Article

Name: Mechanisms of Constructing National History and Historical Memory in Movses Khorenatsi’s “History of Armenia”

Authors: Suren T. Zolyan

Russian – Armenian University, Yerevan, Armenia

Abstract:

The creation of national histories is considered to be a characteristic feature of modernity, associated with the processes of creating national states. These narratives intend to trace the origins of the nation to mythologized antiquity and legitimize the existence of the nation-state. Meanwhile, “History of Armenia” by Movses Khorenatsi shows that similar narrative practices could have arisen even in the early Middle Ages. It is assumed that in addition to the historical context, the principles of historical narration and semantization apply, which give meaning to the events described. Historical memory represents the past by some semiotic tools: narratives, symbols, myths, etc. Thus, the first systematic history of Armenia is intended to reveal the genesis of the Armenian people and to create a narrative that makes it possible to trace the history of Armenian kings and princes and compare them with the data of the Old Testament, up to the Tower of Babel. Due to the lack of written sources, the historiographer relies on myths and legends. Metatexts (arguments about the reliability of sources, the goals of writing history, the historiographer's priorities in the selection of events) allow us to identify the principles of discourse construction. The historical context of the work (the times of the decline of the Armenian king-dom) predetermines the metanarrative pattern (“paradise lost”) and the tragic pathos of the narrative. The “History” ends with “Lamentation,” and the end of the narrative marks the end of the History.

Keywords: national history, historical memory, Movses Khorenatsi’s “History of Armenia” narrative, meta-narrative

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