InternationalGladzor University: A proud moment in Armenian history
Published: Sunday November 30, 2008
Cover of The Armenian Gospels of Gladzor: The Life of Christ Illuminated
Yerevan - If you could go back to one time and place in Armenian history, one that you're really proud of, what would it be? The heyday of the Urartian Kindgom in the 8th century B.C.E.? Etchmiadzin in the early 4th century., during the founding of the Mother See? Yerevan in the late 1980s, at the height of the Armenian national movement? I can't pick just one, but high on my list of moments in our history to revisit is Gladzor University in the 13th century.
True, as a woman, I probably wouldn't have had the right to study under the great masters there, but I highly doubt that women anywhere in the world had the right to higher education in the 13th century. The political, religious, and artistic breakthroughs that emerged from this academic institution make it just as important as any battleground in the defense and advancement of the Armenian nation.
Armenians have a long and impressive tradition of groundbreaking universities that started in the 5th century (the Golden Age of Armenian literature) when Mesrob Mashtots and his disciples founded schools throughout the nation to teach the new alphabet and promote a heightened sense of Armenian spirituality.
Modern secular universities did not emerge in Europe until the Middle Ages. While Armenia's early universities were by no means secular, what really set them apart as forward-thinking institutions was the fact that they had "faculties," comprised of several scholars who were organized into "departments" based on their fields of specialization. At a time when universities in England, France, and Italy consisted of one person who was said to be a "master of all knowledge," Armenian academic institutions were organized in a fashion quite similar to modern universities, with departments like astrology, philosophy, theology, and art, taught by specialists in each field.
Despite centuries of foreign domination, universities throughout Armenia continued to grow and expand well into the Middle Ages, behind the protective walls of monasteries. Among the most prestigious and influential of these, though short-lived, was Gladzor University, not far from Noravank in the modern-day Vayots Dzor Region.
The university moved around between a few locations during its roughly 50-year existence (1282-1338) and none of its premises have survived intact, though Tanahat Monastery, where it is believed to have been founded, can still be visited today. As medieval universities go, Gladzor was ahead of its time, with specialized departments such as the School of Armenian Miniature Painting, which combined the miniature painting schools of Cilicia and Central Armenia, where some of the country's most talented miniature artists created their masterpieces. The features of the Gladzor school of painting were later reflected in the works of painters from other centers of Syunik. Among these are the manuscripts of Tatev Monastery, which was the main successor of the Gladzor tradition.
The famed book of Gladzor Gospels, created around 1307, contains
some of the finest examples of Armenian miniature painting. Owned at various
times by merchants and princes, the Gladzor Gospels is now in the Charles E.
Young Research Library at the University of California, Los Angeles. It has
been carefully examined and praised by scholars around the world. An in-depth
study of the Gladzor Gospels, the historical and cultural contexts under which
it was created, and the significance of Gladzor University, is presented in the
book, The Armenian Gospels of Gladzor: The Life of Christ Illuminated
In addition to its famously high standards of education in theology, the arts, and sciences, Gladzor University sought to maintain the independence of the Armenian Church and reject papal authority. Indeed, the university was a bastion for Armenia's theological resistance to Catholicism.
Traditionally, universities have been known as centers where new ideas can grow and flourish. They have been associated with political and ideological debates, as places where people fight to have new ideas accepted or to hold on to old ideas that are being challenged. But in our modern age, universities are moving farther and farther away from these original ideals and becoming increasingly synonymous with "getting ahead in life," focusing on narrow individual gain rather than the generation or defense of ideas. Gladzor exemplifies what universities ought to be about: the advancement of culture and higher learning, and the defense of core values and principles. Now that's something to be proud of.
