The old custom of releasing doves signifies freedom, return to the domestic hearth, and is a symbol of freedom and family devotion. It was the dove that brought Noah the olive branch, the good news of man finding a new home. One of the most beautiful medieval legends poetically retold by the classical Armenian poet Hovanes Tumanian is titled Pigeon Cloister. It narrates the story of Lenk-Timur (Tamerlane) who gave a promise to a monk to release as many captives as would fit into the monastery church.