Doctor of Philological Sciences

 

Associate Professor
Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University
ORCID: 0000-0003-2713-4554
Ekaterine.kobakhidze@tsu.ge 

Lapsus Calami - Scribe’s  Mistake  in the Georgian Medieval Chronicles The Life of Kartli

 

The paper aims to analyze one passage from The Chronicle of a Hundred Years from the Georgian medieval chronicle The Life of Kartli, where, according my opinion,  a copyist's error can be found. As is known, this work describes the history of Georgia from the 10-s of the 13th century to the 10-s of the 14th century. Given the chronological period depicted in it, the work talks about the Mongol rule in Georgia, details the history of the reign of David Ulu and David Narin, as well as the tragic history of the decline and fragmentation of the country. 

One of the sections of the subchapter “David, the sixty-fifth king of Kartli, son of King Dimitri, Bagrationi”, mentions Samadavla, presumably the eristavi (head of the feudal lord) of Hereti, who, as can be seen from the text, supports the idea that King David had to introduce himself to the Ghazan Khan. The author particularly notes the military merits of this 13th-century nobleman: ""Eristavi Samadavlas [...], reminiscent of the Jew Mosimachus or the outstanding Neoptolemus Pighas, the celebrated general of the Myrmidons."" Several scholars (S.Kaukhchishvili, T.Kaukhchishvili) have tried to interpret and translate the word ""Pighas"" to understand the full meaning of this phrase, but, unfortunately, they have not come to a final conclusion. For this reason, this word is left untranslated  in the texts of the Russian and English  translations. My interpretation clarifies the ""obscure"" word and reveals the reason for the copyist's error.

 

Keywords: Chronicler, The Chronicle of a Hundred Years, Pighas.