Shota Rustaveli(Georgian შოთა რუსთაველი, 1160-1166-1216) - Georgian statesman and poet of the 12th century, author of the textbook epic poem “The Knight in the Tiger Skin” (translation option - “The Knight in the Leopard Skin”).
Biography
Biographical information about the poet is extremely scarce. He apparently received the nickname “Rustaveli” from his place of birth in the village of Rustavi. There were several geographical points with the name Rustavi in that era. According to some sources, the poet belonged to a famous family and was the owner of the Rustavi majorate.
Some information regarding the personality of Rustaveli can be gleaned from the introduction to his poem, which states that it was written in praise of Queen Tamara. In the final lines of “The Knight...” the poet declares that he is a Meskh. He studied in Greece, then was the treasury guard of Queen Tamara (his signature was found on an act of 1190). This was the time of Georgia's political power and the flourishing of lyric poetry at the magnificent court of the young queen, with signs of medieval knightly service.
Some historical data can be gleaned from the Synodic (memorial book) of the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem. A 13th century record mentions Shota, naming his position at court. In the monastery itself there is a fresco portrait (from the first half of the 13th century) of a nobleman in secular clothes, and the inscription there mentions “Rustaveli.” From this we can conclude that Rustaveli was a dignitary who provided great support to the monastery.
Familiar with the poems of Homer and the philosophy of Plato, theology, the principles of literature and rhetoric, Persian and Arabic literature, Rustaveli devoted himself to literary activity and wrote the poem “The Knight in the Tiger’s Skin,” the beauty and pride of Georgian writing. According to one legend, hopelessly in love with his mistress, he ended his life in a monastery cell. It is reported that Timothy, Metropolitan of Georgia in the 18th century, saw in Jerusalem, in the Church of St. The cross, built by the Georgian kings, the grave and the portrait of Rustaveli, in the hair shirt of the ascetic. According to another version, Rustaveli, in love with the queen, however, marries some Nina and soon after the wedding receives from the “lady of ideal worship” an order to translate into Georgian the literary gift presented to her by the defeated Shah. Having completed the assignment brilliantly, he refuses the reward for his work. A week after this, his headless corpse was found. To this day, there are many legends about Rustaveli and his relationship with Queen Tamara.
According to legend, Catholicos John, who patronized the poet during the life of the queen, then began the persecution of Rustaveli. According to legends, he went to Jerusalem, where he was buried, but these legends are not supported by facts.
Already in the 18th century, Patriarch Anthony I publicly burned several copies of “The Knight in the Tiger Skin,” printed in 1712 by King Vakhtang VI.
Translations
Complete translations of "The Knight in the Tiger's Skin" are available in German (Leist, "Der Mann im Tigerfelle", Leipzig, 1880), French ("La peau de léopard", 1885), English, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian, (“The Knight in the Tiger’s Skin”, 1937, Mykola Bazhan), Chinese, Kurdish, Persian, Japanese, Chuvash (2008, translated by Yukhma Mishsha), Hebrew, Hindi, etc. There are two full texts in Polish - translated in 1960 from the Russian translation by Nikolai Zabolotsky and translation from the Georgian original edition of King Vakhtang VI, carried out in 1976 by Jerzy Zagorsky. 
In Russian there are 5 complete poetic translations of the poem (Konstantin Balmont, 1933; Panteleimon Petrenko, 1937; Georgiy Tsagareli, 1937; Shalva Nutsubidze, 1937; Nikolai Zabolotsky, 1957) and dozens of its editions. There is also a line-by-line translation by S. G. Iordanishvili, which passed around in typewritten form for a long time until it was published in 1966 (in particular, N. Zabolotsky resorted to the help of this line-by-line translation).
From the 30s to the 80s of the 20th century, excerpts from the poem were often translated and published many times in all languages of the peoples of the USSR and the countries of the socialist camp.
Very little reliable biographical information has survived about the great Georgian poet Shota (presumably Ashot) Rustaveli. Even the years of his birth and death are unknown. Reasonable doubts are being expressed as to whether Shota Rustaveli existed at all.
The main source of information about the poet is the prologue of his poem, dedicated to Queen Tamar (c. 1166 - 1209 or 1213, reigned from 1184) and her co-ruler-husband David Soslan (? - 1207). The poem was created no earlier than the end of the 1180s and no later than the 1210s. It can be assumed that Rustaveli was born at the turn of the 1160s - 1170s.
This was the era of the greatest strengthening of the Georgian kingdom and the flourishing of its cultural life. The work of strengthening and expanding the borders and improving the economic situation of the state, begun under David the Builder, continued for more than a century and reached its full completion during the reign of Queen Tamar. Having ceased to be the object of invasions by the main forces of the Muslim world, drawn to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea by the Crusades, Georgia of the 12th century itself went on the offensive and expanded its borders to the east and south at the expense of neighboring countries.
