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E00149: The Epic Histories, traditionally attributed to P'awstos, written in Armenian in the second half of the 5th century, recount the martyrdom, burial, and establishment of the annual feast of *Grigoris (Katholikos and martyr of Caucasian Albania, S00062) at Amaras in Caucasian Albania.

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posted on 2014-11-04, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

The Epic Histories, Book III, Chapter 6:

The chapter recounts the story of Grigoris, son of patriarch Vrt'anēs, and the teenage patriarch of Albania. He built and restored many churches in those areas. One day he arrived at the camp of the Aršakuni king of the Mazk'utk' [= the Massagetae] and preached Christianity to the host. At first they accepted his teaching, but then they realized that Christianity did not confirm with their way of life. They urged their king to kill Grigoris, convincing him that it was the Armenian king's plot to send this man to them so as to halt with his teaching their plundering raids.

Ապա շրջեցաւ թագաւորն, եւ լուաւ բանից զօրացն իւրոց. եւ կալան ձի մի ամեհի, կապեցին կախեցին զմանուկն Գրիգորիս զագւոյ ձիոյն, եւ արձակեցին ընդ ծովեզեր դաշտին հիւսիսական ծովուն մեծի, արտաքոյ իւրեանց բանակին ի դաշտին Վատնեայ: Եւ այսպէս սպանին զառաքինի քարոզն Քրիստոսի զմանուկն Գրիգորիս: Եւ ապա բարձին զնա որք ընդ նմա երթեալ էին ի գաւառէն Հաբանդայ, եւ բերին ի գաւառն իւրեանց ի կողմանս Աղուանից ի սահմանս Հայոց ի Հաբանդ, ի գեօղն` որ անուանեալ կոչի Ամարազ: Եւ եդին զնա առ եկեղեցեաւն, զոր շինեալ էր առաջնոյն մեծին Գրիգորի, հաւուն Գրիգորիսի` քահանայապետին մեծի աշխարհին Հայաստան երկրին: Եւ ամ յամէ աշխարհաժողովուրդք ի մի վայր ժողովեալ կողմանցն այնոցիկ եւ աշխարհաց գաւառացն այնոցիկ, զսորա զօր տօնին զյիշատակ քաջութեանն ցնծան:

'Then the king changed his mind and listened to the words of his army. And they caught a wild horse, hanged and bound young Grigoris to the tail of the horse, and drove him over the plain along the shore of the great Northern Sea, the plain of Vatneay [which lay] outside their camp. And in this way they slew the virtuous preacher of Christ, the youthful Grigoris. Then those who had come with him from the district of Haband took him up and bore him to their district of Haband in the region of Aluank' bordering on Armenia, to the village called Amaras. And they buried him by the church built by the grandfather of Grigoris, the first great Gregory [the Illuminator, S00251], the great high-priest of the realm of the Armenian land. And year after year the inhabitants of these regions and these districts of the realms gather together in a general assembly and celebrate the feast day commemorating his valour.'

Text: Garsoïan 1984, 12-13. Translation: Garsoïan 1989, 72-73.

History

Evidence ID

E00149

Saint Name

Grigoris (Katholikos and Martyr in Caucasian Albania, ob. early 4th century) : S00062

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Grigoris_katholikos_and_martyr_of_Caucasian_Albania_ob_early_4th_century_/13729273

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Language

Armenian

Evidence not before

460

Evidence not after

470

Activity not before

325

Activity not after

330

Place of Evidence - Region

Armenia

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Hadamakert Հադամակերտ Hadamakert Başkale

Major author/Major anonymous work

Epic Histories (Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk')

Cult activities - Liturgical Activity

Service for the Saint

Cult activities - Festivals

Saint’s feast

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Appropriation of older cult sites

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Crowds Monarchs and their family Relatives of the saint Other lay individuals/ people

