The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Koriwn
fl. AD 440s (death unrecorded) · Monk · Pupil of Mashtots · Biographer · Armenia
The Nicene Age
Who Koriwn was
A pupil of Mesrop Mashtots who wrote his master’s life within a few years of his death — producing, in the process, the first original composition in the Armenian language. He is both a figure in the archive and one of its citing authorities: everything known about the invention of the alphabet comes through him. He studied at Constantinople and belonged to the first generation of Armenians able to write in their own script, which is the fact his own book records.
Named in the fifth-century Armenian sources only — late attestation for a fourth-century figure, on the same footing as Gregory, Trdat and Nerses in this archive.
Also listed in desert fathers & mothers.
Common questions
When was Koriwn active?
Koriwn is dated fl. AD 440s (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Koriwn in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
What did Koriwn write?
Koriwn has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: The Life of Mashtots (Varkʼ Mashtotsʼi).
Which early sources mention Koriwn?
Koriwn is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Koriwn. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Koriwn from?
The archive associates Koriwn with Armenia.
Writings (1)
The Life of Mashtots (Varkʼ Mashtotsʼi)
c. AD 443–450[The first original book written in Armenian.]
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Life of Mashtots — self-attesting; Koriwn names himself as the author and as Mashtots’ pupil
c. AD 443[The earliest original work of Armenian literature, written by a man who had studied under its subject.]Koriwn · Life of Mashtots, preface
Koriwn’s Life of Mashtots, written c. AD 443–51 by a pupil of the inventor of the Armenian alphabet — the earliest original work of Armenian literature. English translation by Bedros Norehad, Koriun: The Life of Mashtots (New York, 1964).
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 Koriwn.
- 1Armeniaprovince only