Work dossier · summary and historical context
Mikael Modrekili's Hymnography is a collection of liturgical hymns in archaic Old Georgian, preserved in a single 10th–11th century manuscript. The corpus reflects the consolidation of Georgian hymnody under monastic centers on Mount Athos and in Palestine, with frequent Greek loanwords and calques indicating a bilingual liturgical environment. Attribution to Mikael Modrekili (late 10th century) is conventional; some pieces may be earlier or by other authors. The hymns were used in Georgian Orthodox liturgy for centuries before being superseded by the Constantinopolitan rite. The Titus edition offers a diplomatic transcription without critical apparatus or translation, leaving textual uncertainties unresolved.
Mikael Modrekili's Hymnography is a key witness to the development of Georgian liturgical hymnody and the cultural exchange between Georgian and Byzantine traditions. It reflects the theological and linguistic synthesis of the period and influenced later medieval Georgian hymn collections. The corpus also illustrates the role of Georgian monastic centers on Mount Athos and in Palestine in shaping Orthodox liturgy.
The hymns were composed and compiled in the late 10th century, a period of liturgical consolidation among Georgian monastic communities on Mount Athos and in Palestine. The sole surviving witness is a single manuscript copied in the 10th–11th centuries, written in an archaic register of Old Georgian with Greek loanwords and calques, reflecting the bilingual liturgical environment of medieval Georgia. The collection was used in the Georgian Orthodox liturgy for centuries and influenced later medieval Georgian hymn collections, though it was eventually superseded by the Constantinopolitan rite. Attribution of all hymns to Mikael Modrekili is conventional; the manuscript does not consistently name composers, so some pieces may be earlier or by other authors. The Titus edition provides a diplomatic transcription without critical apparatus or translation, leaving variant readings and emendations unindicated.
Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded
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