Shota Rustaveli
შოთა რუსთაველი
Poet · circa 1160s–circa early 13th century
Who is Shota Rustaveli?
Shota Rustaveli is celebrated as the national poet of Georgia and the author of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" (Vepkhistqaosani), the great epic poem of Georgian literature, believed to have been composed around the turn of the thirteenth century during the reign of Queen Tamar. Very little is reliably known about Rustaveli's own life; most biographical details come from later legend and tradition rather than contemporary record, and even his exact birth and death dates remain uncertain. The poem itself, a sweeping tale of chivalry, friendship, and love set in a partly imagined Arabia and India, is traditionally understood to be dedicated to Queen Tamar and reflects the humanist and courtly values of Georgia's medieval golden age. Its verses, written in a distinctive sixteen-syllable Georgian meter called shairi, became deeply woven into Georgian culture, and many of its lines survive today as everyday proverbs and sayings. The poem has been translated into dozens of languages and is regarded as one of the masterpieces of medieval world literature, securing Rustaveli's lasting place as Georgia's most revered literary figure.
Sources: UNESCO Memory of the World, manuscript collection of "Knight in the Panther's Skin" · Encyclopaedia Britannica, "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" · Marjory Wardrop (trans.), The Man in the Panther's Skin (1912)
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