History of the Armenian alphabet

Armenian palaeography is a branch of palaeography that examines the historical development of Armenian script forms and lettering. It also encompasses a description of the evolution of Armenian writing.

The Armenian alphabet was devised in 405 in the cities of Edessa and Samsat by the scholar-monk Mesrop Mashtots. As is the case with other writing systems worldwide, the graphic layout of Armenian letters has undergone some changes in over 1600 years. The four principal graphic forms of Armenian writing during the Middle Ages are Erkat'agir, Bolorgir, Notrgir and Shghagir. The first of these is an all caps form, while the other three are minuscule forms of lettering. The most prevalent forms were Erkat'agir and Bolorgir. Within each of these forms, certain variations are possible.