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{{Short description|Armenian theologian and linguist (362–440)}}
{{Infobox saint
{{Multiple issues|
| name = Mesrop Mashtots
{{original research|date=December 2023}}
| image = File:Mesrop Mashtots 1882 painting.jpg
{{Expand Russian|topic=bio|date=August 2023}}
| imagesize = 220px
| alt =
| caption = Painting by Stepanos Nersisian (1815–84), kept at the Pontifical Residence at the ]
| titles =
| birth_date = {{circa|362}}
| birth_place = Hatsik, Province of ], Armenia
| home_town =
| residence =
| death_date = February 17, 440
| death_place = Vagharshapat, Armenia
| venerated_in = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]
| beatified_date =
| beatified_place =
| beatified_by =
| canonized_date =
| canonized_place =
| canonized_by =
| major_shrine = St. Mesrop Mashtots Church in ], Armenia
| feast_day = The Armenian Church remembers St. Mesrop (together with St. Sahak), twice each year, first in July and then again on the Feast of the ] in October<ref>See </ref>
| attributes =
| patronage = ]
| issues =
| suppressed_date =
| suppressed_by =
| influences =
| influenced =
| tradition =
| major_works =
}} }}


{{Infobox person
'''Mesrop Mashtots''' ({{lang-hy|Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց}}; 362{{spaced ndash}}February 17, 440) was an ] ], ] and ]. He is best known for having invented the ] c. 405 AD, which was a fundamental step in strengthening the Armenian statehood and the bond between the Armenian Kingdom and Armenians living in the ] and the ]. He is, according to a number of scholars, the creator of the ] and ] alphabets.<ref>{{cite book|editors=], ], ]|title=Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1999|ISBN=0-674-51173-5|p=289|authorlink=James R. Russell|first=James R.|last=Russell|contribution=Alphabets|quote=Mastoc' also created the Georgian and Caucasian-Albanian alphabets, based on the Armenian model.}}</ref>
| name = Mesrop Mashtots
| native_name = Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց
| image = File:Mesrop Mashtots 1882 painting.jpg
| image_upright = 1.1
| caption = This 1882 painting by ] (now kept at the ]) is a commonly reproduced image of Mashtots.{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|pp=65, 71}}
| birth_date = {{circa|361}}
| birth_place = ], ], ] <small>(modern-day ], ], ], Turkey)</small><ref name="Nişanyan"/>
| death_date = February 17, 440<br><small>(traditional date)</small><ref name="ChristEnc"/><ref name="SaintBio"/>
| death_place = ], ]
| resting_place = ], ], Armenia
| nationality = ]
| occupation = Court secretary, ], militaryman, inventor
| era = ]
| known_for = Inventing the ]
| movement =
}}


'''Mesrop Mashtots''' ({{Audio|Audio_Mesrop_Mashtots.ogg|listen}}; {{langx|hy|Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց}} ''{{lang|hy-Latn|Mesrop Maštoc'}}''; <small>Eastern Armenian:</small> {{IPA-hy|mɛsˈɾop maʃˈtotsʰ|}}; <small>Western Armenian:</small> {{IPA-hy|mɛsˈɾob maʃˈtotsʰ|}}; 362{{spaced ndash}}February 17, 440 AD) was an ] ], ], ], ], and ] in the ]. He is venerated as a saint in the ].
==Life==
] (1750-1805)]]


He is best known for inventing the ] {{circa|405}} AD, which was a fundamental step in strengthening Armenian national identity.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hacikyan|first1=Agop Jack|author-link1=Agop Jack Hacikyan|last2=Basmajian|first2=Gabriel|last3=Franchuk|first3=Edward S.|last4=Ouzounian|first4=Nourhan|title=The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Oral Tradition to the Golden Age|year=2000|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit|isbn=9780814328156|page=}}</ref> He is also considered to be the creator of the ]<ref>{{cite book |last=Jost |first=Gippert |author-link=Jost Gippert |title=Die Entstehung der kaukasischen Alphabete als kulturhistorisches Phänomen: Referate des internationalen Symposions (Wien, 1.-4. Dezember 2005) = The creation of the Caucasian alphabets as phenomenon of cultural history |publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press |year=2011 |isbn=9783700170884 |place=Vienna |pages=47–48 |chapter=The script of the Caucasian Albanians in the light of the Sinai palimpsests |quote="There can be no doubt that the Albanian alphabet as established now depends in its structure on the Armenian alphabet in quite the same way as the latter depends on the Greek... the two alphabets differ considerably from the Old Georgian one as this has preserved the Greek arrangement intact to a much greater an extent..." |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/20005633}}</ref> and ] alphabets by a number of scholars<ref>{{cite book|last=Rayfield|first=Donald|author-link=Donald Rayfield|title=The Literature of Georgia: A History |date=2000|publisher=Curzon Press|location=Surrey|isbn=0700711635|page=19|edition=2nd rev.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Grenoble|first1=Lenore A.|title=Language policy in the Soviet Union|date=2003|publisher=Kluwer Acad. Publ.|location=Dordrecht |isbn=1402012985|page=116}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lateantiquitygui00bowe/page/289|title=Late antiquity: a guide to the postclassical world|date=1999|publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press|isbn=0-674-51173-5|editor-last=Bowersock|editor-first=G.W.|edition=2nd|location=Cambridge, Mass.|page=|editor-last2=Brown|editor-first2=Peter|editor-last3=Grabar|editor-first3=Oleg}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Der Nersessian |first1=Sirarpie |author1-link=Sirarpie Der Nersessian |title=The Armenians |date=1969 |publisher=] |location=London|page=85|quote=After the Armenian alphabet Mesrop also devised one for the Caucasian Albanians.}}</ref> and a number of other scholars have disputed this claim.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moses |title=History of the Armenians |last2=Thomson |first2=Robert W. |date=1978 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-39571-8 |series=Harvard Armenian texts and studies |location=Cambridge |pages=2–3 |language=engarm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Transcaucasia, nationalism and social change: essays in the history of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia |date=1996 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-09617-6 |editor-last=Suny |editor-first=Ronald Grigor |edition=Rev. |location=Ann Arbor |pages=33 |editor-last2=Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies |editor-last3=American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/769628310 |title=Die Entstehung der kaukasischen Alphabete als kulturhistorisches Phänomen: Referate des internationalen Symposions (Wien, 1.-4. Dezember 2005) = The creation of the Caucasian alphabets as phenomenon of cultural history |date=2011 |publisher=Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |isbn=978-3-7001-7088-4 |editor-last=Seibt |editor-first=Werner |series=Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-Historische Klasse. Denkschriften |location=Wien |pages=83–90 |oclc=769628310 |editor-last2=Preiser-Kapeller |editor-first2=Johannes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=New perspectives on late antiquity in the Eastern Roman Empire |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-6947-8 |editor-last=Hernández de la Fuente |editor-first=David A. |location=Newcastle upon Tyne |pages=136–138 |editor-last2=Torres Prieto |editor-first2=Susana |editor-last3=Francisco Heredero |editor-first3=Ana de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rayfield |first=Donald |title=Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia |date=2013 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-78023-070-2 |location=London |pages=41}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Braund |first=David |title=Georgia in antiquity: a history of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia, 550 BC-AD 562 |date=1994 |publisher=Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-814473-1 |location=Oxford : Oxford ; New York |pages=215-216}}</ref>
Mesrop Mashtots was born in a noble family (according to ] - "from azat house") the town of Hatsekats in ]<ref name="koryun">], , translation into Russian and intro by Sh.V.Smbghaatyan and K.A.Melik-Oghajanyan, Moscow, 1962.</ref> and died in ]. He was the son of a man named Vardan.<ref>], ''History of Armenia'', 5th to 6th century</ref> ], his pupil and biographer, tells us that Mashtots (in his work he does not mention the name Mesrop) received a liberal education, and was versed in the ] and ] languages.<ref name="koryun"/> On account of his piety and learning Mesrop was appointed secretary to King ]. His duty was to write in Greek and Persian characters the decrees and edicts of the sovereign.


==Sources==
Leaving the court for the service of God, he took ], and withdrew to a monastery with a few chosen companions. There, says Koryun, he practiced great austerities, enduring hunger and thirst, cold and poverty. He lived on vegetables, wore a hair shirt, slept upon the ground, and often spent whole nights in prayer and the study of the ]. This life he continued for a few years.
The chief sources for the life and work of Mashtots are ], ], and ].{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=5}} The '']'' (Վարք Մաշտոցի),{{efn|Full title: Պատմութիւն վարուց եւ մահուան առն երանելւոյ սրբոյն Մաշտոցի վարդապետի մերոյ թարգմանչի ի Կորիւն վարդապետէ, English: The Story of the Life and Death of the Blessed Man St. Mashtots Vardapet Our Translator by Koriun Vardapet.}} a ] by Koriun, a disciple of Mashtots, is the primary and most reliable source.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=32}}{{sfn|Thomson|1997|p=200}}{{sfn|Abeghian|1980|p=224}}{{sfn|Aghaian|1986|p=6}} The oldest fragments of the incomplete ''The Life'' manuscript are dated 12th century and are kept in Paris's Bibliothèque nationale (Arm. 178), two shorter versions of ''The Life'' dated to middle of the 14th century and one longer version of ''The Life'' is dated to the late 17th century''.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Koriun |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Life_of_Mashtots_by_His_Disciple_Kor/vtOYEAAAQBAJ |title=The Life of Mashtots' by His Disciple Koriwn: Translated from the Classical Armenian with Introduction and Commentary |date=2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-284741-6 |pages=49–50 |language=en}}</ref> ], who authored the most comprehensive study on Mashtots and the Armenian alphabet,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baloyan |first1= Hrachya|title=Ականավոր հայագետը (Հրաչյա Աճառյանի ծննդյան 140-ամյակի առթիվ) |journal=] |date=2016|issue=2 |page=35|url=http://hpj.asj-oa.am/6236/}}</ref> defended Koriun's work as the only accurate account.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=289}} It was commissioned by Catholicos ],{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=289}} also a student of Mashtots, and written c. 443–450/451.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=31}}{{sfn|Abeghian|1980|p=224}} The work has two versions: long and short. The former is considered by most scholars to be the original.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=18}} Parpetsi and Khorenatsi largely relied upon Koriun's work.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=6-7}} The oldest extant manuscript of Koriun's ''Life of Mashtots'' has been dated to the 12th century.{{sfn|Koriun|Matevosyan|1994|pp=15}} It was first printed in Armenian by the ] in ], Venice in 1833,{{sfn|Koriun|Matevosyan|1994|pp=18}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Մատենագրութիւնք |series=Մատենագրութիւնք նախնեաց. Կորիւն, Մամբրէ, Դաւիթ |date=1833 |publisher=] |location=Venice |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=91699 |language=hy}} ()</ref> and has been translated thrice into ]<ref name="Bozoyan"/>{{efn|Twice into ] (1900, 1951)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Byuzandatsi |first1=Norair |author1-link=:hy:Նորայր Բյուզանդացի |title=Կորիւն Վարդապետ եւ նորին թարգմանութիւնք : Գիրք Մակաբայեցւոյ Եւթաղ Աղեքսանդրացի, Ագաթանգեղոս եւ Փաւստոս Բիւզանդ : Հանդերձ դիտողութեամբք, տեղեկութեամբք եւ լուսաբանութեամբք |date=1900 |publisher=Martiroseants |location=Tiflis |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=47671}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Banean |first1=Stepʻan H. |title=Վարք Մեսրովբայ: հարազատ բնագրաւն Կորեան եւ թարգմանութիւն ի հաշխարհիկ բարբառ եւ բացատրութիւնկ առ նմին ի ստորեւ իջից |date=1951 |publisher=Baikar |location=] |isbn=|oclc=34630094 |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=50152 |language=hy}}</ref> and once into ] (by ], 1941).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abeghian |first1=Manuk |author1-link=Manuk Abeghian |title=Վարք Մաշտոցի |series=Հայ պատմագիրների մատենաշար աշխարհաբար թարգմանությամբ |date=1941 |publisher=Haypethrat |location=Yerevan |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=12614 |language=hy}}</ref>}} and several foreign languages.{{efn|] by ]<ref name="Bozoyan">{{cite journal |last1=Bozoyan |first1=Azat |author1-link=:hy:Ազատ Բոզոյան |title=Կորյունի ևս մեկ նոր վերընթերցումը |journal=] |date=2005 |volume=61 |issue=5 |page=153 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/14396/ |language=hy}}</ref> ({{circa|1644}}),{{sfn|Koriun|Matevosyan|1994|pp=18}}{{efn|Titled ''Vita beati magistri Mesrop'', it is kept at the ] (BnF) in Paris.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Delisle |first1=Léopold |author1-link=Léopold Victor Delisle |title=État des manuscrits latins de la Bibliothèque nationale au 1er août 1871 |journal=] |date=1871 |volume=32 |page=58 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42996264 |publisher=] |jstor=42996264 |language=fr}}</ref> The BnF dates the work to the 18th century (1701-1800).<ref>{{cite web |title=Vita beati magistri Mesrop |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b100336304 |website=bnf.fr |publisher=] |date=29 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vita beati magistri Mesrop |url=https://classic.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/9200519/ark__12148_btv1b100336304.html |publisher=] |website=classic.europeana.eu |date=28 March 2018}}</ref>}} German (1841), French (1869), Russian (1962),{{sfn|Koriun|Matevosyan|1994|pp=19}} English (1964 and 2022),<ref>{{cite book |author1=Koriun|translator=Bedros Norehad |title=The Life of Mashtots |date=1964 |publisher=] |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofmashtots0000kori}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Terian |first1=Abraham |title=The Life of Mashtots' by his Disciple Koriwn: Translated from the Classical Armenian with Introduction and Commentary |date=2022 |publisher=] |isbn=9780192847416}}</ref> Italian (1998),<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=|translator=Y. Ashrafian |title=Koriwn, Vita di Maštoc΄ |date=1998 |publisher=] |location=Venice |language=it}}</ref> Georgian (2019).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gaprindashvili |first1=Khatuna |title="The Life of Mashtots" by Koriun (text translation, research and comments) |url=http://press.tsu.ge/data/image_db_innova/%E1%83%92%E1%83%90%E1%83%A4%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%9C%E1%83%93%E1%83%90%E1%83%A8%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98%20%E1%83%AE%E1%83%90%E1%83%97%E1%83%A3%E1%83%9C%E1%83%90%20-PhD.pdf |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111133552/http://press.tsu.ge/data/image_db_innova/%E1%83%92%E1%83%90%E1%83%A4%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%9C%E1%83%93%E1%83%90%E1%83%A8%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98%20%E1%83%AE%E1%83%90%E1%83%97%E1%83%A3%E1%83%9C%E1%83%90%20-PhD.pdf |archive-date=11 January 2021 |page=3 |language=ka |format=PhD thesis |date=2019 |quote=Though the work deals with the most significant issues of Caucasian studies, irrespective of great interest to Koriwn’s work, The Life of Maštoc‘ was not translated into Georgian up to present.}}</ref> }}


==Name==
Armenia, so long the ], lost its independence in 387, and was divided between the Byzantine Empire and Persia, about four-fifths being given to the latter. Western Armenia was governed by Byzantine generals, while an Armenian king ruled, but only as feudatory, over Persian Armenia. The Church was naturally influenced by these violent political changes, although the loss of civil independence and the partition of the land could not destroy its organization or subdue its spirit. Persecution only quickened it into greater activity, and had the effect of bringing the clergy, the nobles, and the common people closer together. The principal events of this period are the invention of the Armenian alphabet, the revision of the liturgy, the creation of an ecclesiastical and national literature, and the readjustment of hierarchical relations. Three men are prominently associated with this work: Mesrop, ], and King ], who succeeded his brother Khosrov IV in 389. In 394, with the help of blessing of Armenia's Catholicos, Sahak Partev, Mesrop set out on a mission of spreading the word of God to a pagan or semi-pagan people.
]'s St. Mesrop Mashtots Church]]
While ], his chief biographer, only refers to him as Mashtots, ]{{efn|] calls him Mesrop in 32 instances and Mashtots in only one.{{sfn|Gyurjinyan|2014|p=80}} }} and later Armenian historiography predominantly calls him Mesrop.{{sfn|Kostandian|2005|p=112}}{{sfn|Simonian|1988|p=68}}{{efn|There are various spellings of Mesrop (Մեսրովպ, ''Mesrovp''; Մեսրովբ, ''Mesrovb''; Մեսրոբ, ''Mesrob''; Մասրովպ, ''Masrovp'') and Mashtots (Մաշթոց, ''Masht’ots'' Մաշդոց, ''Mashdots'', Մաժդոց, ''Mazhdots'').{{sfn|Gyurjinyan|2014|p=79}}{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=299}} }} It was not until the 20th century that he came to be referred to by both names,{{sfn|Gyurjinyan|2014|p=79}} sometimes spelled with a ].{{sfn|Gyurjinyan|2014|p=79}} Some scholars, including ], maintain that Mashtots was his birth name, while Mesrop was his ecclesiastical name by which he was ].{{sfn|Kostandian|2005|p=112}} ] believed the opposite to be true.{{sfn|Simonian|1988|p=62}} According to ], Mashtots was his primary name, while Mesrop a secondary one, "possibly an ]."<ref name="RusselReview"/>


