In the history of Georgia there are individuals whose life path is of interest not only to historians, but also to ordinary people. One of them is Shota Rustaveli, whose activity and creativity dates back to the 12th century, when the Georgian kingdom under the rule of Queen Tamara experienced a period of prosperity.

If you drive the phrase “biography of Shota Rustaveli” into a search engine, there will be little information. Even the date of his birth and death is not exactly known. However, some information is still preserved.

Childhood and origin

Historians and biographers have not come to an unambiguous opinion in what year the author of The Knight in the Panther's Skin was born. Some call 1160, other sources indicate 1172.

Not only the date of birth is controversial, there is no reliable information about the origin of Shota Rustaveli. Some historians claim that he was born into a wealthy and influential family. There is no unequivocal confirmation of this - Shota did not advertise his origin.

A more plausible version is that the Rustaveli family lived in poverty and in early childhood he was given to the upbringing of rich nobles (most researchers of the poet's life are sure that they were Bagrationi).

Shota received a good education, he studied at the monastery of Meskheti, then continued his studies in Greece (where exactly is unknown). He studied the works of Plato and the work of Homer, and also got acquainted with the literary heritage of Persia and the Arab people. He was fluent in several languages, including Latin and Greek, versed in rhetoric and theology.

The name of the poet has also become a subject of controversy. Historians associate its origin with the area where Shota was born - the village of Rustavi. But in those days there was more than one settlement with that name in Georgia. Others adhere to the theory that this was the nickname of his father, the owner of the Rustavi Majorate.

Shota Rustaveli himself in his immortal work says that he belongs to the Meskh ethnic group. Historians suggest that Shota thought so because he communicated with representatives of this nationality and they had a considerable influence on him.

literary heritage

Shota Rustaveli's main legacy is The Knight in the Panther's Skin. This is not the only literary work of the poet, but only he has survived to our times. The manuscript was rewritten several times and has come down to us only in an edited version.

The work consists of three parts:

• Introduction, where the poet praises Tamara and asks the Almighty for help;
• the main part devoted to the theme of love and friendship;
• conclusion, denouement.

The action in the poem takes place over a vast territory, it mentions fictional peoples and animals. But at the same time, the situation in Georgia during the life of Rustaveli is described. Researchers believe that the poet based the work on folk art. In this vein, he is compared with Shakespeare and Goethe.

The poem is about the daughter of Tsar Rostevan, who, having no sons, decides to transfer the crown to her. The girl, Tinatin, is secretly in love with her father's commander, Avtandil. Avtandil and the king on a hunt one day meet a man dressed in a tiger skin. He interested Rostevan and he wanted to know his story. But the stranger disappeared and Avtandil, at the request of his beloved, went in search of him.

As a result, he finds a stranger and learns his sad story. He was in love with the daughter of the ruler of Hindustan, but they were separated and now the lover is looking for the princess. Avtandil is imbued with the story of Tariel (the stranger) and decides to help him in his search. Together they experienced many adventures, as a result of which the lovers were reunited.

State activity and personal life

Shota was appointed treasurer of Georgia at the direction of Queen Tamara, with whom the poet was in love. After writing the poem, he was appointed the royal librarian and presented with a golden pen - a token of appreciation for his contribution to the literary heritage.

However, this did not last long. Tamara heard about the tender feelings of the poet and fell into a rage. Rustaveli had to flee to Jerusalem.

Another reason for the escape is called the marriage of Tamara with the prince of Ossetia. As a result of this union, children were born and Shota could not watch the happiness of his beloved with another.

He was sheltered in the monastery of the Holy Cross. In gratitude for the warm welcome, Shota decorated the walls of the monastery with stunning frescoes, among which was his self-portrait. The work was destroyed at the beginning of the XXI century.

The death of the poet is shrouded in mystery. Its date is not known for certain, as is the reason. The legend says that Tamara ordered him to translate the poem presented to her as a gift by the Persian ruler. The poet complied with the order, but refused the money, and a week later his headless body was discovered.

But these are unconfirmed legends. Researchers are inclined to believe that Rustaveli's life ended in the monastery, which is confirmed by the tombstone installed in the kharma.

Under the control of the famous Georgian Queen Tamara. It was a time when great Georgia was known all over the world - a small state on the Black Sea coast was respected even by stronger and more powerful neighbors. One of the most respected statesmen at that time was Shota Rustaveli.

