Davit Sardali - poet and translator

Abstract

Georgian readers got to know "Karamanian" in the 70s of the 18th century. "Kahrajman Name" was brought to Georgia by Erekle II's son-in-law, Davit Sardal. He had received an excellent education at that time, he knew oriental languages. He got acquainted with this text while on a diplomatic mission in Persia. Apparently, he considered it an interesting reading, because he spent several years translating it. 

"Karamanian" became one of the most popular books in Georgia in the 19th century, which was tolerated by both high and low-ranking people. There was practically no family where, along with other books, the huge manuscript of "Karamanian" was not kept. Along with "Tigerskin", women were also given "Karamanian" in dowry. That is why it is not surprising that today we have many handwritten lists of "Karamanian". 

"Karamanian" was not distinguished by special literary value for this type, like other works, although the reader was interested in the individualism of the characters, impressive description of knightly fights or battle scenes in general, enriching the main story with parallel plot fossils, telling the romantic adventures of estranged couples, etc. Sh. That is why people paid quite a lot of money to order a copy of the manuscript; 

The translator Davit Sardali, that is, Davit Orbeliani, was a person gifted with poetic talent; Therefore, it is not surprising that some fragments of the text of "Karamaniani", which are given in the form of a poem in Dedan, are also read in the Georgian translation. Davit Orbeliani, as we have already mentioned, was an educated person at that time and, of course, he was perfectly familiar with the text of "The Panther". The text of "Karamanian" translated by him is abundantly searched for passages created by Rustveli's direct influence, which adds a special charm to the narration. As Davit Lazarev, the publisher of the first printed version of the text, emphasized, the text was translated as "pleasant to listen to" and "beautiful Georgian". According to him, it was this merit of the works that decided to print it. We think that the influence of "Panther" was greatly contributed to the "bestseller of the century" of this Saraindo novel, which is quite clearly felt in the text. In the paper, we will try to present the specifics and peculiarities of this influence.