Feudal Family Research Articles

Manaz’s City: The Narrative of Manzikert in Ancient Armenian Texts

Manzikert, located in the southern regions of Armenia, has consistently held a significant place in the literature of various communities from ancient times to the medieval period. This importance is attributed to the multidimensional nature of Manzikert from geographical, political, and religious perspectives, as well as its comprehensive influence on the surrounding historical trajectory. The geographical analysis of the region encompasses the etymological extensions of names, revealing the linguistic complexity that has influenced the various ways Manzikert is named in Armenian texts, primarily as Taron. From a political standpoint, the history of Manzikert unfolds through the region’s feudal structure and the power balance between dominant forces such as Rome and Iran. The rise and fall of powerful feudal families, especially the Manawazean and Mamikonean dynasties, have shaped the political landscape of Manzikert. Undoubtedly, the significance of the city transcends the political realm; Manzikert embodies a centre for cultural and religious interactions between Armenian and Syriac traditions. This region emerges as a crucial centre for the south-to-north spread of Christianity in Armenia. Therefore, the aim of this study is not only to understand the political importance of Manzikert but also to explore its religious significance and discuss its relationship with Armenian Christianity.

On the Descent of Grigol Bakurianisdze (the Son of Bakur)

All the researchers, who have ever questioned Grogol Bakurianis-dze’s ethnicity – whether they consider it Georgian or Armenian – have unanimously agreed upon his origin from the province of Tao. Nobody has called into question that standpoint, which was first suggested by N. Marr. In fact, one cannot find any indications on his origin from Tao in the available sources. Having compared the sources with each other, we have come to the conclusion that Grigol belonged to the main branch of the reknowned Georgian royal family of Parnavaziani-Khosroviani (Sasanidz). When the kingship of Kartli had been abolished by percians in the middle of VI century, the family settled down in Kakheti. After one of its members, Nerse I, superseded Guaram the Young , the son of Stepanoz II of the Gorgasliani’s Klarjeti branch, on the throne of Kartli’s erismtavaris in the 570s, Kakheti still remained the Bakuriani’s patrimonial domain. Nerse I and his sons – Stepanoz, Adarnase and Philip – are mentioned as the Bakuriani in the list of erismtavaris in Moktsevai Kartlisa. The Bakuriani were Kartli’s erismtavaris till 780s inclusive, when Ashot Bagrationi deprived them of that honor at the end of the century. A Bakuriani, Grigol by name – in our opinion, the smallest son of Nerse II – had to relinquish his rights to the title ofErismtavari of Kartli and content oneself with the rights to his family domain, Kakheti, after a lost battle with Ashot the Kurapalat in the early 9th century. The revolted Donauri deprived Grigol’s descendents of their sovereign rights to Kakheti in the early 830s. We suppose that Bakuriani were still considered the noblest feudal family of Kakheti after that, though the sources pass it over in silence. About two centuries later, a Bakuriani, Grigol’s father, was serving to Giorgi I and, together with Prince Bagrat, went to Byzantium as a hostage of Emperor Basil. Information maintained in Petritsoni’s Typikon gives us some reason to surmise that Grigol Bakurianisdze’sbrother-in-law (his sister’s husband), Abas, was brother to King Aghsartan of Kakheti, which means Grigol’s close filiation with the family of Kvirikiani – Armenian Bagratuni – ruling in Georgia at the time. We have also specially perused the last part of Moktsevai Kartlisas – the list of erismtavaris – in this connection. The reading of the defective, obscure text is suggested as follows: “Then Nerse the Great and his sons: Philip, and Stepanoz, and Adarnase, and Guaram the Great Bakuriani, and the son of Bal [gh] [a] dadi [Adarnase], and the sons of Adarnase: Stepanoz, and Ashot, and Guaram, the great Eristavis, lived. ” The brackets represent restored parts and in the word “Bal [gh] [a] dadi” the original “L” is restored as initial “GH.” Confusion between “L” and “GH” is caused by thesimilarity of these two in Georgian-Nuskhuri (Minuscule) writings.

