Ideologizing Space in Georgian Literature: Religious and National Contexts of the “Northern Country”

Abstract

This article studies the spatial lexical item “Northern Country” that seemingly acquired an ideological character in historically crucial periods of the Georgian monarchy, that is, the 4th and 19th centuries. It attempts to overview the semanticization process of the concept “Northern Country” through analysis of historical literary works depicting the Christianization of Georgia on the one hand, and 19th century colonial period Georgian poetry on the other, as well as define literary strategies that furnished the spatial marker with national stereotypical meaning. The research is based on the theoretical foundations of the study of national self-imagery. In the given context, literature represents a medium of public awareness.