The Georgian Milieu and the Metaphrastic Menologion: Three Accounts about Symeon Metaphrastes

The article investigates the reception history of the Metaphrastic menologion in the medieval Georgian milieu. The Georgian literati were the first non-Greeks to translate the metaphrastic hagiographical literature. Soon after Symeon Metaphrastes (also called Symeon the Logothetes; end of tenth cent...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sandro Nikolaishvili
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: University of Milan 2022-12-01
Series:Interfaces: A Journal of Medieval European Literatures
Subjects:
Online Access:https://riviste.unimi.it/interfaces/article/view/18055
_version_ 1797904745357115392
author Sandro Nikolaishvili
author_facet Sandro Nikolaishvili
author_sort Sandro Nikolaishvili
collection DOAJ
description The article investigates the reception history of the Metaphrastic menologion in the medieval Georgian milieu. The Georgian literati were the first non-Greeks to translate the metaphrastic hagiographical literature. Soon after Symeon Metaphrastes (also called Symeon the Logothetes; end of tenth century) finished his literary project, the Georgian monks at the monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos started translating not only Symeon's saints' lives but also adopted metaphrastic method and applied it to other texts. The tradition set in motion at Iviron was successfully continued and cultivated by Georgians in various parts of the Byzantine Empire, mainly in Constantinople and at the Black Mountain near Antioch. The increased interest of the Georgian learned monks in Symeon Metaphrastes' saints' lives demonstrates the popularity of Metaphrastic menologion and success of Symeon's literary project. The article focuses on several extant Georgian sources that provide unique information about Symeon Metaphrastes, his project and rewriting method. The accounts by Ephrem Mc‘ire, Theophilos the Hieromonk, and Ioannes Xiphilinos the Younger that survive only in Georgian, shed new light on the history and trajectory of the metaphrastic movement. The accounts include manuscript colophons, commentaries, and prayers for the rulers. These testimonies allow one to understand why Georgians wholeheartedly embraced literary trends set in motion in the center of the Byzantine Empire.
first_indexed 2024-04-10T09:53:46Z
format Article
id doaj.art-f4169dcd2d714b78a3f22141b559d816
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2421-5503
language deu
last_indexed 2024-04-10T09:53:46Z
publishDate 2022-12-01
publisher University of Milan
record_format Article
series Interfaces: A Journal of Medieval European Literatures
spelling doaj.art-f4169dcd2d714b78a3f22141b559d8162023-02-16T15:11:50ZdeuUniversity of MilanInterfaces: A Journal of Medieval European Literatures2421-55032022-12-01910.54103/interfaces-09-05The Georgian Milieu and the Metaphrastic Menologion: Three Accounts about Symeon MetaphrastesSandro Nikolaishvili0University of Southern Denmark The article investigates the reception history of the Metaphrastic menologion in the medieval Georgian milieu. The Georgian literati were the first non-Greeks to translate the metaphrastic hagiographical literature. Soon after Symeon Metaphrastes (also called Symeon the Logothetes; end of tenth century) finished his literary project, the Georgian monks at the monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos started translating not only Symeon's saints' lives but also adopted metaphrastic method and applied it to other texts. The tradition set in motion at Iviron was successfully continued and cultivated by Georgians in various parts of the Byzantine Empire, mainly in Constantinople and at the Black Mountain near Antioch. The increased interest of the Georgian learned monks in Symeon Metaphrastes' saints' lives demonstrates the popularity of Metaphrastic menologion and success of Symeon's literary project. The article focuses on several extant Georgian sources that provide unique information about Symeon Metaphrastes, his project and rewriting method. The accounts by Ephrem Mc‘ire, Theophilos the Hieromonk, and Ioannes Xiphilinos the Younger that survive only in Georgian, shed new light on the history and trajectory of the metaphrastic movement. The accounts include manuscript colophons, commentaries, and prayers for the rulers. These testimonies allow one to understand why Georgians wholeheartedly embraced literary trends set in motion in the center of the Byzantine Empire. https://riviste.unimi.it/interfaces/article/view/18055metaphrasishagiographytranslationGeorgiaSymeon the LogothetesEphrem Mc‘ire
spellingShingle Sandro Nikolaishvili
The Georgian Milieu and the Metaphrastic Menologion: Three Accounts about Symeon Metaphrastes
Interfaces: A Journal of Medieval European Literatures
metaphrasis
hagiography
translation
Georgia
Symeon the Logothetes
Ephrem Mc‘ire
title The Georgian Milieu and the Metaphrastic Menologion: Three Accounts about Symeon Metaphrastes
title_full The Georgian Milieu and the Metaphrastic Menologion: Three Accounts about Symeon Metaphrastes
title_fullStr The Georgian Milieu and the Metaphrastic Menologion: Three Accounts about Symeon Metaphrastes
title_full_unstemmed The Georgian Milieu and the Metaphrastic Menologion: Three Accounts about Symeon Metaphrastes
title_short The Georgian Milieu and the Metaphrastic Menologion: Three Accounts about Symeon Metaphrastes
title_sort georgian milieu and the metaphrastic menologion three accounts about symeon metaphrastes
topic metaphrasis
hagiography
translation
Georgia
Symeon the Logothetes
Ephrem Mc‘ire
url https://riviste.unimi.it/interfaces/article/view/18055
work_keys_str_mv AT sandronikolaishvili thegeorgianmilieuandthemetaphrasticmenologionthreeaccountsaboutsymeonmetaphrastes
AT sandronikolaishvili georgianmilieuandthemetaphrasticmenologionthreeaccountsaboutsymeonmetaphrastes