Vardan Aygektsi or Vardan of Aygek (, died 1250) was an Armenian monk. Among his works is his Fables and a Geography, both of which have been mistakenly attributed by some to Vardan Areveltsi. Aygektsi was born in Ma'arrata, a village near Afrin. Vardan lived for a time in Tluk in Cilician Armenia. He was educated in the Monastery of Arkakaghin and received the title of vardapet. In 1198, he took part in the coronation ceremony of King Levon II. From 1210, he was at the monastery of Aygek on the Amanus Mountains. His fables, commonly known as Aghvesagirq (Book of the Fox), are said to have been only in part from his pen, many additions having been made by others. He died in 1250. In 1668, an extensive collection of Aygektsi's fables, under the title Aghvesagirq (Book of the Fox) was published in Amsterdam. The naming of the collection was based on the fact that the key character in most of the fables was a fox. Modern interpretations In 1825 the French academic Antoine-Jean Saint-Martin published a French translation of the Fables. In 1975, Soviet-era director Robert Sahakyants made a 10-minute animated film, The Fox Book, based on Aigektsi's Fables. In association with the Hover Chamber Choir of Armenia, contemporary Armenian composer Stepan Babatorosyan created Six Fables, an original composition based on Aigektsi's Fables, with contemporary lyrics by Yuri Sahakyan. It won the 2004 Armenian Music Awards – Best Choir/Chorus Album. The Hover Chamber Choir of Armenia has also presented an outdoor musical-theatrical production based on Aigektsi's Fables. See also Mkhitar Gosh References External links , Paris, Librairie orientale de Dondey-Dupré Père et Fils, 1825. Armenian text, French translation by Antoine-Jean Saint-Martin Year of birth missing 1250 deaths Syrian people of Armenian descent Syrian monks Syrian writers 13th-century Armenian writers Armenian priests Middle Eastern Christians Armenian Christian monks Armenian fabulists People of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Armenian Christians Syrian Christians