Armeniaca International Journal of Armenian Studies

Journal | Armeniaca
Journal issue | 1 | 2022
Research Article | The Poetic Middle Armenian of Kafas in the Alexander Romance

The Poetic Middle Armenian of Kafas in the Alexander Romance

Abstract

This paper examines the use of Middle Armenian in the medieval kafas (short monorhymed poems) associated with the legendary history of Alexander III of Macedon in its Armenian translation. These poems, composed in Armenian in the 13th-16th centuries, contain classical and vernacular language. Examining the interplay between the poetic requirements of meter and rhyme and the linguistic features of Middle Armenian, this paper points to cases in the kafas where the choice between words and grammatical forms is dictated by poetry. This includes the use of both classical nominative plural ending -ք and the medieval (and modern) -(ն)եր, and the concurrent comprehensibility of the present and imperfect indicative both with and without the particle կու.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: Jan. 14, 2022 | Accepted: March 23, 2022 | Published Oct. 28, 2022 | Language: en

Keywords Grigoris Ałt‘amarc‘iXač‘atur Keč‘aṙec‘iMiddle ArmenianKafasZak‘aria Gnunec‘iClassical ArmenianAlexander Romance


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