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''The Knight in the Panther's Skin'' ( ka, ვეფხისტყაოსანი, tr literally "the one with the skin of a tiger") is a Georgian medieval epic poem, written in the 12th or 13th century by Georgia's national poet
Shota Rustaveli Shota Rustaveli ( ka, შოთა რუსთაველი, c. 1160 – after c. 1220), mononymously known simply as Rustaveli, was a medieval Georgian poet. He is considered to be the pre-eminent poet of the Georgian Golden Age and one of ...
. A definitive work of the Georgian Golden Age, the poem consists of over 1600 Rustavelian Quatrains and is considered to be a "masterpiece of the Georgian literature". Until the early 20th century, a copy of this poem was part of the dowry of every bride. Although the poem takes place in the fictional settings of "India" and "Arabia", events in these distant lands are but a colorful
allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
of the rule of Queen Tamar of Georgia, and the size and glory of the
Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
in its Golden Age. It tells the friendship of two heroes, Avtandil and Tariel, and their quest to find the object of love, Nestan-Darejan, an allegorical embodiment of Queen Tamar. These idealized heroes and devoted friends are united by courtly love, generosity, sincerity, and dedication. The poem is regarded as the "coronation of thought, poetic and philosophical art of medieval Georgia", a complex work with rich and transcending genres. It has been described as " epic", "
chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric ...
", "epic romance" and "epic poem of lyric poetry." Despite its formal complexity, it bears to this day "the Georgian vision of the world."


History of the work


Context and time

The poem was written during the Golden Age of the
Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
and the reign of Queen Tamar, who was enthroned by her father King George III of Georgia. Tamar was celebrated by poets for her beauty, intelligence, and diplomatic skills. She expanded the Georgian kingdom to its historical maximum, repulsed invasions, and established protectorates over many area Muslim and Christian lands. Under her reign, the economy prospered. Georgian trading caravans reached
Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin ...
Egypt, the
Kievan Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas o ...
, and the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. Medieval science developed, and the largest monasteries and churches in Georgia were built. Secular literature developed to the point of equaling the greatest religious texts. Against the backdrop of this "remarkable growth",
Shota Rustaveli Shota Rustaveli ( ka, შოთა რუსთაველი, c. 1160 – after c. 1220), mononymously known simply as Rustaveli, was a medieval Georgian poet. He is considered to be the pre-eminent poet of the Georgian Golden Age and one of ...
composed his poem. Rustaveli, born in Rustavi, a Meskhetian village, was close to Queen Tamar and possibly served as her
treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...
. He likely participated in many military campaigns. The stories in his poem are set in faraway lands, but his allegorical representations of contemporaneous Georgia are recognizable. For instance, he refers to wine culture and a female king who became an heir of her father. In the prologue, Rustaveli says that he wrote this poem to praise the "King" Tamar. And in the
epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
(given here with a formal paraphrase), he praises the queen's king consort
David Soslan David Soslan ( ka, დავით სოსლანი, tr) (died 1207) was a prince from Alania and second husband of Queen Tamar, whom he married in c. 1189. He is chiefly known for his military exploits during Georgia's wars against its Musl ...
.


Genre and style

Though written in Georgian at the height of the pan-Caucasian empire of the Georgian Bagratids, according to the modern historian
Stephen H. Rapp Stephen H. Rapp Jr is an American professor and scholar of history, with a focus and primary research investigating the Roman Empire, ancient Iran, Armenia and Georgia. He is a professor of history at Sam Houston State University. Education and c ...
, ''The Knight in the Panther's Skin'' "was an expression of the Iranian/Iranic epic and not some genre of Byzantine literature". Rustaveli used a Persian model for writing ''The Knight in the Panther's Skin''. In the work's prologue, the modern historian Nile Green explains, Rustaveli publicly declares his 1,600-quatrain epic, written in the ''
shairi A ''shairi'' ( ka, შაირი, ), also known as Rustavelian quatrain, is the name of a particular poetic form, or a monorhymed quatrain. It was used by the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli in '' The Knight in the Panther's Skin''. It consists ...
'' verse form, as a "Persian tale, translated into Georgian / Like an orphaned pearl, like a toy passed from hand to hand".


