The Image of the Adressee in Movses Khorenatsi’s “The History of Armenia”

We address the context of the “History of Armenia” by Movses Khorenatsi, especially the relationship between the author and the model reader. In the structural organization of the work, the internal communication plays a significant role, characterized by an ongoing dialogue between the author and his patron, Prince Sahak Bagratuni. The situation when the empirical reader acts as a customer transforms the usual scheme: it is not the author who chooses a model reader to whom the created text is oriented, but, on the contrary, the empirical reader creates a model author, from whom he supposes to receive a text that meets his expectations. However in this case a discrepancy has emerged between the client’s expectations, which are rooted in folklore and Iranian mythology, and the author’s perspective, shaped by a strong appreciation for high Hellenic culture. This divergence has led to the creation of an additional plot and meta-text. The main aim and theme of the metatext framing the narrative is to invert the existing hierarchy. Instead of the patron dictating his will to the contractor, it is the author who transforms the patron into a character and his opposite counter-part within the narrative. This allows the author to clearly express his cultural and historical perspectives while also refuting any misconceptions that contradict those views. Finally, a new relationship is established based on mutual compassion, equating the prince and his historiographer.