Korneli Kekelidze ( ka, კორნელი კეკელიძე) (April 30, 1879 – June 7, 1962) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and Georgian

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...

, scholar of Georgian literature, and one of the founding fathers of the Tbilisi State University where he chaired the Department of the History of Old Georgian Literature from 1918 until his death. Kekelidze left a diverse literary and scholarly legacy that laid foundation for critical study of the Georgian literature. He discovered, studied and published several pieces of

Old Georgian Old Georgian (ႤႬႠჂ ႵႠႰႧႭჃႪႨ, ''enay kartuli'') was a literary language of the Georgian monarchies attested from the 5th century. The language remains in use as the liturgical language of the Georgian Orthodox Church and for ...

literature. His most influential work ''A History of Old Georgian Literature'' (ძველი ქართული ლიტერატურის ისტორია) went through four editions between 1923 and 1960. The magnitude of Kekelidze’s accomplishments was recognized by the naming of the Georgian Institute of Manuscripts in Tbilisi in his honor. Kekelidze became a member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences in 1941.

References

1879 births 1962 deaths 19th-century historians from Georgia (country) 20th-century historians from Georgia (country) People from Kutais Governorate Philologists from Georgia (country) Members of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences Tbilisi State University faculty Honoured Scientists of the Georgia (country) Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour {{Georgia-historian-stub