Manuscripts · 966 CE; later binding and annotations
Armenian Gospels Copied by Sargis
A colophon names the priest Sargis as the copyist of this Armenian Gospel book. Its text, portraits, and later annotations preserve a history of community use that extends beyond the manuscript’s original production.
Date / dating
966 CE; later binding and annotations
Historical region
Armenian Christian world; precise production location unidentified
Holding collection / site
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; W.537
Material
Ink and paint on parchment; later goatskin binding
Language / script
Armenian
Place the object in time
Historical setting
The date 415 in the Armenian era corresponds to 966 CE. A later alteration replaced the era formula with wording that misleadingly suggested a fifth-century date. The Walters therefore distinguishes the actual copying date from the manuscript’s former name, ‘Gospels of the Translators.’ The church named in the commission has not been securely located.
Observe before interpreting
Look closely
Compare the colophon with later ownership notes: whose voices entered the book over time?
Notice the Armenian script and paired evangelist portraits before comparing them with Latin Gospel books.
History, Scripture, and theology
Why it matters
The book makes Armenian Christianity visible through its own language and scribal practices. Luke 1 offers a reading connection to Gospel transmission rather than a claim that Sargis composed or witnessed the narrative. The altered date provides an unusually concrete lesson in checking calendars, colophons, and later interventions before accepting an appealing title.
What the record can establish
Evidence and limits
The Armenian-era date does not mean 415 CE; the copied Gospel text dates to 966 CE.
The production site and parts of its modern ownership history remain uncertain; the binding is later.
Essential storage keeps you signed in and remembers preferences. With your permission, Feason also uses first-party analytics and Google Ads conversion measurement to learn whether a campaign led to a useful action. Google measurement is disabled until you accept, and we disable ad personalization and remarketing. See our Privacy Policy for details.