The etymologies of both Mesrop and Mashtots have been widely debated. In his authoritative dictionary of Armenian names, ] described Mashtots to be of uncertain origin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Acharian |first1=Hrachia |authorlink1=Hrachia Acharian |title=Հայոց անձնանունների բառարան Volume III |date=1946 |page= |language=hy}}</ref> ] believed it stemmed from Iranian ''mašt'' (from ''mazd''), which is also the origin of the name ].{{sfn|Mnatsakanian|1979|p=81}} ] suggested an origin from the name of the ] goddess ].{{sfn|Mnatsakanian|1979|p=92}}{{sfn|Russell|2004|p=601}} Russell argued that the original form of Mashtots may have been Maždoc‘, originated from Middle ] ''mozhdag'' and means "bearer of good news or reward".{{sfn|Russell|2004|p=602}} Today, Mesrop (Mesrob) is a common male name and Mesropyan (Mesrobian) a common last name among Armenians.<ref>Almost 1,600 people named Mesrop are found in Armenia's voters list: {{cite web |title=Մեսրոպ (Mesrop) |url=http://www.anun.am/f/353b |website=anun.am |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210102194234/http://www.anun.am/f/353b |archive-date=2 January 2021 |language=hy}} and 3,270 people with the last name Mesropyan: {{cite web |title=Մեսրոպյան (Mesropyan) |url=http://www.anun.am/l/4507 |website=anun.am |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210202142118/http://www.anun.am/l/4507 |archive-date=2 February 2021 |language=hy}}</ref>
]


There is more agreement about Mesrop. Acharian considered it to be of unknown origin, but noted that it is usually thought to have originated from "serovbe", Armenian for "]", a word of ] origin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Acharian |first1=Hrachia |authorlink1=Hrachia Acharian |title=Հայոց անձնանունների բառարան Volume III |date=1946 |page= |language=hy}}</ref> Russell described Mesrop a mysterious word, seemingly ], "perhaps an epithet meaning 'seraphic'."{{sfn|Russell|2004|p=598}} Some scholars maintain that Mesrop is a ] of "]" ("]" in Syriac) and "Serob", a version of "Serovbe".{{sfn|Kostandian|2005|p=112}}{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=302}}
Mesrop, as noted, had spent some time in a monastery preparing for a missionary life. With the support of Prince ], he preached the ] in the district of ] near the river ], converting many heretics and pagans. However, he experienced great difficulty in instructing the people, for the Armenians had no alphabet of their own, but used the Greek, Persian, and Syriac scripts, none of which were well suited for representing the many complex sounds of their native tongue. Again, the Holy Scriptures and the liturgy, being written in Syriac, were, to a large extent, unintelligible to the faithful. Hence the constant need of translators and interpreters to explain the Word of God to the people.


==Background and early life==
Mesrop, desirous to remedy this state of things, resolved to invent a national alphabet, in which undertaking Isaac and King Vramshapuh promised to assist him. It is hard to determine exactly what part Mesrop had in the fixing of the new alphabet. According to his Armenian biographers, he consulted Daniel, a bishop of ], and Rufinus, a monk of ], on the matter. With their help and that of Isaac and the king, he was able to give a definite form to the alphabet, which he probably adapted from the Greek. Others, like ], think it derived from the ]. Mesrop's alphabet consisted of thirty-six letters; two more (long O and F) were added in the twelfth century.
]


The date of birth of Mashtots is not well-established, but recent scholarship accepts 361.{{sfn|Kostandian|2005|p=111}} Others give 361–364 as the likely range.{{sfn|Yeghiazaryan|2017|p=53}}{{efn|In the Soviet period, the consensus was at 362.{{sfn|Ishkhanian|1981|p=469}} It was the date chosen for celebrating his 1600th anniversary in Soviet Armenia, in 1962.<ref name="handisutyun62"/> However, the official magazine of the Armenian Church, in the biographies of its saints (1980), placed his birth at 360.<ref name="SaintBio"/> ] put his birth at 353.{{sfn|Kostandian|2005|p=111}}}} He was born in the village of Hatsekats (Հացեկաց) in the canton of ],{{efn|The village, some {{convert|40|km}} east of ], was still inhabited prior to the ] and was known to local Armenians as ''Hatsik'' (Հացիկ) and to Kurds as ''Xasik''.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=67}} It was known as Hasık in Turkish until 1928, when it was renamed ].<ref name="Nişanyan">{{cite web |last1=Nişanyan |first1=Sevan |author1-link=Sevan Nişanyan |title=Güven |url=https://nisanyanmap.com/?yer=25764&haritasi=g%C3%BCven |website=Index Anatolicus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105170439/https://nisanyanmap.com/?yer=25764&haritasi=g%C3%BCven |archive-date=5 January 2023 |language=tr |date=2010–2020}}</ref>}} to a father named Vardan, who may have been a priest or a nobleman. Some scholars believe he was affiliated with the ] dynasty since Taron was their feudal domain. Others suggest he may have belonged to the ] or reject his noble origin at all.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=67-71}} Leo believed he was the son of a peasant.{{sfn|Kostandian|2005|p=111}} According to ], Vardan was an '']''.{{sfn|Malkhasyants|1946|p=56}}{{efn|''Azat'' is described by ] as "junior nobility". It literally means "free ", who "usually held conditional land tenures.".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Garsoïan |first1=Nina |authorlink1=Nina Garsoïan |editor1-last=Hovannisian |editor1-first=Richard G. |editor1-link=Richard G. Hovannisian |title=The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times. Volume I |date=1997 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=0-312-10169-4 |page=77 |chapter=The Aršakuni Dynasty}}</ref>}} Some scholars, including ],{{sfn|Malkhasyants|1946|p=57}} have identified Vardan with Vrik, mentioned by ]. Vrik was the illegitimate son of Catholicos Pap (not ]), the grandson of ] (through ]). Mashtots, thus, may have been a second cousin to Catholicos ]. Acharian outright rejected this theory,{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=70-71}} but it has been cited by ].{{sfn|Redgate|2000|p=128}} Other scholars, including Ormanian, believed Mashtots was the son of Vardan Mamikonian (not the ]),{{sfn|Yeghiazaryan|2017|p=53}} the older brother of '']'' ].{{sfn|Yeghiazaryan|2017|p=57}}{{efn|Vardan Mamikonian's daughter, Sahandukht, was the wife of ]. Thus, if this version is true, Mashtots was the uncle of ].{{sfn|Yeghiazaryan|2017|p=57}} }} This theory has been rejected by ] and Garnik Fntglian.{{sfn|Yeghiazaryan|2017|p=53}} ] writes that Mashtots' father was "probably a member of the Mamikonean clan."{{sfn|Russell|2004|p=600}}
The first sentence in Armenian written down by St. Mesrop after he invented the letters is said to be the opening line of Solomon’s ]:
{{Cquote|''{{lang|hy|]:}}''<br />''Čanačʿel zimastutʿiwn ew zxrat, imanal zbans hančaroy.''<br />«To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding.»|||'']'', 1:2.}}


Another point of contention is whether Mashtots was a student of ],{{sfn|Yeghiazaryan|2017|p=57}} first mentioned by Khorenatsi.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=71}} Both Acharian and Leo rejected it.{{sfn|Kostandian|2005|p=112}}{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=81-82}} Acharian noted that Mashtots probably studied at the prominent ], not far from his birthplace.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=73}} Koriun tells that Mashtots received "Hellenic education," i.e. education in the ].{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=73}}{{efn|He may have traveled to ] to receive Greek education.{{sfn|Thomson|1997|p=201}} }} Besides his native Armenian, Mashtots knew ], Persian (]), and ] (Aramaic).{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=76}}{{sfn|Abeghian|1980|p=226}}
] in ], where Mesrop Mashtots established the first-ever Armenian school that used his script in the 5th century.<ref>Viviano, Frank. “The Rebirth of Armenia,” National Geographic Magazine, March 2004</ref>]]


In late 380s Mashtots moved to ], Armenia's capital, where he began a career at the court of ].{{sfn|Yeghiazaryan|2017|p=56}} While Khorenatsi says that he worked as a royal secretary, both Koriun and Parpetsi assign him other positions as well, especially in the military. He was initially royal ] (''ark’uni divanapet''),{{sfn|Thomson|1997|p=201}}{{sfn|Abeghian|1980|p=225}} then moved on to serve in the military after receiving training.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=77}}{{sfn|Abeghian|1980|p=225}}
The invention of the alphabet (406) was the beginning of ], and proved a powerful factor in the upbuilding of the national spirit. "The result of the work of Isaac and Mesrop", says St. Martin,<ref>{{lang|fr|''Histoire du Bas-Empire de Lebeau''}}, V, 320.</ref> "was to separate for ever the Armenians from the other peoples of the East, to make of them a distinct nation, and to strengthen them in the Christian Faith by forbidding or rendering profane all the foreign alphabetic scripts which were employed for transcribing the books of the heathens and of the followers of ]. To Mesrop we owe the preservation of the language and literature of Armenia; but for his work, the people would have been absorbed by the Persians and Syrians, and would have disappeared like so many nations of the East".


In c. 394 Mashtots became a clergyman{{sfn|Abeghian|1980|p=226}} and was ordained as a monk and lived in a monastery, in ]. He, thereafter, became an ascetic ] to live in the mountains and uninhabited areas.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=79}} Mashtots then gathered a group of 40 disciples and began ] work among Armenians, many of whom were still pagan. He begin his first ] in Goghtn around 395.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=84-86}}<ref name="SaintBio"/> He successfully spread Christianity in the area and expelled the pagans.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=87}}
Anxious that others should profit by his discovery, and encouraged by the patriarch and the king, Mesrop founded numerous schools in different parts of the country, in which the youth were taught the new alphabet. It is historically proven, that Saint Mesrop himself taught in Amaras monastery of Artskah region of Armenia (located in contemporary Martuni region of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic). But his activity was not confined to Eastern Armenia. Provided with letters from Isaac he went to ] and obtained from the Emperor ] permission to preach and teach in his Armenian possessions. Having returned to Eastern Armenia to report on his missions to the patriarch, his first thought was to provide a religious literature for his countrymen. Having gathered around him numerous disciples, he sent some to ], Constantinople, ], ], ], and other centres of learning, to study the Greek language and bring back the masterpieces of Greek literature. The most famous of his pupils were ], ], ], Koryun, ], and ].

==Life==
{{more citations needed section|date=December 2023}}
]

], his pupil and biographer,<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ai_bEAAAQBAJ |title = Life of Mashtots |isbn = 9798868905360 |last1 = Curtin|first1 = D. P.|date = November 2012|publisher = Dalcassian Publishing Company }}</ref> writes that Mashtots received a good education and was versed in the ] and ] languages. On account of his piety and learning, Mesrop was appointed secretary to King ], in charge of writing royal decrees and edicts in Persian and Greek.

Leaving the court, Mashtots took the ] and withdrew to a monastery with a few companions, leading a life of great austerity for several years. In 394, with the blessing of ], Mashtots set out on a proselytizing mission. With the support of Prince Shampith, he preached the ] in the district of ] near the river ], converting many.

Encouraged by the patriarch and the king, Mesrop founded numerous schools in different parts of the country, in which the youth were taught the new alphabet. He himself taught at the ] of the Armenian province of ] (located in the contemporary Martuni region of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic).{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}} However, his activity was not confined to ]. Provided with letters from the Catholicos, he went to ] and obtained from emperor ] permission to preach and teach in his Armenian possessions. Having returned to Eastern Armenia to report to the patriarch, his first thought was to provide religious literature for his countrymen. He sent some of his numerous disciples to ], Constantinople, ], ], ], and other centers of learning, to study the Greek language and bring back the masterpieces of Greek literature. The most famous of his pupils were John of Egheghiatz, Joseph of Baghin, ], ], ], and John Mandakuni.


] ]


The first monument of this Armenian literature is the version of the Holy Scriptures. Isaac, says Moses of Chorene, made a translation of the Bible from the Syriac text about 411. This work must have been considered imperfect, for soon afterwards John of Egheghiatz and Joseph of Baghin were sent to Edessa to translate the Scriptures. They journeyed as far as Constantinople, and brought back with them authentic copies of the Greek text. With the help of other copies obtained from Alexandria the Bible was translated again from the Greek according to the text of the ] and ]'s '']''. This version, now in use in the Armenian Church, was completed about 434. The first monument of Armenian literature is the version of the Holy Scriptures. Isaac, says Moses of Chorene, made a translation of the Bible from the Syriac text about 411. This work was considered imperfect, for soon afterwards John of Egheghiatz and Joseph of Baghin were sent to Edessa to translate the Scriptures. They journeyed as far as Constantinople and brought back authentic copies of the Greek text with them. With the help of other copies obtained from Alexandria, the Bible was translated again from the Greek according to the text of the ] and ]'s '']''. This version, now in use in the Armenian Church, was completed about 434.


]]]
The decrees of the first three councils — ], ], and ] — and the national liturgy (so far written in Syriac) were also translated into Armenian, the latter being revised on the liturgy of ], though retaining characteristics of its own. Many works of the Greek Fathers also passed into Armenian. The loss of the Greek originals has given some of these versions a special importance; thus, the second part of ]'s ''Chronicle,'' of which only a few fragments exist in the Greek, has been preserved entirely in Armenian. In the midst of his literary labors Mesrop revisited the districts he had evangelized in his earlier years, and, after the death of Isaac in 440, looked after the spiritual administration of the patriarchate. He survived his friend and master by only six months. The ] read his name in the Canon of the Mass, and celebrate his memory on 19 February.


The decrees of the first three ecumenical councils—], ], and ]—and the national liturgy (so far written in Syriac) were also translated into Armenian, the latter being revised on the liturgy of ], though retaining characteristics of its own. Many works of the Greek Fathers were also translated into Armenian. The loss of the Greek originals has given some of those versions a special importance; thus, the second part of ]'s ''Chronicle,'' of which only a few fragments exist in Greek, has been preserved entirely in Armenian. In the midst of his literary labors, Mashtots revisited the districts he had evangelized in his earlier years, and, after the death of Isaac in 439, looked after the spiritual administration of the patriarchate. He survived his friend and master by only six months. ] read his name in the Canon of the Liturgy and celebrate his memory on 19 February.
He is buried in ], a historical village 8&nbsp;km southwest from ].


Saint Mesrop is listed officially in the ] of the ]; his feast day is February 17. Mashtots is buried at a chapel in ], a historical village {{convert|8|km|abbr=in}} southwest from the town of ]. He is listed officially in the '']'' of the ]; his feast day is February 17.


==Honors== == Alphabet ==
Armenia lost its independence in 387 and was divided between the Byzantine Empire and Persia, which received about four-fifths of its territory. Western Armenia was governed by Byzantine generals, while an Armenian king ruled as Persian vassal over eastern Armenia. The principal events of this period are the reinvention of the ], the revision of the liturgy, the creation of an ecclesiastical and national literature, and the revision of hierarchical relations. Three men are prominently associated with this work: Mashtots, Part'ev, and King ], who succeeded his brother Khosrov IV in 389.
], Yerevan]]

Virtually every town in Armenia has a street named after Mashtots. In ], Mashtots street is one of the most important in the city center, which was previously known as Lenin street (prospect). There is a statue to him at the ], one at the church he was buried at in Oshakan village, and one at the monument to the alphabet found on the skirts of Mt. Aragats north of Ohanavan Village. Stamps have been issued with his image by both the Soviet Union and by post-Soviet Armenia.
Armenians probably had an alphabet of their own, as historical writers reference an "Armenian alphabet" before Mashtots,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hilkens |first=Andy |date=2020 |title=Language, Literacy and Historical Apologetics: Hippolytus of Rome's lists of literate peoples in the Syriac tradition |url=https://www.academia.edu/43332985 |journal=Journal of Eastern Christian Studies |volume=72 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–32 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref><ref>Philostratus, ''The Life of Apollonius of Tyana'', Book II, Chapter II, pp. 120–121, tr. by F. C. Conybeare, 1912</ref> but used ], ], and ] scripts to translate Christian texts, none of which was well suited for representing the many complex sounds of their native tongue. The Holy Scriptures and the liturgy were, to a large extent, unintelligible to the faithful and required the intervention of translators and interpreters.

Mashtots was assisted in inventing an Armenian writing system by Sahak and ]. He consulted Daniel, a bishop of ], and Rufinus, a monk of ], on the matter and created an alphabet of thirty-six letters; two more (long O (Օ, օ) and F (Ֆ, ֆ)) were added in the twelfth century.

The first sentence in Armenian written down by Mesrop after he invented the letters was the opening line of Solomon's ]:
{{Cquote|{{lang|hy|]:}}<br />''Čanačʿel zimastutʿiwn ew zxrat, imanal zbans hančaroy.''<br />«To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding.»|||'']'', 1:2.}}

The reinvention of the alphabet around 405 was crucial for ] and was significant in the creation of a separate idea of Armenian language and what was connected to it. "The result of the work of Isaac and Mesrop", says St. Martin,<ref>{{lang|fr|Histoire du Bas-Empire de Lebeau}}, V, 320.</ref> "was to separate for ever the Armenians from the other peoples of the East, to make of them a distinct nation, and to strengthen them in the Christian Faith by forbidding or rendering profane all the foreign alphabetic scripts which were employed for transcribing the books of the heathens and of the followers of ]. To Mesrop we owe the preservation of the language and literature of Armenia; but for his work, the people would have been absorbed by the Persians and Syrians, and would have disappeared like so many nations of the East".