Content and form


Title

Georgian title () literally means "one with a skin of ". The identity of the animal that it refers to is not certain and it can be a tiger, panther or
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus ''Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
. In modern Georgian, it refers to the tiger. However, according to more modern research it would rather mean a panther. Similarly, the qualification of "knight" is not derived from the original title and its alternative translations exist, such as the "valiant" or simply a "man." The alternative English titles of the poem also are "Lord of the Panther Skin" and "The Man in the Panther's Skin".


Story

The story can be divided into two parts: the first part is Avtandil's quest for Tariel, the titular "knight in the panther's skin", and the second part is Avtandil's quest for Nestan-Darejan, Tariel's love.


Search for Tariel

The King of Arabia, Rostevan, has no sons and confers the kingship on his only daughter, the beautiful and wise Tinatin. She has a tender affection for Avtandil, the knight and commander-in-chief of Rostevan's armies. One day, Avtandil challenges King Rostevan to a hunting competition. After three days of shooting game, they encounter a knight crying by a river. He is dressed in a panther's skin, and kills the slaves sent by the king to contact him, then disappears. Rostevan sends parties across the world to search for the mysterious knight, but becomes disheartened when he fails. Tinatin asks Avtandil to find the strange knight in three years, promising him her hand in marriage in return. After two years and nine months of searching, Avtandil finds the knight in the panther's skin hiding in a cave, with only a maiden for company. His name is Tariel, son of King Saridan, who has the seventh kingdom of India. He had served as heir to King Pharsadan, king of the other six kingdoms, for many years before falling in love with Pharsadan's daughter, Nestan-Darejan. Tariel wages war with the Khatavians to earn the favor of Nestan, but is dismayed to learn that she has already been promised to the Khwarezmian prince. Tariel could not bear the idea of her marriage, and at Nestan's request, he killed the suitor. The princess was placed on a boat and set adrift on the seas. Despite Tariel's lengthy search for his love, he could not find her. Later he met Nuradin-Phridon, ruler of Mulgazanzar, who told him that Nestan was alive but trapped on a distant boat. Tariel retired to a cave to live in the wilderness with Asmat, the former servant and messenger of Nestan. Moved by this story, Avtandil promises his friendship and brotherhood to Tariel, and agrees to help him find his love, Nestan-Darejan. Avtandil returns home to Arabia, and tells Tinatin the story of Tariel. Against King Rostevan's wishes, he returns to his new friend.


Search for Nestan-Darejan

Avtandil then leaves Tariel to go to the kingdom of Phridon, where he does not hear anything new about Nestan. Continuing his quest, he arrives in the city of Gulansharo. He meets Patman, the wife of the chief Usen, who falls in love with him. Avtandil, sensing she knows the fate of Nestan, succumbs to Patman's seduction. She tells him she has been keeping Nestan at her place and, as Nestan was promised to the king's son, she helped her escape, but in her flight Nestan was abducted by Kaji the demon king. Avtandil then returns home to Phridon and to the cave of Tariel and later all three friends decide to go to the country of Kaji with an army of three hundred men to find and deliver Nestan. When she is released, all return to Arabia, where King Rostevan forgives Avtandil his flight and breaking the king's order. They all celebrate the marriage of the latter with the king's only daughter, Tinatin. They then leave for India where Tariel marries his love Nestan. Phridon also returns to his homeland and the three friends reign happily with prosperity and generosity in their own respective realms.


Places and characters


Places

The poem is placed far away from Georgia in countries that the poet has certainly never visited:
Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
, India and " Khataeti" that is to say, China. The indications are vague and not designate any particular site. It is the Georgian kingdom that has existed through these distant lands. It seems that the choice of places refers primarily to the national character of these peoples: the
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
are portrayed as more rational, as the king Rostevan and his knight Avtandil with their communication skills and action help to break deadlocks. Conversely, the Indians appear to be more emotional and impulsive and cause unintended disasters, as of the image of Tariel and Nestan. Other locations mentioned as the Kajeti or country of Kaj demons are imaginary. Gulansharo, capital of the "Kingdom of the Seas", has been compared to Venice.