* David IV the Builder (1073-1125) - King of Georgia since 1085. For the first time he united the scattered Georgian principalities into a centralized state. Canonized as a saint.
The queen's second husband, David Soslan, turned out to be a man of great initiative. During the joint reign of Tamar and David, Georgia achieved maximum prosperity. Agriculture flourished, roads and bridges were built, temples and fortresses were erected, and art was encouraged. The wealth accumulated as a result of victorious wars aroused a desire among the ruling class for a better life and luxury. It was under these conditions that the poem “The Knight in the Tiger’s Skin” appeared (we are accustomed to this name, a more accurate translation is “The Knight in the Leopard’s Skin”).
In the prologue of the poem it is said twice that its author is Rustaveli (Rustveli), which means “owner of the Rustavi estate” or “a native of Rustavi”. There are several places with this name in the Caucasus. In the official scientific literature, Rustavi, near Meskheti, is called Shota’s homeland, and as proof of this, the words from the text of the poem are cited: “Var Vinme Meskhi Melekse, Me Rustvelisad Amisa.” Today, all that remains of Rustavi is a small, crumbling fortress.
However, some researchers call the village of Rustav, which is near Tskhinvali, Shot’s homeland. True, most experts deny this, just as attempts to declare the birthplace of the great poet in Eret Rustavi, located east of Tbilisi, are rejected. There is another, and quite well-founded version, according to which the poet’s homeland is not known at all, but when Shota left the royal service, he received from Queen Tamar the Rustavisi estate, which had recently been confiscated from the conspirators of the princes Orbeli, after the name of this estate the poet made himself new nickname-surname.
It is alleged that Rustaveli had an older brother, Chakhrukhadze, now recognized as the second most important Georgian poet of the times of Queen Tamar. If we agree with this version, then their father was “Moheva”* Chakhrukh. Shota became interested in poetry under the influence of his older brother, which is why the latter kept his father’s surname, and the younger brother took the surname Rustaveli.
* Moheva - a court rank in charge of the military and defensive protection of all gorges in the state and the construction of fortresses and castles; it was a very large post at the royal court.
According to another version, Shota lost both his parents as a child, and was taken in by an elderly uncle.
According to indirect data, the future poet received his education first in his homeland, in Georgia, at the Gelati or Ikaltoi Academy, then continued in Greece - in Athens or Mount Olympus, where many Georgians studied at that time. It is believed that the poet traveled a lot around the world. This can be seen from the text of “Vityaz...”.
It is believed that Rustaveli served as state treasurer of Queen Tamar for several decades (his signature has been preserved on one of the acts dating back to 1190).
In old age, the poet, on the instructions of Queen Tamar, went to Palestine, where he was overtaken by death. Rustaveli took part in the restoration of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, destroyed by Sultan Saladin. The monastery was founded by Georgians back in the 5th century and for many centuries was the center of enlightenment in the Middle East. As a sign of gratitude for the restoration of the monastery, Shota himself was depicted kneeling on one of the columns of the monastery, wearing a red cloak; next to it there is an inscription in Old Georgian language “Rustaveli”. This served as the basis for the assertion that the great poet lived and was buried under the arches of the monastery.
One of the legends interprets the story of the last years of Rustaveli’s life differently. According to it, the poet, hopelessly in love with his mistress, went to Jerusalem, where he settled in a cell at the Monastery of the Holy Cross and after an unknown time died in it, or rather, one morning he was found with his throat cut or even his head cut off. Whether there was an investigation, whether the killer was found - history remains silent about this.