Medieval Armenian sources also claim that Mashtots invented the ] and ] alphabets around the same time. Most scholars link the creation of the Georgian script to the process of ], a core Georgian kingdom of ].<ref>{{cite book|author=B. G. Hewitt|title=Georgian: A Structural Reference Grammar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MUBtUcqOF-AC&pg=PA4|access-date=19 September 2013|year=1995|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=978-90-272-3802-3|page=4}}</ref> The alphabet was therefore most probably created between the conversion of Iberia under King ] (326 or 337) and the ] of 430,<ref>Hewitt, p. 4</ref> contemporaneously with the Armenian alphabet.<ref>{{cite book|author1 =Barbara A. West|title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia |author2 =Oceania|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC|page=230|quote=Archaeological work in the last decade has confirmed that a Georgian alphabet did exist very early in Georgia's history, with the first examples being dated from the '''fifth century''' C.E.|isbn=9781438119137|date=2010-05-19 |publisher=Infobase }}</ref>

==Legacy and recognition==
Modern Armenian scholarship recognizes Mashtots as the founder of Armenian literature and education{{sfn|Aghaian|1986|p=6}}{{sfn|Ishkhanian|1981|p=469}} and as the "greatest enlightener and first teacher" of the Armenian people.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sevak |first1=Gurgen |author1-link=:hy:Գուրգեն Սևակ |title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց. Հայկական գրերի ու մատենագրության սկզբնավորումը |date=1962 |publisher=Haypethrat |location=Yerevan |page=65 |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=32069 |language=hy |quote=... հայ ժողովրդի և դարաշրջանի ոգու ամենամեծ արտահայտիչ, նրա խոշորագույն լուսավորիչ, նրա առաջին ուսուցիչ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցին:}}</ref> The figure of Mashtots has become a "symbol that embodies the Armenian language, church, and school system, connecting each to one another."{{sfn|Barry|2018|pp=73-74}} In Armenian narratives, Mashtots is portrayed as the key figure who preserved the national language and the nation against cultural absorption.{{sfn|Barry|2018|pp=73-74}} ] describes Mashtots as "the ] of Armenian civilization."{{sfn|Russell|2004|p=597}} ] noted that Mashtots, with his invention, helped "convert and unite Armenians as a ]."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Anthony D. |author1-link=Anthony D. Smith |editor1-last=Gal |editor1-first=Allon |editor2-last=Leoussi |editor2-first=Athena S. |editor3-last=Smith |editor3-first=Anthony D. |title=The Call of the Homeland: Diaspora Nationalisms, Past and Present |date=2010 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004183735 |page= |chapter=Diasporas and Homelands in History: The Case of the Classic Diasporas }}</ref> ] argued that Mashtots and the alphabet "constitute the most important symbols of cultural identity and ]."<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Libaridian |editor1-first=Gerard |editor1-link=Gerard Libaridian |title=Armenia at the Crossroads: Democracy and Nationhood in the Post-Soviet Era |date=1991 |publisher=Blue Crane |location=Watertown, MA |page=35}}</ref>

Koriun, his biographer, compared Mashtots' return to Armenia after the invention of the alphabet to ]' descent from ].{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=158}} In another passage, Koriun compared the work of Mashtots and Sahak to the work of the ].{{sfn|Acharian|1984|p=166}} Modern scholars have compared Mashtots to ], often describing the former as the "second illuminator."<ref>{{cite book |author1=]|translator=] |title=The History of Vardapet Arak'el of Tabriz |date=2005 |publisher=Mazda Publishers |location=Costa Mesa, California |isbn=1-56859-182-9 |page=255 |quote=Armenians consider Mesrop their second illuminator and have deep respect for his memory.}}</ref>{{sfn|Russell|2004|pp=605-606}} Russell argues that both were visionaries, found a champion for their program in the king, looked to the West, had very strong ] bias, trained the children of pagan priests and assembled their own disciples to spread the faith through learning.{{sfn|Russell|2004|pp=605-606}}

===Historical assessment===
] of Mashtots by ] (1958–59) at the entrance hall of the ] headquarters in Yerevan.{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=69}}<ref name="arlisList"/>]]

In his 1904 book on Mashtots, the historian ] called him the greatest of all of Armenia's historical heroes{{sfn|Leo|1962|p=43|ps=: «Մեսրոպը իր կատարած գործով ամենամեծն է մեր պատմական հերոսների մեջ։»}} and contrasted the continued legacy of Mashtots with the legacy of ]'s brief empire.{{sfn|Leo|1962|pp=76-77}} Similarly, historian ] described Mashtots as the "greatest benefactor" of the Armenian people,{{sfn|Hovhannissian|1962|p=9|ps=: "...իր ժողովրդի մեծագույն երախտավորը..."}} while the linguist ] called him simply the "greatest Armenian",{{sfn|Aghaian|1986|p=14}} a view that has been expressed by others as well.<ref>Such as by former diaspora minister ]: {{cite news |title=Օշականում մեկնարկել են Մայրենիի օրվան նվիրված միջոցառումները |url=https://armenpress.am/arm/news/923540 |agency=] |date=21 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105170642/https://armenpress.am/arm/news/923540 |archive-date=5 January 2021 |language=hy|quote=Մաշտոցը ամենամեծ հայն է...}}</ref> Aghayan further described Mashtots as the "greatest linguist of his time in the broadest sense of the word."{{sfn|Aghaian|1986|p=7}} Catholicos ] stated that "everything truly Armenian" was born out of the vision and genius of Mashtots.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=] |title=Ամենայն Հայոց Հայրապետի խոսքը Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի ծննդյան հազարվեցհարյուրամյա հոբելյանի առթիվ |journal=] |date=1961 |volume=10 |issue=18 |pages=5–7 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/4110/ |language=hy|quote=Ամեն իսկապես հայկական և վավերական արժեք, մեր անցյալին մեջ, ծնունդ կառնե Սուրբ Մեսրոպի տեսլիքեն ու հանճարեն։}}</ref> ], the long-time president of the ], stated in 1962։ "The history of our culture has given many outstanding figures, but of all these figures, the Armenian people owe the most to Mashtots."<!-- «Մեր մշակույթի պատմությունը տվել է բազմաթիվ կարկառուն դեմքեր, սակայն բոլոր այդ գործիչներից հայ ժողովուրդը ամենից շատ պարտական է … Մաշտոցին։»--><ref name="1962days"/>

Soviet Armenian historiography portrayed Mashtots as a secular figure, in line with the official ] interpretation of history. ] argued in a 1940 pamphlet that although the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mashtots was primarily aimed at spreading Christianity, in the long-run it was also politically significant. Armenians entered the "family of ancient cultured peoples" and developed an original culture and rich literature.<!-- Конечно, изобретение письмен имело и в Армении целью, как и у готов и у славян, прежде всего, создание христианской письменности на местном языке. Очевидно, однако, что повсеместное внедрение собственной письменности, созданной в наиболее критическую эпоху исторической жизни Армении, имело, кроме того, преимущественно политическое знcачение. --><ref>{{cite book |last1=Manandian |first1=Hakob |authorlink1=Hakob Manandian |title=Месроп-Маштоц и борьба армянского народа за культурную самобытность |date=1941 |publisher=Armfan |location=Yerevan |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=123177 |language=ru|page=}}</ref> In a 1991 book Catholicos of Cilicia ] complained that his work was being "depicted with colours of purely political, nationalistic and secular nature."<ref>{{cite book |author1=Karekin I |author1-link=Karekin I |title=In Search of Spiritual Life: An Armenian Christian Miscellany |date=1991 |publisher=] |location=Antelias, Lebanon |page=281}}</ref>

At the height of the ] in 1989, ] characterized Mesrop Mashtots as "our most genuine, our greatest ] who, at the moment of the disintegration of the Armenian state, gave us the Armenian alphabet, language and literature, gave us Armenian schools and, as a result, although without political independence, we kept our moral and cultural sovereignty."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ishkhanian |first1=Rafayel |authorlink1=Rafael Ishkhanyan |editor1-last=Libaridian |editor1-first=Gerard J. |editor1-link=Gerard Libaridian |title=Armenia at the Crossroads: Democracy and Nationhood in the Post-Soviet Era |date=1991 |publisher=Blue Crane |location=Watertown, MA |pages=35–36 |chapter=The Law of Excluding the Third Force}}</ref> ], philologist and Armenia's first president, postulates that Mashtots and ] had the most influence on the course of Armenian history.<ref>{{cite news |title=Լևոն Տեր-Պետրոսյանի նոր գիրքը |url=https://www.ilur.am/news/view/76624.html |work=ilur.am |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730184426/https://www.ilur.am/news/view/76624.html |date=27 July 2019 |archivedate=30 July 2019 |language=hy}} <!-- ... Գրիգոր Լուսավորչի մահվան 1700-ամյակը, որի մեծագործությունն, իր շրջադարձային տարողությամբ եւ հայկյան քաղաքակրթության հետագա ընթացքը պայմանավորող արդյունքով, համեմատելի է թերեւս միայն Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի վաստակի հետ։ --></ref> Catholic Armenian Archbishop and scholar ] further argued that Mashtots "was our greatest political thinker."<ref>{{cite book|last=Marsden|first=Philip|authorlink=Philip Marsden|title=The Crossing Place: A Journey Among the Armenians|date=2015|orig-year=1993|publisher=]|isbn=978-0-00-812743-5|page=17}}</ref> Zekiyan argues that Mashtots laid the foundations of a national ideology, "which gave the Armenians a qualitatively new self-awareness in the wider cultural-anthropological sense of a vision of the world, or '']''."{{sfn|Zekiyan|2005|pp=51, 57}}


==Music== ==Music==
Saint Mesrop also produced a number of liturgical compositions. Some of the works attributed to him are: ''Megha Qez Ter,'' ''Voghormea indz Astvats,'' ''Ankanim Aadgi Qo,'' and ''Voghormea'' (Hymns of Repentance). Mashtots also produced a number of liturgical compositions. Some of the works attributed to him are: «Մեղայ քեզ Տէր» (''Meġay k’ez Tēr'', “I have sinned against you, Lord”), «Ողորմեա ինձ Աստուած» (''Voġormea inj Astuac'', “Have mercy on me, God”), «Անկանիմ առաջի քո» (''Ankanim aṙaǰi k’o'', “I kneel before you”) and «Ողորմեա» (''Voġormea'', “Miserere”), all of which are hymns of ].{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}


== Documentary films == ==Veneration ==
{{multiple image
* ''Mashtots - 1988 Armenfilm 35&nbsp;mm.film Director ] (narration by Sos Sargisyan) Artashes Martirosyan (screenplay)
| total_width = 250
| image1 = Mesrop1776t.jpg
| image2 = Unknown armenian painter. St. Mesrop Mashtots.jpg
| footer = Mashtots on a 1776 ]{{sfn|Sholinyan|2003|p=5|loc=in Matenadaran Ms. 5996}} ''(left)'' and a painting by an unknown 18th century Armenian artist ''(right)''{{efn|Kept at the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց, Անհայտ հայ նկարիչ, 18-րդ դար |url=http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/913/ |website=gallery.am |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916192203/http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/913 |archive-date=16 September 2019 |language=hy}}</ref> Though it has been attributed to ], the style is close to that of ].{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=64}} It shows Mashtots in clothing and hat of a ].{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=64}} }}
}}

Mashtots is a saint of the ] and ] churches.<ref name="SaintBio"/><ref>{{cite web |title=The Organization Of The Armenian rite |url=http://www.armeniancatholic.org/archives/inside10ff.html?lang=en&page_id=63 |website=armeniancatholic.org |publisher=Armenian Catholic Church |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704083225/http://www.armeniancatholic.org/archives/inside10ff.html?lang=en&page_id=63 |archivedate=4 July 2019}}</ref> He is sometimes referred to by Armenian churchmen as "The Saint of Oshakan" (Օշականի Սուրբը).<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Mesrop abegha Antabian |title=Օշականի մեծ Սուրբը |journal=] |date=1956 |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=12–14 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/2822/ |publisher=] |language=hy}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Jinivizian |first1=Kevork |title=Օշականի Սուրբը |journal=Sion |date=1962 |volume=36 |issue=2–3 |url=http://sionj.asj-oa.am/6162/ |publisher=] |language=hy}}</ref><ref name="1961church"/><ref>{{cite news |author1=Mashtots kahana Galpakjian |title=Վարագայ Սուրբ Խաչը |url=http://www.jamanak.com/content/հոգե-մտաւոր/24-09-2016-վարագայ-սուրբ-խաչը |work=] |date=September 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107114857/http://www.jamanak.com/content/%D5%B0%D5%B8%D5%A3%D5%A5-%D5%B4%D5%BF%D5%A1%D6%82%D5%B8%D6%80/24-09-2016-%D5%BE%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%A3%D5%A1%D5%B5-%D5%BD%D5%B8%D6%82%D6%80%D5%A2-%D5%AD%D5%A1%D5%B9%D5%A8 |archive-date=7 January 2021 |location=Istanbul |language=hy |quote=...Օշականի Սուրբը, այբենաստեղծ ու գրագիւտ Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց Վարդապետը...}}</ref> There are at least two chants ('']'') and several ] (''gandz'') dedicated to Mashtots and Sahak.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=292-293}} A number of churches in modern and ]{{efn|According to ] (]) there are at least 14 monasteries, churches and chapels in historical ] named after Mashtots.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Karapetyan |first1=Samvel |author1-link=Samvel Karapetyan (author) |title=Սբ. Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց |url=http://www.raa-am.org/raa/pdf_files/88.pdf |website=raa-am.org |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102170648/http://www.raa-am.org/raa/pdf_files/88.pdf |archive-date=2 January 2021 |location=Yerevan |language=hy |date=2005}}</ref> In 2001 the newly-constructed church St. Mesrop Mashtots of ], one of Armenia's largest towns, was consecrated.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Artur sarkavag Karapetyan |title=Օծվեց Կապանի Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց եկեղեցին |journal=] |date=2001 |volume=57 |issue=12 |pages=120–124 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/14081/ |language=hy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Օծվեց Կապանի սբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց եկեղեցին |url=https://armenpress.am/arm/news/372174/otsvec-kapani-sb-mesrop-mashtoc-ekexecin.html |agency=] |date=1 December 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829121637/https://armenpress.am/arm/news/372174/otsvec-kapani-sb-mesrop-mashtoc-ekexecin.html |archive-date=29 August 2017 |language=hy}}</ref> The church of the ], dedicated in 2020 is also named after Mashtots.<ref>{{cite web |title=Not only with strength but also with a peaceful heart and strong faith |url=https://mil.am/en/news/8178 |website=mil.am |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103171634/https://mil.am/en/news/8178 |archive-date=3 January 2023 |date=2 August 2020}}</ref> }} and the ] are named after St. Mesrop, Sts. Mesrop and Sahak or the Holy Translators.{{efn|Including several churches in ], the US,<ref>{{cite web |title=Sts. Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Church |url=http://stssahagmesrobchurch.org/contact/ |website=stssahagmesrobchurch.org |location=Reedley, CA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church |url=https://www.sahagmesrob.church/our-parish |website=sahagmesrob.church |location=Wynnewood, PA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Saints Sahag & Mesrob Armenian Church |url=http://stsahmes.org/patron-saints/ |website=stsahmes.org |location=Providence, RI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=St. Mesrob Armenian Church |url=https://www.stmesrobchurch.org/ |website=stmesrobchurch.org |location=Racine, WI}}</ref> France,<ref>{{cite web |title=Cathédrale apostolique arménienne Saint-Sahak et Saint-Mesrob |url=http://www.acam-france.org/contacts/contact_eglise.php?cle=164 |website=acam-france.org |publisher=Association Culturelle Arménienne de Marne-la-Vallée |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218004613/http://www.acam-france.org/contacts/contact_eglise.php?cle=164 |archive-date=18 February 2020 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Église apostolique arménienne Saint-Sahak et Saint-Mesrob |url=http://www.acam-france.org/contacts/contact_eglise.php?cle=169 |website=acam-france.org |publisher=Association Culturelle Arménienne de Marne-la-Vallée |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003513/http://www.acam-france.org/contacts/contact_eglise.php?cle=169 |archive-date=18 February 2020 |language=fr}}</ref> Russia,<ref>{{cite news |title=В Краснодарском крае построена еще одна армянская церковь |url=http://blagovest-info.ru/index.php?ss=2&s=3&id=37963 |work=blagovest-info.ru |date=24 November 2010 |language=ru |quote=В поселке Пашковский Краснодарского края освящена армянская церковь святых Саака и Месропа (Сурб Саак ев Месроп)...}}</ref> Georgia,<ref>{{cite web |title=Մամզարա - Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց եկեղեցի |url=https://armenianchurch.ge/hy/tem/dejstvuyushchie-tserkvi-i-chasovni/2019-05-25-10-17-17/mamzarasurb-mesrop-mashtoc |website=armenianchurch.ge |publisher=Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107120048/https://armenianchurch.ge/hy/tem/dejstvuyushchie-tserkvi-i-chasovni/2019-05-25-10-17-17/mamzarasurb-mesrop-mashtoc |archive-date=7 January 2021 |language=hy}}</ref> Canada,<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.saintmesrob.ca/ |website=saintmesrob.ca |publisher=St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church of Ottawa}}</ref> and elsewhere.}} He is regarded as the first great '']''.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2002 |title=VARDAPET |encyclopedia=Kʿristonya Hayastan hanragitaran |publisher=Haykakan Hanragitaran hratarakčʿutʿyun |location=Erewan |url=https://etchmiadzinlibrary.am/images/ENCYCLOPEDIA/QristonyaHayastan.pdf |last=Ghazaryan |first=Artashes |editor-last=Ayvazyan |editor-first=Hovhannes |pages=971–972 |language=hy}}</ref>

