The first English verse translation of the Georgian epic of adventure and romance written in 12th or 13th century. Urushadze has also produced a popular anthology of Georgian poetry in English. Her preface explains the original metrical structure, which is so complex that sometimes it requires rhyming words to the fourth syllable. She also includes a brief list of Georgian words she retained, many of them names. An introduction by David M Lang (oriental and African studies, U. of London) puts Rustaveli and his poem in historical context. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
Shota Rustaveli (Georgian: 醿ㄡ儩醿椺儛 醿犪儯醿♂儣醿愥儠醿斸儦醿�) (born approx. c. 1160 鈥� died after c. 1220), was a Georgian poet of the 12th century, and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature. He is author of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" (醿曖償醿め儺醿樶儭醿⑨儳醿愥儩醿♂儛醿溼儤, Vepkhistkaosani), 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鈥�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 same Jerusalem document speaks of Shota as a sponsor of the monastery and a "high treasurer," thus echoing a popular legend that Rustaveli was a minister at Queen Tamar鈥檚 court and retired to the monastery at an advanced age. Both a folk tradition and the 17th century royal poet Archil identify Rustaveli as a native of the southern Georgian region of Meskheti, where his home village Rustavi was located (not to be confused with the modern-day city of Rustavi near Tbilisi). He is assumed to have been born between 1160 and 1165. A legend states that Rustaveli was educated at the medieval Georgian academies of Gelati and Ikalto, and then in "Greece" (i.e., the Byzantine Empire). He must have produced his major work no earlier than the 1180s and no later than the first decade of the 13th century, most probably c. 1205鈥�1207.
I found this beautifully illustrated book in a nice English book shop in Tbilisi, at the end of my trip through Georgia. As I'd seen the name Rustaveli everywhere (it seems like half the streets in the country are named after the guy) and the title intrigued me, I bought it. I have no regrets.
It's truly an epic poem: 12th century, super strong knights killing whole armies on their own, rescuing princesses, and "brotherly" love (the hero at one point basically leaves his fianc茅 because he loves the other hero more, who is oh so beautiful).
From what I learnt online, Rustaveli has contributed more to the Georgian identity than say, Shakespeare to the English. This book breathes Georgia, and as I loved the country I can't help loving this as well. So get your ass over there and read this on a nice mountain top or something.
I wonder what kind of idiot would rate this masterpiece with less than 5 stars?! Would anybody give Shakespeare 4 stars out of 5? or Byron, or Goethe?! Rustaveli is the best in this list!
p.s. Yes, that's not an easy task to get Rustaveli, and besides the reading skills, it requires a lot more. And the fact, that you don't understand or can't get through it to the end, underlines your lack of knowledge and understanding of the world literature. That's what you've been rating here... Don't go farther than Tom Sawyer: you will burn your brainS out! ;o)
'The Knight in the Panther's Skin' is a masterpiece of the Georgian medieval literaure written by Shota Rustaveli, a monk, in the 12th century. The poem is often called 'the Georgian vision of the world' and it has always been as important to Georgians as 'The Odyssey' is Greeks. And, in my opinion, it bears a certain similarity to 'The Odyssey' as 'The Knight...' is a beautiful story about travels and numerous adventures of the main characters, two brave knights, two friends - Avtandil and Tariel, in their quest for happiness. It is also an ode to true friendship, nobility, sacrifice and love.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'With gesture like a swift panther he clad his form in armour; in one hand he held an iron mace. He stood forth with dauntless heart in the front of the ship, and as he slew onlookers with his gaze, so he slew foes with his sword.
Those warriors yelled; their voices were uninterrupted. They thrust the beam upon which was the plough. The knight stood fearless at the head of the ship, he trembled not; he struck with the mace, he broke the beam, the lion's arm swerved not.
The beam was destroyed, and Avt鈥檋andil remained with ship unshattered. Those warriors feared, they sought a way to shelter, they could not contrive it in time; he leaped on his foes, threshing them down round about him; there was not left there living man unhacked by him.