Biography

There are practically no official sources telling about the early childhood of the great poet.

He was born at the turn of the 60-70s of the 12th century. It was not possible to determine the place of birth - most likely, the word "Rustaveli" is not a surname, but indicates the area in which Shota was born. The name "Rustavi" was carried by several settlements located in various regions of Georgia.

The origin of the future poet also remains a mystery. According to some sources, Shota Rustaveli was born into a wealthy and influential family. Then the question arises as to why such a brilliant person hid his family name? It looks more logical to guess that he was born into a poor family, but for his abilities he was taken to the house of one of the Georgian nobles, probably Bagrationi.

The information about the good upbringing that Shota received is almost reliable: he spent his early years in one of the monasteries of Meskheti, and then studied in Greece, was fluent in Greek and Latin, studied the heritage of Homer and Plato, theology, the foundations of poetics and rhetoric. This knowledge was useful to him in the public service.

Georgia in the 12th century

The period of government is not in vain called the golden age of the Georgian state. This woman united small specific principalities into one big country. The reign of an intelligent and well-educated monarch led to the flourishing of the culture and writing of ancient Georgia, to the creation of new literary works, which rightfully took their place in the list of world literary monuments of the past. In addition to the great Rustaveli, such poets as Shavteli and Chakhrukadze created their works at the court of Tamara, whose odes, singing Queen Tamara, have partially survived to this day. Such an environment quickly provided a literary take-off for the young poet, and Shota Rustaveli was able to please the world with his immortal work.

Creation of a poem

Somewhere between 1187 and 1207, Shota Rustaveli created his poem "The Knight in the Tiger (Leopard) Skin". The action of the poem takes place over a large geographical area, and among the characters of the poem there are representatives of non-existent countries and nationalities. Skillfully using a variety of author truthfully portrayed the multi-level reality of contemporary Georgia. The heroine of the poem is waiting for marriage with the unloved. She refuses to marry him, for which cruel relatives imprison her in the Kadzhet tower. Three twin knights fight for her freedom and in the end the girl is released. This literary monument exalts the victory of goodness and justice over envy and bondage.

The text contains several historical and literary indications of the allegorical meaning of the poem, as well as indirect indications of the period of creation of this literary work. The prologue sings of Tamara's reign and her love for David Soslan. In the final stanzas, the poet mourns the death of the queen, there is also a hint at the authorship of Shota Rustaveli - it is indicated that the author of these lines is "an unknown Meskh from Rustavi."

public service

The poem was highly appreciated by contemporaries. The author receives the position of the royal librarian. Tamara gives him a golden pen, which was awarded to Shota Rustaveli for his literary contribution. The biography of the poet mentions that a gift of a golden pen should always be in the librarian's hat. It was considered a sign of his learning, literary talent and personal favor of the queen. This pen accompanies Shota Rustaveli everywhere - photos taken from ancient frescoes prove that the poet always wore this insignia.

Days in Jerusalem

Gradually, admiration for the brilliant Tamara grew into a deeper feeling. When the queen found out about this feeling, Rustaveli fell out of favor. The poet was forced to flee to Jerusalem.

There, most likely, he took monastic vows in the monastery of the Holy Cross and, in gratitude for the shelter, painted the walls of the ancient temple with wonderful frescoes, reminding him of his distant homeland. The Georgian poet also died there. The monastic brothers did not forget about the significant role of the poet - his gravestone is decorated with the inscription "Shota Rustaveli - Georgian statesman (vizir)". There is also an image of Rustaveli in elegant Georgian clothes and with corresponding inscriptions in Georgian. In the inscription, the poet asks God to be merciful to him and forgive him all his sins.

Shota Rustaveli is an outstanding Georgian poet.

Biography

Rustaveli was born in 1172 AD (other sources call the figure 1160).

At this time, Georgia was experiencing an economic and cultural upsurge, and many outstanding writers and poets appeared.

According to some reports, Shota was the owner of the Rustavi Majorate, and came from the village of Rustavi. There is little information about Shota. It is believed that his real name was Ashot.

At first he was educated in Greece, then he worked as a treasury guard at the court of Queen Tamara. It is known that he patronized the Jerusalem monastery, and painted frescoes for it.

