Biblical topoi, as markers, in the context of the „Book” of the first Christian King of Kartli

Abstract

Biblical topoi occupy a position of particular significance in medieval literature. Owing to their inherent recognizability, they function allusively, pointing to symbolic connections with universal spiritual, moral, and eschatological paradigms. As a result, the authorial narrative within a text that purports to convey historical realities assumes the character of a dialogic engagement with the biblical tradition. A narrative conceived within such a framework generates a distinctive chronotope, which, through the re-enactment of the past, integrates it with the present and the future and, by situating it within a chronotope of cosmic significance, deepens the hermeneutic interpretation of the narrative. Consequently, biblical topoi, as textual markers, are frequently employed by authors to articulate cultural and national identity as well.

At the same time, it should be noted that the structural, stylistic, and lexical configuration of biblical topoi—their clarity and congruence with the broader textual context—constitutes an important criterion for identifying the earliest and most authentic readings among the various redactional versions of a given medieval text and, accordingly, for determining the cultural-historical period in which works transmitted through later manuscripts were originally composed. From this perspective, our attention has been drawn to the “Book” attributed to Mirian, the first Christian king of Kartli, incorporated into the early redactions of The Life of Saint Nino, which presents the spiritual confession of a man who, having overcome paganism, partakes of the light of Christ.

Recent scholarship increasingly substantiates the view that The Life of Saint Nino, included within The Conversion of Kartli alongside the historical chronicle, must have been composed in the fourth century. However, the text as preserved in later manuscript copies (tenth–fourteenth centuries) is, for various reasons, more or less corrupted and transformed. From the most ancient strata of the work, the manuscripts have preserved the “Book” of King Mirian, composed at the threshold of death. Through the lexical and stylistic characteristics of its biblical topoi as textual markers, this section points not only to the cultural-historical epoch of the text’s composition but also, within the framework of its redactional variants, to readings that are earlier and closer to a proto-redaction.

A study of the “Book” of the first Christian king of Kartli from this perspective—an aspect that has hitherto not been the object of focused scholarly attention—has made it clear that the text in its original form has not been preserved in any single manuscript. Nevertheless, our observations suggest that the Shatberd redaction derives from a more authentic source.