Characters

;The brave and loyal knights — Avtandil and Tariel These two characters represent the most devoted friends, and tender lovers; both heroes capable of
courtly love Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing var ...
and men endowed with free will. They initially were actively involved and served the kingdoms held position of modern "steward" or " Mayor of the Palace". Besides their position they only obey their beloveds, therefore their love and dedication is unwavering. The mutual commitment and friendship they swear, also extends to a third person, Nuradin-Pridon, who is also endowed with the same heroic qualities. Tariel is, however, distinguished by his wild character as symbolized by his wearing the panther's skin. The qualities associated with the cat, his dedication and courage, his hatred and violence could be extreme and uncontrollable. It is also close to Saint George slaying the dragon whose
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...
was particularly strong in the 12th century especially in the episode where Tariel kills a lion and a panther. ;The faithful and patient lovers — Tinatin and Nestan-Darejan Although they take little action, the female characters, Tinatin and Nestan-Darejan are constantly present in thoughts of the knights and serve to give the narrative tension as a whole. Princesses, higher in social rank than their servant knights, are inspired by the Queen Tamar or reflect the fact that each of them is the sovereign in their own realm. Tinatin chooses her own husband which references Queen Tamar (who also chose her second husband) as her role as the sovereign. and her father Rostevan, ceding his throne to his daughter references King George III of Georgia who was succeeded by her daughter in 1178, after his death. Tinatin is a static character who leaves no time to the court of her father in Arabia. Nestan, a prisoner in distant regions, is also passive. But their confidence, righteousness, shows these two women being faithful and respective lovers. As for Patman, she is an altered representation of their type but an adulteress during the absence of her husband. Patman takes little account of family honor as she humiliates her husband on account of his bodily defects. Her character is true to life from the artistic point of view. Despite everything, she is capable of displaying both affection and sincere warmth peculiar to a woman. She spares no effort to save Nestan. It is very characteristic that when Patman learns of the purpose of Avtandil's journey, she makes no attempt to keep the man she loves at her side even for a short time.


Human relationships

Rustaveli is a great humanist. The poet focuses his attention on a man as a complex of sincere feelings, emotions, passions and aspirations. To counterbalance the mentality of the Middle Ages and the ecclesiastic morality of asceticism, Rustaveli proclaims the freedom of man as a personality, free of thought and feeling.


Love

In the prologue, Rustaveli describes three types of love: inaccessible, heavenly love; physical love; and finally, a higher earthly love, or passionate love. Rustaveli thinks that pure and constant love does not expect love in return. Such love can not be felt without a strong spirit; he suggests that the only possibility of enjoying love of this order is to have the natural qualities of a true human being. The valiant must win his beauty by impeccable behavior, including a constant devotion, the rejection of social duties, and selfless loyalty. And as the author says, "love is a severe trial for man as for woman". Nestan's loyalty is expressed in the dramatic tension well before the appearance of her character; he is a model of righteousness. When it was announced that Nestan would be married against her will, she protests with force, and supports the consequences by her heroic courage and stoicism. For the three heroes who go to her aid, fearless and selfless, their fight is intended as a quest for justice. Amorous conquest is noticeably absent from the poem. Both romantic relationships are paralleled and never mixed, as the true brotherhood between the two heroes prevent such incidents. Love, like friendship, often gives rise to hyperbolic descriptions in the poem.


Friendship

The friendship between the three heroes sworn, Avtandil, Tariel and Pridon, a clear narrative of the entire epic, binds them together and at the same time it binds their peoples. These three men belong to different nations, they find themselves with the same aspirations and the same goal and that is their union of forces that can and will destroy a tyranny and evil what is represented by the Kajs. This friendship, full of honesty and courage, free of cowardice and sycophancy, must go to the death if necessary. Such friendship is also possible between persons of different sexes in this case of Tariel and Asmat who share the same cave in brotherhood. However, love and friendship are intertwined as love of a knight with his heroism is fully realized with the help of a disinterested friendship and absolute loyalty. Both feelings are also expressed in the terms when Avtandil even against the will and order of his king departs to help his friend in need. Moreover, the happiness of each is conditioned by the happiness of others. Tinatin allows Avtandil to leave for Tariel, because it is the duty of her suitor to rescue his friend to whom he has promised to help.


