The Influence of Basilius Minimus’ Commentaries on the Georgian Translations of Gregory the Theologian’s Sermons

Abstract

The article examines how the Commentaries of the 10th-century Byzantine scholar Basilius Minimus on the sermons of Gregory the Theologian influenced the medieval Georgian translations of Gregory’s sermons produced in the 10th–11th centuries. A comparative analysis of the Georgian translations and Basilius Minimus’ Commentaries demonstrates that, although the famous Georgian translator Euthymios the Hagiorite did not translate Basilius’ work, he was familiar with it and drew upon it when rendering Gregory’s sermons into Georgian. Euthymios’ use of the Commentaries served the purpose of making Gregory’s complex theological and stylistically sophisticated passages more understandable and accessible to Georgian readers with limited experience. Gregory’s texts contain intricate artistic devices – allegories, euphemisms, analogies, metaphors, etc., the meanings of which are clarified in Basilius’ Commentaries. In Euthymios’ translations, these artistic features are not reproduced literally but conveyed semantically, in accordance with Basilius’ explanations. Ephrem Mtsire, the Hellenophile translator of Basilius Minimus’ Commentaries, attached particular importance to reproducing Gregory the Theologian’s literary style in his Georgian translations. He characterized Gregory’s style as “laconic, deep and shrouded”. In preserving these stylistic qualities, Ephrem relied extensively on those sections of Basilius’ Commentaries that explicitly discuss the nature of Gregory’s style. As a result, in Ephrem’s highly literal translations, the nuances of tone and rhythm characteristic of Gregory are rendered with remarkable precision, thanks to the guidance provided by Basilius Minimus.