Georgian Epic Heroes between Literary and Oral Narrative Traditions

What is it about?

This article analyses the main Georgian epic heroes as a frame tale. The heroes Amiran, Tariel and Rostom - discussed in this article, are the most popular figures in Georgian narrative tradition, introduced through literature and subject to many interpretations in folklore, in line with patterns common in folk narratives.

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Why is it important?

While previous scholarship has greatly advanced the study of Medieval literature and the interaction between Georgian literature and folklore, particularly, The Knight in the Panther’s Skin and Georgian translations of Shahnameh, nothing has been said in regard to those folktales, in which three heroes from three different stories meet as friends. The folktales about the friendship of three knights, - Amiran, Tariel and Rostom, have not yet been published. This article examines the archival material of the tales about these three heroes, recorded in the late nineteenth and early century in Georgia, presenting Amiran, Tariel and Rostom in one and the same story.