Source

The History, traditionally attributed to a certain P‘awstos Buzandac'i (usually translated as 'Faustos of Byzantium') covers Armenian history from the later Arsacid dynasty (c. AD 330) to the partition of the Armenian kingdom between Byzantium and Iran (AD 387). The History is the earliest source covering this specific period of history, which was later treated by Movsēs Xorenac'i. As N. Garsoïan points out, despite the evident importance of the material contained in the History for the study of 4th century Armenia, it was never included into the received Armenian tradition, and medieval historians preferred to refer to Movsēs Xorenac‘i, the most authoritative source for later authors, as the sole authority for 4th century events. Łazar P'arpeci, for example, considered the information provided by P‘awstos as false and absurd, and so apparently did the rest of medieval scholarship. Date and language The authorship of the text has long been debated. The author claims to have been an eyewitness of the events he describes, but if this was indeed the case he could not have written in Armenian, as the Armenian script was only created in the 5th century. Thus, he was often considered a Greek historian, a supposition 'supported' by a misunderstanding of the word Buzand (in his name) as 'Byzantium' (see below). Other external evidence has also been cited to favour the idea that the work was originally written in Greek, and only later translated into Armenian. There has also been a theory in favour of a Syriac original, mostly advanced by Peeters and based on multiple Syriacisms in the text. The most convincing theory, however, favours an Armenian original, and is mostly based on internal linguist evidence, such as the use of scriptural quotations that derive from the Armenian version of the Bible, various colloquialisms, and the spelling of proper names. As to the date of the composition, the author’s own claim cannot be accepted as trustworthy as he is far too ignorant of 4th century events to be considered a contemporary; he presents 4th century historical events as filtered through folk memory, often projecting events of the 5th century into the previous century. Based on the Epic Histories' quotations from Koriwn (who wrote in the first half of the 5th century), and a reference to the Histories by Łazar P‘arpeci (writing at the very end of the 5th century), who places 'P‘awstos' immediately after Agathangelos, Garsoïan suggests convincingly that the date of composition was around 470, arguing that 'it is difficult to imagine a time more suitable for a work glorifying the role of the Mamikonean family in Armenian history than the generation immediately following the sparapet Vardan Mamikonean's heroic defense of Armenian Christianity in 451' (Garsoïan, Epic Histories, 11). The author The claim by some late antique and medieval sources that P‘awstos was Greek rests on a misunderstanding of the word Buzand, which was considered to mean 'Byzantium'. Medieval reception 'corrected' the form Buzand to Buzandac‘i ('from Byzantium') to support the Greek origin of the author. The actual title appended to the text is Buzandaran Patmut‘iwnk‘. A. Perikhanian has found a definitive solution to the problem, showing that the word buzand derived not from the toponym ('Byzantium') but from the Parthian bozand , 'a reciter of epic poems, a bard' , with the suffix –aran as an adjectival qualifier. The title can thus be translated as Bardic or Epic Histories. So, as N. Garsoïan has shown, the work generally titled History of Armenia and attributed to Faustos of Byzantium is in fact a compilation of tales assembled by an anonymous historian in the 5th century. In our database the text will be consistently referred to as the Epic Histories. The author’s agenda From the perspective of the author’s representation of cultic practices, Garsoïan’s conclusion (as follows) is noteworthy: 'The author may have been a native of the southwestern district of Taron because of his unreserved devotion to the Mamikonean lords of the district and to its holy site Aštišat, which he invariable presents as the original centre of Armenian Christianity, as against the focus of the contemporary 'Agathangelos Cycle' on the northern city of Vałaršapat'/Dwin, and the nearby holy site of T'ordan' (Garsoïan, Epic Histories, 16). The author is a rigourous defender of Nicene orthodoxy and is thus strongly antagonistic toward the Armenian crown, which 'sought to conform with the Arianizing policy of the successors of Constantine through much of the fourth century' (Garsoïan, Epic Histories, 15).

Discussion

Grigoris (S00062) was by tradition the grandson of *Gregory the Illuminator (S00251) and the twin brother of patriarch and martyr *Yusik (S00068). The Armenian tradition regards Grigoris as the missionary to the North, although on the specific direction and area of his mission the two main sources, the Epic Histories and Movsēs Xorenac’i disagree (MX III, iii). The Epic Histories call him the missionary to both Virk’, i.e. Iberia, and to Aluank’, i.e. Albania, and even appoint him Patriarch of these two lands. Movsēs on the other hand does not include Iberia within the domain of Grigoris's evangelism and only partially includes Albania. The two sources also differ on the place of Grigoris’s martyrdom, although the site of his burial is accepted by both to be a place called 'Amaras'. The Epic Histories locate the martyrdom as having happened along the shore of the 'great Northern Sea' (which Peeters identifies as Lake Čildir, north-west of the Armenian plateau); Movsēs Xorenac'i, however, placed it near the Caspian Sea. Modern scholarship also disagrees on this matter. What matters, is that the Armenian tradition hailed Grigoris as the missionary to the North and was unclear over the details. The location of 'Amaras', where Grigoris's body was taken for burial, is equally disputed. Movsēs Xorenaci places it in the district of Lesser Siwnik', whereas the Epic Histories identifies Amaras with a town in the province of Haband. The problem is that 7th century Armenian geography has two 'Habands', one in Siwnik' and the other in Arcax, near the border of Caucasian Albania, where a monastic complex and remains of a shrine can still be identified. (For a discussion see Garsoïan 1989, 439.)

Bibliography

Edition: Buzandaran Patmut'iwn (The Epic Histories) also known as Patmut'iwn Hayoc' (History of Armenia) Attributed to P'awstos Buzandac'i, a facsimile reproduction of the 1883 St. Petersburg edition with an introduction by Nina G. Garsoïan (New York: Caravan Books, 1984). Translation: Garsoïan, N.G., The Epic Histories Attributed to P'awstos Buzand (Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk') (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989). Studies: Garsoïan, N.G., The Epic Histories Attributed to P'awstos Buzand (Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk'), (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989), 376-377, 439. Peeters, P., "Les débuts du christianisme en Géorgie d'après les sources hagiographiques," Analecta Bollandiana 50 (1932), 5-58.

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Keywords

S00062 History

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