In general, the topic of Rustaveli’s murder is quite common in literature. There is even a version that the poet was secretly beheaded on the orders of Queen Tamar herself. Several reasons are given, but the most popular one claims that in “Vityaz...” the terrible secret of the Bagration family was revealed in an Aesopian language understandable to contemporaries. This is a little known story at the time. The son of David the Builder, King Demeter I, had two sons - David and George. David was supposed to inherit the throne, but his father loved George very much and thought about how to make him king. David knew about this and organized a conspiracy against his father. In 1155, the conspirators forced Demeter I to take monastic vows, and David V Bagration became king. Exactly six months later he was killed by conspirators led by Tsarevich George. However, Demeter I, who returned from the monastery to the throne, repented of his intrigues against his eldest son and recognized as his heir the son of the murdered man and his grandson, Prince Demna (an affectionate diminutive of Demeter). Demeter I himself became king-regent under the young Demna. Six months later, the old man died under very strange circumstances, presumably poisoned. The highest dignitaries of Georgia decided to temporarily crown George III as king, who publicly swore an oath to vacate the throne as soon as Demna reached adulthood. Catholicos Nicholas I (Gulaberisdze) and the princes of Orbeli were declared guarantors of the fulfillment of this oath. As soon as Demna was recognized as an adult, he married the daughter of Prince Ioane Orbeli, and the second most powerful family of Georgia demanded that George III return the throne to their new relative. The king refused. Then in 1177 they tried to overthrow him. The attack was unsuccessful - Georgy escaped. A short internecine war began, in which the king gained the upper hand. He immediately ordered the extermination of the entire Orbeli clan, including old men, women and infants. Tsarevich Demna had his eyes burned out, his genitals cut off and thrown into prison. George III died in 1185, and his daughter Tamar ascended the throne. Aunt Rusudan, who raised her as a child, had a huge influence on the girl. When in 1187 Tamar divorced her first husband, Russian Prince George (Yuri), and married the Ossetian David Soslan, Queen Rusudan demanded that David with his own hands kill the mutilated but only legitimate king Demna, who was languishing in the dungeon. Exiled fulfilled her will: the prince was subjected to severe torture, during which he died. The revelation of this secret in Aesopian language supposedly became the reason for the murder of Shota Rustaveli.
There is an Ossetian version of the origin and life of Shota Rustaveli. Georgians categorically deny it and consider it scientifically unfounded. Ossetians claim that the author of the poem “The Knight in the Skin of a Tiger” is David Soslan. There are still fierce disputes about the origins of Soslan himself, mainly from Georgian historians, who cannot agree that the husband of the most illustrious mistress of Georgia was not of royal blood, since the Ossetians in those days had no kings at all.
Some historians are trying to come up with a compromise. Some of them claim that Tamar’s second husband was brought up at the court of King George III and can be considered a member of the reigning house. Others argue that Soslan is the son of the Ossetian king, who in those days still existed in Ossetia, since the country was a major scientific and cultural center in the Caucasus. Moreover, they say that long before the birth of Rustaveli, members of the Bagrationi house moved to Ossetia, and from their descendants David Soslan descended.
The name Shota did not exist in Georgia before Rustaveli. This gave rise to Ossetian researchers to declare that it is a pseudonym made up of the first syllables of the names of the married couple Soslan (Shoshlan) and Tamar: SHO + TA = SHOTA. The name Soslan in North Ossetia is still pronounced with “Sh”. And the same “researchers” decipher the name Rustaveli even more funnily. The first husband of the queen was the son of Andrei Bogolyubsky, Prince George (Yuri), nicknamed George of Rus' in Georgia. He was expelled from the country, but he tried to regain his throne. Allegedly, it was during the period of this struggle for the crown (most likely there was no struggle) that the poem was created, and therefore the poet’s surname-pseudonym should be deciphered as follows: “rust” (“rusebs”, that is, “Russians”) + “velit” (“ bicycle debit”, that is, “we expect”). Together it turns out: “Soslan and Tamar are waiting for the Russians going to war in Georgia, and the enemy will be punished.” Undoubtedly, such an interpretation is bullshit, but nationalists entertain such nonsense quite seriously.
Doubts are also expressed as to whether Shota Rustaveli was the author of the poem in exactly the form in which readers admire it today. It is assumed that the story was written either in prose or in simple poetic form. Then Soslan instructed the court poet Meskhi Meleksa to rearrange the work in a sublime style. Meskhi had an excellent command of the pen, studied philosophy and knew the versification of Muslim countries, where poems were composed so beautifully. Georgia owes the “Knight in the Skin of a Tiger” to his talent.
David Soslan died in Georgia, and his ashes rest in Ossetia, in the village of Nuzal.
Queen Tamar survived her husband by several years. On the eve of her death, she forbade her to be buried in the courtyard of any monastery in Georgia. Tamar knew that someday not only Muslims, but also some Georgian didebuli (nobles) would certainly excavate and desecrate her grave. The queen was buried secretly, and the burial place has not been found to this day.
“The Knight in the Skin of the Tiger” is an outstanding epic work of the Caucasian Middle Ages. The poem reached us only in later copies, however, individual stanzas are found in manuscripts of the 14th-15th centuries; two quatrains are on the walls of the Vani monastery in Southern Georgia. The first complete copy of the poem dates from 1646.
A continuation of the poem called “Omaniani”, created by an unknown author, also comes from the Middle Ages.
The absence of the oldest copies of “The Knight...”, close to the time of the creation of the poem, is usually explained by the fact that over the centuries Georgia experienced many raids by foreign conquerors, during which both people and their property often died. In addition, Rustaveli’s great work was persecuted by the Georgian clergy as a work of a secular nature that was contrary to Christian humility. For a long time, lists of works were purposefully searched for and burned.