The Armenian Apostolic Church has two major ] dedicated to Mashtots.{{sfn|Abrahamian|2006|p=85}} The first is the Feast of the ] (Սուրբ Թարգմանչաց, ''Surb T’argmanchats''), which is celebrated on the second Saturday of October. It was declared a national holiday in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |title=Հայաստանի Հանրապետության տոների և հիշատակի օրերի մասին ՀՀ օրենք |url=https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?docid=32127 |website=arlis.am |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704144731/https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?docid=32127 |archivedate=4 July 2019 |language=hy |date=24 June 2001}}</ref> Acharian postulates that it was established no earlier than the 12th century. It is dedicated to Mashtots, ], ], ], ] and ].{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=294-295}} Today pilgrimages to the grave of Mashtots in Oshakan are made on this feast.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Editorial |title=Սրբոց Թարգմանչաց տոնը Օշականում |journal=] |date=2008 |volume=64 |issue=10 |page=132 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/3899/ |language=hy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Թարգմանչաց տոնը մեծ շուքով և միջոցառումներով նշեցին Օշականում |url=https://armenpress.am/arm/news/863133 |agency=] |date=8 October 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009162532/http://armenpress.am/arm/news/863133/ |archivedate=9 October 2016 |language=hy}}</ref> In the Soviet period it became a secular festival.{{sfn|Abrahamian|2006|p=85}}

The second, the Feast of Sahak and Mashtots, is celebrated on the 33rd day after the ], on Thursdays, between June 11 and July 16.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=294-295}} Acharian considered it the continuation of the original feast dedicated to Mashtots. It was on this feast that pilgrimages to Mashtots' grave in Oshakan were made until the mid-20th century.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=294-295}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muradian |first1=Yeghishe vardapet |title=Ս. Թարգմանչաց տօնը Օշական գիւղում |journal=] |date=1904 |volume=37 |issue=7–8 |pages=612–615 |url=http://ararat.asj-oa.am/6088/ |language=hy}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Miaban |title=Սրբոց Թարգմանչաց տոնը Օշականում |journal=] |date=1955 |volume=12 |issue=6 |pages=38–39 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/2138/ |language=hy}}</ref> With the rise of national consciousness in the 19th century, it came to be celebrated in large Armenian communities in Tiflis and Constantinople.{{sfn|Acharian|1984|pp=294-295}}

==Commemorations==
{{multiple image
| total_width = 350
| image1 = 1912 celebration of Armenian alphabet.png
| image2 = StampUSSR1962CPA2695.jpg
| footer = The celebration of the 1500th anniversary of the Armenian alphabet in Etchmiadzin in 1912 with Catholicos ] in the middle and ]'s ] hanging overhead ''(left)''; and a 1962 Soviet stamp celebrating the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Mashtots ''(right)''
}}
]

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the 1500th anniversary of the Armenian alphabet in 1912–13<ref>{{cite journal |title=Ծրագիր տառերի գիւտի 1500-ամեակի եւ տպագրութեան 400-ամեակի տօնակատարութեան |journal=] |date=1912 |volume=46 |issue=10–11 |pages=1052–1054 |url=http://ararat.asj-oa.am/3126/ |language=hy}}
*{{cite journal |title=Տառերի գիւտի 1500-սւմեայ եւ տպագրութեան 400-ամեայ Մեծ յօբելեանի բացման հանդէսը Ս. էջմիածնում եւ Օշականում |journal=] |date=1912 |volume=46 |issue=10–11 |pages=896–909 |url=http://ararat.asj-oa.am/3068/ |language=hy}}
*{{cite journal |title=Համազգային մեծ յոբելեան։ Ծրագիր տառերի գիւտի 1500-ամեակի և տպագրութեան 400-ամեակի տօնակատարութեան |journal=] |date=1913 |volume=47 |issue=8–9 |pages=869–872 |url=http://ararat.asj-oa.am/1965/ |language=hy}}</ref> and the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Mashtots in 1961.<ref name="1961church"/>

In May 1962 the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Mashtots was marked with "massive official celebrations" in ], which had a "powerful impact on Armenian national pride."{{sfn|Panossian|2006|pp=289, 350}} ] noted that ] became an "arena of nationalist fervor and outburst."{{sfn|Panossian|2006|p=350}} The statue of Mashtots was ceremonially opened in front of the ] on May 26.<ref name="1962days"/> The Matenadaran, established three years earlier, was named after Mashtots on that day according to a government decree.<ref name="handisutyun62"/>

In a speech at the ], Soviet Armenian Prime Minister ] proclaimed that it was the Soviet government that made "Mesropian literature the property of the whole nation and opened the alphabet for every Armenian child."<ref name="1962days"/> ], president of the ], declared that while Mashtots' invention formerly served Armenian national interests, it now serves ] ideas, ], ] and progress.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hambardzumyan|first=Viktor|authorlink=Viktor Ambartsumian|title=Հայ գրի և դպրության մեծ հիմնադիրը |journal=]|year=1962|issue=3|pages=3–16|url=http://hpj.asj-oa.am/414/|language=hy|quote=<!--Եթե անցյալում մեսրոպյան տառերը ծառայել են հայ ժողովրդի միասնության, նրա գոյության պահպանման, նրա մշակույթի ինքնուրույն զարգացման գործին, ապա այսօր, երբ մեր ժողովուրդը ապահով ու հանգիստ ապրում Է սովետական ազգերի եղբայրական ընտանիքում, մեսրոպյան տառերը ծառայում են կոմունիզմի գաղափարների իրագործման, ժողովուրդների հետագա մերձեցման և ամբողջ աշխարհի խաղաղության ու առաջադիմության մեծ գործին։-->}}</ref> It was also celebrated in Moscow's ] where Armenian (] and ]) and Soviet (], ], ], ]) writers gave speeches.<ref name="1962days"/> In 1962 the Soviets put into circulation a ] commemorating Mashtots.

The ], awarded for "outstanding achievements" in science, education, healthcare, and culture,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots |url=https://www.president.am/en/orders/8/ |website=president.am |publisher=The Office of the President of the Republic of Armenia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522223013/https://www.president.am/en/orders/8/ |archive-date=22 May 2023}}</ref> was established by the Armenian government in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |title=Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի շքանշանի մասին |url=http://www.parliament.am/legislation.php?sel=show&ID=2100&lang=arm |website=parliament.am |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231203248/http://www.parliament.am/legislation.php?sel=show&ID=2100&lang=arm |archive-date=31 December 2020 |language=hy |date=26 July 1993}}</ref> The ] was established by the Armenian Church in 1978.<ref>{{cite book |title=Հայաստան հանրագիտարան |date=2012 |location=Yerevan |page= |language=hy |chapter=Հայաստանյայց առաքելական սուրբ եկեղեցու շքանշաններ}}</ref>

Mashtots and the Matenadaran were featured on the ] ] banknote of the first series, put into ciculation in 1994.<ref name="CBA1994"/>

The ] in central Yerevan, called Stalin, then Lenin Avenue in the Soviet period, was renamed after Mashtots in 1990.{{sfn|Abrahamian|2006|p=48}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Minasyan |first1=Edik |author1-link=:hy:Էդիկ Մինասյան |title=Մայրաքաղաք Երևանը ՀՀ անկախության տարիներին (1991-2018թթ.) |date=2020 |publisher=] Press |location=Yerevan |isbn=978-5-8084-2464-7 |url=http://publishing.ysu.am/files/Minasyan_Edik-1604663238-.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813072542/http://publishing.ysu.am/files/Minasyan_Edik-1604663238-.pdf |archive-date=13 August 2022 |language=hy|page=32}}</ref>{{efn|In 2019 the ] voted down a proposal to rename it ''St.'' Mesrop Mashtots Avenue.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Badalyan |first1=Susan |title=Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ փողոցն անվանափոխվեց Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ փողոցի |url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/29956504.html |date=22 May 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210110150535/https://www.azatutyun.am/a/29956504.html |archive-date=10 January 2021 |language=hy}}</ref>}} Between 1985 and 1996, one of Yerevan's eight districts, what are now the districts of ] and ], was called Mashtots.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hakobian |first1=T. Kh. |last2=Melik-Bakhshian |first2=St. T. |last3=Barseghian |first3=H. Kh. |authorlink1=Tadevos Hakobyan |authorlink2=:hy:Ստեփան Մելիք-Բախշյան |authorlink3=:hy:Հովհաննես Բարսեղյան |title=Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան Volume III |date=1991 |publisher=Yerevan University Press |page= |language=hy |chapter=Մաշտոցի շրջան }}</ref>{{sfn|Minasyan|2020|p=133}}

Institutions named after Mashtots include the ],<ref name="HistOver">{{cite web |title=Matenadaran. Historical review |url=http://www.matenadaran.am/?id=61&lng=4 |website=matenadaran.am |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906083859/http://www.matenadaran.am/?id=61&lng=4 |archive-date=6 September 2018}}</ref> the ] of ],<ref>{{cite news |title=90th anniversary of Republican Library celebrated in Stepanakert |url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/788346.html |agency=] |date=18 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114075117/https://armenpress.am/eng/news/788346.html |archive-date=14 January 2021}}</ref> the Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies at ],<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://naasr.org/pages/history |website=naasr.org |publisher=National Association for Armenian Studies and Research |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023015356/https://naasr.org/pages/history |archive-date=23 October 2020}}</ref> the Mesrop Center for Armenian Studies at ],<ref>{{cite web |title=MESROP Arbeitsstelle für Armenische Studien |url=https://mesrop.uni-halle.de/ |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112022335/https://mesrop.uni-halle.de/ |archive-date=12 January 2021 |language=de}}</ref> a number of schools and universities in Armenia,<ref>{{cite web |title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց համալսարանի մասին |url=http://www.mashtotsuniversity.am/html/armenian/Mer%20masin.html |website=mashtotsuniversity.am |publisher=Yerevan Mesrop Mashtots University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130195226/http://www.mashtotsuniversity.am/html/armenian/Mer%20masin.html |archive-date=30 January 2021 |language=hy}}</ref> Artsakh<ref>{{cite web |title=ՄՄՀ-ի պատմությունը |url=http://mmu.am/hy/%d5%b4%d5%b4%d5%b0-%d5%ab-%d5%ba%d5%a1%d5%bf%d5%b4%d5%b8%d6%82%d5%a9%d5%b5%d5%b8%d6%82%d5%b6%d5%a8/ |website=mmu.am |publisher=Mesrop Mashtots University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130195233/http://mmu.am/hy/%D5%B4%D5%B4%D5%B0-%D5%AB-%D5%BA%D5%A1%D5%BF%D5%B4%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%B5%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6%D5%A8/ |archive-date=30 January 2021 |location=Stepanakert |language=hy}}</ref> and educational and cultural institutions in the ].{{efn|Public schools in Armenia: in ] (Ejmiatsin)<ref>{{cite web |title="Վաղարշապատի Մ. Մաշտոցի անվան թիվ 1 հիմնական դպրոց" ՊՈԱԿ |url=http://ejmiatsin.am/qaxaqain-tntesutyun/krtutyun/dprotcner/727--1-.html |website=ejmiatsin.am |publisher=Ejmaitsin Municipality |language=hy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709202247/http://ejmiatsin.am/qaxaqain-tntesutyun/krtutyun/dprotcner/727--1-.html |archive-date=9 July 2020}}</ref> and ]<ref>{{cite news |title=Օշականում Մայրենիի տոնի մասնակիցները ծաղիկներ են դրել Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի շիրմաքարին |url=https://armenpress.am/arm/news/836727 |agency=] |date=21 February 2016 |language=hy |quote=...Օշականի՝ Մ. Մաշտոցի անվան միջնակարգ դպրոցի... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222091706/http://armenpress.am/arm/news/836727/ |archive-date=22 February 2016}}</ref> and elsewhere. Armenian-language schools in Los Angeles (]), ], Lebanon,<ref>{{cite web |title=History (our establishment) |url=http://www.mesrobian.com/SchoolInfoView.aspx?Category=1999&Title=History+(our+establishment) |website=mesrobian.com |publisher=Mesrobian Armenian Catholic High School |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113214734/http://www.mesrobian.com/SchoolInfoView.aspx?Category=1999&Title=History+%28our+establishment%29 |archive-date=13 January 2021}}</ref> ], Ukraine,<ref>{{cite web |title=Օդեսայի Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի անվան կիրակնօրյա դպրոցի 15-ամյակին նվիրված միջոցառման մասին |url=https://www.mfa.am/hy/press-releases/2019/03/10/odessa_event/9221 |website=mfa.am |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia |language=hy |date=10 March 2019}}</ref> an Armenian cultural center in ], Russia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Тюмень: Центр армянской культуры имени Маштоца отметил новоселье |url=http://region-tyumen.ru/articles/kultura/tyumen_tsentr_armyanskoy_kultury_imeni_mashtotsa_otmetil_novosele/ |work=region-tyumen.ru |agency=] |date=9 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006224703/http://region-tyumen.ru/articles/kultura/tyumen_tsentr_armyanskoy_kultury_imeni_mashtotsa_otmetil_novosele/ |archive-date=6 October 2019 |language=ru}}</ref>}}

==Artistic depictions==
{{multiple image
| total_width = 325
| image1 = Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Mesrop Mashtots.jpg
| image2 = Mesrop Mashtots by Francesco Maggiotto.jpg
| footer = Paintings of Mashtots by 18th century Italian artists ] and ].
}}
]. Mashtots is depicted standing, to the left of the window.]]

===Paintings===
No contemporary portraits of Mashtots have been found. The first artistic depictions appeared in Armenian illuminated manuscripts (]), primarily in '']'' and '']'', starting from the 14th century. These manuscripts, around 20 in total were created in ], ], ], ] and elsewhere, depict Mashtots with a ].{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|pp=62-63}} In the 18th century Mashtots was portrayed by two Italian painters. ] portrayed Mashtots with a pseudo-Armenian alphabet on the frescoes on the ceiling above the staircase of the ] in Bavaria,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schmidt |first1=Volkmar |title=Zu Tiepolos Asien-Darstellung in Würzburg |journal=] |date=1974 |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=52–62 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1481856 |publisher=] |doi=10.2307/1481856 |jstor=1481856 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vardanyan |first1=Stella |title=The Armenian Alphabet and its Inventor Mesrop Mashtots in Tiepolo's Treppenhaus Fresco in Würzburg |journal=] |date=2017 |volume=100 |pages=129–136 |url=https://ixtheo.de/Record/1649717865 |issn=0340-6407}}
*Vardanyan, S. (1999). ",' in '']'' 113</ref> while ]'s ]{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=65}} portrait of Mashtots hangs at the Armenian Catholic monastery of ] near Venice.<ref>The painting starting from 14:12: {{cite web |title=Chrétiens orientaux : Foi, espérances et traditions |url=https://www.france.tv/france-2/chretiens-orientaux-foi-esperances-et-traditions/2170623-l-ile-des-moines-armeniens-de-venise.html?fbclid=IwAR34KDLTmhWEEciUXVkK0oHqHFafflrDqD58gOnNolMrlleUDnNhmYUOw34 |website=france.tv |publisher=] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210107175048/https://www.france.tv/france-2/chretiens-orientaux-foi-esperances-et-traditions/2170623-l-ile-des-moines-armeniens-de-venise.html?fbclid=IwAR34KDLTmhWEEciUXVkK0oHqHFafflrDqD58gOnNolMrlleUDnNhmYUOw34 |archive-date=7 January 2021 |language=fr |date=3 January 2021}}
*{{cite book |last1=Issaverdenz |first1=James |title=The Island of San Lazzaro, Or, The Armenian Monastery Near Venice |date=1875 |publisher=Armenian Typography of San Lazzaro |location=Venice |page= |quote=The two pictures in the Choir, on each side of the high altar, come next. They are by Maggiotto and represent, the one S. Isaac translator of the Bible into Armenian, the other S. Mesrob inventor of the Armenian Alphabet.}}</ref>{{efn|A ] (]) of this painting appears in ]'s 1901 book ''Hayapatum''.{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=65}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alishan |first1=Ghevont |author1-link=Ghevont Alishan |title=Հայապատում |date=1901 |publisher=] |location=Venice |page=153 |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=96741 |language=hy}}</ref>}}