Morals, religion and philosophy


Values

With the glorification of courtly love, Rustaveli leads to strongly condemn forced marriages. The poem also shows an admiration for the woman and demands for gender equality. Even though Queen Tamar is the first female monarch and the sovereign of the kingdom, women's political function, position and leading role in Georgia was very high be it the patronage of Georgia by the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
or conversion of Georgians to Christianity by a woman, Saint Nino in the 4th century. This "cult of woman" celebrates her honor and freedom to choose her own husband and Nestan is the model of a noble woman who puts reason above passion. In equal rights, women can develop a sincere friendship with the opposite sex without love and desire and Asmat is dedicated to Tariel. Slavery is also condemned in the poem. Politically, the poem does not lack and is not without patriotism. The state must be led by a strong and autocratic central government, however, sovereigns must rule with justice and prudence. In general, the poem is a "manifest of living with joy". The success of the three heroes in the liberation of Nestan shows that justice can exist on earth, as with enough courage and perseverance, one can find the happiness here.


Religious and philosophical views

The poem sometimes gives the impression of being a pagan work. In fact, there are no prayers in the poem, and no references to
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
, the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
, or the Trinity. However,
Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
is mentioned, and there are a number of references to the Gospels and the Old Testament, including ten occurrences of the Garden of Eden, as well as references to the Euphrates, Gibeon and Levi). Nevertheless, the moral framework of the work is Christian, with a clear dichotomy between a good
god In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
and a hard and disappointing world. This Christianity is not, however, fanatical. Rustaveli refers to the Quran multiple times to indicate that most of the characters are Muslim. He never offends Islam in his work and uses it as an allegory for Christianity, since most of the values that the poem promotes are of Christian origin. He also mentions the twelve apostles (verse 799) and how they spread the philosophy of benevolence and love. There are philosophical references in the poem to the work of Pseudo-Dionysius (verse 1478) which may be attributed to the influence of the Georgian monk
Peter the Iberian Peter the Iberian ( ka, პეტრე იბერი, tr) (c. 417-491) was a Georgian royal prince, theologian and philosopher who was a prominent figure in early Christianity and one of the founders of Christian Neoplatonism. Some have claime ...
, an idealist, who believed in the oneness of
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
but sees the impossibility of knowing God's real existence. Rustaveli's presentation of God as a universal force rather than only a Christian one once led to the suppression of the poem. Believing Rustaveli was a Muslim (an opinion also proffered by
Nicholas Marr Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (, ''Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr''; , ''Nikoloz Iak'obis dze Mari''; — 20 December 1934) was a Georgian-born historian and linguist who gained a reputation as a scholar of the Caucasus during the 1910s before embarking o ...
in 1917), the
Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
in the past systematically destroyed copies of the poem.


