Overview
From the early fourth century, the veneration of saints and relics spread rapidly across Christendom from the British Isles to Iran. In late antique Caucasia, the cult of the saints was immediately integrated into Armenian and Georgian identity and political discourses. It was used to legitimise royal rule, sanctify domains and dynasties, define political realms and justify political decisions. This book is the first systematic study of this history. Discussing a wide variety of sources from Armenia, Georgia, Byzantium and Russia which have not been examined together before, it investigates the interaction of sanctity, holy relics, gender and politics in the medieval Caucasus, with a particular focus on Georgia. Nikoloz Aleksidze analyses three chronological eras: the first section focuses on late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, when the cult of the relics was formed in Caucasian writing; the second explores the medieval era, when the Bagratids ruled in Georgia and the cults of figures such as St George, the Mother of God and Queen Tamar were shaped and politicised; and the third navigates a similar entanglement of sanctity, gender and political rhetoric in Russian Imperial and Georgian national discourse.
Full Product Details
Author: Nikoloz Aleksidze
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Imprint: Edinburgh University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 2.10cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.680kg
ISBN: 9781474498616
ISBN 10: 1474498612
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 31 May 2024
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
Nikoloz Aleksidze's monograph offers a fascinating survey of the unique and crucial role of sainthood in Caucasian religion and national identity from medieval times to present times, demonstrating how the focus on ""exceptional"" individuals creates political legitimacy through popular interpretation of legend and history.--Pascal Boyer, Washington University
"Nikoloz Aleksidze's monograph offers a fascinating survey of the unique and crucial role of sainthood in Caucasian religion and national identity from medieval times to present times, demonstrating how the focus on ""exceptional"" individuals creates political legitimacy through popular interpretation of legend and history.--Pascal Boyer, Washington University"
Author Information
Nikoloz Aleksidze is a Professor of the History of Religion and Political Thought at the Free University in Tbilisi. He is the author of The Narrative of the Caucasian Schism: Memory and Forgetting in Medieval Caucasia (Peeters, 2018) and Georgia: A Cultural Journey through the Wardrop Collection (Bodleian Libraries, 2018).
