National Heroes in Nerses Shnorhali's Riddles and the Teaching of Their Characters in School

Armenian poet, chronicler, musician-songwriter, writer, prominent public figure, Patriarch of All Armenians Nerses Shnorhali left a rich literary heritage: prose (essays, letters, speeches) and verse (sharakans, songs, melodies, treasures, incantations, riddles, epigrams of a novelistic, novelistic nature, etc.). Armenian literary thought has addressed Nerses Shnorhali's riddles through separate books, literary articles, reviews, scientific analyses. Real life images, the life of the Armenian people and biblical ideas are the main themes of Shnorhali's riddles, through which Armenian children and, why not, also the Armenian nation should be educated and brought up. Nerses Shnorhali's riddles were highly appreciated by Kirakos Gandzaketsi. He notes: “And since Nerses was a genius in everything, he also wrote profound parables from books and riddles, so that instead of false conversations they would tell them at wine parties and weddings. And he himself, that worthy man of God, was meek and decent in everything” (Kirakos G., 1982). Asatur Mnatsakanyan associates the complete formation and development of the classical riddle genre with Nerses Shnorhali, noting that “starting from Nerses Shnorhali, the boundaries of the themes of written riddles theoretically expand so much that they gradually approach the folk ones” (Mnatsakanyan A., 1980). Shnorhali’s pedagogical views are fully revealed in the riddles. Shnorhali did his best to convey knowledge to students, but in addition to that, he attached importance not only to knowledge, but also to the way and methods of delivering knowledge. The creation and use of riddles was a huge breakthrough in pedagogy, as it became an important prerequisite for not only providing children with knowledge, but also for developing their worldview, sharp mind, observation, and the ability to guess from a brief description.