With intrepid heart he slew those warriors like goats; some he threw down on the ship, some he cast into the sea; he threw one upon another, eight upon nine and nine upon eight; those who were left were hidden among the corpses, they stifled their cries.
As much as his heart desired was he victorious in the fight with them. Some humbly adjured him: "Slay us not, by thy faith!" Those he slew not, he enslaved them, whoever survived his wounds. Truly saith the Apostle: "Fear makes love."
O man! boast not of thy strength, brag not drunken like! Might is of none avail if the power of the Lord aid thee not. A tiny spark overcomes, and burns up great trees. If God protect thee, it cuts alike well whether thou strike with a log or a sword.'
I know that in the end you will bless the course that I have taken. A wise man cannot stand the thought his good friend will be forsaken. Let me remind you of what Plato said to help us awaken: 'By lies and two-facedness, the body's hurt, the soul is shaken.'
This is the national epic of Georgia, admired by readers (and endured by bored students) across the country for centuries. At least according to the people who make these kinds of decisions, Rustaveli is so important that there are Rustaveli streets and Rustaveli statues across Georgia (I actually bought this at Prospero's Books, a Tblisi bookstore I highly recommend to travelers that you can find on...Rustaveli Avenue!). Hell, this poem is so beloved by Georgians that even the guy who illustrated it is a national hero, and he wasn't even Georgian (Mihaly Zichy, of Hungary). Plus, The Knight in the Panther's Skin is far and away the most badass title for an epic poem I've ever seen, and I've read The Daredevils of Sassoun.
The barest of set-ups: Avtandil is an Arab prince in love with the daughter of King Rostevan. One day, while out on a manly hunt with King Rostevan, the men come across a wild man wearing a panther-skin coat who ignores all pleas to engage them in courtesies and handily slaughters dozens of men when challenged before disappearing on his horse. Figuring that the kingdom won't know peace until the murderer is apprehended, young Avtandil sets out to find this dangerous wanderer and prove his worth as a knight and a lover.
Against other epic poems, it doesn't stand out for the elegance of its plotting or the originality of its themes, but for my money, Rustaveli's got two things going: narrative rapidity, and philosophical sophistication. This poem moves. Things happen in rapid succession, events pile on events, and stories fold into other stories, with dozens and dozens of chapters in a book just over 350 pages. You see, Avtandil's talking to Tariel about how Tariel met Pridon, and he can't tell the story of meeting Pridon without telling why Pridon was on the run from the assassins, who were hired by Pridon's uncle because...well, read the poem. I love it, personally, and it's hard not to get swept up into the joy of the book, sometimes not so much an epic as a machine to generate stories.
That other part, the philosophical complexity, is one of the most fascinating parts of the poem, although one I'm not all that qualified to lecture on. What I do know is that Rustaveli was working in a context where Neoplatonic Christianity was the standard, Greek philosophy was read alongside the Qur'an, the finest poetry was in Persian and the best textiles were from China, and those Franks over in Europa were nothing more than half-literate savages. Suffice it to say, Georgia was at the center of a lot of things in the early 13th century, and those crossroads are felt in the poem. More interesting are the story's development of love and friendship as the highest virtues, so much so that they eclipse more traditional epic values like prowess or loyalty to the state; in fact, patriotism gets a good thwacking at several points as nothing more than a kind of false attachment that keeps the individual from truly developing as a soul dedicated in the service of a friend, a beloved, or God. It's a philosophy of self-fulfillment and joy, where life is best lived as living well in rapturous service to another, fully developed and explored from many angles.
