«Omnia depinxissem vobis si scivissem pingere!» L’Armenia nell’Itinerarium di fra Guglielmo di Rubruk
abstract
The article uses William of Rubruck’s Itinerarium as a source of study on the cultural heritage of 13th-century Armenia, focusing on its art-historical aspects. Although much has been written about the ethnographic and literary-historical value of the Flemish friar’s report, nothing has been said so far about his relations with the Armenians he met during his wanderings through Asia, except in an ancillary way to other topics. The analysis aims to enrich the fragmentary mosaic of knowledge about the medieval Armenian world by adding a few more tiles, without renouncing to explore the personality of the Franciscan who was its observer-witness.
Keywords: Nakhichivan • Armenia • William of Rubruck • Medieval travel literature • Silk Road • Kingdom of Cilicia • Franciscan missions in the East • Ani • Armenian cultural heritage • Ararat