In the eyes of contemporary society, Rustaveli, obviously, was not a celebrity. Otherwise, his name would certainly have appeared on the pages of the historical chronicle of those times. The fame of the great poet came to him much later, centuries after his death.
At the very end of the 20th century, a unique fresco depicting the great poet was almost completely destroyed in the Monastery of the Holy Cross. This inscription and portrait were known to Georgian pilgrims and travelers of the Middle Ages, and in 1960, a Georgian scientific expedition cleared the portrait, which had been painted over after the monastery came into the possession of the Greek Patriarchate in the 17th century.
The monastic authorities of the late 20th century not only refused to comment on the fact of the destruction of a unique historical monument, but even tried to hide the loss and, upon discovering the destruction of the fresco, did not call the police. From now on, the appearance of monk Rustaveli was preserved only in archival video materials.
There are five complete translations of “The Knight in the Skin of the Tiger” into Russian. Translation authors: K.D. Balmont, P.A. Petrenko, G. Tsagareli, Sh. Nunubidze and N.A. Zabolotsky.
Introductory four lines
(from "The Knight in the Leopard's Skin")
He who created the vault of heaven, he who with miraculous power
The incorporeal spirit was given to people - this world was given to us as our inheritance.
We possess the limitless, the multifarious, the whole in different ways.
Each king is ours, in a practical face, his face is among the royal affairs.
God who created the world once. Every appearance here is from you.
Let me live with the thirst for love, let it drink deeply.
Let me, with passionate aspiration, live in languor until death,
The burden of the heart, with a light song, is easy to carry into another world.
Lion, who knows the shining sword, the shield and the flying spears,
The one whose hair is like a thicket, whose mouth is a ruby, Tamar, -
This forest of agate curls, and that fragrant ruby,
With repeated praise I will lift you into the radiance of enchantment.
Not with daily praises, but with bloody tears,
Like a prayer in a bright temple, I will praise her in verse.
I write with black amber, I draw with patterned reeds.
Whoever clings to repeated praises will receive a spear in his heart.
This is the queen's command, to sing to her eyelashes,
The tenderness of lips, lightning eyes and pearly teeth.
Cute appearance of the black-browed one. Lead anvil
A hard and harsh stone is crushed by well-aimed hands.
Oh, now I need words. May they remain in friendly relations.
Let the pearl melody ring. Tariel will meet with help.
The thought of him is in words of cherished, reminiscent greetings.
My pipe will sing to the three stars of the stars.
Sit down, you have matured the will from the cradle of the same destinies.
So I sang, Rustaveli, and a spear entered my heart.
Until now there was a coherent fairy tale, a quiet monotonous sound,
And now - diamond size, song, listen to it.
He who loves, who is in love, must be completely illuminated,
Young, fast, wise, must see dreams vigilantly,
To be victorious over enemies, to know what to express in words,
To entertain thoughts like moths - if not, he doesn’t like it.
Oh, to love! Love is a mystery, a light that clings unusually.
The light of that fire shines inexplicably, endlessly.
It’s not just a desire, it’s smoky, it’s decay.
There is a subtlety of discrimination here - when you hear, understand Me.
He who persists in the expected feeling will remain constant,
Unchanged, undeceitful, he will accept the oppression of separation.
He will accept anger, if necessary, sadness will be his joy.
The one who knew only the sweetness of a glance, only a caress, he does not love.
Who, burning with heart's blood, clung with longing to the headboard,
Will he call this easy game love?
To cling to one, to replace another, I call this a game.
If I love with my soul, I take on a whole world of sorrows.
Love is worthy only in that, loving, anxiously, sultryly,
Hiding the pain, it passes harmoniously, going into solitude, into sleep,
Only he dares to forget himself, fights, cries, flames,
And he is not timid of kings, but he is timid of love.
Bound by a fiery law, like walking in a green forest,
He will not betray the name of his dear one for shame with an indiscreet groan.
And, fleeing exposure, he will gladly accept torment,
Anything for my dear, even being burned, is a delight, not a misfortune.
Who can believe that he will put the name of his beloved
Into gossip? He worries both her and himself.
Once you slander, there is no glory in that, only a breath of poison.
He who is not wicked at heart protects love by loving.
I poured the tale of the Persians, their hints, into Georgian lines.
Valuable pearls were in the stream. The beauty of the depths is quiet.
But in the name of that beautiful one, before whom I am in passionate torture,
I squeezed the clear reflection of pearls into the frame of a verse.
The gaze, having once seen the light, is filled with eternal thirst
Be with your sweetheart every minute. I'm mad. I went out.
The whole body is burning again. Who will help? Only singing.