A note on translation, because when it comes to 800 year-old poems from non Indo-European languages, translation is everything. I read the 2015 translation by Lynn Coffin, which is distinguished for being the first to preserve the shairi form, which is written in quatrains rhyming a-a-a-a, always with 16 syllables to a line and a caesura (pause) in the middle. What this means is that Coffin is the first writer to preserve both the structure and the meaning of the poem in English. This is an achievement, full stop. But one reason why nobody's tried doing that until so recently is that Rustaveli's form is entirely unnatural to the English ear: English meter is based on stress, not syllables, and English just doesn't rhyme very well compared to most languages, so Coffin's doing two things that the language isn't really meant to do. Inevitably, within the poem's 6,400+ lines, there are some real howlers. The miraculous thing is that there's no more than a few dozen, by my count. Most of it scans just fine, though, and sometimes it even rises to the level of solid English verse that happens to align with medieval Georgian verse, like finding a perfect sonnet in the middle of a physics textbook. The end result keeps a suitably foreign feel, better for chanting and singing, as Rustaveli would no doubt have it, than a sober recital. If you like your big foreign poems big and foreign, I would recommend Coffin's translation.
The Book of Infinite Hyperbole, a.k.a. the Book of Crybabies.
No one is halfway affected or slightly emotional. Everyone is in a constant rage of passion or a life-threatening swoon in each and every instant of their lives. Every person is a moon and a sun, and every man is also a lion. All hair is jet, all eyelashes cut, all faces are devastatingly beautiful and more radiant than the sun. Did I mention the sun? It is often mentioned. The book is a constant torrent of tears, so much so that I nearly drowned from reading it.
The passion is unrelenting in its extremity, and is important in and of itself, regardless of narrative context.
There is also occasional surprising sarcasm or irony which catches us off guard and challenges us to decide just how much sincerity we should attribute to the rest of the proclamations of passion, faith, etc. The all-around unreasonableness of the characters also poses a challenge. A king will send his retainer away for three years, virtually on a whim, though he regards the mission as critical, and never seems to miss him, yet will be thrown into a towering rage the next time the same retainer wants to go away for a while, as the king can't bear to part with him. Lovers whose only desire in life is to be together will take it upon themselves to separate for no good reason, and then constantly bewail their separation. Meanwhile, occasional sacred unbreakable oaths will be made then broken for mere convenience because, of course, lovers are too mad to be bound by oaths.
鈥濾itez u tigrovoj ko啪i鈥� je gruzijski ep iz 12. veka. Gruzini su veoma ponosni na ovaj ep, a ka啪u i da se knjiga tradicionalno poklanjala kao deo nevestine spreme ili miraza prilikom mladinog dolaska u mu啪evljevu ku膰u. Ep je posve膰en i napisan za vreme vladavine kraljice Tamare, periodu koji Gruzini smatraju svojim zlatnim dobom, dok mi, odavde, kraljicu Tamaru uglavnom znamo kao junakinju jedne mra膷ne pesme Vojislava Ili膰a (鈥濶ad obalom, nebu gore,/Tamarin se di啪e dvor,/Svake no膰i, svake zore,/Tu je 拧ala, smej i zbor鈥�).
膶itanje epa sam malo razvukao. Degustirao sam ga polako, delom, jer su u pitanju stihovi, delom, jer volim da 膷itam stihove naglas kada se ve膰 prevodilac potrudio da ih rimuje. Ono 拧to me je formalno iznenadilo je da, u pore膽enju sa drugim tradicionalnim epovima ili u pore膽enju sa vite拧kim avanturisti膷kim romanima, 鈥濾itez u tigrovoj ko啪i鈥� ima jednostavan zaplet sa relativno malim brojem junaka i bez 膷udesnih doga膽aja. Zaplet se uglavnom svodi na me膽usobno upletene pri膷e o dvama para rastavljenih ljubavnika, povezane mu拧kim prijateljstvom Tarijela i Aftandila, od kojih prvi traga za svojom ukradenom dragom Nestani-Dered啪ani, a drugi mu u tom traganju poma啪e, ne bi li tako potvrdio svoju ljubav prema kraljici Tinatin. Stoga su ljubav i prijateljstvo u centru epu, a patriotizam i 膷e啪nja za juna膷kom slavom su sekundarni, 拧to nije tipi膷no za epski svet. U epu je utkana implicitno i ideja o verskoj toleranciji, potvr膽ena u savezu tri junaka na kraju epa, 拧to sasvim korespondira spoju razli膷itih kulturolo拧kih uticaja koji se ose膰aju u idejnoj i formalnoj koncepciji epa (pravoslavno hri拧膰anstvo, neoplatonitzam, gruzijski folklor i ostaci paganizma, persijska poezija i islam, a mo啪da i uticaj Indije i Kine).
