ABSTRACT
Scholars have gained much insight into Sahagn's overall plan through investigation of the Psalmodia Christiana and the editorial history of that work, the only piece to be printed during his lifetime. The Psalmodia pertains to a very prolific period in Sahagn's life. It was composed sometime around 1564, along with several other pieces of the doctrinal encyclopedia, and some of the major work on the Florentine Codex. Although the collection of songs is called Psalmodia Christiana, in the "Prologue to the reader" Sahagn described these songs not as psalms but as cantares. Nevertheless, throughout the work itself, each song carries the heading of "psalm". Everyone involved in the project called the collection a psalmodia. A psalmody is quite simply a collection of psalms. The psalm as an art form is distinguished by being a song in praise or worship of God. Consequently, while Sahagn had mixed feelings on the issue, nonetheless, he did entitle the whole work as a psalmody.
