Xosroviduxt

Xosroviduxt ( _hy. խոսրովիդուխթ), sometimes called Khosrovidukht, was an Armenian composer and poet. Almost nothing is known about her, not even her date of birth - some sources record her as being active in the 4th century, while others place her in the 8th century. She is recorded as having been a member of the royal family, but here accounts differ as to her historical importance. Some sources hold that in the 8th-century, her brother was abducted by Muslim Arabs; following this, she was taken to the fortress of Ani-Kamakh, now known as Kemah, where she lived in isolation for twenty years. Other sources state that she was instead the sister of the early 4th century king Trdat, initially an enemy of Christianity, who cast Gregory the Illuminator into a snake pit and tried to compell two Roman nuns to become his concubines; he eventually had them killed. Following the last action, the king started turning into a wild boar (likely a metaphor for "going insane") and the populace began to panic. Xosroviduxt then spoke to the people of a vision she had, reputedly saying that "there is no other cure for these torments that have come upon you, unless you send to the city of Artashat and bring thence the prisoner Gregory. When he comes he will teach you the remedy for your ills." Eventually, Trdat was saved and converted to Christianity himself.

Xosroviduxt is reputed to be the composer of a "šarakan", or canonical hymn, titled "Zarmanali e Ints" ("Wondrous it is to me"). According to some sources, it honors the memory of her brother, who was assasinated in 737 for converting to Christianity. Although the subject of the piece is secular, it was sanctioned for use in services by the Armenian Church.

Nothing further is recorded of her life.

A recording of the "šarakan" exists, performed by the Sharakan Early Music Ensemble.

References

* Arzruni, Ôahan. "Xosroviduxt [Khosrovidukht] (fl. early 8th century). Armenian hymnographer and poet." The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. Julie Anne Sadie and Rhian Samuel, eds. New York; London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995. p. 506.
* Fowden, Garth. "The Journal of Roman Studies", Vol. 84. (1994), pp. 146-170.
* Thomson, Robert W. "Dumbarton Oaks Papers", Vol. 43. (1989), pp. 125-226.