Threefold praise for the one in whom everything is a diamond.
What fate has given us, we should be pleased with it.
Invariably, no matter what, we love our native land.
The worker has work, the fighter has war to worry about.
If you love, then believe in love without counting, and burn in it.
Singing a chant in four lines is wisdom. Knowledge - for sure.
Who is from God, - he sings with authority, burnt out.
He will say a lot in few words. He will connect his spirit with the listener.
Thought will always respect the singer. The world is dominated by chanting.
How easily a free horse of a noble breed runs,
Just like a natural player hits the target with a ball,
So the poet in a complex poem will direct the untroubled course,
The tow will clearly spin the fabric as if impossible.
Inspirational - in the most difficult situations shines with emerald light,
Having burst out with a loud word, it will justify a strong verse.
The word of Georgia is powerful. If someone's heart is singing,
Shine will be born in a dark cloud, in the summer of carved lightning.
Whoever once puts together two or three lines, the song is sung,
Still, he has not yet flashed the poet’s flame.
Two or three songs, he is a putter, but when such a giver
He thinks that he really is the creator, he is just a stubborn mule.
And then, who knows the singing, who understands the poem,
But the heart does not know the piercing, burning, sharp words,
He is still a small hunter, and unprecedented in hunting,
With a belated arrow, he is not ready for big game.
And further. The melody of funny songs at the feast hour is wonderful.
The circle will close, cheerful, tight. These songs make us happy.
Truely sung at the same time. But only he is marked by light,
The one who sang the story for a long time will be called a poet.
The poet knows the score with effort. The gift of songs will not be thrown into dust.
And he orders everything to be an abundance of delight - her,
The one he calls love, before whom he will shine with newness,
Who, possessing his blood, orders him to sing louder.
Only for her is his grief. Let him hear that praise,
In whom have I found glory, in whom is my brilliant destiny.
Although cruel as a panther, my whole life and faith are in her,
I will later add this name to the current size with praise.
I sing about supreme love - unearthly and sinless.
It’s hard to sing a full-length verse about this, the words run out.
That Love, from a narrow share, rushes the soul into the heavenly expanse.
An unknown light sparkles in it, here it is only barely visible.
It's difficult to talk about this. Many wonders even to the wise
That Love. And here it is not sparse, - generous, - sing and sing.
There is no power to say everything about her. I’ll just say: earthly passions
They imitate it in part, igniting their own reflection.
In Arabic, whoever is in love is crazy. Just sleepy
He sees an unfulfilled dream leading away.
The nearness of God is therefore desirable. But that road is long.
These ones reach beauty right from the threshold.
I wonder why, without the right, what is a secret should be done openly.
Human thought is capricious. Why is love shameful?
Any deadline here is too early. The day will come, don't touch the fog.
Oh, love is a continuous wound. Does the wound need to be opened?
If the one who loves cries, that's all it means
That he hides the sting in himself. If you love, know silence.
And among the people, amid the noise, let there be one thought.
But beautifully, not gloomily, secretly, still love one.
Translation by K.D. Balmont
STORY ONE
About Rostevan, the Arab king
Lived in Arabia once
King from God, happy king -
Rostevan, fearless warrior
And the ruler is just.
Indulgent and generous,
Surrounded by loud glory,
Until old age he
He ruled his own country.
And I was at Rostevan’s
Daughter - Princess Tinatina.
And her beauty shone
Serene and innocent.
Like stars in a clear sky
The young eyes sparkled.
Having seen such beauty,
People were losing their minds.
The mighty king is calling
Their wise viziers.
Majestic and calm,
He makes them sit down.
Says: “Oh, how fragile
Everything is arranged in the world!
Let's sit down, friends, I need
In your friendly advice.
Here in my beautiful garden
The rose dries, fades,
But look, she's being replaced
Another one appears.
I lived in this world for a long time,
Now death is knocking on me, -
My daughter, from now on
Rules you like a queen."
But the nobles answered:
“Tsar, with the flawed moon,
No matter how the stars shine,
No one can compare.
Let in your beautiful garden
The rose is quietly fading -
Fading Rose
It smells sweetest of all.
But we agree with you.
Here's our solution:
Let him rule the country from now on
The one that is not more beautiful.
And intelligence and nobility
The girl is different.
Lion children are equal to each other
Whether it’s a lion cub or a lioness.”
In the palace among the courtiers
There was a handsome man named Avtandil,
Young military leader
A young warrior, full of strength.
He loved the princess for a long time
And now I was happier than everyone else,
Having heard that Tinatina
Reign on the throne.
Together with Vizier Sograt
He erected a magnificent throne for her,
And a crowd of noble Arabs
Gathered from all sides.