Shota was talented in many areas and many people took advantage of what he did. Shota knew the work of Homer, re-read the entire Odyssey and the Iliad. Persian and Arabic literature was a familiar phenomenon to him.

The main poetic work that he created is considered to be "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" (or "The Knight in the Panther's Skin").

Shota Rustaveli's relationship with Tamara

The legendary Queen Tamara was then young, and energetically led the country. One of the legends says that because of her, Shota Rustaveli became a monk, as she did not return his love feelings. Another legend says that Shota, after leaving the post of Tamara's treasurer, nevertheless got married, but did not live long after that.

So, immediately after the wedding, he received an order personally from Tamara to translate the Persian poem into Georgian. The poem was presented to her by the Shah of Persia. Shota did the job but refused to accept the award. A week later, his corpse was found without a head. It is not clear who was responsible for his death.

There is also a third legend. Shota outlived Tamara, but became strongly at enmity with the Catholicos John. He subjected him to disgrace. Because of this, Shota left for Jerusalem, where he spent the rest of his life. He died about 1216.

Creativity of the poet

The main work of the poet is the poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin". The poet's contemporaries and his followers highly valued his work. The poem glorifies the best qualities of the Georgian people. But he largely follows the lyrical traditions of folk poetry.

Its main characters - Tariel and Avtandil - are courageous heroes, defenders of Georgia and its people. And at the same time, they experience the best feelings towards their beloved - Nestan-Darejan and Tinatin.

Tariel walks in a tiger skin. She reminds him of the battle with the tigress, whom he first freed from the lion. He counted on gratitude, but in return the tigress attacked him. Then Tariel killed her, and began to wear a tiger skin in memory of this duel.

The poet in his work shows a noble humane attitude towards a woman. His statement about the equality of men and women is closer to the ideals of the Renaissance than to the Middle Ages. The poem contains many aphorisms that have gained immense popularity. They were quoted by many poets and representatives of the people.

The poem has been translated into many languages. In 1845, the first translation of the poem into Russian was made. Then others followed. Illustrations for editions of the poem were created by such poets as Lado Gudiashvili and Sergey Kobuladze. They gave readers the opportunity to learn more about the heroes of the poem, recreated the spirit of the era. And now it makes sense to re-read the great immortal creation of Shota Rustaveli.

Shota Rustaveli- an outstanding Georgian poet, statesman, author of the greatest literary monument - the poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin". Data on his life path are few and not confirmed by historical documents. It is believed that he was born around 1172 (other sources give the figures 1160-1166). Most likely, Rustaveli's nickname was associated with his small homeland - the village of Rustavi, of which there were several with this name at that time. It is possible that he was a descendant of a famous old family and was the owner of the Rustavi Majorate.

It is known that he was educated in Greece, was the state treasurer at the court of Queen Tamara. At that time, Georgia was a politically powerful state in which art flourished at the court, including lyric poetry, which had signs of knightly service. In the Georgian Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, there is a fresco portrait depicting a nobleman in secular clothes with the inscription under the portrait "Rustaveli". This gives reason to believe that Rustaveli was a nobleman and supported the monastery.

Shota Rustaveli was not only a wonderful poet, but also an excellent restorer and artist. The aforementioned Jerusalem monastery was renovated and painted by him. Nevertheless, in the world culture the name of Rustaveli is associated, first of all, with his poetry. It was in writing that he found his calling. His work was aided by his knowledge of Arabic and Persian literature, the basics of rhetoric and rhetoric, theology, familiarity with Platonic philosophy and Homeric writings. Rustaveli's lyrical poetry is characterized by aphorism and metaphor. A real masterpiece of not only national, but also world literature is the poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" - a hymn to patriotism, service to the fatherland, friendship and love.

There is no reliable information about the death of Shota Rustaveli, as well as about many other things in his biography. Became the object of numerous legends and the relationship of the poet with Queen Tamara. One of the legends says that an unrequited feeling for her led Rustaveli to a monastic cell. Another legend claims that, despite his love for the queen, Rustaveli got married, and some time after the wedding, Queen Tamara ordered him to translate into Georgian a literary gift - a poem that the shah presented to her. The refusal of an award for a job well done cost him his life: a week later, his decapitated corpse was discovered. There is also such a legend that after the death of Queen Tamara, Rustaveli was disgraced by the Catholicos John, who had previously patronized him. This forced the poet to go to Jerusalem, where he spent the rest of his life. He is believed to have died around 1216.

