The colophons of Armenian manuscripts form a separate genre in Armenian literature, dating from the earliest period of manuscript production to the end of the 18th century, when the practice transferred to early Armenian printing. The colophons not only provide information on the scribes, artists, sponsors, commissioners and the spread of scriptoriums, but also details on the trials and tribulations suffered by the scribes, their motives for copying manuscripts, injunctions regarding the use of manuscripts and anathemas against violators. Some of these subjects I have attempted to present in my “Observing the scribe at work: knowledge transfer and scribal professionalism” [The Bodleian Library record 27, 1 (April 2014), pp. 71-84]. The focus of the present paper is the use of the various dating systems by Armenian scribes. Armenian scribes are very aware and conscious of the need to firmly ground their “memorials” in history for future generations, to leave as little doubt as possible on the provenance of...