Languages and Cultures of Eastern Christianity: Georgian

Stephen H. Rapp, Jr is an Associate Professor of History at Sam Houston State University, Texas, USA and Paul Crego is at the Library of Congress.

• Contents: Introduction; Bibliography; Part I Regional Contexts: Caucasia and Byzantium, Cyril Toumanoff; Unity and diversity in medieval Caucasia, 4th-11th centuries, Nina Garsoïan and Bernadette Martin-Hisard; The Chronicle of Hippolytus (of Rome) and the Georgian historian Leonti Mroveli, Korneli Kekelidze. Part II Christianization and Conversion: The Conversion of K'art'li: the Shatberdi Variant (Kek.Inst. S-1141), Stephen H. Rapp Jr and Paul Crego; St George and the Moon-God, Ivane Javaxishvili. Part III The Making of a 'National' Church:The place of Jerusalem in The Conversion of K'art'li, Michel van Esbroeck; The origin and development of the ecclesiastical autocephaly of Georgia, Michael Tarchnishvili. Part IV Martyrs, Monks and Ascetics: Martyrs, and martyria in the Gareja desert, Zaza Skhirtladze; From Tao-Klarjet'i to Athos: Georgian monks and socio-political realities, 9th-11th centuries, Bernadette Martin-Hisard; The role of Athos in the history of Georgian culture, Elene Metreveli. Part V Historiographical Literature: Four recensions of the 'Conversion of Georgia' (comparative study), Zaza Alexidze; Medieval Georgian historical literature 7th-15th centuries, Cyril Toumanoff. Part VI Kings, Queens, and Royal Authority: From Bumberazi to Basileus: writing cultural synthesis and dynastic change in medieval Georgia (K'art'li), Stephen H. Rapp Jr; Royal renewal in Georgia: the case of Queen Tamar, Antony Eastmond; Georgia in the reign of Giorgi the Brilliant (1314-1346), D.M. Lang; Index.

'These fifteen chapters provide an excellent introduction to the place of early and medieval Georgia in relation to the larger Caucasian world, and the comprehensive bibliographies give valuable help to those wishing to pursue further investigation.' Speculum