]'s 1882 painting of Mashtots, commissioned by a wealthy Armenian from ],{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=65}} is considered the most widely recognized artistic depiction of Mashtots.{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=71}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Azatyan |first1=Vardan |title=հայ գիրքը. դրվագներ կարճատեսության հայկական պատմության |url=http://www.arteria.am/hy/1509102904 |website=Arteria |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403085745/http://www.arteria.am/hy/1509102904 |archive-date=3 April 2021 |language=hy |date=29 October 2017}}</ref> During the Soviet period, numerous Armenian artists portrayed Mashtots.{{efn|Some of the more prominent paintings of Mashtots kept at Armenian galleries include portraits by ] (1930),<ref>{{cite web |title=Աբեղյան Մհեր Մանուկի (1909 - 1994), Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց |url=http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/11220/ |website=gallery.am |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101202757/http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/11220/ |archive-date=1 January 2021 |language=hy}}</ref>{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|pp=64-65}} ] (1959–60),<ref>{{cite web |title=Թոքմաջյան Տիգրան Արմենակի (1923 ), Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց (1959) |url=http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/11080/ |website=gallery.am |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102132530/http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/11080/ |archive-date=2 January 2021 |language=hy}}</ref>{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=68}} ] (1962),<ref>{{cite web |title=Mesrop Mashtots (1962) |url=https://kochar.am/portfolio_page/mesrop-mshtots/ |website=kochar.am |publisher=Ervand Kochar Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128203648/https://kochar.am/portfolio_page/mesrop-mshtots/ |archive-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> ] (1962),<ref>{{cite web |title=Խաչատրյան Ռուդոլֆ Լորիսի (1937 - 2007), Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց (1962) |url=http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/1403/ |website=gallery.am |publisher=National Gallery of Armenia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102132957/http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/1403/ |archive-date=2 January 2021 |language=hy}}</ref> ] (1962),<ref>{{cite web |title=Զորյան Աշոտ (1905 - 1971), Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց (1962) |url=http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/5561/ |website=gallery.am |publisher=National Gallery of Armenia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220113049/http://www.gallery.am/hy/database/item/5561 |archive-date=20 February 2020 |language=hy}}</ref> and ] (1962).<ref>{{cite web |title=Սուրեն Սաֆարյան (1923-1988) |url=https://www.facebook.com/diilijanmuseum/posts/3035149736541718 |publisher=] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210102134458/https://www.facebook.com/diilijanmuseum/posts/3035149736541718 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |language=hy |date=April 22, 2020 |quote=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց, 1962թ.}}</ref> At a 1962 Yerevan exhibition paintings of Mashtots by as many as 50 Armenian artists were displayed.<ref name="handisutyun62"/>}} ] (Vanik Khachatryan) created a ] of Mashtots in 1958–59 for the entrance hall of the ] in Yerevan.{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=69}}<ref name="arlisList">{{cite web |title=Երևան քաղաքի պատմության և մշակույթի անշարժ հուշարձանների պետական ցուցակ |url=https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?DocID=56884 |website=arlis.am |publisher=Armenian Legal Information System |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102143010/https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?DocID=56884 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |language=hy |date=7 October 2004 }}</ref> ] and ] created a fresco, in 1961–64, for ] in ], where he is buried.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khanjyan |first1=Grigor |author-link1=Grigor Khanjyan |title=Օշականի եկեղեցու վերանորոգության առթիվ |journal=] |date=1968 |volume=24 |issue=3 |page=17 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/5413/ |language=hy}}</ref> In 1981 a ] titled ''The Armenian Alphabet'', where Mashtots is the central figure, was completed by French weavers based on a painting by ]. It is kept at the Pontifical Residence at the ].<ref name="Khanj81"/><ref name="CafesjianKhanjyan"/> In 1992–94 Khanjyan created a large ] of the same painting inside the ] (now the ]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Գաֆէսճեան արվեստի կենտրոնի "Խանջյան" սրահ |url=https://www.facebook.com/cafesjiancentercascade/photos/%D5%A3%D5%A1%D6%86%D5%A7%D5%BD%D5%B3%D5%A5%D5%A1%D5%B6-%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%BE%D5%A5%D5%BD%D5%BF%D5%AB-%D5%AF%D5%A5%D5%B6%D5%BF%D6%80%D5%B8%D5%B6%D5%AB-%D5%AD%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%BB%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6-%D5%BD%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B0%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B4-%D5%A7-%D5%A3%D5%BF%D5%B6%D5%BE%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B4-%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B5-%D5%B4%D5%A5%D5%AE%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6-%D5%B6%D5%AF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%AB%D5%B9-%D5%A3%D6%80%D5%AB%D5%A3%D5%B8%D6%80-/10151324521414563/ |publisher=] (Cascade complex) |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210115021840/https://www.facebook.com/cafesjiancentercascade/photos/%D5%A3%D5%A1%D6%86%D5%A7%D5%BD%D5%B3%D5%A5%D5%A1%D5%B6-%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%BE%D5%A5%D5%BD%D5%BF%D5%AB-%D5%AF%D5%A5%D5%B6%D5%BF%D6%80%D5%B8%D5%B6%D5%AB-%D5%AD%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%BB%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6-%D5%BD%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B0%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B4-%D5%A7-%D5%A3%D5%BF%D5%B6%D5%BE%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B4-%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B5-%D5%B4%D5%A5%D5%AE%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6-%D5%B6%D5%AF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%AB%D5%B9-%D5%A3%D6%80%D5%AB%D5%A3%D5%B8%D6%80-/10151324521414563/ |language=hy |archive-date=15 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="CafesjianKhanjyan"/>

===Statues and sculptures===
] (1962).]]
], erected in 2002.]]

The most recognizable statue of Mashtots, depicted with his disciple and biographer Koriun, is located in front of the ] and was erected by ] in 1962.<ref name="arlisList"/>{{efn|It appeared on the 1,000 ] banknote, in use between 1994 and 2004.<ref name="CBA1994"/>}} Although it was not immediately well-received, it is now a Yerevan landmark.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Manvelyan |first1=Nvard |title="Ես այս քաղաքի ամենավերջին անճաշակը չեմ և Արամ Մանուկյանին ուզում եմ տեսնել հենց այնպիսին, ինչպիսին եղել է նրա դերն ու նշանակությունը". Արամ Մանուկյանի քանդակի հեղինակ |url=https://168.am/2018/02/07/904969.html |work=168.am |date=February 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114085807/https://168.am/2018/02/07/904969.html |archive-date=14 November 2023 |language=hy |quote=]: «իսկ Մատենադարանի դիմաց կանգնեցված Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի արձանը ժամանակին այնպես քննադատվեց, որ քանդակի գլուխը նույնիսկ գիշերով կոտրեցին: Մարդիկ ասում էին, որ քանդակը նման չէ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցին, և դա՝ այն դեպքում, երբ Մաշտոցը երբեք որևէ լուսանկար չի ունեցել, որպեսզի նմանությունները կամ տարբերություններն ապացուցող փաստեր լինեն գոնե:»}}</ref> A statue of Mashtots and Sahak, erected by ] in the 1940s,{{efn|Արա Սարգսյան, Մաշտոց և Սահակ, 1945; մրցանակաբաշխություն 1943, փայտից 1945, բրոնզից 1948{{sfn|Ghazarian|1962|p=67}} }} was put up in front of the main campus of ] in 2002.<ref>{{cite news |title=Սեպտեմբերի 3-ին ԵՊՀ-ում կբացվի Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի եւ Սահակ Պարթեւ հուշարձանը |url=https://armenpress.am/arm/news/382715/septemberi-3-in-eph-um-kbacvi---------------mesrop-mashtoci-ev.html |agency=] |date=16 August 2002 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210102192806/https://armenpress.am/arm/news/382715/septemberi-3-in-eph-um-kbacvi---------------mesrop-mashtoci-ev.html |archive-date=2 January 2021 |language=hy}}</ref> ] created two sculptures of Mashtots in ] (1952) and ] (1953).<ref>{{cite web |title=Mesrop Mashtots (1952) |url=https://kochar.am/portfolio_page/mesrop-mashtots/ |website=kochar.am |publisher=Ervand Kochar Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128203832/https://kochar.am/portfolio_page/mesrop-mashtots/ |archive-date=28 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mesrop Mashtots (1953) |url=https://kochar.am/portfolio_page/mesrop-mashtots-2/ |website=kochar.am |publisher=Ervand Kochar Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930093030/https://kochar.am/portfolio_page/mesrop-mashtots-2/ |archive-date=30 September 2020}}</ref> ] created a bronze ] in 1957/59.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mesrop Mashtoc Ara Sargsyan, 1959 |url=https://ashkf.am/en/collection/mesrop-mashtoc/ |publisher=House Museum of Ara Sargsyan and Hakob Kojoyan |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240127174051/https://ashkf.am/en/collection/mesrop-mashtoc/ |archive-date=27 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sargsian |first1=Henrikh |title=Ара Сарксян-медальер |journal=] |date=1983 |volume=5 |issue=5 |url=https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/40606/edition/36394/content |language=ru |issn=0320-8117}}</ref> A statue of Mashtots and Koriun, by ] (1978–79), was erected near the central square of Ejmiatsin (]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց և Կորյուն |url=http://ejmiatsin.am/mer-qaxaq/hushardzanner/227--.html |website=ejmiatsin.am |publisher=Municipality of Ejmiatsin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101081836/http://ejmiatsin.am/mer-qaxaq/hushardzanner/227--.html |archive-date=1 January 2021 |language=hy |date=4 March 2012}}</ref>

Statues, busts and sculptures of Mashtots have been erected in the ], including in historical communities such as at the ] in Jerusalem's ], the ] of the ] in ], Isfahan, Iran,{{sfn|Barry|2018|pp=74-75}} the ] in ], Cyprus<ref>] at the Melkonian school in Nicosia</ref> and in newly-established communities, such as on the ] (2013)<ref>] on the Moscow Cathedral</ref><ref name="Moscow"/> and in ], Paris (2015).<ref>{{cite news |title=French Armenian sculptor makes bust of Armenian alphabet inventor |url=https://news.am/eng/news/288383.html |work=news.am |date=30 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011161322/http://news.am/eng/news/288383.html |archive-date=11 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Buste Mesrop Machtots |url=http://www.acam-france.org/contacts/contact_lieu.php?cle=894 |website=acam-france.org |publisher=Association Culturelle Arménienne de Marne-la-Vallée |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325064750/http://acam-france.org/contacts/contact_lieu.php?cle=894 |archive-date=25 March 2016 |language=fr |date=2016}}</ref> In ], the center of the Armenian-populated ] (Javakhk) region of Georgia, the statue of Soviet leader ] was replaced with that of Mashtots in 1992.<ref>{{cite news |title=Լքված հուշարձանները սպասում են "արժանի" տեղի |url=https://jnews.ge/am/?p=18600#.WsnCqy5ubIU |work=jnews.ge |date=6 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113194311/https://jnews.ge/am/?p=18600#.WsnCqy5ubIU |archive-date=13 January 2021 |language=hy}} <!-- «2010 թ.-ին Ախալքալաքի կենտրոնում Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի նոր հուշարձանը տեղադրելուց հետո, հինը, որը գտնվում էր նույն տեղում, հայտնվեց Մշակույթի տան պատերի տակ: Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի լքված հուշարձանի քանդակագոծը Արայիկ Բաղդասարյանն է: Հուշարձանը կառուցվել է 1992 թվականին, Վլադիմիր Լենինի հուշարձանը կենտրոնից հանելուց հետո...» --></ref>

===Literature and music===
Mashtots has featured prominently in Armenian poetry. In one poem («]»), the mid-19th century poet ] ranked him above ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Utujyan |first1=Ani |title=Հինգերորդ դարի հայ պատմագրությունը Միքայել Նալբանդյանի գնահատմամբ |journal=Akunk |date=2013 |volume=2 |issue=8 |page=27 |url=http://ijevanlib.ysu.am/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/collection-of-scientific-articles-Akunq-2-8-2013.pdf |publisher=Yerevan State University Press |language=hy |issn=1829-2992|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105180208/http://ijevanlib.ysu.am/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/collection-of-scientific-articles-Akunq-2-8-2013.pdf |archive-date=2021-01-05 }}<!--- Նալբանդյանի կարծիքով, Մաշտոցի գործունեությունը ժողովուրդների օրենսդիր ու նրանց համար փրկության ճանապարհ նշող բիբլիական Մովսես Մարգարեի գործունեությունից շատ ավելի բարձր է, որովհետև վերջինս «թեև օրենք տվեց, բայց գիրը կար շատ առաջ»: Իսկ «Մեսրովբը ազգերին գիր տվեց», ուստի նրա անունը աստղերից վեր է և «բոցավառ»: --></ref> In another, Nalbandian lamented the state of the ] where Mashtots is buried.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Muradian |editor1-first=R. M. |title=Միքայել Նալբանդյան. Երկեր |date=1985 |publisher=Sovetakan grogh |location=Yerevan |pages= |language=hy |chapter=Օշական}}</ref> In his 1912 poem "St. Mashtots", ] compared him to Moses and called him "God of Thought."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=van Lint |first1=Theo |author1-link=:nl:Theo van Lint |title=Սիամանթոյի' Սուրբ Մեսրոպին նվիրված բանաստեղծությունների շուրջ |journal=] |date=2012 |volume=19 |pages=65–71 |url=https://www.matenadaran.am/ftp/data/Banber19/5.T.Marten.pdf |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129161919/https://www.matenadaran.am/ftp/data/Banber19/5.T.Marten.pdf |archive-date=2021-01-29 |language=hy}}</ref> In a 1913 ], ], Armenia's ], praised Mashtots and Sahak as luminaries.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Jrbashian |editor1-first=Edvard |editor1-link=:hy:Էդվարդ Ջրբաշյան |title=Հովհաննես Թումանյան. Երկերի լիակատար ժողովածու. Հատոր առաջին |date=1988 |publisher=Armenian Academy of Sciences Press |location=Yerevan |pages= |language=hy}}</ref> ], a celebrated Soviet Armenian poet, characterized Mashtots as a great statesman who won a "bloodless battle, which cannot be compared to any of the victories of our glorious commanders" in a 1962 poem.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aristakesian |first1=Albert |authorlink1=:hy:Ալբերտ Արիստակեսյան |title=Պարույր Սևակ |date=1974 |publisher=Armenian Academy of Sciences Publishing |location=Yerevan |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=11129 |language=hy|page=258}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arzumanyan |first1=Lilit |title="Մաշտոցի սխրագործությունը" |journal=Kantegh |date=2001 |issue=5 |pages=17–22 |url= https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/181963/edition/165194/content |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808100728/https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/181963/edition/165194/content |archive-date=2022-08-08 |language=hy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title="Եվ այր մի' Մաշտոց անուն" |url=http://sevak.am/lpoem/poem/%D4%B5%D5%8E-%D4%B1%D5%85%D5%90-%D5%84%D4%BB-%D5%84%D4%B1%D5%87%D5%8F%D5%88%D5%91-%D4%B1%D5%86%D5%88%D5%92%D5%86 |website=sevak.am |access-date=29 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122190515/http://sevak.am/lpoem/poem/%D4%B5%D5%8E-%D4%B1%D5%85%D5%90-%D5%84%D4%BB-%D5%84%D4%B1%D5%87%D5%8F%D5%88%D5%91-%D4%B1%D5%86%D5%88%D5%92%D5%86 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |language=hy}}</ref> It was set to stage in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Հայաստանում առաջին անգամ բեմադրվեց "Եվ Այր մի' Մաշտոց անուն"-ը |url=https://armenpress.am/arm/news/668788 |agency=] |date=14 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129182005/https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3A-QKZem7IIg8J%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Farmenpress.am%2Farm%2Fnews%2F668788+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=am |archive-date=29 January 2021 |language=hy}}</ref> A popular poem by ], "Words for my Son", reads: "By Mesrop's holy genius, it has become letter and parchment; it has become hope, become a flag."{{sfn|Barry|2018|p=74}}

In the early 1970s, the popular song "Glorious Nation" («Ազգ փառապանծ»), written by ] and {{ill|Ashot Grashi|hy|Աշոտ Գրաշի|ru|Граши, Ашот Багдасарович}}, and frequently performed by {{ill|Raisa Mkrtchyan|hy|Ռաիսա Մկրտչյան}}, included the line "The powerful language of Mashtots is the bright hope of every Armenian."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Muradyan |first1=Lilit |title=Այսօր Առնո Բաբաջանյանը կդառնար 95 տարեկան |url=https://hy.armradio.am/2016/01/22/%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%BD%D6%85%D6%80-%D5%A1%D5%BC%D5%B6%D5%B8-%D5%A2%D5%A1%D5%A2%D5%A1%D5%BB%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%A8-%D5%AF%D5%A4%D5%A1%D5%BC%D5%B6%D5%A1%D6%80-95-%D5%BF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A5%D5%AF/ |agency=] |date=22 January 2016 |language=hy |quote=Առնո Բաբաջանյանի «Ազգ փառապանծ» երգը 1970-ականների սկզբին մեծ ճանաչում բերեց Ռաիսա Մկրտչյանին։}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ազգ փառապանծ |url=http://www.horovel.org/lalayan/horovel.nsf/0/a1f842f45a9d3fd4c125819d00762bb7!OpenDocument&Click= |website=horovel.org |publisher=Horovel։ Armenian song library |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231011072024/http://www.horovel.org/lalayan/horovel.nsf/0/a1f842f45a9d3fd4c125819d00762bb7!OpenDocument&Click= |archive-date=11 October 2023 |language=hy}}</ref>

