Mravaltavi (, literally "many-headed" or "polycephalon") is an ancient Georgian liturgical miscellany, comprising homilies, sermons, and hagiographical material. It compiles various readings designated for the feasts of the Lord and other major holy days throughout the moveable calendar feasts of the liturgical year.
Origin of the name The term Mravaltavi is first historically attested in the Sinai Mravaltavi (dated to 864 AD). The title was coined by analogy with the Georgian term Otkhtavi (ოთხთავი, literally "four-headed"), which refers to the Four Gospels. Literally translating to "multi-headed" or "polycephalon", this linguistic framework is highly characteristic of Old Georgian. It mirrors other descriptive words of the era, such as mraval-tuali ("multi-eyed," matching the Greek polyommatos to describe cherubim) and ekus-ekus-prte- ("six-winged each," matching the Greek hexapteryx for seraphim). While the literal components match the Greek polykephalon ("multi-headed"), medieval records, such as the bilingual 10th-century Typicon of the Petritson Monastery, demonstrate that the Greeks did not use "polykephalon" for books. Instead, the direct Greek textual equivalent to a mravaltavi is the eklogadion (ἐκλογάδιον) or eklogarion. Meaning a "collective volume" or "florilegium," it refers to a book of compiled or extracted (gamoḳrebuli) liturgical pericopes and homilies curated for the church calendar year.
Composition The Greek prototype for the Mravaltavi is the Panegyrikon, a homeliary that almost exclusively contains homilies dedicated to Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Over time, the Georgian Mravaltavi expanded beyond its Greek models, incorporating richer hagiographical materials and local martyrologies.
List of named or notable Mravaltavi manuscripts Several major manuscripts of the Mravaltavi have survived to the present day.
Script Legend
A indicates Majuscule Asomtavruli script. N indicates Minuscule Nuskhuri script. X Khanmeti S Sannarevi PU indicates manuscript is a palimpsest and script is the text under the later script. PO indicates manuscript is a palimpsest and script is the text over the prior script.
+DateScriptCommon namePagesInstitution and Shelf markCity, StateCountryca. 7th c. CEA, PUMravaltavi (X)fols 19–22, 25, 28–29Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sin. georg. NF 90SinaiEgypt ca. 9th-10th c. CEA, PUMravaltavifols 1–2, 7–8, 11–14Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sin. georg. NF 90SinaiEgypt670–820A, PUMravaltavi (X/S) Georgian National Center of Manuscripts S-3902TbilisiGeorgiaca. 9th-10th cc. CEA, PU7Iviron Monastery, Ivir. georg. 47Mount AthosGreececa. 9th-10th cc. CEA, PU5Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sin. georg. 10SinaiEgyptca. 9th-10th cc. CEA, PU1Bibliothèque nationale de France, géorg. 5ParisFrance864A, NSinai Mravaltavi354Saint Catherine's MonasterySinaiEgypt10th-11th c. CEA, NParkhali Mravaltavi658Georgian National Center of Manuscripts, A-95TbilisiGeorgiaca. 960-970 CEAthos Mravaltavi298+2Iviron Monastery, Ivir. georg. 11Mount AthosGreececa. 9th c. CEAThe Udabno Mravaltavi178Georgian National Center of Manuscripts, A-1109TbilisiGeorgia
References