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This paper examines through the lens of translation studies (TS) the pattern of sociocultural and linguistic evolution to which medieval vernaculars of the Christian East adhered. It aims to contribute to discussions in medieval studies and TS with regard to vernacular translations. The medieval Georgian tradition of translation is examined from the perspective of descriptivist translation theories, namely, in the light of Even-Zohar’s polysystem and Lefevere’s rewriting theories. The Georgian literary polysystem is viewed as part of a larger mega-polysystem of the Christian East, with Greek being at its centre. This explains parallels in the emancipation of vernacular languages. From the viewpoint of the rewriting theory, emphasis is given to the roles of professional circles, patronage and dominant poetics. The evolution of the Georgian translation tradition from free rendering to a higher concern for precision reflects the impact of different sociocultural factors, evidencing the validity of the mentioned descriptivist models.

The article analyses the historical concepts of the medieval Georgian history by Leonti Mroveli, as the projection of religious historiography in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Introductions to two redactions of The Georgian Chronicles have been considered. It has been shown that both versions have the same aim: to reconstruct the ethnic origin of the Georgians (our kin) from the onset of the world history and to legitimate our kin as an immediate partaker in the initial (Biblical) history. For this purpose, Leonti Mroveli uses diamerisms, a scheme of universal history (Διαμερισμὸς τῆς γῆς) employed in religious historiography from the 1st century AD. Fragments of diamerisms found in medieval Georgian historical narratives reveal that Georgian historiographers were familiar with them via Greek, Syriac, Ethiopian and Armenian versions and successfully used them to highlight the unity between the universal and their national (local) histories – the life of our kin.

Besprechung:W. Seibt – J. Preiser-Kapeller (Hgg.), Die Entstehung der kaukasischen Alphabete als kulturhistorisches Phänomen. Referate des Internationalen Symposions (Wien, 1.-4. Dezember 2005), Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 2011 (=Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Phil.-hist. Kl. Denkschriften, 430. Band; Veröffentlichungen zur Byzanzforschung, Band 28). ISBN 978-3-7001-7088-4