Mkhitar Gosh (1130–1213) was an Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

n scholar, writer, public figure, thinker, and priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

. He was born in the city of Gandzak. He got his early education from public institutions. When he reached his adolescence he decided to dedicate his life to church. In order to learn theology more thoroughly, Gosh traveled to Cilicia, to Black Mountains (Սև լեռներ) and studies theology under the local priests. Upon his return, he, with Zackareh and Ivaneh Zakarian princes' financial help, builds the Ghetik (Գետիկ) church.
He wrote a code of laws including civil

Civil law (legal system)

Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...

 and Canon law

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

 that was used in both Greater Armenia and Cilicia

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...

. It was also used in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, by order of king Sigismund the Old, as the law under which the Armenians of Lviv

Lviv

Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...

 and Kamianets-Podilskyi

Kamianets-Podilskyi

Kamyanets-Podilsky or Kamienets-Podolsky is a city located on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi...

 lived from 1519 until the region fell under Austrian rule in 1772. He also wrote a number of popular fables. He founded the monastery of Nor-Getik which he was later buried. Ever since his death it has better become known as Goshavank

Goshavank

Goshavank is a 12-13th century Armenian monastery located in the village of Gosh in the Tavush Province of Armenia. Today the monastery is not a functioning religious complex, although it remains a popular tourist destination and has recently undergone some light restoration...

. The works of Mkhitar Gosh were later adapted into a Datastanagirk codex in Middle Armenian

Middle Armenian

Middle Armenian , also called Cilician Armenian, corresponds to the second period in written Armenian with which numerous books were published between the 12th and 18th centuries...

, which was prepared by Sempad the Constable

Sempad the Constable

Sempad the Constable was a noble in Cilician Armenia, an older brother of King Hetoum I. He was an important figure in Cilicia, acting as a diplomat, judge, and military officer, holding the title of Constable or Sparapet, supreme commander of the Armenian armed forces...

, an Armenian noble, military commander, and judge in the 13th century.

External links

• English translations of Gosh's Fables and his Colophon are available at: http://rbedrosian.com/hsrces.html
• Grave of Mkhitar Gosh