Biography from Wikipedia

Shota Rustaveli(Georgian შოთა რუსთაველი, about 1172-1216) - Georgian statesman and poet of the XII century. He is considered the author of the textbook epic poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" (translated as "The Knight in the Panther's Skin").

Biographical information about the poet is extremely scarce. There is a widespread version that his surname is derived from the village of Rustavi, where he was allegedly born, and some see the location of the village of Rustavi near Akhaltsikhe, others in Karayazi.

Meanwhile, Shota himself writes his last name not "Rustaveli", but "Rustveli"; this may indicate that Shota does not come from a specific village of Rustavi. There were several geographical points with the name Rustavi in ​​that era.

There is also a version that Rustaveli is more of a nickname that Shota's father received, who allegedly owned the Rustavi primate and came from an influential wealthy family; the real name of the poet is different.

Until now, exact data on the dates of birth and death of the poet, his origins, and many places in his biography are unknown. Almost nothing is known about Rustaveli's father; there are no reliable facts that Rustaveli had brothers and/or sisters; nothing is known about the mother. And although in the final lines of The Knight in the Panther's Skin the poet declares that he is a Meskh, this in no way allows us to confidently speak about Shota's Meskhetian origin. It is likely that he could make such a statement under the influence of the environment, as happened with some famous people.

He studied in Greece, then was the guardian of Queen Tamara (his signature was found on the act of 1190). It was the time of the political power of Georgia and the flourishing of lyric poetry in the magnificent court of the young queen, with signs of medieval knighthood.

Some historical data can be gleaned from the Synodik (commemoration book) of the Cross Monastery in Jerusalem. A 13th-century entry mentions Shota, naming his position at court. In the monastery itself there is a fresco portrait (of the first half of the 13th century) of a nobleman in secular clothes, and the inscription there also mentions “Rustaveli”. From this we can conclude that Rustaveli was a dignitary who provided major support to the monastery.

Familiar with the poems of Homer and the philosophy of Plato, theology, the beginnings of piitika and rhetoric, Persian and Arabic literature, Rustaveli devoted himself to literary activity and wrote the poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin", the beauty and pride of Georgian writing. According to one legend, hopelessly in love with his mistress, he ended his life in a monastery cell. It is reported that Timothy, Metropolitan of Georgia in the 18th century, saw in Jerusalem, in the church of St. Cross, built by the Georgian kings, the grave and portrait of Rustaveli, in the sackcloth of the ascetic. According to another version, Rustaveli, in love with the queen, marries, however, some Nina and soon after the wedding receives an order from the “lady of ideal worship” to translate into Georgian the literary gift presented to her by the defeated shah. Brilliantly fulfilling the order, he refuses the reward for his work. A week later, his headless corpse was found. Until now, there are many legends about Rustaveli and his relationship with Queen Tamara.

According to legend, Catholicos John, who during the life of the queen patronized the poet, after that began the persecution of Rustaveli. According to legend, he went to Jerusalem, where he is buried, but these traditions are not supported by facts.

Already in the 18th century, Patriarch Anthony I publicly burned several copies of The Knight in the Panther's Skin, printed in 1712 by Tsar Vakhtang VI.

Poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" Shota Rustaveli's pen is a phenomenon for all world literature, because the values ​​that the poet defends are dear to everyone: this is loyalty to the word and friendship, courage, love.

Translations

Complete translations of The Knight in the Panther's Skin are available in Russian, German (Leist, "Der Mann im Tigerfelle", Leipzig, 1880), French ("La peau de léopard", 1885), English, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Ossetian, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian (“The Knight in the Panther's Skin”, 1937, Mikola Bazhan), Chinese, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Persian, Japanese, Chuvash (2008, translated by Yukhma Mishshi), Hebrew, Hindi, etc. There are two full texts - translated in 1960 from the Russian translation by Nikolai Zabolotsky and translated from the Georgian original of the edition of King Vakhtang VI, carried out in 1976 by Jerzy Zagorsky.