Sve je hiperbolisano - 啪ene imaju trepavice ve膰e nego gavranova krila, mrtva tela se u bojevima gomilaju u vidu planina, sunce se stidi da iza膽e pred lepotom junaka i njihovih dragana. Najsimpti膷nije mi je 拧to se junaci gotovo na svakoj stranici busaju u grudi i pla膷u (拧to ih naravno ne spre膷ava nikad da seku glave neprijateljima). Pri jednom susretu, Aftandil upozorava Tarijela: 鈥濼ebra, nije nam mu啪evno 拧to ovoliko pla膷emo鈥�, na 拧ta Tarijel odgovara u stilu: 鈥濼ako je batice, moramo da se iskontroli拧emo鈥�. Par stranica kasnije, Tarijel se ponovo busa u grudi i pla膷e na sav glas, ali ovog puta pla膷e krv, kojom puni more, a najkrvolo膷nije zveri iz divljine dolaze na pojilo od njegovih suza. Ajd sad 膷ik da mu neko ka啪e da nije mu啪evan 拧to pla膷e. :D
Der Recke im Tigerfell (The Knight in Tigerskin) By Schota Rusthawelli 鈥� (about 1172 to 1216) The 12th-century epic poem, originally composed in the Georgian Language, has in this edition been rewritten in its poetic verse form into the German Language, and in no ordinary way, but in exquisite meter and vocabulary, which in its own right is a masterpiece. The poem itself is a curious mixture of cultural influences, Persian, Arabic, European knighthood and chivalry. Rostewan the Arab king, is a hero鈥檚 name that can also be found in Shahnameh, The Epic of the Persian Kings, by Ferdowsi. The language used in Rusthawelli epic is as colorful and overly romantic as is used in the Persian Shahnameh and in Arabian Nights. But then the Knightly Chivalry motivating its heroes at the service of their faultless virgin maids is well inspired from European Medieval tales like King Arthurs Knights, and so are their outfits of shining armors, metal helmets swords and spear and all. An exceptional book of beauty and romantic poetry.
It took me into memories of persian literature that I have long forgotten. The names of places and characters sound familiar. The amusing thing about the main characters is that they are religous but somewhat secular; quite interesting. There is intersting reference to Qais (referred to as Quaisi) the Majnoon of Laila. The book gets more and more interesting as you read on, starting in a rather not so obvious melancholy. But once you get to know the style of euology, it becomes interesting. Enjoyed reading it.
艩i knyga, kaip ir pernai skaityta , yra mano vaikyst臈s vasaros dalis. Viena i拧 t懦 knyg懦, kurios buvo kuklioje babyt臈s bibliotekoje ir kuri膮 nor臈josi skaityti. Pirm膮 kart膮 skaityta gal 10, gal 11 met懦 ir taip kasmet iki koki懦 16-kos. Siu啪etas mok臈tas mintinai, veik臈jai myl臈ti, knyga dievinta.
Atsitiktinai pama膷iau ir prisiminimai apie tas tobulas vaikyst臈s vasaras gr寞啪o su visa j懦 拧iluma ir meile. Dabar u啪kabino ne i拧 karto, prad啪ioje netgi klausiau sav臋s, kas man gal臈jo taip patikti, ta膷iau nostalgija daro savo ir a拧 negaliu vertinti 拧ios knygos tiesiog kaip knygos - truput寞 per daug ji man rei拧kia.
