Passional, in Armenian, Armenia, Sodp Monastery, dated 1535

180x130mm, paper, 396 leaves, apparently complete, single column, 19 lines in bolorgir script, initials formed of coloured birds and foliage, 8 SMALL COLOURED DRAWINGS OF CHRIST AND SAINTS set in margins, some wear to first and last leaves, but quite legible, with small holes from nails attaching fixtures to boards, small areas of repair to upper outer edges of a few leaves, slight affecting text in places, one leaf with a marginal drawing cut away, another with a small burn hole affecting a few letters, edges of leaves woolly in places, crude drawings of a man and a bird on last endleaf, CUTTINGS FROM A 9TH- OR 10TH-CENTURY ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM USED AS ENDLEAVES (front: top of leaf with double column, 10 lines in erkatgir; back: single column cutting from same, 11 lines in erkatgir), contemporary binding of dark leather tooled with ropework designs over wooden boards, lined with red and green cloth, with two clasps, leather fore-edge flap torn, scuffs and tears to edges and scratches to leather on back board, splitting at spine, but overall in sound condition, carved ivory panel (perhaps later) attached to front board, showing Christ between two followers being blessed from above while other saints prostrate themselves before him

This large and solid pocket codex is an accomplished example of Armenian monastic workmanship. Its colophon records that it was written by Sarkis Ltsyal a monk of the monastery of Sodp to commemorate a deceased member of the community, Krikor Frangeretsants, in 1535. Other inscriptions show that it was owned by Hodil Khalil a century later, and may have left the monastery by that date.