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                         THE GOLDEN MAIDEN and
                       other folk tales and fairy
                        stories told in Armenia

                            A. G. SEKLEMIAN

                              Introduction
                         Alice Stone Blackwell

                            Initial Letters
                              Ella Dolbear

                              Cover Design
                            Elizabeth Geary


                       The Helman-Taylor Company
                         Cleveland and New York
                                  1898







INTRODUCTION.


A distinguished English student of folk-lore has written:
"Armenia offers a rich and hitherto almost untouched field to the
folk-lorist, the difficulty of grappling with the language--the
alphabet even of which was described by Byron as 'a very Waterloo of
an alphabet'--having hitherto baffled European collectors."

So far as I can learn, the two volumes of Armenian folk-tales collected
by Bishop Sirwantzdiants have hitherto been accessible to English
and European readers only through the medium of a rare and more or
less imperfect German translation. The late Ohannes Chatschumian had
begun a compilation of Armenian folk-lore for Miss Alice Fletcher;
but the work was cut short by his early death. Prof. Minas Tcheraz,
of King's College, London, has published from time to time during the
last eight years, in his paper "L'Armenie," a series of interesting
articles on the folk-lore and fairy tales of the Armenians, under
the title "L'Orient Inedit." He gathered these stories from the lips
of the poorer classes in Constantinople, as Mr. Seklemian did in
Erzroom. Prof. Tcheraz says: "The lowest strata of the population,
having received no instruction, and not having changed perceptibly
since the earliest centuries of our planet, keep still intact the
traditions of the past. It is above all from the talk of the women
of the common people, born in Constantinople or from the provinces,
that these things are to be learned. Gifted with strong memories and
brilliant imaginations, they still preserve all the legends bequeathed
from the past." But the files of "L'Armenie," like the books of Bishop
Sirwantzdiants, are inaccessible to the general public. Mr. Seklemian
has therefore rendered a real service to students of folk-lore who are
unacquainted with the Oriental languages, by bringing these curious
and interesting tales within their reach.

Many things combine to give especial value to Armenian folk-lore. Among
these are the great antiquity of the Armenian race, and its singular
tenacity of its own ideas and traditions.

Armenia was the seat of one of the most ancient civilizations
on the globe. Its people were contemporary with the Assyrians
and Babylonians. They are of Aryan race, and of pure Caucasian
blood. Their origin is lost in the mists of time. According to
their own tradition, they are descended from Togarmah, a grandson of
Japhet, who settled in Armenia after the Ark rested on Ararat. In the
earliest days of recorded history, we find them already occupying their
present home. They are referred to by Herodotus. Xenophon describes
their manners and customs much as they still exist in the mountain
villages. The Bible relates that the sons of Sennacherib escaped "into
the land of Armenia," (2 Kings xix., 37; Isaiah xxxvii., 38.) Ezekiel
refers to Armenia, under the name of Togarmah, as furnishing Tyre
with horses and mules, animals for which it is still famous; and "the
Kingdom of Ararat" is one of the nations called upon by Jeremiah to
aid in the destruction of Babylon. In the famous inscriptions of the
Achemenidae, at Persepolis and at Behistun, the name of Armenia occurs
in various forms.

The Armenians, according to their own histories and mythology,
enjoyed four periods of national independence, under four different
dynasties, extending over about 3,000 years. The ruins of Ani
and other great cities still testify to their former power and
splendor. It is now many centuries, however, since they lost their
political independence, and their country has been little more than
a battle-ground for rival invaders. Geographically, Armenia is the
bridge between Europe and Asia. In the early centuries, the Armenians
acted the part of Horatius and "kept the bridge," defending the gate
of Europe against successive invasions of the uncivilized hordes of
Asia. Their resistance was finally beaten down by superior numbers,
and now for hundreds of years the armies of Europe and Asia have
been marching and counter-marching across that bridge, slaughtering
and devastating as they went, till it is a wonder that any Armenians
are left, as a distinct race. Yet no race has ever retained its own
characteristics more clearly. This persistency of the Armenian type
is perhaps the most remarkable instance of race-survival in history,
except that of the Jews. Good observers say that it is due in large
measure to the comparatively pure family life of the Armenians in the
interior of Turkey, and especially to the virtue of the Armenian women.

Tradition relates that Christianity was preached in Armenia early
in the first century