The Role of Mashtots and Ulfila in the Creation of a New Civilizational Identity

Authors

  • Yervand H. Margaryan Russian-Armenian University
  • Lusine Ye. Margaryan University College Cork, University College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu02.2023.208

Abstract

The article is devoted to two educational movements of the turn of the 4th–5th centuries — Gothic and Armenian. Outstanding enlighteners — Ulfila and Mashtots — were at the origin of these movements and laid the cornerstone in the construction of the national identity of their peoples. In either case, it was a civilizational project designed to put an end to paganism and “latent barbarism” in the periphery of the Roman world, which was rapidly declining. The invention of their own alphabets and the translation of the Holy Scriptures was aimed at organizing a national Church, which in its turn was the main tool for creating a national identity. The introduction of the Goths to the “peoples of the Scriptures” was an initiative, first of all, of Ulfila himself, but his project was actively supported by the Roman authorities. However, there is no indication in the sources that Ulfila’s project was backed by the Gothic elite. In contrast, Mashtots’ educational project from the very beginning met with the approval and active encouragement of all strata of Armenian society, primarily, the church and secular elites, as well as common people. In fact, it was a nationwide project, and the seeds of Armenian enlightenment fell on kindly soil. This explains the surge in Armenian culture in the fifth century.

Keywords:

barbarism, enlightenment, national Church, pre-modern national identity, peoples of the Scriptures, Bible, Mashtots, Ulfila

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Author Biographies

Yervand H. Margaryan, Russian-Armenian University

Dr. Sci. (History), Associate Professor

Lusine Ye. Margaryan, University College Cork, University College

Postdoctoral Fellow

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Published

2023-06-07

How to Cite

Margaryan, Y. H., & Margaryan, L. Y. (2023). The Role of Mashtots and Ulfila in the Creation of a New Civilizational Identity. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History, 68(2), 432–453. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu02.2023.208

Issue

Vol. 68 No. 2 (2023)

Section

World History

License

Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.