== See also ==
* ]


== References == == References ==
;Notes
{{reflist}}
{{notelist}}


;Citations
;Attribution
{{reflist|refs=
*{{catholic|first=A. A. |last=Vaschalde |wstitle=Mesrob |volume=10}}


<ref name="SaintBio">{{cite journal |author1=Editorial |title=Հայ Եկեղեցու տոնելի սրբերի համառոտ կենսագրությունները |journal=] |date=1980 |volume=37 |issue=11 |pages=32–33 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/10887/ |language=hy}}</ref>
==Further reading==

]. "L'invention de l'alphabet arménien: de langue parlée á la langue écrite." ''].'' 33 (2011), pp.&nbsp;67–129.
<ref name="1961church">{{cite journal |title=Ամենայն Հայոց Հայրապետի կոնդակը Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի ծննդյան հազարվեցհարյուրամյակի առթիվ |journal=] |date=1961 |volume=18 |issue=9 |pages=3–5 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/4091/ |publisher=] |language=hy}}</ref>

<ref name="1962days">{{cite journal |first=G. |last=Kirakosyan |title=Մաշտոցյան օրերը Հայաստանում |journal=] |date=1962 |issue=3 |pages=267–269 |url=http://hpj.asj-oa.am/1561/ |language=hy}}</ref>

<ref name="CBA1994">{{cite web |title=Banknotes out of Circulation - 1000 drams |url=https://www.cba.am/en/sitepages/detailsncbrabanknotesnotcirculated.aspx?nominal=7 |website=cba.am |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102191722/https://www.cba.am/en/sitepages/detailsncbrabanknotesnotcirculated.aspx?nominal=7 |archive-date=2 January 2021}}</ref>

<ref name="Khanj81">{{cite journal |author1=Zatik abegha Avetikian |title=Արվեստի նոր գործեր |journal=] |date=1981 |volume=38 |issue=7 |pages=18–24 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/11141/ |language=hy}}</ref>

<ref name="CafesjianKhanjyan">{{cite book |last1=Sargsyan |first1=Lilit |title=Grigor Khanjyan: Beyond Image |date=2016 |publisher=] |location=Yerevan |isbn=978-9939-9121-9-6 |pages=86, 89, 91 |url=https://issuu.com/cafesjiancenterforthearts/docs/khanjyan_final_for_print-}}</ref>

<ref name="RusselReview">{{cite journal |last1=Russell |first1=James R. |author1-link=James R. Russell |title=Reviewed Work: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages by Roger D. Woodard |journal=International Journal of the Classical Tradition |date=2008 |volume=15 |issue=1 |page=139 |jstor=25691211 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25691211}}</ref>

<ref name="handisutyun62">{{cite journal |title=Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի ծննդյան 1600-ամյակին նվիրված հոբելյանական հանդիսություններ |journal=] |date=1962 |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=19–26 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/4223/ |language=hy}}</ref>

<ref name="Moscow">{{cite news |title=New Armenian Cathedral Opens In Moscow |url=https://www.rferl.org/amp/armenia-apostolic-moscow-cathedral/25109320.html |agency=] |date=17 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910055320/https://www.rferl.org/amp/armenia-apostolic-moscow-cathedral/25109320.html |archive-date=10 September 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="ChristEnc">{{cite book |last1=Martirosyan |first1=Artashes |last2=Arevshatyan |first2=Anna |author1-link=:hy:Արտաշես Մարտիրոսյան |author2-link=:hy:Աննա Արևշատյան |editor1-last=Ayvazyan |editor1-first=Hovhannes |editor1-link=:hy:Հովհաննես Այվազյան |title=] |trans-title=Christian Armenia Encyclopedia |date=2002 |publisher=Armenian Encyclopedia Publishing |location=Yerevan |isbn=5-89700-016-6 |page= |language=hy |chapter=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց }}</ref>

}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|30em}}

===Books on Mashtots===
*{{cite book |last1=Acharian |first1=Hrachia |authorlink1=Hrachia Acharian |title=Հայոց գրերը |date=1984 |publisher=Hayastan Publishing |location=Yerevan |url=http://serials.flib.sci.am/Founders/Hayoc%20grer-%20Acharyan/book/index.html#page/1/mode/2up |language=hy}} ()
*{{cite book |author1=Leo |authorlink1=Arakel Babakhanian |title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց |date=1962 |publisher=Yerevan University Press |location=Yerevan |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=9753 |language=hy}}; originally published as: {{cite book |author1=Leo |title=Ս. Մեսրոպ |series=Սահակ Մեսրոպեան մատենադարան |date=1904 |publisher=Hermes |location=Tiflis |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=48851 |language=hy}}
*{{cite book |last1=Abeghian |first1=Manuk |authorlink1=Manouk Abeghian |title="The Life of Mashtots" by Koryun |date=1980 |publisher=Yerevan University Press |pages=224–259 |format=|translator=P. Mesrobian |chapter=Mesrop Mashtots, the Inventor of the Armenian Alphabet and the Origin of Literature}}
*{{cite book |last1=Aghaian |first1=Ed. B. |author1-link=Eduard Aghayan |title=Mesrop Mashtots |date=1986 |publisher=Yerevan University Press |page=14 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Sholinyan |first1=Mariam |title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց և հայոց գրեր |date=2003 |publisher=Zangak-97 |location=Yerevan |isbn=978-99930-2-668-6 |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=43187 |language=hy}}

===Books cited in the article===
*{{cite book|last=Kurkjian|first=Vahan|authorlink=Vahan Kurkjian|title=A History of Armenia|date=1964|orig-year=1958|publisher=Armenian General Benevolent Union of America|location=New York|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Asia/Armenia/_Texts/KURARM/home.html|chapter=Successors of Trdat — Partition of Armenia|pages=}}
*{{cite book|authorlink=Vrej Nersessian|first=Vrej|last=Nersessian|title=Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art|url=http://www.getty.edu/publications/virtuallibrary/0892366397.html|publisher=]|location=Los Angeles|year=2001|isbn=9780892366392}}
*{{cite book|last=Panossian|first=Razmik|title=The Armenians: From Kings and Priests to Merchants and Commissars|year=2006|publisher=]|location=New York|isbn=9780231139267|authorlink=Razmik Panossian}}
*{{cite book|last=Redgate|first=A. E.|title=The Armenians|year=2000|publisher=]|location=Oxford|isbn=9780631220374|authorlink=Elizabeth Redgate}}
*{{cite book|last1=Bournoutian|first1=George|authorlink1=George Bournoutian|title=A Concise History of the Armenian People|date=2006|publisher=Mazda Publishers|location=Costa Mesa, California|edition=5th}}
*{{cite book|last=Payaslian|first=Simon|authorlink=Simon Payaslian|title=The History of Armenia|year=2007|publisher=]|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4039-7467-9}}
*{{cite book |last1=Thomson |first1=Robert W. |authorlink1=Robert W. Thomson |editor1-last=Hovannisian |editor1-first=Richard G. |editor1-link=Richard G. Hovannisian |title=The Armenian People From Ancient To Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century |date=1997 |publisher=] |location=New York |pages=199–239 |chapter=Armenian Literary Culture Through the Eleventh Century}}
*{{cite book |last1=Russell |first1=James R. |author1-link=James R. Russell |title=Armenian and Iranian Studies |date=2004 |publisher=] |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}
*{{cite book |last1=Abrahamian |first1=Levon |authorlink1=Levon Abrahamian |title=Armenian Identity in a Changing World |date=2006 |publisher=Mazda Publishers |isbn=1-56859-185-3}}
*{{cite book |last1=Barry |first1=James |title=Armenian Christians in Iran: Ethnicity, Religion, and Identity in the Islamic Republic |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108429047 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vuVqDwAAQBAJ&dq=mashtots&pg=PA74 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Zekiyan |first1=Boghos Levon |author1-link=Levon Zekiyan |editor1-last=Herzig |editor1-first=Edmund |editor2-last=Kurkchiyan |editor2-first=Marina |title=The Armenians: Past and Present in the Making of National Identity |date=2005 |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |isbn=0-203-00493-0 |pages=41–64 |chapter=Christianity to modernity}}

===Encyclopedia articles===
*{{cite book|title=]|year=1981|last=Ishkhanian |first=Rafayel|authorlink=Rafael Ishkhanyan|article=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց |language=hy|pages=}}

===Journal articles===
*{{cite journal |last1=Malkhasyants |first1=Stepan |authorlink1=Stepan Malkhasyants |title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի ծագման մասին |journal=] |date=1946 |volume=3 |issue=2–3 |pages=55–58 |url=https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/260967/edition/238987/content |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808101025/https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/260967/edition/238987/content |archive-date=2022-08-08 |language=hy}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Yeghiazaryan |first1=Vano |authorlink1=:hy:Վանո Եղիազարյան |title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցը՝ Մամիկոնյան տոհմի ազնվական |journal=] |date=2017 |volume=74 |issue=1 |pages=51–58 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/15875/ |language=hy}}
*{{cite journal |first=Vahan vardapet |last=Teryan |title= Օշականի Սուրբ Մեսրոպ-Մաշտոց եկեղեցին |journal=] |date=1963|volume=20|issue=3 |pages=22–29 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/4333/ |publisher=] |language=hy}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Kostandian |first1=Emma |authorlink=:hy:Էմմա Կոստանդյան |title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցն ու գրերի գյուտը Մաղաքիա Օրմանյանի գնահատությամբ (Գրերի գյուտի 1600-ամյակին) |journal=] |date=2005 |issue=2 |pages=109–117 |url=http://lraber.asj-oa.am/153/ |language=hy}}
*{{cite journal|last=Mnatsakanian|first=Asatur|title=Մաշտոց անվան ստուգաբանությունը |journal=]|year=1979|issue=8|pages=81–93|url=http://lraber.asj-oa.am/2524/|language=hy|authorlink=:hy:Ասատուր Մնացականյան}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Simonian |first1=Gevorg |title=Մաշտոցի անվան ծագման շուրջը |journal=] |date=1988 |issue=5 |pages=62–72 |url= https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/41591/edition/37254/content |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808101133/https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/41591/edition/37254/content |archive-date=2022-08-08 |language=hy}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Gyurjinyan |first1=David |authorlink1=:hy:Դավիթ Գյուրջինյան |title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց անվան բաղադրիչներով կազմված բառերի ստեղծման ժամանակը եւ հեղինակները |journal=] |date=2014 |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=79–92 |url=http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/15205/ |language=hy}}
*{{cite journal|last=Ghazarian|first=M. M.|authorlink=:hy:Մանյա Ղազարյան (արվեստաբան)|title=Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցը հայկական կերպարվեստում |journal=]|year=1962|issue=2|pages=62–72|url=http://hpj.asj-oa.am/392/|language=hy}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Hovhannissian |first1=A. G. |author1-link=Ashot Hovhannisyan |title=Մաշտոցյան գրերի պատմական նշանակությունը |journal=] |date=1962 |issue=2 |pages=3–14 |url=http://hpj.asj-oa.am/388/ |language=hy}}
{{refend}}

;Unsorted
* {{cite journal|first=Karen|last=Yuzbašyan|year=2011|title=L'invention de l'alphabet arménien|journal=Revue des Études Arméniennes|volume=33|pages=67–129|doi=10.2143/REA.33.0.2144981}}
* {{cite journal|first=Karen|last=Yuzbašyan|year=1995|title=Le destin de l'alphabet de Daniēl en Arménie|journal=Revue des Études Arméniennes|volume=25|pages=171–181|doi=10.2143/REA.25.0.2003780}}
* {{cite book|title=Ueber den Ursprung des armenischen Alphabets in Verbindung mit der Biographie des heil. Maštocʻ|url=https://archive.org/details/ueberdenursprung00markuoft|first=Josef|last=Markwart|author-link=Josef Markwart
|publisher= Mechitharisten-Buchdruckerei|place=Vienna|year=1917}}
* {{cite book|title=Considérations sur l'alphabet de Saint Mesrop|first=Frédéric|last=Feydit|publisher=Mechitharisten-Buchdruckerei|place=Vienna|year=1964|oclc=460351913}}
* {{cite book|title=Հայոց գրերը |url=http://serials.flib.sci.am/Founders/Hayoc%20grer-%20Acharyan/book/content.html|first=Hračʿya|last=Ačaṙean|author-link1=Hrachia Acharian|publisher=Yerevan University Press|year=1984|edition=2}}
* {{cite book|title=Koriwns Biographie des Mesrop Maštocʻ : Übersetzung und Kommentar|first=Gabriele|last=Winkler|place=Rome|publisher=Pontificio istituto orientale|year=1994|isbn=9788872102985}}

;Attribution
* {{catholic|first=A. A. |last=Vaschalde |wstitle=Mesrob |volume=10}}


== External links == == External links ==
{{wikiquote|hy:Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց|Mesrob Mashtots (Armenian Wikiquote)}} {{wikiquote|hy:Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց|Mesrob Mashtots (Armenian Wikiquote)}}
{{commons|Saint Mesrob}} {{commons|Saint Mesrob}}
* *
{{Authority control}}
*


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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see ]. -->
| NAME = Mesrop
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 360
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Hatsik, Province of ], historical Armenia
| DATE OF DEATH = 440
| PLACE OF DEATH = Vagharshapat, Armenia
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Latest revision as of 19:27, 21 December 2024

Armenian theologian and linguist (362–440)
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Mesrop Mashtots
Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց
This 1882 painting by Stepanos Nersissian (now kept at the Pontifical Residence in Etchmiadzin) is a commonly reproduced image of Mashtots.
Bornc. 361
Hatsekats, Taron, Greater Armenia (modern-day Güven, Korkut, Muş Province, Turkey)
DiedFebruary 17, 440
(traditional date)
Vagharshapat, Sasanian Armenia
Resting placeSaint Mesrop Mashtots Church, Oshakan, Armenia
NationalityArmenian
Occupation(s)Court secretary, missionary, militaryman, inventor
EraArmenian Golden Age
Known forInventing the Armenian alphabet

Mesrop Mashtots (listen; Armenian: Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց Mesrop Maštoc'; Eastern Armenian: [mɛsˈɾop maʃˈtotsʰ]; Western Armenian: [mɛsˈɾob maʃˈtotsʰ]; 362 – February 17, 440 AD) was an Armenian linguist, composer, theologian, statesman, and hymnologist in the Sasanian Empire. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church.

He is best known for inventing the Armenian alphabet c. 405 AD, which was a fundamental step in strengthening Armenian national identity. He is also considered to be the creator of the Caucasian Albanian and Georgian alphabets by a number of scholars and a number of other scholars have disputed this claim.

Sources

The chief sources for the life and work of Mashtots are Koriun, Ghazar Parpetsi, and Movses Khorenatsi. The Life of Mashtots (Վարք Մաշտոցի), a hagiography by Koriun, a disciple of Mashtots, is the primary and most reliable source. The oldest fragments of the incomplete The Life manuscript are dated 12th century and are kept in Paris's Bibliothèque nationale (Arm. 178), two shorter versions of The Life dated to middle of the 14th century and one longer version of The Life is dated to the late 17th century. Hrachia Acharian, who authored the most comprehensive study on Mashtots and the Armenian alphabet, defended Koriun's work as the only accurate account. It was commissioned by Catholicos Hovsep I, also a student of Mashtots, and written c. 443–450/451. The work has two versions: long and short. The former is considered by most scholars to be the original. Parpetsi and Khorenatsi largely relied upon Koriun's work. The oldest extant manuscript of Koriun's Life of Mashtots has been dated to the 12th century. It was first printed in Armenian by the Mekhitarists in San Lazzaro degli Armeni, Venice in 1833, and has been translated thrice into Modern Armenian and several foreign languages.

Name

A depiction of Mashtots in Kapan's St. Mesrop Mashtots Church

While Koriun, his chief biographer, only refers to him as Mashtots, Movses Khorenatsi and later Armenian historiography predominantly calls him Mesrop. It was not until the 20th century that he came to be referred to by both names, sometimes spelled with a hyphen. Some scholars, including Malachia Ormanian, maintain that Mashtots was his birth name, while Mesrop was his ecclesiastical name by which he was ordained. Anton Garagashian believed the opposite to be true. According to James R. Russell, Mashtots was his primary name, while Mesrop a secondary one, "possibly an epithet."

