Church preserved its character, doctrine, and discipline until the middle of the 15th century, when great dissensions arose which -resulted in a schism. These quarrels were occasioned by Jesuit missionaries, who endeavoured to make the Armenians adopt the doctrine, liturgy, and ceremonies of the Roman Church. They succeeded in prevailing upon a great number of the adherents of the Armenian Church to separate from the community and join the communion of Rome. The Catholic Armenians, as they are called, first became a separate community towards the end of the 16th century; their existence has proved a source of great weakness to the orthodox church, and through their exertions the old persecutions were revived. This state of matters went on until the middle of the 18th century, when the patriarch sought and obtained the intervention of Peter the Great of Russia. Since then the Armenian Church has found shelter under the protection of Russia. There is a reformation now going on in the Armenian Church, and a Reformed Church has arisen, which seeks to ally itself with the Calvinist Churches of Europe and America.

2. Doctrines.— These are almost identical with those of the orthodox Greek Church. The Armenians accept the first three, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh oecumenical councils, denying that of Chalcedon only, but, as has been explained, they, in their authoritative documents, reject the Eutychian heresy, which that council was called to condemn. The chief source of information as to the doctrine is contained in the letter of Narses above referred to. They reject the Western addition of filioque to the Nicene Creed, and deny the distinctive doctrines of the Roman Church.

3. The Liturgy is said to date from the 1st century, and to have been founded on that of the Church of Jerusalem. St Gregory remodelled it, and introduced the Nicene Creed, using that edition which contains the damnatory clause, and adding a conclusion of his own. Prayers of John Chrysostom and of Basil the Great were introduced in 430 a.d. Prayers are said for the dead, and entreaty is made for the pardon of their sins, but the church does not believe in purgatory, nor admit of indulgences. The holy days are Sundays, the chief feasts observed in the Eastern Church, and ten national saints’ days. Christmas is celebrated on the 6th of January, on the day of the Epiphany, and not on the 25th of December.

4. Sacraments.— The Church of Armenia has the seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, penance, ordination, marriage, and extreme unction, Baptism is by immersion; the child is immersed three times; it is then anointed with holy oil, is confirmed, and partakes of the eucharist in both elements. Confirmation is administered to children immediately after baptism. The eucharist is administered in both elements to all members of the church; the bread is always unleavened, and the wine is not mixed with water. Confession must precede the partaking of the eucharist, save in the case of children under seven years of age. Penance consists of confession and fasting. Ordination is by anointing with the holy oil. The τnαrnαye service is almost the same as in the Greek Church. In extreme unction only priests are anointed with oil. Laity have the prayers said over them, but are not anointed.

5. The Clergy.— There is the threefold order— bishops, priests, and deacons; and there are three degrees of episcopal rank—the archbishops (chief among whom is the patriarch or catholicos), the bishop, and the vartabed, or doctor of theology, who has frequently charge of a diocese, with episcopal functions. The clergy are further divided into the black and the white. The black clergy are monks, and are alone eligible for the higher clerical offices; the white clergy include the parish priests and lower clergy. The clergy may marry before ordination, but not after; and a priest’s widow is not allowed to remarry. The priesthood is hereditary. During his father’s or grandfather’s lifetime the heir may follow a secular calling; but he must leave this and enter the priest’s office on the death of the priest he is heir to. There are four patriarchs, who have their seats at Constantinople, Jerusalem, Sis, and Etchmiadzin. The clergy of all ranks are supported entirely by the free-will offerings of the people.

Authorities :— The Life and Times of S. Gregory the Illuminator, translated, by S. C. Malan, 1868. (This is a translation of authoritative papers, and includes a short summary of the state of the Armenian Church. It is founded on authoritative documents.) The Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church, transi, by S. C. Malan, Lond. 1870 (very carefully done). Histoire, Dogmes, Traditions et Liturgie de l'Eglise Arménienne, Paris, 1855 (fuller, but not so accurate). Codex Mysterii Missal Armenorum seu Liturgia Armena, Pome, 1677 (Lat and Armen. Later editions of the Liturgy published at Rome belong to the Catholic Armenian Church, and are worthless). (T. Μ. L.)

The 12th and 13th centuries form a second great period of Armenian literature, during which the influence of Syriac is again perceptible. Gregory Magistros, who introduced the Arabic system of versification into his native language, Narses of Lampron, Mekhitar Kosh (sec Joum. Asiat., 1841), John Vanacan {i.e., the Monk), Vardan the Great {Journ. Asiat., 1867), Vahram, and Sempad, are a few of the numerous writers of note. From the 14th to the 18th century there is a falling off, the most important work, perhaps, being Thomas of Medzoph’s History of Timour. In the 18th century a revival took place, which was mainly due to the Mekhita-rists of Venice (see Langlois, Notice sur le couvent Arménien de V île Saint-Lazare de Venise, Paris, 1863), and since then Armenian literature has acquired a development which is remarkable in the absence of national unity. Printing presses have been established in most of the cities where Armenians are numerous, the ancient writers have been published and studied, the vernacular literature has been enriched both by original productions and translations, and magazines and newspapers have been established in many of the centres of Armenian activity. The study of the Armenian language and literature by the savants of Western Europe has shared in the general development of Indo-European philology. The earlier labours of Rivola (1633), Villote, La Croze, Osgan, Villefroy, and Freret have been almost completely eclipsed by such men as Saint Martin (an Armenian by race), Dulaurier, Langlois, Boré, and Prudhomme in France; Nève in Holland; Emin, Patcanian,and Brosset in Russia; and Windischmann, Marie, Spiegel, Justi, Neumann, and Petermann in Germany.

See Somal’s Quadro della storia lei. di Arm.; Karikin, Hist, de lΛ lit. Arm.; Patcanian, “Cat. de la lit. Arm.,” in Mélanges Asiat., vol. iv. Petersb., I860; Neumann’s Versuch einer Gesch. der Arm. Lit.; Alishan’s Tableau succinet de l'hist. et de la lit. de VArm., 1860; Hamachod’s Chronological succ. of Arm. Patriarchs (in Armenian).