Analysis of the Tragic Fate of "Lei Yu" from the Complex Character Relationships

"Lei Yu (Thunderstorm)" by Cao Yu presents the tragedy of Zhou Gong Guan, a feudal family in the Republican era, by characterizing different personalities, backgrounds and ethical relationships. As a dramatic work of considerable status in modern Chinese literature, "Lei Yu" contains many profound connotations. From its publication in 1934 to the present, "Lei Yu" has profoundly exposed the problems of the feudal family's autocratic and corrupt times through the meticulous and precise portrayal of its many characters' complex relationships and the gradual clarification of its historical past. This work exposes not only the conflicts of the members of the Zhou Gong Guan but also the class disparity and the status of men and women in the era through the class and gender of each member. At present, academic research on "Lei Yu" is very mature, but there is still some room for research on the analysis of the characters' relationship and tragedy of fate in relation to the author's view of fate and the imagery of "Lei Yu". Therefore, this paper will start with the interpretation of Cao Yu's view of fate, analyze the author's view of "the fatalism of gods and ghosts" and "the view of nature and heaven" in the preface, and then analyze the imagery of "Lei Yu" to derive the tragedy of fate. Then, through the analysis of the imagery of this work, the complex family conflicts and the characters' view of fate behind it are derived, and then the characters' characters, experiences and identities are carefully analyzed through both character tragedies and ethical tragedies, revealing the irresistible tragedy of fate in the relationship between the characters of "Lei Yu", which means that all characters in the play have tragedies in character and ethical relationships.

Models of female education and household management

This essay will tackle two topics: women’s education and the daily practice of writing and bookkeeping among noblewomen in a rural context. The numerous family memoirs and accounting records of the main feudal families of Friuli prove that women had extensive economic control over family assets and household economic activities. A text of uncertain attribution, perhaps written by a woman, the Colloquio sopra gli studj delle donne, published in Udine in 1774, argued that women should acquire knowledge in trade, medicine, and agriculture. Most probably, the author witnessed an economic reality in which noblewomen were actively involved and needed this kind of knowledge to manage their households and take care of its members. The interest in women’s practical knowledge links the female model of the Colloquio with documented female agency among Friulian noblewomen between the 16th and 18th centuries.

Sugyvenimas ir meilė. Jokūbo Nagurskio šeimos pavyzdys

Concordance and Love. The Case of Jacob Nagórsky’s Family From the second half of the twentieth century, studies into family history in the Western historiography were particularly intensified. The biggest attention was paid to the structure and type of the household and the family, the distribution and prevalence of different types of households in different European regions, the functioning of the household, changes, strategies, and so on. On the other hand, numerous studies of this kind have been written that can be attributed to the psychoanalytic and emotional direction in family history research. The history of the family in the former Republic of the Two Nations has also already attracted the attention of its researchers. The article highlights the story of one provincial feudal family ( Jacob and Marianna Nagórsky) from the second half of the eighteenth century in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and attempts to trace its emotional climate. There is a quite large base of sources about it, such as personal letters, wills, economic letters, etc. Unfortunately, Jacob Nagórsky’s letters to his wife are missing, which makes it difficult to trace his emotional relationship with his spouse. The study is influenced by the English historian Lawrence Stone who wrote about the “rise of the nuclear family” in the eighteenth century, which gradually pushed out the “open lineage family”. The historian perceived this concept of the nuclear family as a social and psychological unit based on the emotional connection and closed kinship ties. Both spouses came from wealthy families and were educated. They married quite young, had at least six children, and this number was slightly higher than in typical aristocratic families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The surviving correspondence of Jacob Nagórsky and other sources show his rather cold and unemotional attitude towards his wife, but he was constantly concerned about the well-being of his family. Meanwhile, Marianna’s surviving letters reflect more expressions of love. Children were the main binding tie of the family. They were given the mutual care and love of their parents. Both Nagórsky attended to the children’s daily well-being and education. Although much less often than her husband, Marianna engaged herself in the running of the estate; she was active in family concerns. The emotional ties between the spouses can already be attributed to the “nuclear family” model. Keywords: Jacob and Marianna Nagórsky, family, wife, husband, children, Kurtuvėnai.

THE HOUSE OF DADIANI

This work is a part of the broad scientific research which is the first attempt of monographic study of the great feudal family of Dadiani. This family had a great role in the history of Georgia. Therefore, spheres of our research contain not only the area of Samegrelo and its neighbors (Svaneti, Guria, Abkhazeti and Imereti), but the most interesting and important issues and problems of Georgian historiography. We have attempted to answer all the questions as far as possible.

