«Mixti cum Francis et Latinis»: Ulteriori tasselli nella definizione dei rapporti tra Armeni e Latini agli inizi del XIV secolo

During the 14th century, in the aftermath of the end of the Mongol-Armenian alliance, the ties between Armenians and Latins tighten and strengthen. On one hand Cilician Armenians placed their last hope of defence in Latin aid, while on the other the Latin West, after the fall of Acre (1291) and the loss of the Crusader States of Outremer, saw the last Christian strongholds in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and in the Kingdom of Cyprus. In this context, the Armenian Vision of St. Nersēs, a widespread political apocalypse, was translated into Latin. This essay provides an analysis of the prefatory letter attached to the Latin Vision of St. Nersēs in the manuscript Linz, Oberösterreichische Landesbibliothek, MS 447, based on textual and codicological data. By considering the letter in a broader historical framework, it is possible to shed further light on Armeno-Latin relations in the early 14th century.