XII Century and Georgian Theater

Abstract

The presented paper discusses and investigates the signs and elements of the Georgian theater of the renaissance period. Georgian performing arts have traveled a centuries-long path from simple folk forms to modern theater. The great tradition of performing culture is verified by the theater buildings and objects of various purposes discovered as a result of archaeological excavations. The dancer (with a bull mask) depicted on Colchis coins and copper coins found in Kartli - speaks of the existence of a show or performing culture in the Georgian tribes of that time. The ancient tradition of performing culture in our country is confirmed by archaeological findings as well as (and mostly) by linguistic data. By means of the historical-comparative method, the terms of performing culture (singing, dancing, instruments, etc.) can be restored at the general Georgian level. Fragments of ancient Georgian dramatic poetry and descriptions of pantomime performances of the Hellenistic period are confirmed in both original and translated monuments of medieval Georgian literature. In the same monuments, many main Georgian theatrical terms are found, which are discussed and analyzed in the work.

Even after the establishment of Christianity in Georgia, the theater maintains its existence and the church's attempt, initially its rejection, similar to the European countries, which is confirmed by John Chrysostom and Ekvtime of Athens, is also noticed. According to the "Divine Law", Christian believers were strictly forbidden to do anything related to theatrical art. According to his sermons, the church later tried to use the theatrical performances to attract the congregation. In the 11^th-13^th centuries, the pantomime performance like felicity, dance reached a special development. One such pantomime performance is described in the old Georgian monument - “The Balavariani”.

From the 12th century, depending on the cultural and political situation of Georgia, it is possible to talk about the renaissance period of Georgians. Here, the revival era was a continuation of the Byzantine Renaissance, where due to certain conditions, this process was stopped and continued in Georgia.

Suffice it to look at the movement of the Georgian state-political thought of the 11^th-12^th centuries that we can see in it the beginning of revival and the road to advancement. Accordingly, the theater, like other branches of art, literature and science, was formed and developed under the influence of ancient Greek art. Unfortunately, we can find little information about the Georgian theater state of art of this period, therefore we do not have any literature where the opinion about the theater would be recorded. However, various historical or literary monuments about the theatrical life of this era allow us to evaluate the “forms of representation” of the stage art of this era. To confirm this, the work analyzes Davit Aghmashenebeli's “Hymns of Repentance”, Rustaveli's “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin” and other historical and literary material.