Tork Angegh
transl. from Armenian and intro. by Agop Hacikyan; illust. by Talleen Hacikyan; versif. by Edward F. Franchuk
London: Gomidas Institute, 2007,
80 pp., 20 illustrations,
ISBN 978-1-903656-76-1, paperback
UK£12.00 / US$20.00 RESERVE STOCK - UK£24.00 / US$40.00
To order please contact books@gomidas.org
ABOUT THE BOOK
Tork Angegh is a legendary Armenian hero or minor deity, the great-grandson of Hayk. According to Movses Khorenatsi, he was a giant of extraordinary force, who could hurl boulders across the seas, flatten the surfaces of rocks, and draw pictures on them with his fingernails. He was apparently called Angegh (un-gegh: not beautiful) because of his physical appearance.
It is generally assumed, however, that Tork Angegh is a combination of two deities, who have left traces of themselves in his name: Tarku, the ancient Anatolian deity of fertility, and Angegh, a pagan god who was venerated mainly in the province of Angegh, in south-western Armenia. Movses Khorenatsi also states that he was a prince of that province, hence the references in Armenian history to Angegha tun (the House of Angegh). According to this view, the name Tork Angegh means Tork of Angegh rather than Tork the Ugly.
It is also interesting to note that in the ancient Armenian translation of the Bible, the name of the Babylonian god Nargal (4 Kings 17: 30) is rendered Angegh.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Agop J. Hacikyan, is a Professor Emeritus of English (the Royal Military College of Canada) and the author of several articles, novels, monographs, and scholarly studies. He has translated and edited the works of major Armenian poets and fiction writers. He lives in Montreal.
Edward S. Franchuk has edited and translated several books and articles. His research interests include comparative literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is currently a senior lecturer in English at the St-Jean campus of the Royal Military College of Canada. He lives in St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.
Talleen Hacikyan has exhibited her art in North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Taiwan. In 1991, she won the Grand Prix Loto-Québec for her illustration of Anne Hébert’s poem, and in 1993 she received the Prix Pierre-Henry, awarded by Pratt and Whitney Canada. She lives in Montreal.
Tork Angegh is a legendary Armenian hero or minor deity, the great-grandson of Hayk. According to Movses Khorenatsi, he was a giant of extraordinary force, who could hurl boulders across the seas, flatten the surfaces of rocks, and draw pictures on them with his fingernails. He was apparently called Angegh (un-gegh: not beautiful) because of his physical appearance.
It is generally assumed, however, that Tork Angegh is a combination of two deities, who have left traces of themselves in his name: Tarku, the ancient Anatolian deity of fertility, and Angegh, a pagan god who was venerated mainly in the province of Angegh, in south-western Armenia. Movses Khorenatsi also states that he was a prince of that province, hence the references in Armenian history to Angegha tun (the House of Angegh). According to this view, the name Tork Angegh means Tork of Angegh rather than Tork the Ugly.
It is also interesting to note that in the ancient Armenian translation of the Bible, the name of the Babylonian god Nargal (4 Kings 17: 30) is rendered Angegh.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Agop J. Hacikyan, is a Professor Emeritus of English (the Royal Military College of Canada) and the author of several articles, novels, monographs, and scholarly studies. He has translated and edited the works of major Armenian poets and fiction writers. He lives in Montreal.
Edward S. Franchuk has edited and translated several books and articles. His research interests include comparative literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is currently a senior lecturer in English at the St-Jean campus of the Royal Military College of Canada. He lives in St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.
Talleen Hacikyan has exhibited her art in North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Taiwan. In 1991, she won the Grand Prix Loto-Québec for her illustration of Anne Hébert’s poem, and in 1993 she received the Prix Pierre-Henry, awarded by Pratt and Whitney Canada. She lives in Montreal.