And the commander brought
The entire Arab squad,
To greet the queen -
Young Tinatina.
Here is Princess Tinatina
The father sat on the throne,
He gave her the royal scepter,
He put a crown on his head.
Trumpets sounded, cymbals
They thundered in front of the girl,
All the people bowed to her
And he called her queen.
Tinatina is crying, crying,
Tears flow from the eyes,
Tender cheeks are blushing
And they glow like roses.
“Oh, don't cry! - her father whispers to her. -
You are the queen, be calm:
Before the army and the people
It is unworthy to lament.
Like weeds and roses
The sun shines all year round.
Be the same sun as you
For slaves and masters.
Be fair and generous
As your soul tells you:
Generosity will increase fame
And it will tie hearts to you.”
Father's teachings
The obedient daughter listened
And the treasury from the dungeons
She ordered it to be taken out immediately.
Brought in large jugs
Hundreds of yachts, pearls,
And her Arabian horses
The groom led him out of the stables.
Tinatina smiled,
Got up from the table
I gave everything away to the people,
I gave away all the wealth,
Queen of glorious warriors
She ordered to give it gold.
The one who was hitherto poor
He left the palace rich.
The sun was approaching sunset.
The golden day faded.
The king thought, and down
He hung his head.
Avtandil said to Sograt:
“The king, apparently, was tired.
We need to come up with a joke
To make him happy."
Here they stand, feasting,
Pour a glass,
Smiling at each other
And they approach Rostevan.
Sograt says with a smile:
“O lord, what’s wrong with you?
Why is your face beautiful
Are you clouded with sadness?
You probably remember
About your treasures, -
Your daughter, without knowing the limits,
I distributed them to the people.
It would probably be better
Don't put her on the throne
Why waste the treasury?
Ruining the state."
“You are brave, vizier! - answering,
The Tsar Father laughed. -
Even the slanderer will not say
That the Arab king is a miser,
Remembering the past,
That's why I was upset
That no one knows military science
Didn't learn from me.
Listen, my brave vizier,
Listen, daughter Tinatin:
I had everything in this world,
God just didn’t give me a son.
My son would be equal to me,
And now by the will of God
Only one military leader
Looks a little like me."
Having heard the royal word,
Avtandil smiled.
“Why are you laughing, knight?” -
The king asked, frowning.
“Tsar,” answered the young knight, “
Make me a promise first
That you won't judge me
For an offensive confession.
King, you are in vain to boast
In front of the whole country,
That no one in military science
Can't compare to you.
I know it perfectly
All military science.
If you want, we'll argue
Who shoots more accurately with a bow?
Rostevan, laughing, exclaimed:
“I accept the brave challenge!
Let them have a competition
And then do whatever you want.
Apologize before it's too late
Otherwise, beaten by me,
You go through three days
With bare head."
The king was happy again
And he laughed and joked.
The vizier laughed with him
And brave Avtandil.
Seeing the king cheerful,
The guests instantly cheered up,
Again the dishes began to smoke,
The goblets began to hiss again.
And as soon as in the east
The radiance of the day spread,
Avtandil the military leader
He sat on a white horse.
Wrapped with a golden turban
There was a snowy brow
And the weapons thundered
Hitting the saddle.
Surrounded by arrows
A field opened up in front of him.
Between the bushes along the ravines
The animals jumped freely.
Squads of hunters in the distance
And dashing beaters
The ringing trumpets were blown
And they were driven towards them.
So the king appeared too
On his Arabian horse,
And the hunters bowed down
Before him in slavish respect.
And skilled assistants
The army galloped around him,
To count the animals killed
Or send arrows.
“Well, let's get to work! - the king exclaimed. -
We will strike easily and surely!”
Two arrows soared from the bows -
A goat and a chamois fell at once.
The dust swirled in pillars,
The horses rushed like the wind,
And the animals rushed
Scattered from the chase.
But more and more often the arrows struck,
The animals fell in the darkness,
There was a wild roar on the field,
Blood flowed along the ground.
Two hunters were flying
And, shooting while galloping,
Suddenly the horses stopped
On a rocky shore.
There was a field behind
Ahead there is a river and a forest.
Of the animals who remained alive,
He has now disappeared into the forest.
The king said: “My victory!
Hey, slaves, take the arrows." -
“Sir, my victory!” -
The brave hunter objected.
So, joking and bickering,
They stood above the river.
Meanwhile the animals were killed
The king's servants counted.
“Well, slaves, reveal the truth,”
The lord ordered them, -
Which one of us is in the competition?
Was there a winner?
“Sovereign,” the slaves said, “
Even if you kill us on the spot,
You are no match for Avtandil,
We will say this without flattery:
Many of your arrows today
Stuck into the ground, sticking out,
Avtandil is a commander
Shot without a miss in a row.”