A Study on Narrative Art of Raise the Red Lantern

In the history of modern and contemporary Chinese literature, Su Tong, a leading representative of avant-garde writers, is good at using creatively narrative skills to develop his stories. Raise the Red Lantern is one of his famous masterpieces, which ranks among the top 100 Chinese novels of the 20th century. The story began with a small sedan chair carrying Lotus, a 19-year-old college student, into Chen Family. She was going to be a fourth concubine for Chen Zuoqian, a 50-year-old master of Chen family. The books tells the unfortunate marriage and tragic fate of Lotus under the feudal system in Chen family. This paper aimed to analyze and appreciate narrative art in Raise the Red Lantern from three aspects: narrative contents, narrative language and narrative techniques, which will enrich the interpretation of the novella. Su Tong made use of vivid characterization, delicate environmental description, rich metaphors and symbols as well as intradiegetic narrator to represent the readers the tragedy of women in a feudal family and provoke in-dept thinking of fate of women group.

Unread History of an Erstwhile Manual Scavenging Community: From Being an Urban to a Marginalized

The article is based on an ethnography of community who had been historically manual scavengers in the Bengal Province later even in the state of Bihar and continued until the parliament enacted a law prohibiting this practice. The history of manual scavengers are well written in the context of their rehabilitation and occupational engagements but one community that merely got any attention was Hadi jati (caste), who have been doing the menial job for generations in the Jharkhand region. Off beat, they are referred as Safai Karamchari on the roll of municipal administration for technical purposes but the people living in the town popularly refer them as Hadis. This article is an attempt to bring the historical existence of Hadis in the region who served in the kingdom, royal and feudal families and later, in the independent India, continues in the contemporary urban settlements. An inquiry into the historicity of Hadis brings a sociological insights to a neglected and marginalized section of the urban India and shows the tyranny and continuation of caste-based traditional in a town that could see the earliest public sector steel conglomerate established in 1968. In view of this background, there is a humble attempt to examine the process of marginalization of Hadis in the historical and contemporary social structure.

The Ideological Emancipation of Chinese Women and Its Idealistic Pursuit in the May 4th Movement

The May 4th Movement of 1919 is a significant period of ideological change in Chinese modern history, and in it is during this time that the ideological enlightenment of modern Chinese women made its debut. Led by modern intellectuals, they, from all angles, criticized the traditional social structure, traditional etiquette and feudal family system hindering the liberation and development of women, and further discussed the emancipation of women in terms of ideological education, economic independence, family status, freedom of marriage, ethics, social communication, as well as other relevant social issues. The intense exchange of ideas influenced public opinion, provoking enormous responses from all sections of society, particularly from women. Based on real educational and economic issues concerning women, combined with theories, real thoughts and practices, and carried out with a series of practical social reform activities, the ideological emancipation of women in the May 4th Movement of 1919 laid a solid foundation for the transition of traditional women to modern women, thus becoming the source of ideological emancipation of modern women in China.

Το Μεσαιωνικό Αγγελόκαστρο της Κορινθίας. Κάστρο-οικισμός, αγροτική οικονομία

Angelokastron is one of the castles in the Frankish castellania of Corinth, holding a strategic position in the mountainous area separating Corinthia from Argolida, on the route leading from Corinth to Epidaurus. The name is attested in catalogues of castles of the period pertaining to the end of the Middle Ages and the beginnings of Ottoman rule as well as in a cadastre of the feudal family of Acciaiuoli (1365), who possessed the Corinthian castellania during the second half of the 14th century. Angelokastro was part of a broader tax unit comprising the nearby castles of Πιάδα/Piada and Λιγουριό/Ligourio. Part of the agricultural production that belonged to the feudal overlord was collected and stored in these castles. During the late medieval and early Ottoman periods, Angelokastro was the main settlement of the peninsula that ends up in Cape Speiraio/Σπείραιο, suggesting that the center of the region mentioned above had moved from the area of Sofiko (where another important medieval castle thrived in the 12th and 13th centuries). Until the 1970s, Angelokastro remained an important settlement, second in size only to the most important village of Sofiko, within the administrative boundaries of the former municipality ofSolygia (Σολυγεία).