There are 5 complete poetic translations of the poem in Russian (Konstantin Balmont, 1933; Panteleimon Petrenko, 1937; Georgy Tsagareli, 1937; Shalva Nutsubidze, 1937; Nikolai Zabolotsky, 1957) and dozens of its editions. There is also a line-by-line translation by S. G. Iordanishvili, which for a long time went from hand to hand in typewritten form, until it was published in 1966 (N. Zabolotsky, in particular, resorted to this interline translation), reprinted in 2015 with detailed comments and accompanying articles.

From the 1930s to the 1980s, excerpts from the poem were often translated and published many times in all languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR and the countries of the socialist camp.

Memory

• The name of Rustaveli was given to the Georgian Drama Theatre, the Theater Institute in Tbilisi, the Research Institute of Georgian Literature of the Georgian Academy of Sciences. In the USSR, the name was given to the Batumi State Pedagogical Institute.
• Named after Rustaveli:
  • Main avenue, airport and metro station in Tbilisi;
  • A street in the center of Yerevan, as well as many streets in many cities in Georgia and the former Soviet Union. For example, the central streets of Kiev, Bishkek, Tashkent and Kharkov, Lvov, outlying streets in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vladikavkaz, Omsk, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Tula, Rostov-on-Don, Stavropol, Karaganda, Mariupol, Odessa and Sumy bear the name Shota Rustaveli

Georgian literature

Shota Rustaveli

Biography

RUSTAVELI (RUSTVELI), SHOTA - the great Georgian poet-humanist, who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

Biographical information about Rustaveli is very scarce: the exact dates of his birth and death are unknown, there is almost no reliable historical data on the main events of his life, and other works written by him have not been preserved. Even his real name is controversial. Rustaveli is not a surname, this word indicates that a person who calls himself that was somehow connected with a geographical point called Rustavi: he could be from there, could also be a feudal lord who owned a city and a fortress under that name, or even spiritual face - the Bishop of Rustavi.

There are many legends about the life of Rustaveli, which, to some extent, reflect the actual events of his life. There were several geographical points with the name Rustavi in ​​that era. Folk legend links Rustaveli's name to Rustavi in ​​Southern Georgia. Some information about Rustaveli's personality can be gleaned from the introduction to his poem, which indicates that it was written to praise Queen Tamara: this is to some extent an indicator of the author's social status. Some historical data can be gleaned from the Synodik (commemoration book) of the Cross Monastery in Jerusalem. 13th century entry mentions Shot, naming his position at court. In the monastery itself there is a fresco portrait (translated from the middle of the 13th century) of a nobleman in secular clothes, and the inscription there also mentions "Rustaveli". From this we can conclude that Rustaveli was a dignitary who provided great support to the monastery, thanks to which he was depicted on a fresco and his name was included in the Synodik. The inscription and the portrait were known to Georgian pilgrims and travelers of the Middle Ages, and in 1960 a Georgian scientific expedition cleared the portrait, which had been painted over after the monastery had passed into the possession of the Greek Patriarchate. Folk legends call unrequited love for Queen Tamara the reason for Rustaveli's tonsure as a monk; according to legend, he went to Jerusalem, where he was buried, but these traditions are not supported by facts. Poets of the 17th-18th centuries, mentioning the poet, also called his name - Shota.

The poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin is the only work of Rustaveli that has come down to us, and then in later lists; individual stanzas are found in manuscripts of the 14th and 15th centuries, two quatrains are found on the walls of the Vani monastery in southern Georgia, but complete lists are available only from the 16th-17th centuries, and the first dated manuscript is 1646.

At present, there are about 150 lists, and in all of them there are many distortions, corrections made by scribes, insertions, etc. The interpretation of the title of the poem is also controversial. The name of the predator, whose skin is thrown over the shoulders of the hero, earlier in Georgian meant "leopard", later - both "leopard" and "tiger". Since the action in the poem takes place in a conditional eastern environment and other animals and birds that are not found in the fauna of Georgia are mentioned in it, the different understanding of the name, which is reflected in the translations of the poem into various languages, is also understandable.

The work is divided into three parts: an introduction, a narrative part and a brief epilogue. The introduction provides significant material for understanding the religious-philosophical and artistic-aesthetic worldview of Rustaveli. At the very beginning, he turns to the creator of the universe with a request for help, then follows the mention of Queen Tamara, for whose praise, according to Rustaveli, the poem was written. This is followed by a judgment about poetry, which the author considers a divine gift and an integral part of wisdom. After listing the various types of poetry, he prefers the epic genre. Here he expresses his judgment about love. This feeling is quite earthly, but it elevates a person, requires constancy, fidelity, restraint and self-sacrifice from him. The poem itself is an artistic embodiment of the author's concept.

