On Dynamics of Language Norms from Classical Period to the 19th Century (Biased on Hagiographic Texts Translated from Greek to Georgian Language)

Abstract

The paper examines the dynamics of language norms from the classical period to the 19th century, based on the hagiographic texts translated from Greek into Georgian by a prominent Georgian church figure, Euthymius the Athonite. The translations were made between the end of the 10th century and the first half of the 11th century in the monastery of Iviron in Athos, Greece, and they have come down to us through manu-scripts copied both during this period and in the following centuries. They were creat-ed in different geographical spaces and cultural centers, which allows us to follow the evolution of language standardization over the centuries and to evaluate it in a wider philological, religious, and cultural context. In addition to the fascinating temporal and spatial range of the manuscripts, choosing the hagiographic texts as research material was also conditioned by the fact that hagiography, as an important genre of ecclesiastical writing, played a major role in the formation of religious and literary discourse in the Middle Ages. The literary, religious, and cultural weight of the Iviron Monastery of Athos has also been taken into account, which gives great linguistic value to the texts coming from there.