الفلاح المصری فی العصر البیزنطی (284-641م)

عاشت مصر فترة هامة من تاريخها امتدت إلى ما يقرب من ثلاثة قرون تحت الحکم البيزنطي, وتمکن الفلاح المصري من التحکم في مصير بيزنطة, فقد کانت مصر مخزنا للغلال ورغم الاحتلال والمحن ظل الفلاح المصري يزرع أرضه ويرويها من مياه النيل مثل أجداده, واعتبر الأباطرة البيزنطيون مصر مستودعا للقمح وأصبحت أراضي مصر الزراعية کلها ملکا للإمبراطور البيزنطي, وتعرض الفلاح المصري في العصر البيزنطي لتحولات عديدة بسبب الظروف السياسية والاقتصادية والدينية والاجتماعية التي مرت بها مصر في تلک الحقبة, وتعرض الفلاح المصري للاضطهاد الديني وأصبحت حياته أکثر شقاء وقسوة وزادت عليه وطأة الضرائب والخدمات الإلزامية وأعمال السخرة التي أجبر عليها وأصبحت القرية المصرية وحدة إدارية تابعة للإمبراطورية البيزنطية واضطر الکثير من أصحاب الأملاک الصغيرة إلى التنازل عن أراضيهم أو هجرها, وبمرور الوقت ظهر نظام الضياع في مصر, واشتهرت العديد من الأسر الإقطاعية التي ذاع صيتها في مصر في القرن الخامس الميلادي وشغل بعض أفرادها مناصب هامة في الدولة مع وجود فارق کبير بين النظام الإقطاعي في الغرب والنظام الإقطاعي الذي کان موجودا في مصر آنذالک, ولا يمکن إغفال دور الفلاحة المصرية ووقوفها إلى جانب زوجها حتى الفتح العربي الإسلامي مصر سنة641م/21ه The Egyptian Peasant in the Byzantine Period Howaida Mohamed Ahmed Benira Department of History, Faculty of Arts, Damietta University, Egypt. E-mail: mohalygr10@gmail.com Abstract: Egypt lived an important period of its history that stretched back to nearly three centuries under Byzantine rule, and the Egyptian peasant managed to control the fate of Byzantium. Egypt was a storehouse of grain, and despite the occupation and tribulations, the Egyptian peasant cultivated his land and irrigated it from the waters of the Nile like his ancestors. A warehouse of wheat and all of Egypt's agricultural lands became the property of the Byzantine Emperor, and the Egyptian peasant in the Byzantine era underwent many transformations due to the political, economic, religious and social conditions that Egypt went through in that era. Forced forced labor and the Egyptian village became an administrative unit of the Byzantine Empire and many owners of small property were forced to forfeit or abandon their lands, and over time the system of loss appeared in Egypt, and many feudal families became famous in Egypt in the fifth century AD and occupied some of their members Important positions in the state with a big difference between the feudal system in the West and the feudal system that existed in Egypt at the time. For you, the role of the Egyptian peasant woman and her standing by her husband until the Arab Islamic conquest of Egypt in the year 641 AD / 21 AH cannot be overlooked.

Footbinding and non-footbinding Han Chinese females in the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912 CE) Xifengbu cemetery: a skeletal and mortuary analysis

Footbinding was an infamous custom of the Han Chinese people used to modify the size and shape of feet in women. Binding started at a very young age and gradually deformed the natural growth of the feet, which was not only a painful process but also a lifetime source of inconvenience and morbidity. In this study, we report a large number of skeletons with signs of footbinding bones excavated from the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912 CE) Xifengbu cemetery, Shanxi Province, Northern China. Ninety-three female individuals at Xifengbu were found, of which 74 had footbinding while 19 were free of the tradition. Their age at death ranged from 13 years old to around 60 years old. Interestingly, all of the individuals also came from two feudal families over hundreds of years. All footbinding was identified by type as Talipes Calcaneus. Compared to the non-footbinding group at Xifengbu, the overall size and robustness of the leg bones of the footbinding group were smaller, indicating a weaker leg musculoskeletal system that affected locomotion and physical activities, as well as an increased risk of falls and injuries. Mortuary analysis indicated that footbinding females had a higher economic status than non-footbinding females. However, all non-footbinding females were found from joint burials, indicating their wife or concubine status and thus the acceptance of the non-footbinding during the time of prevalent footbinding in Qing Dynasty rural area. The findings will not only enrich our knowledge of the footbinding practice in ancient China but also shed light on how this gender-biased custom might have compromised health and quality of life for women. Additionally, the findings will show how footbinding may have determined opportunities to different lifestyles in the socioeconomic stratigraphy of the pre-modern male-dominant society in China.

Mausoleums of the Karachays and Balkarians ancestors

This article is devoted to the stone buildings “Keshene”, which were built for the burial of the noble feudal families’ members, individual princes and nobles. These historical and architectural monuments were located in the mountainous zone of the North Caucasus and belong to the late Middle Ages. The issues concerning the distribution area of the mausoleums of Karachay and Balkar as well as their typology are discussed in the article.