The content of the Knight in a leopard skin is briefly as follows: after the coronation of his daughter Tinatin to the kingdom, Tsar Rostevan, together with his pupil, commander Avtandil, go hunting. There they see a stranger wearing a leopard skin, but he, obviously not wanting to meet people, retires on his black horse. Seeing his father saddened by this event, Tinatin confesses his love to Avtandil and sends him in search of a stranger. After three years, Avtandil manages to find him hiding in a deserted area in a cave. The stranger, whose name is Tariel, tells Avtandil his story. He is the son of a king who was a vassal of the powerful king of India, Parsadan. Raised by Parsadan, Tariel fell in love with his daughter, the beautiful Nestan-Darejan, but her parents wanted to pass her off to another. Not wanting the stranger to take over the throne of India, Tariel, after consulting with his beloved, killed him and, fearing the wrath of the king, took refuge in his fortified city. Here Asmat, close to Nestan-Darejan and confidant in the secrets of lovers, told him that the tutor Nestan-Darejan, the king's sister, after severe beatings, put her pupil in an ark and threw him into the sea. Tariel, who went in search of his beloved, during his wanderings met Fridon, who was being pressed by enemies, to whom he helped. From Fridon, he learned that once he saw Nestan-Darejan in a floating ark, but he could not free her, the ark disappeared into the sea. Having learned from Tariel about his grief, Fridon tried to help his friend, but the messengers sent everywhere could not find Nestan-Darejan. Tariel said goodbye to his brother, received from him a beautiful horse as a gift, and after that he searched for Nestan-Darejan for a long time. Desperate, he took refuge in this cave with the faithful Asmat and spends his days away from people. He wears a leopard skin in memory of his beloved. Touched by his grief, Avtandil promised Tariel to help in search of Nestan-Darejan. Arriving in Arabia, Avtandil told everything to King Rostevan and his beloved. She approved of his intention to help his brother in trouble, but the king did not want to let him go again, so Avtandil had to leave in secret. Returning to Tariel, he promised to look for Nestan-Darejan within a year and set off on a journey, visited Fridon; then by sea he went to Gulansharo, the capital of the sea king. Here he became friends with the wife of the merchant ruler - Fatma, who mistook Avtandil for a merchant based on his clothes. From her, he learned that it was Fatma who saved Nestan-Darejan from the two guards accompanying her and sheltered her, but Fatma's husband, betraying the secret, delivered Nestan-Darejan to the king. The ruler wanted to marry her son to her, but Nestan-Darejan managed to bribe the guards and return to Fatma. She gave Nestan-Darejan a horse, and the fugitive disappeared. Subsequently, accidentally hearing the conversation of people gathered from different sides, she learned that Nestan-Darejan was in captivity in Kajeti, the country of wizards. The local king wants to marry his son to her. Delighted, Avtandil opened up to Fatma, told her that he was looking for Nestan-Darejan for his friend and asked Fatma to help him. Fatma immediately sent a wizard-servant to Kajeti, giving him a letter for Nestan-Darejan. The captive sent letters with him to Fatma and Tariel, adding to it a piece of a wonderful coverlet, once brought by Tariel for her. In a tender letter, she swore eternal love to Tariel, but asked him to leave her, since it was impossible to take the fortress of kaji wizards and Tariel would certainly die. She herself swore that she would never marry anyone else. Avtandil hastened to Tariel with good news. Capturing the weapons that Tariel won back from the fabulous creatures - the devas, they went to Fridon, then three brothers, taking with them three hundred Fridon warriors, went to the Kadzhet fortress. Each of them proposed his own plan for capturing the stronghold, but Tariel's plan was accepted; dividing the detachment accompanying them into three parts, they attacked from three sides. Breaking the gates, they broke into the city. Tariel was the first to find himself in the underground passage leading to the fortress; having killed all the guards, he freed Nestan-Darejan. Returning from there to the sea kingdom, they celebrated the wedding of Tariel with Nestan-Darejan, then in Arabia, with the consent of King Rostevan, the wedding of Avtandil and Tinatin. Returning to India and driving out foreign enemies, Tariel and Nestan-Darejan reigned there. The brothers parted, swearing to each other in eternal friendship. The major sound of the finale - the victory of good over evil - is the logical conclusion of the epic story. In the prologue, the plot of the poem is called a "Persian story", but this is just a literary device characteristic of that era. The plot, except for typological parallels, has no exact analogues either in the literary works of that time or in folklore. The plot of the poem, despite its versatility and complexity, is compositionally assembled and structured. However, not an entertaining plot is the main advantage of Rustaveli's work. The strength of the poem is in its deep humanity. Rustaveli sings of the ideas of love, selfless friendship, fidelity, but the heroes of the work - the embodiment of these ideas - are not at all sketchy sketches. Rustaveli skillfully draws their various characters, the slightest shades of their emotions. That is why neither the unreal geographical area nor the hyperbolization in describing their feelings and actions prevent us from perceiving the heroes of the poem precisely as living people with their own individual traits and even shortcomings. Avtandil and Tariel are both “mijnuri” (i.e. lovers), both are ready to sacrifice their lives for both their beloved and their friend. However, these two knights are not similar in character to each other. Tariel is completely in the power of feelings and sometimes acts recklessly, but Avtandil always subordinates his actions to reason and always knows how to find a way out of a difficult situation, sometimes even contrary to his desires and inclinations. Loyalty in friendship is the highest moral duty for the heroes of Rustaveli. Representatives of the three nations - Avtandil, Tariel and Fridon - are twin friends, ready for each other for any hardships and sacrifices. Despite the threat of a second long separation from Tinatin, the anger of the king, who