The Man in the Leopard's Skin

The main drag leading into the old town, with the opera house (closed for renovation), the cinema (closed for renovation), the history museum (closed for renovation), the parliament building (closed to the public) and Georgia's first McDonald's (....open), is Shot'ha Rust'haveli St. Rustaveli Street is also home to Prospero's Books and Calaban's Cafe. Located in a well-marked but secluded courtyard, they emulate a western European atmosphere so well it approaches denial. Fellow travelers who have said we could get by in Georgia with only English mush have been thinking of this place, because everywhere else we've had to speak Georussarmenglish with a heavy embellishment of signs.


When there's a major street, as well as a bus and metro stop, named after someone, it has to peak one's interest -- even more so when the person is not a dictator or military leader. "Who was this Rust'haveli?" I casually wondered. As i was browsing in Prospero's Books, i came across numerous copies of a book called, alternately, "The Knight in the Tiger's Skin," or "The Man in the Panther's Skin," by Shot'ha Rust'haveli. I've never heard of a panther in this area, but there is a Caucasian leopard. So i'm calling it a leopard's skin, and the illustrations in the book support my theory.



The Man in the Leopard's Skin is a late 12th/early 13th century Georgian epic poem that recounts Persian palace romance about two pairs of lovers divided. The writing reminds me of Indian classical romances, in which new stories blossom from the conversations of characters, and new stories from the characters in those stories, etc. While there were never multiple nested stories in The Man..., the narrative flows very freely between characters. And like Homer's poetry, many of the lines are completed with epithets that have little bearing on the present action. In fact, every time two characters meet, they exchange at least 4 lines a piece describing the other's beauty and prowess. Every time they part, at least 8 lines are devoted to the tears they shed at the separation. As interesting as these passages are from a cultural perspective, by the second half of the poem it's difficult not to skim when the hero's face is once again referred to as "the crystal and the coral" or when, on his departure, his companions again refer to themselves as roses who will wither without the sun's presence.



In conjuring his fictional Arabia, Persia and India, Rust'haveli filled in the gaps in his knowledge with fantasy and Christian and Hellenistic culture. The characters are devout muslims, but the fact that the author is not makes for some interesting slips. Not that the inaccuracies are distracting -- if anything, they contribute to the story's magic. The poem is considered one of the most important literary works in the Georgian canon. What it implies about the Georgian character for their great masterpiece to be a Persian story, I will leave for someone more knowledgeable to answer.

The complete text in English can be found at this website.