442 REVIEWS OF BOOKS July and the head. The other is the tendency to ' link up ' the monasteries, theoretically wholly independent, not merely into * congregations * but into a single order under a single ' abbot-primate '. On these matters his arguments and opinion are expressed with force and weight which can hardly be lightly regarded. The detailed consideration of the essays contained in the volume would require much space ; and some of the subjects are rather of a theological than of an historical interest. But of the book as a whole it may be said that while some readers will be more attracted by the sections relating to devotion and contemplation, some by the more purely historical sections, and some by those which treat of the organization of individual monasteries and of the groups into which they are combined, there is not, from the beginning of the volume to the end, any section which does not contain matter of value and interest, and that there is none which will not be found to deserve and to repay careful study by those who wish for information on the matter with which it is con- cerned. H. A. Wilson. L'Armenie entre Byzance et V Islam depuis la Conquite Arabe jusqu'en 886. Par J. Laurent. {Bibliotheque des Ecoles Frangaises d'Athenes et de Rome, fasc. 117. Paris : Fontemoing, 1919.) The history of Armenia, probably on account of the difficulty of the language, the unsatisfactory editions and translations of the native writers, and the inaccessibility of the manuscripts, has received but little attention from modern European scholars ; though it must be admitted that, even if these difficulties were removed, the task of tracing the true sequence and connexion of events would still remain a formidable one, for the Armenian writers are lacking in almost all literary and historical qualifica- tions, while the Greek and Arabic writers took small interest in Armenian affairs, and supply little more than casual references. Yet the close connexion between Aimenia and the empire, and the large number of Armenians of all grades from emperors to common soldiers who played a part in imperial affairs, make a knowledge of Armenian history and character most important for the Byzantine historian ; and it is therefore a matter for congratulation that, undeterred by these difficulties, M. Laurent has taken upon himself the task of studying the subject from all sides (Georgian authorities, hitherto almost entirely neglected, have been used as well as Armenian), and bringing order out of chaos, so that future historians will have a trustworthy and accessible groundwork on which to build. The book is divided into three parts, of which the first describes the political, social, economic, and religious conditions of Armenia during the period, the second traces the relations of Armenia first with the caliphate and then with the emj)ire to 867, and the third relates the history of the country from the accession of the Emperor Basil in that year during the decay of the Arab power down to the restoration of the Armenian kingdom in 886, and there are appendices on geographical divisions, ecclesiastical relations, Arab principalities, chronology and genealogy (with lists and pedigrees), and Georgian biblio- graphy, and the volume concludes with bibliographies, a chronological
