A SKETCH OF RAFFI’S LIFE PREFACE: The following sketch of Raffi’s life is based on the work of Khachik Samvelian in his literary biography, “Raffi - The Creative Path of His Life”, published by “Arevik” press, Yerevan, 1987. Khachik Samvelian is a distinguished philologist, leading expert on nineteenth century Armenian literature, a specialist in Raffi’s writing and life, and former rector of the Roslin Institute of Applied Arts in Yerevan....
Raffi (1832-1888) was the preeminent Armenian novelist of the mid-nineteenth century national revival. Through a rich body of writing spanning numerous genres, his creative and analytic genius ignited the Armenian literary scene with the imagery of national self-recognition, cultural enlightenment, and political emancipation. In so doing he layed a broad foundation for the subsequent development of Armenian literature, intellectual life, and politics. His career embraced many fields of activity: radical educator, pioneer in the use of modern Armenian, historian, folklorist, cultural anthropologist, social critic, moral philosopher, and political strategist....