Armenian literature. The Armenian Church fostered literature,
and the principal early works are religious or hagiographical,
most of them translations. The first major Armenian literary
work is a 5th cent. translation of the Bible; its language
became the standard of classical Armenian. Early Mesopotamian
influence resulted in Syriac translations (Aphraates and St.
Ephraem Syrus). Armenia then turned to the West for literary
inspiration, producing translations of many religious works
(Athanasius, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory
Nazianzen, and John Chrysostom). Among secular works are
renderings of Aristotle and of the romance of Alexander. The
original writings of the golden age are confined to saints'
lives and histories. The 5th-century history of Moses of Khorni
contains practically all that is known of pre-Christian Armenia,
its folklore and epics. Later historians include Thomas Ardzruni
(10th cent.), Matthew of Edessa, who described the Crusades, and
Stephanos Orbelian, who wrote of the Mongo