Vol. 31 (2024): The Kartvelologist

Editor-in-Chief’s Note

This special issue of The Kartvelologist is dedicated to the legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, one of the most widely disseminated narratives in medieval Byzantine, Georgian and Arabic literature. The collection brings together a selection of papers from an international conference - Georgian Balavariani and Byzantine The Story of Barlaam and Ioasaph - on this topic (April 11-13, 2024, Tbilisi State University). It addresses diverse scholarly interpretations of a newly discovered version of this narrative, the publication of which will be significant for the major research centers, for Byzantinists, Kartvelologists, and Orientalists  studying this problem.

Nature of the Issue:

The present volume includes both full-length research articles and shorter conference reports, reflecting the varied formats of academic exchange at the conference. This diversity allows us to present a comprehensive picture of current scholarship on Barlaam and Josaphat across different disciplines and methodologies.

Bibliographic Format:

Given the multilingual and cross-cultural nature of research on Barlaam and Josaphat, this issue encompasses scholarship drawing on sources in multiple languages, including Georgian, Greek, Latin, Arabic and others. Consequently, bibliographic references in some articles follow citation conventions specific to their respective scholarly traditions rather than the journal's standard APA format. Each article maintains internal consistency in its citation system, and we have prioritized preserving the integrity of specialized bibliographic practices, particularly for non-Western sources where APA conventions may not adequately represent the scholarly apparatus.

We believe this approach best serves the international scholarly community working on this important medieval text and its transmission across linguistic and cultural boundaries.

                                                                                                                                                         Elguja Khintibidze