One aspect of Rustaveli’s worldview (The connection between the knight in The Knight in the Panther’s Skin and the tragedy of Prince Demna)

Abstract

The reality of the 12th century and the severe political crisis of the same era are carefully hidden in the allegorical stories created by Rustaveli. On the creative canvas, the poet’s contemporary historical processes take the form of allegories, metaphors and symbols. In our opinion, the poet envisions King George III [1156-1184] as the focus of Farsadan’s attention, while the character preceding Tariel represents Prince Demna (Demetre), the son of David V. In Georgian scholarly literature, the vices of the Indian king in The Knight in the Panther’s Skin have been repeatedly noted, but in this regard, research in this direction still remains relevant.
We believe that the reference to the beginning of the tale of India is especially important to confirm the proposed assumption. Farsadan, saddened by not having a son, views Tariel as the future ruler of all of India. He considers him the Lord of the country and army [“The King said: ‘I will raise him as my own son, he is of my own lineage’ (84, 313)], but after the birth of Nestan-Darejan, it seems that he changes his political decision and clearly states his position during the council about bringing a Khwarazmian groom. It is precisely at this point that it becomes clear that King Farsadan creates an insurmountable barrier for his ‘adopted son’ on the path to the Royal Throne.
The historical source of Stephanus Orbeliani, which provides a fertile ground for drawing parallels between the poem’s context and historical reality, seems quite valuable. A direct parallel can be made between the hero of the epos and the orphaning of Prince Demna, as well as the decision to raise him as a future king. According to the historical source, it is revealed that King George III convinced the nobles and Ioane Orbeli to support the idea of crowning his nephew as king. The same source also indicates that later, George III deceitfully went back on his promise to his brother. In this part, we find the historian’s distortion of the facts groundless, as in the poem, indirectly, though fictionally, a similar situation occurs. The coincidence between historical reality and the development of the poem’s plot is unlikely to be accidental. The historical and literary facts are that George-Farsadan is an autocratic king, while Demna-Tariel, raised in the family of an Amirspasalari, is a young man deceived by the King (his uncle), who does not realize the King’s deceit for a long time. The poet’s commentary on his contemporary era or tragedy, in our view, is covered by fiction context and the destruction of Demna (Demetre) Prince’s ability to inherit the male line of succession is depicted in the image of the crying lad with the black horse.