The etymologies of both Mesrop and Mashtots have been widely debated. In his authoritative dictionary of Armenian names, Hrachia Acharian described Mashtots to be of uncertain origin. Nicholas Adontz believed it stemmed from Iranian mašt (from mazd), which is also the origin of the name Mazdak. Asatur Mnatsakanian suggested an origin from the name of the Urartian goddess Bag-Mashtu. Russell argued that the original form of Mashtots may have been Maždoc‘, originated from Middle Parthian mozhdag and means "bearer of good news or reward". Today, Mesrop (Mesrob) is a common male name and Mesropyan (Mesrobian) a common last name among Armenians.

There is more agreement about Mesrop. Acharian considered it to be of unknown origin, but noted that it is usually thought to have originated from "serovbe", Armenian for "seraph", a word of Biblical Hebrew origin. Russell described Mesrop a mysterious word, seemingly Syriac, "perhaps an epithet meaning 'seraphic'." Some scholars maintain that Mesrop is a blend of "Mar" ("lord" in Syriac) and "Serob", a version of "Serovbe".

Background and early life

A Soviet-era sculpture of Mashtots in Yerevan

The date of birth of Mashtots is not well-established, but recent scholarship accepts 361. Others give 361–364 as the likely range. He was born in the village of Hatsekats (Հացեկաց) in the canton of Taron, to a father named Vardan, who may have been a priest or a nobleman. Some scholars believe he was affiliated with the Mamikonian dynasty since Taron was their feudal domain. Others suggest he may have belonged to the lesser nobility or reject his noble origin at all. Leo believed he was the son of a peasant. According to Anania Shirakatsi, Vardan was an azat. Some scholars, including Stepan Malkhasyants, have identified Vardan with Vrik, mentioned by Pavstos Buzand. Vrik was the illegitimate son of Catholicos Pap (not King Pap), the grandson of Gregory the Illuminator (through Husik). Mashtots, thus, may have been a second cousin to Catholicos Sahak Partev. Acharian outright rejected this theory, but it has been cited by Elizabeth Redgate. Other scholars, including Ormanian, believed Mashtots was the son of Vardan Mamikonian (not the better known one), the older brother of sparapet Vasak Mamikonian. This theory has been rejected by Hakob Manandian and Garnik Fntglian. James R. Russell writes that Mashtots' father was "probably a member of the Mamikonean clan."

Another point of contention is whether Mashtots was a student of Nerses the Great, first mentioned by Khorenatsi. Both Acharian and Leo rejected it. Acharian noted that Mashtots probably studied at the prominent Surb Karapet Monastery, not far from his birthplace. Koriun tells that Mashtots received "Hellenic education," i.e. education in the Greek language. Besides his native Armenian, Mashtots knew Greek, Persian (Middle Persian), and Syriac (Aramaic).

In late 380s Mashtots moved to Vagharshapat, Armenia's capital, where he began a career at the court of King Khosrov III. While Khorenatsi says that he worked as a royal secretary, both Koriun and Parpetsi assign him other positions as well, especially in the military. He was initially royal chancellor (ark’uni divanapet), then moved on to serve in the military after receiving training.

In c. 394 Mashtots became a clergyman and was ordained as a monk and lived in a monastery, in Goghtn. He, thereafter, became an ascetic hermit to live in the mountains and uninhabited areas. Mashtots then gathered a group of 40 disciples and began missionary work among Armenians, many of whom were still pagan. He begin his first mission in Goghtn around 395. He successfully spread Christianity in the area and expelled the pagans.

Life

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Mesrop in a 1776 Armenian manuscript

Koryun, his pupil and biographer, writes that Mashtots received a good education and was versed in the Greek and Persian languages. On account of his piety and learning, Mesrop was appointed secretary to King Khosrov IV, in charge of writing royal decrees and edicts in Persian and Greek.

Leaving the court, Mashtots took the holy orders and withdrew to a monastery with a few companions, leading a life of great austerity for several years. In 394, with the blessing of Sahak Part'ev, Mashtots set out on a proselytizing mission. With the support of Prince Shampith, he preached the Gospel in the district of Goghtn near the river Araxes, converting many.

Encouraged by the patriarch and the king, Mesrop founded numerous schools in different parts of the country, in which the youth were taught the new alphabet. He himself taught at the Amaras monastery of the Armenian province of Artsakh (located in the contemporary Martuni region of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic). However, his activity was not confined to Eastern Armenia. Provided with letters from the Catholicos, he went to Constantinople and obtained from emperor Theodosius the Younger permission to preach and teach in his Armenian possessions. Having returned to Eastern Armenia to report to the patriarch, his first thought was to provide religious literature for his countrymen. He sent some of his numerous disciples to Edessa, Constantinople, Athens, Antioch, Alexandria, and other centers of learning, to study the Greek language and bring back the masterpieces of Greek literature. The most famous of his pupils were John of Egheghiatz, Joseph of Baghin, Yeznik, Koriun, Moses of Chorene, and John Mandakuni.

Verses of Mesrop Mashtots

The first monument of Armenian literature is the version of the Holy Scriptures. Isaac, says Moses of Chorene, made a translation of the Bible from the Syriac text about 411. This work was considered imperfect, for soon afterwards John of Egheghiatz and Joseph of Baghin were sent to Edessa to translate the Scriptures. They journeyed as far as Constantinople and brought back authentic copies of the Greek text with them. With the help of other copies obtained from Alexandria, the Bible was translated again from the Greek according to the text of the Septuagint and Origen's Hexapla. This version, now in use in the Armenian Church, was completed about 434.

Gravesite of Mesrop Mashtots in the village of Oshakan

The decrees of the first three ecumenical councils—Nicæa, Constantinople, and Ephesus—and the national liturgy (so far written in Syriac) were also translated into Armenian, the latter being revised on the liturgy of St. Basil, though retaining characteristics of its own. Many works of the Greek Fathers were also translated into Armenian. The loss of the Greek originals has given some of those versions a special importance; thus, the second part of Eusebius's Chronicle, of which only a few fragments exist in Greek, has been preserved entirely in Armenian. In the midst of his literary labors, Mashtots revisited the districts he had evangelized in his earlier years, and, after the death of Isaac in 439, looked after the spiritual administration of the patriarchate. He survived his friend and master by only six months. Armenians read his name in the Canon of the Liturgy and celebrate his memory on 19 February.

Mashtots is buried at a chapel in Oshakan, a historical village 8 km (5.0 miles) southwest from the town of Ashtarak. He is listed officially in the Roman Martyrology of the Roman Catholic Church; his feast day is February 17.

Alphabet

Armenia lost its independence in 387 and was divided between the Byzantine Empire and Persia, which received about four-fifths of its territory. Western Armenia was governed by Byzantine generals, while an Armenian king ruled as Persian vassal over eastern Armenia. The principal events of this period are the reinvention of the Armenian alphabet, the revision of the liturgy, the creation of an ecclesiastical and national literature, and the revision of hierarchical relations. Three men are prominently associated with this work: Mashtots, Part'ev, and King Vramshapuh, who succeeded his brother Khosrov IV in 389.

Armenians probably had an alphabet of their own, as historical writers reference an "Armenian alphabet" before Mashtots, but used Greek, Persian, and Syriac scripts to translate Christian texts, none of which was well suited for representing the many complex sounds of their native tongue. The Holy Scriptures and the liturgy were, to a large extent, unintelligible to the faithful and required the intervention of translators and interpreters.

Mashtots was assisted in inventing an Armenian writing system by Sahak and Vramshapuh. He consulted Daniel, a bishop of Mesopotamia, and Rufinus, a monk of Samosata, on the matter and created an alphabet of thirty-six letters; two more (long O (Օ, օ) and F (Ֆ, ֆ)) were added in the twelfth century.

The first sentence in Armenian written down by Mesrop after he invented the letters was the opening line of Solomon's Book of Proverbs:

Ճանաչել զիմաստութիւն եւ զխրատ, իմանալ զբանս հանճարոյ:
Čanačʿel zimastutʿiwn ew zxrat, imanal zbans hančaroy.
«To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding.»

— Book of Proverbs, 1:2.

The reinvention of the alphabet around 405 was crucial for Armenian literature and was significant in the creation of a separate idea of Armenian language and what was connected to it. "The result of the work of Isaac and Mesrop", says St. Martin, "was to separate for ever the Armenians from the other peoples of the East, to make of them a distinct nation, and to strengthen them in the Christian Faith by forbidding or rendering profane all the foreign alphabetic scripts which were employed for transcribing the books of the heathens and of the followers of Zoroaster. To Mesrop we owe the preservation of the language and literature of Armenia; but for his work, the people would have been absorbed by the Persians and Syrians, and would have disappeared like so many nations of the East".

Medieval Armenian sources also claim that Mashtots invented the Georgian and Caucasian Albanian alphabets around the same time. Most scholars link the creation of the Georgian script to the process of Christianization of Iberia, a core Georgian kingdom of Kartli. The alphabet was therefore most probably created between the conversion of Iberia under King Mirian III (326 or 337) and the Bir el Qutt inscriptions of 430, contemporaneously with the Armenian alphabet.

Legacy and recognition

Modern Armenian scholarship recognizes Mashtots as the founder of Armenian literature and education and as the "greatest enlightener and first teacher" of the Armenian people. The figure of Mashtots has become a "symbol that embodies the Armenian language, church, and school system, connecting each to one another." In Armenian narratives, Mashtots is portrayed as the key figure who preserved the national language and the nation against cultural absorption. James R. Russell describes Mashtots as "the culture-hero of Armenian civilization." Anthony D. Smith noted that Mashtots, with his invention, helped "convert and unite Armenians as a chosen people." Gerard Libaridian argued that Mashtots and the alphabet "constitute the most important symbols of cultural identity and regeneration."

Koriun, his biographer, compared Mashtots' return to Armenia after the invention of the alphabet to Moses' descent from Mount Sinai. In another passage, Koriun compared the work of Mashtots and Sahak to the work of the Four Evangelists. Modern scholars have compared Mashtots to Gregory the Illuminator, often describing the former as the "second illuminator." Russell argues that both were visionaries, found a champion for their program in the king, looked to the West, had very strong pro-Hellenic bias, trained the children of pagan priests and assembled their own disciples to spread the faith through learning.

Historical assessment

A panel painting of Mashtots by Van Khachatur (1958–59) at the entrance hall of the Armenian Academy of Sciences headquarters in Yerevan.

In his 1904 book on Mashtots, the historian Leo called him the greatest of all of Armenia's historical heroes and contrasted the continued legacy of Mashtots with the legacy of Tigranes the Great's brief empire. Similarly, historian Ashot Hovhannisyan described Mashtots as the "greatest benefactor" of the Armenian people, while the linguist Eduard Aghayan called him simply the "greatest Armenian", a view that has been expressed by others as well. Aghayan further described Mashtots as the "greatest linguist of his time in the broadest sense of the word." Catholicos Vazgen I stated that "everything truly Armenian" was born out of the vision and genius of Mashtots. Viktor Ambartsumian, the long-time president of the Armenian Academy of Sciences, stated in 1962։ "The history of our culture has given many outstanding figures, but of all these figures, the Armenian people owe the most to Mashtots."

Soviet Armenian historiography portrayed Mashtots as a secular figure, in line with the official Marxist-Leninist interpretation of history. Hakob Manandian argued in a 1940 pamphlet that although the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mashtots was primarily aimed at spreading Christianity, in the long-run it was also politically significant. Armenians entered the "family of ancient cultured peoples" and developed an original culture and rich literature. In a 1991 book Catholicos of Cilicia Karekin I complained that his work was being "depicted with colours of purely political, nationalistic and secular nature."

At the height of the Karabakh movement in 1989, Rafayel Ishkhanian characterized Mesrop Mashtots as "our most genuine, our greatest independentist who, at the moment of the disintegration of the Armenian state, gave us the Armenian alphabet, language and literature, gave us Armenian schools and, as a result, although without political independence, we kept our moral and cultural sovereignty." Levon Ter-Petrosyan, philologist and Armenia's first president, postulates that Mashtots and Gregory the Illuminator had the most influence on the course of Armenian history. Catholic Armenian Archbishop and scholar Levon Zekiyan further argued that Mashtots "was our greatest political thinker." Zekiyan argues that Mashtots laid the foundations of a national ideology, "which gave the Armenians a qualitatively new self-awareness in the wider cultural-anthropological sense of a vision of the world, or Weltanschauung."

Music

Mashtots also produced a number of liturgical compositions. Some of the works attributed to him are: «Մեղայ քեզ Տէր» (Meġay k’ez Tēr, “I have sinned against you, Lord”), «Ողորմեա ինձ Աստուած» (Voġormea inj Astuac, “Have mercy on me, God”), «Անկանիմ առաջի քո» (Ankanim aṙaǰi k’o, “I kneel before you”) and «Ողորմեա» (Voġormea, “Miserere”), all of which are hymns of repentance.

Veneration

Mashtots on a 1776 miniature (left) and a painting by an unknown 18th century Armenian artist (right)

Mashtots is a saint of the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic churches. He is sometimes referred to by Armenian churchmen as "The Saint of Oshakan" (Օշականի Սուրբը). There are at least two chants (sharakan) and several canticles (gandz) dedicated to Mashtots and Sahak. A number of churches in modern and historical Armenia and the Armenian diaspora are named after St. Mesrop, Sts. Mesrop and Sahak or the Holy Translators. He is regarded as the first great vardapet.

The Armenian Apostolic Church has two major days of feast dedicated to Mashtots. The first is the Feast of the Holy Translators (Սուրբ Թարգմանչաց, Surb T’argmanchats), which is celebrated on the second Saturday of October. It was declared a national holiday in 2001. Acharian postulates that it was established no earlier than the 12th century. It is dedicated to Mashtots, Yeghishe, Movses Khorenatsi, David the Invincible, Gregory of Narek and Nerses Shnorhali. Today pilgrimages to the grave of Mashtots in Oshakan are made on this feast. In the Soviet period it became a secular festival.

The second, the Feast of Sahak and Mashtots, is celebrated on the 33rd day after the Pentecost, on Thursdays, between June 11 and July 16. Acharian considered it the continuation of the original feast dedicated to Mashtots. It was on this feast that pilgrimages to Mashtots' grave in Oshakan were made until the mid-20th century. With the rise of national consciousness in the 19th century, it came to be celebrated in large Armenian communities in Tiflis and Constantinople.

Commemorations

The celebration of the 1500th anniversary of the Armenian alphabet in Etchmiadzin in 1912 with Catholicos George V in the middle and Stepanos Nersissian's portrait of Mashtots hanging overhead (left); and a 1962 Soviet stamp celebrating the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Mashtots (right)
Mashtots on a 1,000 dram bill

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the 1500th anniversary of the Armenian alphabet in 1912–13 and the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Mashtots in 1961.

In May 1962 the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Mashtots was marked with "massive official celebrations" in Soviet Armenia, which had a "powerful impact on Armenian national pride." Vahakn Dadrian noted that Yerevan became an "arena of nationalist fervor and outburst." The statue of Mashtots was ceremonially opened in front of the Matenadaran on May 26. The Matenadaran, established three years earlier, was named after Mashtots on that day according to a government decree.

In a speech at the Yerevan Opera Theater, Soviet Armenian Prime Minister Anton Kochinyan proclaimed that it was the Soviet government that made "Mesropian literature the property of the whole nation and opened the alphabet for every Armenian child." Viktor Ambartsumian, president of the Armenian Academy of Sciences, declared that while Mashtots' invention formerly served Armenian national interests, it now serves communist ideas, fraternity of peoples, world peace and progress. It was also celebrated in Moscow's House of the Unions where Armenian (Silva Kaputikyan and Nairi Zarian) and Soviet (Vadim Kozhevnikov, Marietta Shaginyan, Mykola Bazhan, Andrei Lupan) writers gave speeches. In 1962 the Soviets put into circulation a stamp commemorating Mashtots.

The Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots, awarded for "outstanding achievements" in science, education, healthcare, and culture, was established by the Armenian government in 1993. The St. Sahak-St. Mesrop award was established by the Armenian Church in 1978.

Mashtots and the Matenadaran were featured on the 1,000 Armenian dram banknote of the first series, put into ciculation in 1994.

The widest street in central Yerevan, called Stalin, then Lenin Avenue in the Soviet period, was renamed after Mashtots in 1990. Between 1985 and 1996, one of Yerevan's eight districts, what are now the districts of Ajapnyak and Davitashen, was called Mashtots.

Institutions named after Mashtots include the Matenadaran, the central library of Stepanakert, the Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies at Harvard University, the Mesrop Center for Armenian Studies at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, a number of schools and universities in Armenia, Artsakh and educational and cultural institutions in the Armenian diaspora.

Artistic depictions

Paintings of Mashtots by 18th century Italian artists Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Francesco Maggiotto.
The fresco inside the Oshakan church. Mashtots is depicted standing, to the left of the window.

Paintings

No contemporary portraits of Mashtots have been found. The first artistic depictions appeared in Armenian illuminated manuscripts (miniatures), primarily in sharakans and haysmavurks, starting from the 14th century. These manuscripts, around 20 in total were created in Constantinople, Etchmiadzin, Sanahin, Haghpat and elsewhere, depict Mashtots with a halo. In the 18th century Mashtots was portrayed by two Italian painters. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo portrayed Mashtots with a pseudo-Armenian alphabet on the frescoes on the ceiling above the staircase of the Würzburg Residence in Bavaria, while Francesco Maggiotto's Italianate portrait of Mashtots hangs at the Armenian Catholic monastery of San Lazzaro degli Armeni near Venice.