O ir galiausiai atradau, kas kabino - tai yra nuostabi istorija apie draugyst臋 ir i拧tikimyb臋.
If you have rated this book with 5 stars 鈥� congratulations! You have undeniably high level of intelligence!
If you gave less than 5 stars, I give you credit for just reading this book 鈥� that is, actually, very brave thing to do... having that said - wake up!! Go to college, read some more books, get educated, try your best extending the maximum capacity of your brain and imagination鈥� this book was written in 12th century (that鈥檚 900 years ago - think about it!); and you know what 鈥� don鈥檛 be so serious - get the sarcasm, get the irony and get the parody this genius offered us 900 years ago鈥� Or, you can just drop the ambitions and settle for watching reality shows鈥� perhaps "House Wives of... whatever" would do it for you鈥�
This is one of the most epically melodramatic stories I have ever read. And I loved every page of it! The nested-stories of Avtandil, Tariel, and Nestan-Darejan are captivating and wonderful. The tears that they shed for each other are ridiculous and lovely. The florid descriptions boggle my mind. It's an excellent adventure of several love-besotted knights whose bromance is the only thing stronger than their wistful love for their distant "suns."
But to be perfectly honest, I kind of expected more panther appearances.
There's a reason exploring and analyzing this poem is its own profession.
I have, at some point, made fun of some parts of it. I've also bashed its raging fanboys and fangirls who shove it into everyone's nose whether it's called for or not and who don't want to admit that it's not for every reader and all tastes. I've criticized people for blind, fanatical sort of devotion to it. I have, therefore, been recognized as a hater who can't appreciate the masterpiece (at this point you may steal a glance at my five stars rating and become quite confused, you may want to keep reading). Because of this, I deem myself as a pretty unbiased source of valuable feedback for those who don't know what they're facing, so please, bear with me for a bit.
Whom is this poem NOT for? - If you're looking for believable characters with complex personalities that feel like real people, intricate plot that develops them to their fullest potential, provide good role models and blow your mind with the story arc and so on... this is the wrong story for you to pick. But the thing is, the above mentioned were not the objective of this work and its virtues lie elsewhere. Let me list them:
1. You won't even know what you read. Written in the twelfth century, this poem was a valuable piece of one of a kind political and social commentary on (back then) present day Georgia and its state, its politics, worldview and philosophy, giving both criticism and appreciation, while pretending to be a somewhat linear story. The characters presented to the reader are not really people at all and shouldn't be treated as such by a reader. Likewise the countries where it all takes place are not the countries they claim to be. A single character can be an allegory of one political figure, one side and role of such a figure, and a whole country - all at once, and multiple characters can be combined into a single important figure of that time. The same is true for locations, so don't expect accurate representations of Arabia or India. In truth the Arabia and India have no role in the poem. The author uses intricate wordplay and double (triple, quadruple) meanings in describing events, characters and names, cleverly smuggling the precious information and hiding it in plain sight. There are stanzas we had to learn by heart at school and only years after graduating did I discover hidden (and sometimes rather bold and even naughty) meanings in some of them. I had recited those lines over and over again and never had realized ALL the things I was saying. Needless to say, no translation in the world can ever do it justice. All that covertly shared information is lost the moment a single word changes. Even adapting it from old Georgian to modern Georgian will cause a devastating loss. Being at least somewhat proficient in old Georgian is essential, or most of it will go over the reader's head. It actually happens to most of us - Georgians - when we first get acquainted with it. On the other hand, it's always an adventure to take the book and read it through a nth time, hunting for new discoveries.
2. The language. Aside from wordplay, there's a lot to say about the richness of the language used. Georgian by its nature is more of an expressive language than an analytical one and the poet has taken full advantage of the fact, using exquisite enchanting vocabulary while preserving flawless rhyme throughout the entire giant of a poem. Again, translation cannot do it justice.
