Grigor Akhtamartsi

Grigor Akhtamartsi

 

Years of birth and death unknown. Armenian poet of the 16th century. Catholicos of Akhtamar (1512–44).

Grigor is the author of historical folk poems, patriotic songs, love songs, and numerous quatrains (kafa). He mourned his invasion-torn homeland, extolled the beauty of nature and love for man as the supreme joy, and celebrated life. His song A Lovely Verse About the Garden of the Soul and the Body is an allegorical portrayal of human life. Grigor’s verses subtly convey feelings and are written in vivid language. They were published in their entirety in Yerevan in 1963.

WORKS

Akinyan, N. Grigoris A. kat’orikos Aght’amari: Kyank’n u k’ert’vatsneri. Vienna, 1958.
Grigoris Aght’amarts’i. XVI d., usumnasirut’yun, k’nnakan bnagreryev tsanot’agr: M. Avdaybegyani. Yerevan, 1963.
In Russian translation:
Antologiia armianskoi poezii s drevneishikh vremen do nashikh dnei. Moscow, 1940.