Stepanos Nersissian's 1882 painting of Mashtots, commissioned by a wealthy Armenian from Elisabethpol, is considered the most widely recognized artistic depiction of Mashtots. During the Soviet period, numerous Armenian artists portrayed Mashtots. Van Khachatur (Vanik Khachatryan) created a panel painting of Mashtots in 1958–59 for the entrance hall of the Armenian Academy of Sciences in Yerevan. Hovhannes Minasian and Henrik Mamian created a fresco, in 1961–64, for Saint Mesrop Mashtots Church in Oshakan, where he is buried. In 1981 a tapestry titled The Armenian Alphabet, where Mashtots is the central figure, was completed by French weavers based on a painting by Grigor Khanjyan. It is kept at the Pontifical Residence at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. In 1992–94 Khanjyan created a large mural of the same painting inside the Yerevan Cascade (now the Cafesjian Center for the Arts).

Statues and sculptures

The statue of Mesrop Mashtots in front of the Matenadaran (1962).
The statue of Mashtots and Sahak in front of Yerevan State University, erected in 2002.

The most recognizable statue of Mashtots, depicted with his disciple and biographer Koriun, is located in front of the Matenadaran and was erected by Ghukas Chubaryan in 1962. Although it was not immediately well-received, it is now a Yerevan landmark. A statue of Mashtots and Sahak, erected by Ara Sargsyan in the 1940s, was put up in front of the main campus of Yerevan State University in 2002. Yervand Kochar created two sculptures of Mashtots in gypsum (1952) and plasticine (1953). Ara Sargsyan created a bronze plaquette in 1957/59. A statue of Mashtots and Koriun, by Levon Tokmajyan (1978–79), was erected near the central square of Ejmiatsin (Vagharshapat).

Statues, busts and sculptures of Mashtots have been erected in the Armenian diaspora, including in historical communities such as at the seminary in Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter, the library of the Vank Cathedral in New Julfa, Isfahan, Iran, the Melkonian Educational Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus and in newly-established communities, such as on the Armenian Cathedral of Moscow (2013) and in Alfortville, Paris (2015). In Akhalkalaki, the center of the Armenian-populated Javakheti (Javakhk) region of Georgia, the statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin was replaced with that of Mashtots in 1992.

Literature and music

Mashtots has featured prominently in Armenian poetry. In one poem («Սուրբ Մեսրովբի տոնին»), the mid-19th century poet Mikayel Nalbandian ranked him above Moses. In another, Nalbandian lamented the state of the church in Oshakan where Mashtots is buried. In his 1912 poem "St. Mashtots", Siamanto compared him to Moses and called him "God of Thought." In a 1913 poem, Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenia's national poet, praised Mashtots and Sahak as luminaries. Paruyr Sevak, a celebrated Soviet Armenian poet, characterized Mashtots as a great statesman who won a "bloodless battle, which cannot be compared to any of the victories of our glorious commanders" in a 1962 poem. It was set to stage in 2011. A popular poem by Silva Kaputikyan, "Words for my Son", reads: "By Mesrop's holy genius, it has become letter and parchment; it has become hope, become a flag."

In the early 1970s, the popular song "Glorious Nation" («Ազգ փառապանծ»), written by Arno Babajanian and Ashot Grashi [hy; ru], and frequently performed by Raisa Mkrtchyan [hy], included the line "The powerful language of Mashtots is the bright hope of every Armenian."

See also

References

Notes
  1. Full title: Պատմութիւն վարուց եւ մահուան առն երանելւոյ սրբոյն Մաշտոցի վարդապետի մերոյ թարգմանչի ի Կորիւն վարդապետէ, English: The Story of the Life and Death of the Blessed Man St. Mashtots Vardapet Our Translator by Koriun Vardapet.
  2. Twice into Western Armenian (1900, 1951) and once into Eastern Armenian (by Manuk Abeghian, 1941).
  3. Titled Vita beati magistri Mesrop, it is kept at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) in Paris. The BnF dates the work to the 18th century (1701-1800).
  4. Latin by Voskan Yerevantsi (c. 1644), German (1841), French (1869), Russian (1962), English (1964 and 2022), Italian (1998), Georgian (2019).
  5. Movses Khorenatsi calls him Mesrop in 32 instances and Mashtots in only one.
  6. There are various spellings of Mesrop (Մեսրովպ, Mesrovp; Մեսրովբ, Mesrovb; Մեսրոբ, Mesrob; Մասրովպ, Masrovp) and Mashtots (Մաշթոց, Masht’ots Մաշդոց, Mashdots, Մաժդոց, Mazhdots).
  7. In the Soviet period, the consensus was at 362. It was the date chosen for celebrating his 1600th anniversary in Soviet Armenia, in 1962. However, the official magazine of the Armenian Church, in the biographies of its saints (1980), placed his birth at 360. Malachia Ormanian put his birth at 353.
  8. The village, some 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Mush, was still inhabited prior to the Armenian Genocide and was known to local Armenians as Hatsik (Հացիկ) and to Kurds as Xasik. It was known as Hasık in Turkish until 1928, when it was renamed Güven.
  9. Azat is described by Nina Garsoïan as "junior nobility". It literally means "free ", who "usually held conditional land tenures.".
  10. Vardan Mamikonian's daughter, Sahandukht, was the wife of Nerses the Great. Thus, if this version is true, Mashtots was the uncle of Sahak Partev.
  11. He may have traveled to Antioch to receive Greek education.
  12. Kept at the Etchmiadzin Museums. Though it has been attributed to Stepanos Lehatsi, the style is close to that of Hovnatan Hovnatanian. It shows Mashtots in clothing and hat of a Catholicos.
  13. According to Samvel Karapetyan (Research on Armenian Architecture) there are at least 14 monasteries, churches and chapels in historical Greater Armenia named after Mashtots. In 2001 the newly-constructed church St. Mesrop Mashtots of Kapan, one of Armenia's largest towns, was consecrated. The church of the Vazgen Sargsyan Military University, dedicated in 2020 is also named after Mashtots.
  14. Including several churches in Iran, the US, France, Russia, Georgia, Canada, and elsewhere.
  15. In 2019 the Yerevan City Council voted down a proposal to rename it St. Mesrop Mashtots Avenue.
  16. Public schools in Armenia: in Vagharshapat (Ejmiatsin) and Oshakan and elsewhere. Armenian-language schools in Los Angeles (Armenian Mesrobian School), Beirut, Lebanon, Odessa, Ukraine, an Armenian cultural center in Tyumen, Russia.
  17. A lithograph (view) of this painting appears in Ghevont Alishan's 1901 book Hayapatum.
  18. Some of the more prominent paintings of Mashtots kept at Armenian galleries include portraits by Mher Abeghian (1930), Tigran Tokmajyan (1959–60), Yervand Kochar (1962), Rudolf Khachatrian (1962), Ashot Zorian (1962), and Suren Safarian (1962). At a 1962 Yerevan exhibition paintings of Mashtots by as many as 50 Armenian artists were displayed.
  19. It appeared on the 1,000 Armenian dram banknote, in use between 1994 and 2004.
  20. Արա Սարգսյան, Մաշտոց և Սահակ, 1945; մրցանակաբաշխություն 1943, փայտից 1945, բրոնզից 1948
Citations
  1. Ghazarian 1962, pp. 65, 71.
  2. ^ Nişanyan, Sevan (2010–2020). "Güven". Index Anatolicus (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 5 January 2023.
  3. Martirosyan, Artashes ; Arevshatyan, Anna (2002). "Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց ". In Ayvazyan, Hovhannes (ed.). Քրիստոնյա Հայաստան հանրագիտարան [Christian Armenia Encyclopedia] (in Armenian). Yerevan: Armenian Encyclopedia Publishing. p. 720. ISBN 5-89700-016-6.
  4. ^ Editorial (1980). "Հայ Եկեղեցու տոնելի սրբերի համառոտ կենսագրությունները [Biographies of celebrated saints of the Armenian Church]". Etchmiadzin (in Armenian). 37 (11): 32–33.
  5. Hacikyan, Agop Jack; Basmajian, Gabriel; Franchuk, Edward S.; Ouzounian, Nourhan (2000). The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Oral Tradition to the Golden Age. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 91. ISBN 9780814328156.
  6. Jost, Gippert (2011). "The script of the Caucasian Albanians in the light of the Sinai palimpsests". Die Entstehung der kaukasischen Alphabete als kulturhistorisches Phänomen: Referate des internationalen Symposions (Wien, 1.-4. Dezember 2005) = The creation of the Caucasian alphabets as phenomenon of cultural history. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. pp. 47–48. ISBN 9783700170884. There can be no doubt that the Albanian alphabet as established now depends in its structure on the Armenian alphabet in quite the same way as the latter depends on the Greek... the two alphabets differ considerably from the Old Georgian one as this has preserved the Greek arrangement intact to a much greater an extent...
  7. Rayfield, Donald (2000). The Literature of Georgia: A History (2nd rev. ed.). Surrey: Curzon Press. p. 19. ISBN 0700711635.
  8. Grenoble, Lenore A. (2003). Language policy in the Soviet Union. Dordrecht : Kluwer Acad. Publ. p. 116. ISBN 1402012985.
  9. Bowersock, G.W.; Brown, Peter; Grabar, Oleg, eds. (1999). Late antiquity: a guide to the postclassical world (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press. p. 289. ISBN 0-674-51173-5.
  10. Der Nersessian, Sirarpie (1969). The Armenians. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 85. After the Armenian alphabet Mesrop also devised one for the Caucasian Albanians.
  11. Moses; Thomson, Robert W. (1978). History of the Armenians. Harvard Armenian texts and studies (in engarm). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-674-39571-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  12. Suny, Ronald Grigor; Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies; American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, eds. (1996). Transcaucasia, nationalism and social change: essays in the history of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia (Rev. ed.). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-472-09617-6.
  13. Seibt, Werner; Preiser-Kapeller, Johannes, eds. (2011). Die Entstehung der kaukasischen Alphabete als kulturhistorisches Phänomen: Referate des internationalen Symposions (Wien, 1.-4. Dezember 2005) = The creation of the Caucasian alphabets as phenomenon of cultural history. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-Historische Klasse. Denkschriften. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. pp. 83–90. ISBN 978-3-7001-7088-4. OCLC 769628310.
  14. Hernández de la Fuente, David A.; Torres Prieto, Susana; Francisco Heredero, Ana de, eds. (2014). New perspectives on late antiquity in the Eastern Roman Empire. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 136–138. ISBN 978-1-4438-6947-8.
  15. Rayfield, Donald (2013). Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. London: Reaktion Books. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-78023-070-2.
  16. Braund, David (1994). Georgia in antiquity: a history of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia, 550 BC-AD 562. Oxford : Oxford ; New York: Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press. pp. 215–216. ISBN 978-0-19-814473-1.
  17. Acharian 1984, p. 5.
  18. Acharian 1984, p. 32.
  19. Thomson 1997, p. 200.
  20. ^ Abeghian 1980, p. 224.
  21. ^ Aghaian 1986, p. 6.
  22. Koriun (2022). The Life of Mashtots' by His Disciple Koriwn: Translated from the Classical Armenian with Introduction and Commentary. Oxford University Press. pp. 49–50. ISBN 978-0-19-284741-6.
  23. Baloyan, Hrachya (2016). "Ականավոր հայագետը (Հրաչյա Աճառյանի ծննդյան 140-ամյակի առթիվ) [The Eminent Armenologist (on the 140th birth anniversary of Hrachia Acharian)]". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (2): 35.
  24. ^ Acharian 1984, p. 289.
  25. Acharian 1984, p. 31.
  26. Acharian 1984, p. 18.
  27. Acharian 1984, pp. 6–7.
  28. Koriun & Matevosyan 1994, pp. 15. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKoriunMatevosyan1994 (help)
  29. ^ Koriun & Matevosyan 1994, pp. 18. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKoriunMatevosyan1994 (help)
  30. Մատենագրութիւնք. Մատենագրութիւնք նախնեաց. Կորիւն, Մամբրէ, Դաւիթ (in Armenian). Venice: San Lazzaro degli Armeni. 1833. (archived)
  31. ^ Bozoyan, Azat (2005). "Կորյունի ևս մեկ նոր վերընթերցումը". Etchmiadzin (in Armenian). 61 (5): 153.
  32. Byuzandatsi, Norair (1900). Կորիւն Վարդապետ եւ նորին թարգմանութիւնք : Գիրք Մակաբայեցւոյ Եւթաղ Աղեքսանդրացի, Ագաթանգեղոս եւ Փաւստոս Բիւզանդ : Հանդերձ դիտողութեամբք, տեղեկութեամբք եւ լուսաբանութեամբք. Tiflis: Martiroseants.
  33. Banean, Stepʻan H. (1951). Վարք Մեսրովբայ: հարազատ բնագրաւն Կորեան եւ թարգմանութիւն ի հաշխարհիկ բարբառ եւ բացատրութիւնկ առ նմին ի ստորեւ իջից (in Armenian). Bridgewater, Massachusetts: Baikar. OCLC 34630094.
  34. Abeghian, Manuk (1941). Վարք Մաշտոցի. Հայ պատմագիրների մատենաշար աշխարհաբար թարգմանությամբ (in Armenian). Yerevan: Haypethrat.
  35. Delisle, Léopold (1871). "État des manuscrits latins de la Bibliothèque nationale au 1er août 1871". Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes (in French). 32. Société de l'École des Chartes: 58. JSTOR 42996264.
  36. "Vita beati magistri Mesrop". bnf.fr. Bibliothèque nationale de France. 29 January 2018.
  37. "Vita beati magistri Mesrop". classic.europeana.eu. Europeana. 28 March 2018.
  38. Koriun & Matevosyan 1994, pp. 19. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKoriunMatevosyan1994 (help)
  39. Koriun (1964). The Life of Mashtots. Translated by Bedros Norehad. New York: Armenian General Benevolent Union.
  40. Terian, Abraham (2022). The Life of Mashtots' by his Disciple Koriwn: Translated from the Classical Armenian with Introduction and Commentary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192847416.
  41. Koriwn, Vita di Maštoc΄ (in Italian). Translated by Y. Ashrafian. Venice: S. Lazzaro. 1998.
  42. Gaprindashvili, Khatuna (2019). ""The Life of Mashtots" by Koriun (text translation, research and comments)" (PDF) (in Georgian). Tbilisi State University. p. 3. Archived from the original (PhD thesis) on 11 January 2021. Though the work deals with the most significant issues of Caucasian studies, irrespective of great interest to Koriwn's work, The Life of Maštoc' was not translated into Georgian up to present.
  43. Gyurjinyan 2014, p. 80.
  44. ^ Kostandian 2005, p. 112.
  45. Simonian 1988, p. 68.
  46. ^ Gyurjinyan 2014, p. 79.
  47. Acharian 1984, p. 299.
  48. Simonian 1988, p. 62.
  49. Russell, James R. (2008). "Reviewed Work: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages by Roger D. Woodard". International Journal of the Classical Tradition. 15 (1): 139. JSTOR 25691211.
  50. Acharian, Hrachia (1946). Հայոց անձնանունների բառարան Volume III (in Armenian). p. 214.
  51. Mnatsakanian 1979, p. 81.
  52. Mnatsakanian 1979, p. 92.
  53. Russell 2004, p. 601.
  54. Russell 2004, p. 602.
  55. Almost 1,600 people named Mesrop are found in Armenia's voters list: "Մեսրոպ (Mesrop)". anun.am (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. and 3,270 people with the last name Mesropyan: "Մեսրոպյան (Mesropyan)". anun.am (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 2 February 2021.
  56. Acharian, Hrachia (1946). Հայոց անձնանունների բառարան Volume III (in Armenian). p. 328.
  57. Russell 2004, p. 598.
  58. Acharian 1984, p. 302.
  59. ^ Kostandian 2005, p. 111.
  60. ^ Yeghiazaryan 2017, p. 53.
  61. ^ Ishkhanian 1981, p. 469.
  62. ^ "Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի ծննդյան 1600-ամյակին նվիրված հոբելյանական հանդիսություններ". Etchmiadzin (in Armenian). 19 (5): 19–26. 1962.
  63. Acharian 1984, p. 67.
  64. Acharian 1984, pp. 67–71.
  65. Malkhasyants 1946, p. 56.
  66. Garsoïan, Nina (1997). "The Aršakuni Dynasty". In Hovannisian, Richard G. (ed.). The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times. Volume I. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 77. ISBN 0-312-10169-4.
  67. Malkhasyants 1946, p. 57.
  68. Acharian 1984, pp. 70–71.
  69. Redgate 2000, p. 128.
  70. ^ Yeghiazaryan 2017, p. 57.
  71. Russell 2004, p. 600.
  72. Acharian 1984, p. 71.
  73. Acharian 1984, pp. 81–82.
  74. ^ Acharian 1984, p. 73.
  75. ^ Thomson 1997, p. 201.
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Bibliography

Books on Mashtots

Books cited in the article

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Attribution
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainVaschalde, A. A. (1911). "Mesrob". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

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