3. Informational. There are many things about the cultural side of historical Georgia we wouldn't have known without The Knight in Panther's Skin, or wouldn't have known as well as we do now. I'm speaking about ancient traditions and social norms, leftovers of pagan beliefs, dozens of now extinct local musical instruments, old astronomical names and many, many other things. It's a treasure trove of recovering the cultural history.
4. Just the fact that it embraces Renaissance before there was Renaissance is a valuable trait in and of itself. The poem was frowned upon by the church, to put it mildly. While being very much in tune with spirituality, godliness and the notion of greater good, the poem ignored the subject of religion per se. No specific religion is ever mentioned and the characters can either be seen praying to a nameless one true sort of God, or pleading celestial bodies. Instead it focuses on the ideals of knighthood and humanism, bringing them as the common ground for the characters to build their relationship on.
All in all, five stars are not even enough. It is true that it's hard to understand and I will always argue that when we studied it at school, we probably weren't ready to take it in, except for a precious few individuals, maybe. It also wasn't taught from the aspect it should've been, giving praise where there was less praise needed while completely ignoring its true value. But if any of the above listed items speak to you, it's not a poem to be missed.
The panther, the knight, Magnifique!.. Hold on. Let's dig into it.
Firstly, I had a deja vu while reading it. There is a striking recursive pattern, Avtandil is a general, he is in love with a princess, it's mutual, he fights for her, yet there are more obstacles, then he meets Tariel, who is also a general, he's also in love with a princess, it's mutual, he wages war for her, and still there are obstacles. It's as if a simple plot was reduplicated, modified, and inserted into itself ) No surprise, the two heroes were worth each other, they cried, wept, fainted, and complained all the time. It's claimed that Tinatin and Nestan-Darejan both describe Queen Tamar, this kind of proves my hypothesis. I could further speculate that their lovers were also the same.
Nevertheless, the principal protagonist of the poem is Avtandil. He is the driving force, the steadfast, the diehard. Tariel on the other hand is an annoying crybaby. So the book title is a misnomer )
The gender perception was no doubt different back in the day. Men are effeminate and tender, they freely show emotions yet still know how to hold the sword when required. Given the broader middle-eastern tradition to which I believe this work belongs, this is appropriate. The excessive verbosity and melodramatic scenes also go there. At one point I noticed that every time Avtandil meets Tariel, he's fighting a lion or a tiger. I understand it's a literary device, but it's so ridiculously grotesque, I literally laughed my a** off. Finally, the marriages, a lot of festivities, and a happy, happy end. Brr
Now my main criticism. The poem is surely epic, but it's hard to call national. Not only is there not a single reference to the Georgians, Georgia, no toponymy, no anthroponymy, but it also looks far from the political and geopolitical realities of medieval Georgia. Raiding the neighbors, imposing levies, befriending with sultanates was hardly the tradition nor the political agenda of the kingdom. There's also no social or religious quest. Is it then not just a sweet oriental fairy tale?
They teach this at school, but they never tell children how big of an a**hole Tariel is! And his girlfriend is even worse. Avtandil is super cool dude though. Fortunately, my wife is a great connoisseur of all things Oriental. And, at some point, she started enlightening me every night, just before going to sleep, with the stories from the Knight in the Panther's Skin. There is no bedtime story that can match Shota's masterpiece!
On a more serious note, this is pure genius! But there is no way a school student can fully appreciate the richness of the language, the plot, the context, the wisdom that has penetrated everyday language in a form of aphorisms. Forget aphorisms, some phrases and expressions are even used in today's street-talk, like '醿撫儛醿涐儤醿儳醿溼儛醿犪儞醿�'.
I wish I knew this poem by heart. Then I would have a time-proven wisdom for nearly all life situations. Alas, remembering poems, even very short ones, is not my strong side.