Family Businesses Management and Succession: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose: This paper assesses how management and succession is handled in family businesses. In addition, the research seeks to find out how to manage the business succession in the family business during the transitional period of the case company. Furthermore, the objective of my research is to provide guidelines for implementing family business succession strategy. Approach: Study was a meta-analytical literature review based on the analytical and descriptive research designs used. Findings: This paper found that rewards of a family-owned business are many as are the challenges. The findings of this research indicate that family businesses are unique and they have several common characteristics that differentiate them from other businesses. This uniqueness also causes the special challenges and opportunities, which family businesses face in their operations. The most significant characteristic that separates family businesses from non-family businesses is the family’s impact on the business and ownership. The unique family business characteristics, challenges and opportunities stated in the theoretical framework can be applied to the family businesses used in this research. It can be stated that both of the case companies fit the concept of a typical family business, which is unique compared to other businesses. Limitations: the design and process of sieving articles for critical review is time consuming and involves voluminous data analysis. Conclusion: Family businesses try to intersect the distinctions between family issues and business matters. This needs to be handled with utmost care as it spells the difference between success and failure. The outcomes of this research pointed out that there are mainly two obstacles concerning the family business i.e. The company does not have a proper successor, the family governance issues have an impact on the family business succession. In other words, the family governance issues which are aspects of the poor management mode and feudal family culture. Originality: There is a paucity of recent research in this area and this paper makes a contribution towards filling this gap.

A Church of Saint Sabbas in Heiti Architecture as a Primary Source

The article discusses the history of the construction of the church of St. Sabbas in Kheiti village, located in the middle stream of the Big Liahvi river. The text describes in detail the current state of the monument, proposes the reconstruction of the original forms, and highlights the main stages of construction. The architecture of this monument, as well as stylistically and technically similar ecclesiastical buildings appears as the main primary source for the history of territories of the historical region Shida-Kartli (northern part of Eastern Georgia) in the 10th c., linking insignificant information from the main annalistic monument of Georgia — Kartlis Tskhovreba with epigraphic material in the form of building and funeral inscriptions on churches in the upper streams of Liahvi and Ksani rivers. A comparative analysis of the monuments of local ecclesiastical architecture, as well as neighboring regions, suggests the organization of a certain construction policy of the governors of the Abkhaz king, who controlled the territories in the gorges of the Big Liahvi and Ksani rivers, a large feudal family of Tbeli. Churches that were built under their supervision can be combined into a homogeneous group, that uses specific building techniques, both functional and decorative, based on the local traditions of earlier monuments, but transformed through the use of patterns common throughout the South Caucasus region (neighboring Georgian state formations, as well as Armenia). The author of the article also draws attention to the purpose of the church (monastery, parish or house), not least affecting the decision regarding the type and general appearance of the building.

Notes from the Pier No. 1: On Route to “A Global Renaissance”: An f : Fabric in the “BRI: One Belt One Road”

This paper is actually a summary of the authors series of academic research since 1970s. It focuses on interconnectivity of civilizations with a focus on major civilizations and their impact on regional development. It is very clear that in comparison to Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and modern Western Civilizations, the Imperial China and its traditional civilizations did not play a profound role outside China as judged by the Kublai Khan and Zheng Hes naval expeditions to East Asia and Indian Ocean areas. Apparently, she did not make good use of the “f-shaped” maritime road either. This “civilization-inabsentia” was probably due to traditional Chinas economy and culture which were built on unstable agricultural bases; thus conditioning its Han Chinese elites had its upper structure that evolved around paternalism and a feudal family system. Its inward-looking approach prohibited them from going outside to impose its cultural system so as to colonize the local populations along the “f-shaped maritime and land Silk Roads”. Her refusal to pursue an open policy inhibited formal international trades, thus giving the British East India Company a good excuse to conduct a so-called “Trade War” against the Qing Dynasty; and the Opium War had caused a total collapse of the Chinese Empire in 1830s. On the contrary, the Westerners have been using the “f-strategy” to impose on a broken China westernization in her search of model of modernizations. Here, the author has been trying to make good use of an “f-shaped” theory and methodology to interpret and understand Chinas historical, contemporary and future development processes. The f : fabric has proved to be an inspiring and useful model to configure Chinas shuttles between the so-called “#1.0: Pre-Western Culture” (before 1500 AD) and the “#2.0: Western Supremacy Culture” (1500–1990) and from here to move ahead for its “Socialism with Chinese characteristics” after entering the 21st century; finally, she could be a pioneer in the pursuit of a “#3.0: Post-Western and Non-Western World”. The tentative conclusion of the paper is that this newly introduced f : BRI-OBOR can be taken as a prelude to the future civilizations which are going to satisfy the human needs so as to promote the so-called “human pentagonal system” much more effectively.

