Linguistic Roots of Place-names in the Georgian Dictionary by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani (17th -18th centuries)

Abstract

This article focuses on the representation of European culture in late medieval Georgian literature via geographical terms.  Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani (1658-1725), one of the most pro-western-oriented Georgian political figures and scholars of those days, traveled on a diplomatic mission to France and Italy in 1713-1716 via the Ottoman Empire. Orbeliani compiled his explanatory Dictionary of the Georgian tongue (Sitkvis Kona) in the last decades of the 17th century and the early decades of the 18th century. It includes a lot of items with geographical information. The analysis of terms and frequency of mentioning the place names in the dictionary permits understanding linguistic sources of information and the author's attitudes.             The three parts of the then-known world were Europe, Asia, and Africa, while yengi dünia meant "New World" in Ottoman Turkish. By all means, the latter term had been acquired by the author when he spent many months in Istanbul. However, much more geographical information Orbeliani gathered in Europe. For instance, "America" is explained as follows: "The fourth part of the World, which is yengidunia".               The paper focuses on analyzing the origin of the names of the countries and cities mentioned in the Dictionary under consideration. It is worth mentioning that the Dictionary contains items about many cities in Western and Southern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East (especially those in the Holy Land), and even India and Africa, but almost none in Georgia and the Caucasus as a whole (rare exceptions are Tbilisi and Gori, both in Georgia). It can be assumed that the author tried to respond to the expectations of his potential readers who are familiar with their native country but require information about places abroad.             For the first time, the name of England is mentioned in a Georgian text: the Dictionary quotes Inglizi almost in the same manner as it is in modern Georgian - Inglis. It can be assumed that the Italian word for "Englishman" – Inglese  -- inspired Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani to name the country of England in the manner which since become a standard geographical term in Georgian. The name of Scotland also appears for the first time in Georgian as Skoteli. A particular bias of the Dictionary towards Italian place names could be noticed as many places mentioned in it are Italian cities and towns, among them Alessandria, Arezzo, Bari, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Camerino, Modena, Reggio di Calabria, Reggio di Lombardia (called Reggio nell'Emilia since 1861), Messina, Naples, Norcia, Palermo, Pavia (mentioned as Tichinumpavia), Ravenna, Roma, Spoleto, Venice, etc.             Many names depicting countries and cities outside of Italy are presented in the Dictionary according to their spelling in Italian (using the Georgian phonetical alphabet). E.g., there are mentioned Anversa (Anversa, i.e. Antwerp), Algeria (Algeri), Argentina, Barcelona (Barcellona), Eboracum (Latin name for York, England), Edinburgh (Edimburgo, i.e. Edinburgh), Kandia (Candia, in this case meaning the island of Crete), Strigonia (old name for Esztergom, Hungary), Lisabona (Lissabon, i.e. Lisbon), Londra (Londra, i.e. London), Lucerna (Lucerna, i.e. Lucerne), Luneburghio (Luneburgo, i.e. Lüneburg), Marchillia (Marsiglia, i.e. Marseille), Narbona (Narbona, i.e. Narbonne), Nitsa (Nizza, i.e. Nice), Parizi (Parigi, i.e. Paris), Spania (Spagna, i.e. Spain), Ratisimuna (Ratisbona, i.e. Regensburg in Bavaria), Valencia (Valenzano, i.e. Valencia), Viena (Vienna, i.e. Wien), etc.             The trend mentioned above could be explained by the author using the maps published in Italy as his primary source of geographical information and/or information received from his Italian hosts.             The Dictionary under consideration is clear evidence of the cultural contacts of Georgia with Europe.