Thursday, October 13, 2011

Shota Rustaveli

Shota Rustaveli was a  Georgian poet of the 12th century, and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian secular literature. He is author of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin., the Georgian national epic poem.
Little, if anything, is known about Rustaveli from contemporary sources. His poem itself, namely the prologue, provides a clue to his identity: the poet identifies himself as "a certain Rustveli." "Rustveli" is not a surname, but a territorial epithet which can be interpreted as "of/from/holder of Rustavi." Later Georgian authors of the 15th-18th centuries are more informative: they are almost unanimous in identifying him as Shota Rustaveli, a name which is preserved on a fresco and a document from the formerly Georgian Monastery of the Holy Cross at Jerusalem. The fresco was described by the Georgian pilgrim Timote Gabashvili in 1757/58, and rediscovered by a team of Georgian scholars in 1960. 




"The Knight in the Panther's Skin" has been translated into many languages. It was first printed in 1712 in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The manuscripts of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" occupy an important place among the secular works produced in Georgia.
The highest Georgian state prize in the fields of art and literature is the Shota Rustaveli State Prize. Tbilisi's main thoroughfare is Rustaveli Avenue.
The fresco representing the legendary Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli was vandalized in June 2004 in the 11th-century Georgian-built Monastery of the Holy Cross. An unknown vandal scratched out the face of Shota Rustaveli and part of the accompanying Georgian inscription with his name on the south-west pier.


The Knight in the Panther's Skin  is an epic poem, consisting of over 1600 shairi quatrains, was written in the 12th century by the Georgian epic-poet Shota Rustaveli, who was a Prince and Treasurer at the royal court of Queen Tamar of GeorgiaThe Knight in the Panther's Skin is often seen as Georgia's national epic.
Shota Rustaveli is regarded by Georgians as their greatest poet. There is little known about his origins, but as the 8th quatrain in the poem suggests, the author identifies himself as Rustveli, literary meaning, "someone from Rustavi"
It was Queen Tamar to whose honor the poet dedicated his masterpiece, written in ca. 1196-1207. In 1960, the Georgian Archaeological expedition discovered a portrait of Rustaveli on the wall of ninth-century Georgian Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem. A medieval Georgian inscription identifies the figure of the old man with long white beard and dressed in rich clerical habit as Shota from Rustavi.


In the poem, Rustaveli talks about Medieval humanistic ideals: chivalry, feelings of love, friendship, courtly love, courage and fortitude. The heroes of the poem are brave, philanthropic, and generous. The heroes of the poem are not restricted to Georgian nationality. The regions of PersiaChina, and India all figure in the poem. The poem is approximately 6500 lines and shows in places strong Persian influence.
The poem has been translated into at least 49 languages.The Knight in the Panther's Skin (Vepkhvistkhaosani) describes the adventures of Avtandil, a young Arab nobleman, and his friend Tariel, an Indian prince. Avtandil is sent by his beloved, Tinatin, the newly crowned ruler of Arabia, on the mission to find a mysterious and elusive Knight clad in a tiger's skin. Avtandil finds the knight, who turns out to be Prince Tariel, grieving over the disappearance of the beautiful Nestan-Darejan, daughter of his sovereign, King of India.
The poem ends with a double wedding: after the royal marriage of Tariel and Nestan-Darejan, Avtandil celebrates his own wedding to Queen Tinatin.

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