POLITICAL – DIPLOMATIC MISSION OF ALEKS SPAN

In the town of Drishtit during the Middle Age, among the noble families, there was also the Spani family, who was very well known. Out of this family emerged important figures whom Aleks Spani was noteworthy. In the field of his activity, Aleks Spani was very well known both for the diplomatic role and for the exercise of other important function’s, of which we highlight his position as a mayor of the city of Novoberde. Although we have not encountered so much information about Aleks Spani as a mayor of the city of Novoberde, however it was proven that Aleks Spani was the mayor of the city we. After the fall of Novoberde under the Ottoman dominance, the information we have for Aleks Spani refers to his diplomatic mission. Within this mission, he had served as a mediator between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of Drishti under the Ottoman dominance, Aleks Spani with his family settled in Venice. The Spani family through marriage’s had managed to connect with the familiar feudal families, like the Kastrioti one, because Pjeter Spani’s wife, was the sister of Vojsava, mother of Scanderbeg, as well as with other familiar families of that time not only from the different parts of Albania but also wider. An example of this case, we got the marriage of Aleks Spani, who was married with Miliza, daughter of a Serbian despot, Gjergj Brankovic. However, members of the Spani family with their contribution managed to leave trace’s not only in Drishte but also beyond, as we have the case of Aleks Spani, and his descendant’s, who although immigrated to Venice, played an important role in social trends or flows of that time. Article visualizations:

The Slovenian Territory as a Borderland in the Middle Ages

The geographic location between the Adriatic Sea, the Alps, the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula has made the territory of present-day Slovenia an important transitional area from prehistory onwards. This especially concerns a route between the Apennine Peninsula, and central and eastern or south-eastern Europe. This strategically important borderland has been at the crossroads of cultures, peoples, nations and languages. It witnessed incursions of the Goths, Huns and Langobards to Italy, collisions of Frankish, Avar and Byzantine interests, the settling of the Slavs and Hungarian raids to Italy. The German Kingdom, later Holy Roman Empire, established a defence system of border provinces at its south-eastern corner where feudal families, dynasts and kingdoms such as Přemysl Otakar II, the Habsburgs and the Counts of Cilli fought for territory, influence and access to the northern Adriatic area controlled by the Venetians. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the area was continuously attacked by the Ottomans. The article outlines some of these events and presents a selection of the extant pieces of arms and armour, of equestrian and horse gear that are kept in Slovenian museums, as well as some archaeological sites important for the problem.

Четвероевангелие из Российской государственной библиотеки (ф. 439.23.5): К вопросу атрибуции миниатюр рукописи

The article is devoted to the study of the miniatures of the Armenian Four Gospels from the manuscript collection of Russian State Library (f. 439.23.5). The illustrations of the manuscript consist of canontables (khorans), portraits of the Evangelists, title pages, and marginalias. The author, the date, and the place of the creation of the Gospels are unknown, as the last pages, where the main information about a manuscript is usually put down, were lost. The article discusses the question of the authorship of the manuscript art work. The portraits of the evangelists demonstrate close similarity with Momik’s manuscript of 1302 (Yerevan, Matenadaran,№ 6792). Based on the stylistic and iconographic study of the miniatures, we consider that it was Momik who illustrated the Gospels f. 439.23.5. The codex can be dated to the first decade of the 14th century. It is possible that the patrons of the manuscript were the Orbelians, one of the most significant feudal families of the time, as master Momik generally worked under their patronage.

Organized Materiality

In the late medieval period the religious guilds along with trade guilds grew in importance, as did the role of material culture related to the guilds. This history has seen little examination from a Fenno-Scandinavian and particularly a Swedish vantage point. In order to analyse the role of material culture in the formation of this way of organizing people, the article investigates the existence of late medieval guildhalls, especially rural ones, and discusses remains of other material culture that can be connected to the guilds. The halls, drinking vessels and other material things were activated in the growth of a new more substantial way of organizing society outside the boundaries of feudal society and family control. It is argued that material culture had a significant role in the recurrent activities of the guilds of the Middle Ages and in the shaping of new ways of organizing people.