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Georgian · Hagiography ·

Vita Davidi Dvinensis

Anonymous · titus

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 16 passages · 109 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Vita Davidi Dvinensis is an anonymous Georgian hagiography recounting the martyrdom of David of Dvin, a Christian killed under Persian rule in the early 7th century. The text survives in a single manuscript in the TITUS collection, with no other known Georgian copies. Its composition date is unknown, though internal historical references suggest it may have been written no later than the 10th century. David of Dvin appears in Georgian liturgical calendars, but the Vita itself is not attested in later lectionaries. The work provides a rare glimpse into early medieval Georgian martyrdom narratives, though its historical reliability is limited by hagiographic conventions and poor external attestation.

The Vita Davidi Dvinensis is significant as a rare witness to early medieval Georgian hagiography and the Christian experience under Persian rule. It illustrates the blending of Georgian and Armenian traditions in the Caucasus and provides insight into the development of martyrdom narratives in the region. The work's survival in a single manuscript underscores the fragility of such texts and the importance of preserving minority Christian literatures.

Historical context

The Vita Davidi Dvinensis is set in the early 7th century, when the Caucasus region was contested between the Sasanian Persian Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Dvin (modern-day Armenia) was a major city under Persian control, with a mixed Christian population including Georgians and Armenians. The text reflects the multi-ethnic Christian landscape of the Caucasus, where Georgian and Armenian traditions intertwined. The sole surviving manuscript, held in the TITUS collection, is undated and lacks a critical edition, making it difficult to assess scribal errors or textual transmission. The work's anonymous authorship and uncertain date—conjecturally no later than the 10th century—place it within the broader corpus of Georgian hagiography, which flourished from the 5th to 11th centuries. The Vita's limited circulation suggests it may have been a local composition, possibly for a monastic community, rather than a widely used liturgical text.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

53 commentary units 14 structure12 sense11 term8 background6 caution2 dating 22 derived notes 15 open questions 16 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: hagiography in Old Georgian; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 16 narrative.
  • caution16 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note.
  • sourceSource edition: titus — This text is part of the TITUS edition of Martyrium Davidi Dvinensis. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 24.9.2017. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder.

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
davdv:1 · narrativemedium
Source
[Page of ed.: 124]
English
[Page of ed.: 124]
davdv:2 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed.: 1] თთუესა ფებერვალსა კგ
English
On the month of February, 23.
davdv:3 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed.: 2] წამებაჲ წმიდისა დავითისი, რომელი აღესრულა
English
The martyrdom of the holy David, who was perfected
davdv:4 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed.: 3] დვინს ჭეშმარიტითა სარწმუნოებითა ქრისტჱს მიერ
English
in Dvin, with true faith in Christ
davdv:5 · narrativemedium
Source
[Line of ed.: 4] კს̃ნ!
English
[Line of ed.: 4] 126!
davdv:6 · narrativelow
Source
[Section: (1)]
English
126!
davdv:7 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed.: 5] აწ უკუე ვიწყოთ და მიგითხრათ შემო\კლებულითა
English
Now then, let us begin and tell you concisely.
davdv:8 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed.: 6] სიტყჳთა და შევამკოთ წარ\ჩინებულისაჲ
English
With words let us adorn the [story] of the excellent one.
davdv:9 · narrativemedium
Source
[Line of ed.: 7] (და წადიერისაჲ და ყოვ\ლად
English
and of the desirous and wholly
davdv:10 · narrativemedium
Source
[Line of ed.: 8] ქებულისაჲ) დავითისი სიმჴნჱ, პირ\ველად
English
of David's courage, first of all
davdv:11 · narrativemedium
Source
[Line of ed.: 9] გაუწყო, თუ ვინაჲ იყო, ანუ
English
he revealed who he was, or
davdv:12 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed.: 10] რომლისა ნათესავისაჲ, ანუ ვითარ მო\იწია
English
of what lineage he was, or how he arrived
davdv:13 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed.: 11] ქუეყანად სომხეთისა, და ვითარ
English
to the land of Armenia, and how
davdv:14 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed.: 12] აღასრულა ცხოვრებაჲ თჳსი. და ამის\სა
English
he completed his life. And of this
davdv:15 · narrative
Source
[Line of ed.: 13] შემდგომად მოიწია თავსა სისრული\სასა
English
Afterwards he arrived at the head of the completion
davdv:16 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed.: 14] ძლევით პატიოსნისა ჯუარისაჲთა.
English
by the victory of the venerable Cross.
Citation. Tergwame, “Vita Davidi Dvinensis”, davdv:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/davdv#s1
Colophon. Source: titus · licence: This text is part of the TITUS edition of Martyrium Davidi Dvinensis. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 24.9.2017. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder. · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0040 · generated 2026-11-14.