Doctor
Chief Research Fellow
Head of the Material Culture Research Department of the Tamaz Beradze Institute of Georgian Studies, The University of University
 g_gagoshidze@yahoo.com

The Hall Church of Samshvilde from the Reign of King David IV the Builder and Issues of Ordinary Church Construction in the 12th–13th Centuries

The hall church located in the far eastern part of the ruined city of Samshvilde is distinguished by its dedicatory inscriptions. It was built during the reign of King David IV the Builder, in 1119, and painted in 1123. Despite its historical significance, the church—constructed hastily of rubble stone—displays architecture of below-average quality. In its masonry, yellow stone blocks taken from the dome church of Sioni, damaged after the Seljuk conquest of Samshvilde, were reused. Clearly, the builders were in such a rush that they did not concern themselves with refining its architectural forms or adorning the walls. The artistic effect was created instead by the high-quality wall paintings inside the church, of which only a few fragments survive. Apart from the inscriptions, the most notable feature reflecting David’s era is the semicircular projecting apse—an element atypical for the ecclesiastical architecture of eastern Georgia. Similar projecting apses appear in churches founded by David IV, such as Gelati and Shio-Mgvime, and in other 12th-century churches at Armazi and Akhatani.

Alongside the richly decorated hall churches of the first half of the 12th–13th centuries, built of finely cut stone (e.g., Siorbisi, Maghlaant Church, Gudarekhi, Kazreti, Betania, Tsq’luleti, and others), there emerged low-budget parish churches constructed of rubble stone, often of poor workmanship. These include, in addition to the Samshvilde hall church, St. George of Kalaubani, the Mother of God of Gardateni, the abandoned Nasparsevi, the fortress church of Rkoni, and Samochalo, among others. In some of these monuments, the artistic quality is determined by the wall paintings in the interior; facades are generally plain, with only occasional decorative or inscribed inserts of finely cut stone, or framed window surrounds. Such solutions reflect monastic asceticism, the modest character of fortress churches, or the limited means of poor villages and humble patrons.

The chronological markers of these ordinary churches are difficult to establish and are most evident in the proportions of the buildings. Thus, during Georgia’s so-called “Golden Age,” while sumptuous donor churches were erected with rich decoration, modest, architecturally plain, and poorly built parish churches were constructed as well—mirroring the complex socio-cultural realities of the time.

Keywords: Samshvilde, Hall Church, David the Builder, 12th–13th centuries, Ordinary Construction.