The king, having heard this news,
I hugged the glorious fighter,
And the despondency disappeared
From a tired face.
The trumpets blew loudly,
And a fun hunt
Sat down under the trees,
Taking a break from the hike.
Translation by N.A. Zabolotsky
(late XII-early XIII century) Georgian poet and politician
Now it seems incredible that until the end of the 18th century, few people outside Georgia knew about the existence of the famous poem “Vepkhistkaosani” (“Knight in Tiger Skin”). And yet it is so. The first non-Georgian to read the poem was the Russian historian and bibliographer Metropolitan Evgeniy (Bolkhovitinov).
He was so shocked by what he read that he immediately put Rustaveli on a par with Ossian, Roland and the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” At the same time, the text he read was in no way similar to modern editions and translations. It was ponderous in style and was only a very rough interlinear translation.
Shota Rustaveli lived and worked in an era that is rightly called the “golden age” of Georgian culture. At this time, the country was not attacked from outside and was able to develop quietly for almost a century. Monasteries and cities were built in Georgia, writers and poets created their works, two philosophical academies were opened - Gelati in Colchis and Ikalto in Iveria.
Now we know that Rustaveli came from a family of rulers of the Meskhetian village of Rustavi. In those years, the city of Rustavi, which bore the name of the ruler, was a large and well-fortified settlement. Apparently, like many other young men from noble families, Shota received his education outside his homeland. Most likely, for this he went to Constantinople, and then to one of the Palestinian monasteries. It has now been proven that Shota Rustaveli visited Palestine several times and worked there for a long time on Greek manuscripts. He spent most of his life at the court of Queen Tamar, to whom he dedicated his poem.
During the time of Shota Rustaveli, the Georgian capital was a real cultural Mecca, where talented people from all over the Christian East flocked. Rustaveli held an important government post and for many years accompanied the queen on trips around Georgia. Some scientists even suggest that he was in love with the beautiful lady and enjoyed her mutual favor.
It was the latter circumstance that apparently served as the reason for Rustaveli’s sudden removal from court circles, after which he moved to his estate, and then completely left Georgia, again going to Palestine.
Shota Rustaveli settled in the Cross Monastery, founded by immigrants from Georgia back in the 5th century AD. Shota spent quite a lot of time within its walls. It is known that he made significant donations to restore the monastery destroyed after the Crusader invasion. When he died, the grateful monks captured his image on a fresco painted on one of the columns of the monastery cathedral. Already in our time, an expedition of Georgian scientists discovered this fresco and an extensive caption to it. They made a copy of the fresco and delivered it to Georgia, where it finally became known what Rustaveli really looked like. He was a handsome, tall man with a clear, open look.
His poem is based on the ancient Georgian legend about the exploits and adventures of the knight Tariel. He fights for the possession of the beautiful princess Nestan-Darejan.
Shota Rustaveli knew well not only Georgian folklore, and therefore his poem is a kind of mosaic of Georgian, Greek and Oriental motifs. Heartfelt romantic scenes alternate with majestic descriptions of battles, and the titanic exploits of the heroes with very realistic descriptions of everyday life. Rustaveli builds a dynamic romantic plot that maintains the reader's interest until the last page of the poem.
The work presents the whole world of medieval man. From the sumptuously decorated royal palace we are transported to the streets of a seaside city, and from the harsh cellars of the fortress we emerge into the open spaces of fields, where hunters rush after their game with whistles and whoops.
The poet was far ahead of his time. Shota Rustaveli had a cool attitude towards Christian ideology, he even dared to criticize it. The heroes pray to the planets and worship the Greek gods. But the main thing is that not a single character shows humility and submission to fate. On the contrary, all the heroes actively struggle with difficulties, overcome them and achieve their goals. Therefore, the circulation of the first printed edition of the poem, which appeared in 1712, was publicly drowned in Kura by order of the Georgian patriarch. Nevertheless, today almost every resident of Georgia knows the text of Rustaveli’s poem by heart. Immediately after writing, it was distributed not only in the form of handwritten lists, but also in numerous oral retellings under the name “Tarieliani”.
It should also be emphasized that it was Rustaveli who became the founder of the new Georgian literary language, which later became national.
Shota Rustaveli's book is more than just reading. The attitude of the Georgian people towards it is rather reminiscent of worship before the sacred text. Like the Holy Scriptures, it was given to newlyweds for weddings and passed on to descendants as the most precious inheritance. There is a known case when a father, dissatisfied with his son, took away the text of a poem given to him in childhood as a sign of censure.