Translations

Within Georgia, the poem has been translated into other Kartvelian languages like Laz, Svan and
Mingrelian Mingrelian may refer to: *the Mingrelians *the Mingrelian language Mingrelian or Megrelian (, ) is a Kartvelian language spoken in Western Georgia (regions of Mingrelia and Abkhazia), primarily by the Mingrelians. The language was also called k ...
languages. Outside of Georgia, interest in the poem first appeared in 1802, when
Eugene Bolkhovitinov Meropolitan Eugene (russian: Митрополит Евгений, secular name: Yevfimy Alekseyevich Bolkhovitinov, russian: Евфимий Алексеевич Болховитинов; –) was the Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Galici ...
published a verbatim translation of the first stanza of the poem into Russian. In France in 1828,
Marie-Félicité Brosset Marie-Félicité Brosset (24 January 1802 – 3 September 1880) was a French orientalist who specialized in Georgian and Armenian studies. He worked mostly in Russia. Early life and first works Marie-Félicité Brosset was born in Paris ...
made his first partial French translation. In the 19th century the poem saw full translations into Polish,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
and
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
. In 1845, extracts were published in Russian, French and
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
. Vahan Terian, a prominent Georgian-born Armenian poet, translated the prelude, which was first published posthumously in 1922. It was praised by
Nicholas Marr Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (, ''Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr''; , ''Nikoloz Iak'obis dze Mari''; — 20 December 1934) was a Georgian-born historian and linguist who gained a reputation as a scholar of the Caucasus during the 1910s before embarking o ...
. In 1912,
Marjory Wardrop Marjory Scott Wardrop (11 November 1869 – 7 December 1909) was an English scholar and translator of Georgian literature. She was a sister of the British diplomat and scholar of Georgia, Sir Oliver Wardrop. Fluent in seven foreign languages, ...
published the first English translation available. In 1968, a verse translation by Venera Urushadze was published in Georgia. A translation was made into modern Azerbaijanian language in 1978 by Dilara Aliyeva. In 2015, an English poetic translation by Lyn Coffin was published, combining literary achievement with academic precision. Today, unabridged editions are available in many languages: Abkhaz,
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
, Azerbaijanian, Bashkir,
Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...
, Bulgarian, Chechen,
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
, Chuvash,
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech ...
,
Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international commun ...
, Greek,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, Hungarian,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...
,
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
, Kazakh, Korean, Kurdish,
Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...
, Moldovan, Mongolian, Ossetian,
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
,
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...
, Slovak,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
, Turkmen,
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
, Hindi, and Uzbek. Among the translations, the 1989 Esperanto version by Zurab MakaŝviliZurab Makaŝvili: Kavaliro en tigra felo, Tbiliso 1989 and the 2015 English version by Lyn Coffin are notable not only for faithfully reproducing the content of the poem, but also for preserving the poetic structure of the epic in
shairi A ''shairi'' ( ka, შაირი, ), also known as Rustavelian quatrain, is the name of a particular poetic form, or a monorhymed quatrain. It was used by the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli in '' The Knight in the Panther's Skin''. It consists ...
(rhymed stanzas of four sixteen-syllable lines).


See also

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*
Babr-e Bayan Babr-e Bayān ( fa, بَبْرِ بَیان) or Palangina () is the name of a suit that Rostam, the legendary Iranian hero wore in wars. The suit had a number of preternatural features. It was invulnerable against fire, water and weapon. Its color w ...


References


Sources

*Nodar Asatiani & Alexandre Bendianashvili, ''Histoire de la Géorgie'', Paris, l'Harmattan, 1997 *A. G. Baramidze & D. M. Gamezardashvili, ''Georgian Literature'', Honolulu, University Press of the Pacific, 2001 (1st ed. 1968) *Gijs Koolemans Beynen, "Adultery and Death in Shota Rustaveli's The Man in the Panther Skin", Courtly Arts and the Arts of Courtliness, 2004 * * * Farshid Delshad, ''Studien zu den iranischen und semitischen Lehnwörtern im georgischen Nationalepos "Der Recke im Pantherfell"'', Iéna, 2002 *A. Khakhanoff, ''Abrégé de l'histoire et de la littérature géorgienne'', dans Raphaël Isarloff, Histoire de Géorgie, Paris - Tbilissi, Charles Noblet - Librairie de la société géorgienne de lettres, 1900 *M. Kveselava, ''Anthology of Georgian Poetry'', Honolulu, University Press of the Pacific, 2001 (1st ed. 1948) *Jean-Claude Polet, ''Patrimoine littéraire européen'', vol. 4a, Le Moyen Âge, de l'Oural à l'Atlantique. Littératures d'Europe orientale, De Boeck, 1993 *
Donald Rayfield Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about ...
, ''The Literature of Georgia'', Richmond, Curzon Press, 2000 (1st ed. 1994) * *Shota Rustaveli ''The Knight in the Panther Skin'', new translation by Lyn Coffin. Poezia Press, 2015 Tbilisi, Georgia *Kakha Shengelia, ''History of Georgia'', Tbilisi, Caucasus University Publishing House, 2001 * Marjory Scott Wardrop, ''The Man in the Panther's Skin: A Romantic Epic'' by Shota Rustaveli, Royal Asiatic Society, 1912 *Beynen, G. Koolemans. "Murder, Foul and Fair, in Shota Rustaveli's The Man in the Panther Skin," in Medieval and Early Modern Murder, Larissa Tracy, ed. (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2018), pp. 350-70. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight In The Panthers Skin, The Middle Georgian literature Epic poems in Georgian Medieval poetry 12th-century poems