Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - IV. Chapters in the history of Georgia
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
CHAPTERS IN THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA 95
quarries being cranes, herons, and pheasants, the last indige
nous to Georgia. Marco Polo (1275) says that Georgia
" provides the best hawks in the world."
Besides hunting they delighted in various kinds of contests
and games, especially those that called for strength and
suppleness of body : ball-games, archery, horse-racing,
ball-games on horseback, and wrestling, which is still a usual
accompaniment of Church festivals and other occasions.
They were happy, light-hearted people, living a life rich
in adventure.
A basis for intellectual culture was furnished in Georgia
by the coming of Christianity. How early the nation got its
own script is uncertain ; probably it was at approximately
the same time as the Armenians got theirs, at the beginning
of the fifth century a.d. The alphabet is doubtless to a large
extent derived from the Greek. Their literature was at first
wholly ecclesiastical, an offshoot of the Syrian and Byzantine-
Greek literature ; but in course of time a more general culture
spread from the numerous monasteries to the leading classes ;
and the Arabs, who among other things introduced the art
ofversifying, also exercised an important influence. Alongside
of the religious literature there gradually came into exist
ence a more worldly and light-hearted form of writing. In
Thamara’s time it attained a high standard, and there seem to
have been several really noteworthy lyric poets. At every
banquet there were songs to the accompaniment of lutes and
the ring of goblets, celebrating love, joy, suffering, and
chivalrous deeds.
The most celebrated poet is Shot’ha Rust’haveli, who
lived in Thamara’s time. In his great epic " The Man in
the Panther’s Skin " {Ve shviss tkaossani) he gave his country
men a truly remarkable national poem of exceptional value.
One of the heroines is the adored queen herself, whose nåme
in the poem is T’hinat’hin :
The shining light of the world ; whoever
Looked at her, she bereft him of heart, mmd, and soul.
The hero is a typical knight sans peur et sans reproche, who
faces life confidently and cultivates friendship, altruism, and
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