does not want to let him go on a long journey again, Avtandil, without hesitation, secretly goes to help his friend. Asmat, the devoted servant of Nestan-Darejan, voluntarily endures all the hardships of his exile together with Tariel. Fridon, without hesitation, goes with Tariel and Avtandil to rescue Nestan-Darejan from the captivity of the kaja. Love for heroes is an all-conquering force, in the name of love Tariel performs his exploits. Having lost hope of finding his beloved, he retires to a deserted area, far from human society, and sheds tears alone, because for him life without Nestan-Darejan is meaningless. Rustaveli's female images are clearly outlined: Nestan-Darejan selflessly loves Tariel. Captured in a fortress, she writes in a letter to her lover that she would rather throw herself down from a cliff, or end her life with a knife in the heart, than marry another; there she begs Tariel not to try to rescue her, since she will not bear his inevitable death; suffering herself, she does not forget about her native India, oppressed by enemies, and asks Tariel to hurry there, to help her father. Tinatin, sending Avtandil in search of Tariel, assures him with an oath that she will never have another husband, even if he is "the corporal incarnation of the sun." Rustavel's understanding of poetry, love, the significance of the human personality - the opposition of natural human feelings to the harsh asceticism of the early Middle Ages - the revelation of the poet's worldview. The philosophical and artistic-aesthetic concept of Rustaveli, "the radiant synthesis of the sublime and the earthly" (Sh. Nutsubidze), represents the highest stage of development of the Georgian Renaissance. The poem is written in the form of stanzas-quatrains, that is, four lines, united by a common final rhyme. The number of stanzas, depending on what the publishers considered the original text of Rustaveli, ranges from approximately 1500 to 1700 in various publications. All stanzas are written in the “shairi” size, in which the line contains 16 syllables and is divided by caesura into 2 equal parts. There are two types of shairi in the poem: “high shairi” is a form of the so-called. static symmetry, where the lines divided by a caesura in two consist of four segments in a syllable, this is the so-called. equivalent symmetry; "low shairi" is a form of dynamic symmetry - the lines are composed of asymmetrical segments with a 3:5 or 5:3 syllable ratio. In the stanzas written by the "high shairi", the rhyme is two-syllable, and in the stanzas written by the "low shairi" it is three-syllable. The alternation of stanzas with different structure of lines and rhymes is one of the reasons for the exceptional dynamism and musicality of Rustaveli's verse. Shairi is an ancient, most common form of verse in Georgian folklore, which indicates the connection between the versification of Rustaveli's poem and folk art. In turn, the influence of Rustaveli on the poetry of the subsequent time is also revealed in the fact that up to the 18th century. The 16-syllabic shairi has become almost absolutely the predominant meter in Georgian poetry. The language of the work is exceptionally flexible and expressive. The poem, written in classical Georgian, is also close to the living folk language. The vocabulary of the work includes more than 1500 units. Artistic devices - rhymes, alliteration, metaphors, derivative forms, poetic licenses - are found in a multitude. This is one of the factors that ensured the popularity of the poem, which was not awarded to any other work in Georgian literature. Often (up to the present day) the whole poem was known by heart, rewritten by hand: some of its expressions, especially aphorisms, have become firmly established in everyday Georgian speech. The beginning of the study of Rustaveli's poem should be considered the comments of the Georgian king Vakhtang VI, with which he supplied its first edition, printed in the printing house he founded in Tbilisi in 1712. Interest in Rustaveli in Russia manifested itself after the publication of E. Bolkhovitinov's books The Historical Picture of Georgia, from the point of view of political, church and education in 1802. The son of the last Georgian king George XII, Teimuraz Bagrationi, can be considered the founder of rustwellology as a science: his works touched upon many issues related to the personality of the author of the poem, his biography and worldview, the composition of the poem, its versification, vocabulary, etc. e. The French scholar Marie Brosset (1802−1882) participated in the preparation of the second edition of the poem, providing it with his preface. Scientists and writers of the 19th century (I. Chavchavadze, A. Tsereteli, Vazha-Pshavela, D. Chubinashvili, A. Tsagareli and others) dealt with many issues related to the poem. At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. N. Marr contributed a lot to the study of the poem: based on strict philological methods, he studied its text, highlighting the complex issues of the poem in the light of a comprehensive study of Western and Eastern cultures. After the founding of Tbilisi University in 1918, rustwellology developed widely both at the university and at the Institute of the History of Georgian Literature and in the specially created Rustaveli Commission. The number of editions of the text both in Georgia and outside its borders (Petersburg, Paris) is about a hundred. The poem has been translated into many languages ​​(both in poetic and prose form), in some - several times: Russian (6 translations), Ukrainian, English, French, German, Spanish. Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese, Armenian, Azeri, etc. Major works on rustwellology belong to Academicians K. Kekelidze, A. Baramidze, A. Shanidze; the last to carry out a second facsimile edition of the text of 1712. The works of K. Kekelidze and A. Baramidze touched upon the issues of the poet's biography, the plot of the poem, its composition, artistic side, etc. Academician Sh. Nutsubidze, who translated the poem into Russian, devoted research to the poem affecting the philosophical and philosophical issues of the poem. In 1966, the anniversary of Rustaveli was celebrated, by this time and later, not only Georgian, but also European scientists are engaged in the issues of rustwellology: D. Lang, D. Reyfield, D. Barrett, new translations appear. At present, the Rustaveli Commission is preparing an academic multi-volume edition of the poem with variants and comments.

