The Life of Mashtots

These testimonies (B—XVIII) confirm from century to century that the author of the Life of Mashtots is Koriwn. Based on these data, we can also reconstruct the title of the Life:

"History of the deeds and life of the blessed man, Mashtots the vardapet doctor/master of the church, which was composed by his student Koriwn."

b. Koriwn's testimony. In the Life, the author has mentioned his name only once, in the following instance:

"It happened that some brothers from this land of Armenia headed to the regions of the Greeks, the first of whom was named Ghewond and the second Koriwn; and having arrived, they attached themselves to Eznik as to a most familiar fellow countryman in the city of Constantinople" (XVI. 4).

Ghewond and Koriwn were sent by St. Sahak to carry the Armenians' response to Patriarch Proclus of Constantinople in 436. Eznik was there. Movses Khorenatsi (III. 60) has altered this passage of Koriwn in the following way: Hovsep and Eznik pass through Edessa to Constantinople;

"and having arrived, their fellow students, whose names were Ghewond and Koriwn, went to them in Byzantium of their own volition... whose reception was made greatly by Maximian, bishop of the Byzantines" 9.

The historian Vardan has spoken twice about this mission:

"Sahak... sends to the nations, to bring from all nations the art of books: Hovsep... Eznik, Koriwn" (page 51).

And again:

"At this time, Ghewond, Koriwn, and Ardzan returned from the translation, who happened to be at the Council of Ephesus, which Theodosius held... and brought from there six chapters of canons" (page 53).

Vardan is under the influence of M. Khorenatsi here.

c. External testimony. Regarding Koriwn's aforementioned passage, "and the second Koriwn," the BC manuscripts have "Korminos," others have corrected it to "Koriwns," i.e., "I, Koriwn," which does not suit the place. We could read "Koriwnos," in the Greek style, just as he gave the name "Ghewond" twice as "Ghewondios." Among the outsiders, Innocentius of Maronia and Liberatus, who spoke about the aforementioned envoys, named them in the accusative case as Leontium and Abellium; the latter name in the Breviary of Liberatus also has the readings Abelium and Aberium 10. If Leontium here is the same as the Arm. Ghewondios, it is necessary to consider the Abellium, Abelium, Aberium readings also as corrupted forms of the original Koriyunion, Koriuonon accusative forms, that is "Koriwnos." Fr. M. Chamchian 11 understood it as "Abraham." In any case, the "Koriwns" reading, which previous publishers have taken into the text, cannot be considered correct; if the "Koriwns" reading were to be kept, it would be necessary to correct the sentence to "and the second is me, who am called Koriwn." Although the author did not wish to make it felt that the one accompanying Ghewond is himself, there is a circumstance that testifies in favor of his humble person: every time Koriwn mentions one or the other of Mashtots's students, he is accustomed...

9 Patriarch Maximian, Oct. 25, 431—April 12, 434.
10 Ed. Schwarz, Konzilstudien Council Studies, Straßburg 1914, S. 39.
11 History of Armenia, I., Venice 1784, page 530.