Presented here is a translation from Latin into Armenian of a Westernized version of the popular Eastern tale Kalila wa-Dimna (Kalila and Dimna). The translation was completed in 1614 by Hakob T‘ok‘atets‘i (James of Tokat). The edition shown here was published in 1740. Kalila wa-Dimna is a widely circulated collection of Oriental fables of Indian origin, composed in Sanskrit possibly as early as the third century BC. The fables were translated into Arabic in the eighth century by the Persian Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ and subsequently into Latin and other Western languages. The engraving before the beginning of the text depicts the emperor in a scene from one of the fables. The incipit is ornamented with recognizably Armenian illustrative devices.
Presented here is a translation from Latin into Armenian of a Westernized version of the popular Eastern tale Kalila wa-Dimna (Kalila and Dimna). The translation was completed in 1614 by Hakob T‘ok‘atets‘i (James of Tokat). The edition shown here was published in 1740. Kalila wa-Dimna is a widely circulated collection of Oriental fables of Indian origin, composed in Sanskrit possibly as early as the third century BC. The fables were translated into Arabic in the eighth century by the Persian Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ and subsequently into Latin and other Western languages. The engraving before the beginning of the text depicts the emperor in a scene from one of the fables. The incipit is ornamented with recognizably Armenian illustrative devices.