Magnalia Dei
Subtitle: Biblical history in epic verse by Grigor Magistros
By: critical text, with introduction, translation, and commentary by Abraham Terian
Contributors: Terian, Abraham, 1942-
Series: Hebrew University Armenian studies -- 14; Hebrew University Armenian studies -- 14.
Publisher: Peeters
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Leuven
Language: arm
Number of pages: 197
ISBN-13: 9789042925076
Subjects: Versdichtung; Bible; Armenian Bible stories; Abridgments; Bibelepik; Altarmenisch; Bibelparafraser; Bibliska motiv i litteraturen; Armenisk poesi; Armenian New Testament stories
Description: Composed by Grigor Magistros, an 11th-century Armenian princely savant and friend of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus (reigned 1042-55), the Magnalia Dei is a summation of the Bible in epic verse. Written on one of the author's visits to Constantinople, it resulted from an encounter there with a Moslem intellectual by the name of Manazi - none other than Abu Nasr al-Manazi, vizier and emissary of the Abbasid Caliphate, theologian and poet, who frequently visited Constantinople in quest of Greek scientific manuscripts. During their discussion on the Bible and the Qur'an, a stock Islamic argument emerged: that the Qur'an is superior to the Christian Scriptures on account of its beautiful, inimitable verse. The epic is Magistros's response. 0.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.