New
Subjects and Space in Roman and Serbian Lands
Milan Vukašinović
£95.00
About this book
Explores the political aspects of sainthood, martyrdom and relics in late antique Caucasia
- The first systematic study of the history of the cult of saints and relics in Caucasia
- Introduces and discusses a wide variety of sources: Armenian, Georgian, Byzantine, and Russian, that have not been studied together before
- Offers an original approach on gender, sanctity and queenship in a less explored part of the world
- Aimed at a wide readership, not just specialists
- Includes maps and illustrations
From the early fourth century, the veneration of saints and relics spread rapidly across Christendom from the British Isles to Iran. In late antique Caucasia, the cult of the saints was immediately integrated into Armenian and Georgian identity and political discourses. It was used to legitimise royal rule, sanctify domains and dynasties, define political realms and justify political decisions. This book is the first systematic study of this history. Discussing a wide variety of sources from Armenia, Georgia, Byzantium and Russia which have not been examined together before, it investigates the interaction of sanctity, holy relics, gender and politics in the medieval Caucasus, with a particular focus on Georgia. Nikoloz Aleksidze analyses three chronological eras: the first section focuses on late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, when the cult of the relics was formed in Caucasian writing; the second explores the medieval era, when the Bagratids ruled in Georgia and the cults of figures such as St George, the Mother of God and Queen Tamar were shaped and politicised; and the third navigates a similar entanglement of sanctity, gender and political rhetoric in Russian Imperial and Georgian national discourse.
Reviews
It would be no overstatement to say that this work is an intrepid and refined endeavor to conceptualise the entire history of Georgia. [...] offers a novel perspective and an innovative approach to the conceptualisation of recurring narratives at the heart of Georgian historiography and history more broadly.
[Sanctity, Gender and Authority in Medieval Caucasia] is a serious and commendable contribution to the field. It unquestionably merits the attention of both specialists and a wider readership.
Nikoloz Aleksidze’s monograph offers a fascinating survey of the unique and crucial role of sainthood in Caucasian religion and national identity from medieval times to present times, demonstrating how the focus on "exceptional" individuals creates political legitimacy through popular interpretation of legend and history.
Table of contents
List of Illustrations AcknowledgementsA Note on Translations, Transliterations and References Introduction: The Cult of Saints and Body Politic ‘The Lot of the Mother of God’ ‘Martyrs for Faith and the Fatherland’ Tbilisi’s Saintly Topography Why This Book? The Saintly and the Feminine Sources Value AmbiguityException Text Structure Part IIntroduction to Part I: Late Antique Foundations 1 Saints at the Foundations 1.1 Saints and History: Eastern Roman Models 1.2 Materiality of History: Armenian Vision 1.3 Relics and Kingship 1.4 The farrah of the Kings 1.5 Hidden Treasure and Its Discoverers 1.6 The Treasure of a Christian King2 An Exceptional Saint for Exceptional Times: The Cult of St Nino 2.1 The k’adagi 2.2 ‘The Captive Who Captivates’ 2.3 The ‘Conversion’ 2.4 A ‘New’ History 2.5 From Multiplicity to Unity 2.6 From North to South 3 The Politics of Female Relics3.1 The Proto-Martyr 3.2 The Story 3.3 Reciprocity 3.4 The Political Life of Shushanik’s Body 3.5 Shushanik Revisited 3.6 The DebtConclusion to Part I: Relics, Gender and Politics in Late Antique Caucasia Part IIIntroduction to Part II: The Saintly World of the Bagratids 4 Masculinising Saints: The Bagratids 4.1 In the Presence of Martyrs 4.2 The New Kartli 4.3 The ‘Grand Narrative’4.4 An Old King for Modern Anxieties 4.5 St George 4.6 The Counterpart 5 The Lot(s) of the Mother of God 5.1 Sak’art’velo: A Project 5.2 The Family 5.3 Protector of Strangers 5.4 The Acquri Icon of the Mother of God 5.5 Women at the Margins 6 The Queen’s Three Bodies 6.1 The Two Queens 6.2 Theotokos’s Kin 6.3 The Two Crowns 6.4 A State of Exception 6.5 The Liminal Figure Conclusion to Part II: The Legacy and Myth of Queen Tamar Part IIIIntroduction to Part III: The Rhetoric of Gender and Sanctity from Imperialism to Nationalism 7 The Saints of the Empire 7.1 The Political Body of Queen Ketevan 7.2 Imperial Taking7.3 Imperial Giving 7.4 The Sacred and the Erotic 8 The Saints of the Nation 8.1 ‘The Glory of Georgia’ 8.2 Gender Problematised (Again) 8.3 Roads Old and New 8.4 A New Nino 9 The Sacred, the Feminine and the National 9.1 Guardians of the Borders: Saints and the Nation State 9.2 Blasphemy 9.3 Cilxvedri 9.4 The Witches of Independent Georgia Conclusion to Part III: The Modern Lives of Old SaintsFinal Remarks Bibliography Medieval Narrative Sources in Georgian Early Modern Georgian Literature Medieval Narrative Sources in Armenian Late Antique, Byzantine and Medieval Sources Early Modern Russian and Western Sources Collections of Medieval and Early Modern Documents Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Sources Anthologies of Poetry Online Databases Studies Index
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