Shota Rustaveli's poem is still interesting today, because it tells about beautiful, bright and pure love, for the sake of which the hero overcomes various difficulties and accomplishes unimaginable feats. It has been translated into many languages of the world, including Russian. Excellent translations belong to
In this article you can find out all the answers in the game “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” for October 14, 2017 (10/14/2017). First, you can see the questions asked to the players by Dmitry Dibrov, and then all the correct answers in today's intellectual television game “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” for 10/14/2017.
Questions for the first pair of players
Alexander Rosenbaum and Leonid Yakubovich (200,000 - 200,000 rubles)
1. What do you call a driver who travels long distances?
2. What effect is said to have from buying an expensive item?
3. What is the name of the piglet, the hero of the popular cartoon?
4. How did the slogan of the socialist era end: “The current generation of Soviet people will live...”?
5. According to the laws of physics, what does the lifting force act on?
6. What is the name of the property warehouse in a military unit?
7. What part of ginger is most often used in cooking?
8. How many millimeters are in a kilometer?
9. What “flared up” in the verses from the film “Jolly Fellows”?
10. Where are the ashes of the American astronomer Eugene Shoemaker?
11. To what pain did the poet Gerich Heine compare love?
12. What position did Shota Rustaveli hold at the court of Queen Tamara?
Questions for the second pair of players
Vera Brezhneva and Alexander Revva (200,000 - 0 rubles)
1. Where do you usually put jam during tea drinking?
2. What do they say: “Not the light of day”?
3. What card suit is often called “hearts”?
4. What are the types of online data stores?
5. What became the home of the heroes of the famous Beatles song?
6. What was not used for writing in the past?
7. What does the silverback spider fill its underwater nest with?
8. What liquid is not usually poured into?
9. What could Doctor Strange's cloak, the hero of movies and comics, do?
10. Which of these poetic forms has the smallest number of lines?
11. Who is not depicted on the coat of arms of Iceland?
Answers to questions from the first pair of players
- truck driver
- hits your pocket
- Funtik
- under communism
- airplane wing
- capter
- root
- million
- on the moon
- with dental
- treasurer
Answers to questions from the second pair of players
- into the socket
- about early morning
- hearts
- cloudy
- yellow Submarine
- bumazea
- air bubbles
- into the tube
- fly
- quatrain
- polar bear
Shota Rustaveli (Georgian: შოთა რუსთაველი, circa 1172-1216) - Georgian statesman and poet of the 12th century, author of the textbook epic poem “The Knight in the Skin of a Tiger.”
Biographical information about the poet is extremely scarce. He apparently received the nickname “Rustaveli” from his place of birth in the village of Rustavi.
There were several geographical points with the name Rustavi in that era. According to some sources, the poet belonged to a famous family and was the owner of the Rustavi majorate.
Some information regarding the personality of Rustaveli can be gleaned from the introduction to his poem, which states that it was written in praise of Queen Tamara. In the final lines of “The Knight...” the poet declares that he is a Meskh.
He studied in Greece, then was the treasury guard of Queen Tamara (his signature was found on an act of 1190). This was the time of Georgia's political power and the flourishing of lyric poetry at the magnificent court of the young queen, with signs of medieval knightly service.
Some historical data can be gleaned from the Synodic (memorial book) of the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem.
A 13th century record mentions Shota, naming his position at court.
In the monastery itself there is a fresco portrait (from the first half of the 13th century) of a nobleman in secular clothes, and the inscription there mentions “Rustaveli.” From this we can conclude that Rustaveli was a dignitary who provided great support to the monastery.
Familiar with poems and philosophy, theology, the beginnings of poetry and rhetoric, Persian and Arabic literature, Rustaveli devoted himself to literary activity and wrote the poem “The Knight in the Skin of a Tiger,” the beauty and pride of Georgian writing. According to one legend, hopelessly in love with his mistress, he ended his life in a monastery cell.
It is reported that Timothy, Metropolitan of Georgia in the 18th century, saw in Jerusalem, in the Church of St. The cross, built by the Georgian kings, the grave and the portrait of Rustaveli, in the hair shirt of the ascetic.
According to another version, Rustaveli, in love with the queen, however, marries some Nina and soon after the wedding receives from the “lady of ideal worship” an order to translate into Georgian the literary gift presented to her by the defeated Shah.
Having completed the assignment brilliantly, he refuses the reward for his work. A week after this, his headless corpse was found. To this day, there are many legends about Rustaveli and his relationship with Queen Tamara.
According to legend, Catholicos John, who patronized the poet during the life of the queen, then began the persecution of Rustaveli. According to legends, he went to Jerusalem, where he was buried, but these legends are not supported by facts.
Already in the 18th century, Patriarch Anthony I publicly burned several copies of “The Knight in the Tiger Skin,” printed in 1712 by King Vakhtang VI.