The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Agathangelos
the History composed mid-5th century; the name is a pseudonym (held at the timeline’s ceiling) · Pseudonymous author of the History of the Armenians · Armenia
The Nicene Age
Who Agathangelos was
The name — which means ‘bearer of good news’ — attached to the History of the Armenians, the foundation narrative of the Armenian church and the archive’s only source for Gregory the Illuminator, King Trdat, Hripsimē and Gayanē. The author claims to be Trdat’s secretary and an eyewitness of the conversion. He was not: the work is a mid-fifth-century compilation, written a century and a half after the events, and it survives in Armenian, Greek, Arabic, Latin and Ethiopic recensions that differ from one another in detail and in numbers. The archive enters him as an author-figure and states the pseudonymity in the record rather than in a footnote. Held at the archive’s AD 400 ceiling, as Augustine, Jerome and Chrysostom are.
One attestation only — the work is self-attesting: the author names himself, his office or his circumstances inside his own text, and no independent ancient source describes him.
Common questions
When did Agathangelos live?
Agathangelos is dated the History composed mid-5th century; the name is a pseudonym (held at the timeline’s ceiling) in the archive, which places Agathangelos in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
What did Agathangelos write?
Agathangelos has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: History of the Armenians (the Life of St Gregory).
Which early sources mention Agathangelos?
Agathangelos is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Agathangelos. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Agathangelos from?
The archive associates Agathangelos with Armenia.
Writings (1)
History of the Armenians (the Life of St Gregory)
mid-fifth century, set in the early fourth[Public-domain texts: Langlois, Collection des historiens de l’Arménie I (1867, French); Bedrosian’s English, placed in the public domain by the translator. Thomson’s translation is in copyright and is not quoted.]Read the interlinear source text →
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The History of the Armenians — self-presenting: the author claims to be secretary to King Trdat and an eyewitness
c. AD 470[The claim is false and is recorded as such: the work is a compilation of the mid-fifth century, not a fourth-century memoir.]Agathangelos · History of the Armenians, preface · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
- AD 397 · Carthage confirms the canon, AD 397
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Agathangelos.
- 1Armeniaprovince only