Shota Rustaveli (1160-1166-1216) - Georgian poet and politician. Little is known about the life of the poet, since there is no historical documentation confirming the facts of his life. There is no exact data on the date of birth either: some scientists call 1172, others - 1160-1166. , but there were several such villages. Perhaps he came from a famous old family that owned the Rustavi Majorate.

Rustaveli studied in Greece, where he served with Queen Tamara as state treasurer. In Jerusalem, there is a Georgian monastery of the Holy Cross with a fresco depicting a portrait signed "Rustaveli". The appearance gives reason to believe that the poet was a rich man and allocated funds for the monastery.

Shota Rustaveli not only wrote poetry and poems, he was also engaged in restoration and painting. The monastery of the Holy Cross was artistically painted and renovated by him. But he received worldwide popularity for his contribution to poetry. Shota Rustaveli had a deep knowledge of Persian and Arabic literature, the works of Plato and Homer, theology and rhetoric. The most famous work of the poet is the poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin".

Some sources claim that Rustaveli had unrequited feelings for Queen Tamara, so he took the veil as a monk. There is a legend that the poet was married, and was executed for refusing to comply with the royal decree. Another legend tells that the patron of Rustaveli, Catholicos John, began to persecute the poet after the death of Queen Tamara. Therefore, the writer went to Jerusalem and lived there until the end of his life. Shota Rustaveli died around 1216.