Medieval period, royal power, king, deification, de – deification

Abstract

The idea of equality of the royal power with the divine has been existed since ancient times. In different cultures of the ancient east, the royal power was associated with the mythical conception of the reign of god. 

The idea of deifying of the monarchs was accepted by the Hellenic and Rome empires.

In biblical tradition the king is blessed by Lord but this is distinguished with significant special characteristics.

According to medieval Christian teaching, the king is blessed but this is about the institution, rather than about any specific person (king); the king’s title implies special responsibility to Lord. Later, in Byzantium, this teaching has distorted, The Emperor of Byzantium was regarded as the god in this world, sacral figure.

In Georgia, irrespective of common religious  – cultural area, the situation was different from the one in Byzantium. In Georgia, there was believed that the king was blessed by the Lord but he was not deified. 

In the said context, particular attention should be paid to Queen Tamar’s unknown Chronicler and the texts of the praises. The Chronicler has written that Queen Tamar was “elevated as the fourth to the Trinity”, she could be seen “as the fourth by the side of Trinity”, Chakhrukhadze mentioned Tamar as “substitute of son, equal to her father”; Shavteli said “she is blessed three times like the son for her father”.

There are different opinions about the above mentioned phrases. According to one of the views, Tamar is deified and grounds for this could be the ideology of the state or the Queen’s supporters or existence of Georgian messianistic idea etc.

Similar to the number of scientists, we regard that Queen Tamar was not declared as of the “divine nature”. Supposedly, the Chronicler’s words mean that Tamar was elevated (“co – elevated”) by the Trinity as the “fourth” as the saint king and therefore, it can be seen with the Trinity, in the divine depths as “four”, similar and elevated. We regard that “four” should be attributed generally, to the saints (including Tamar, as the saint king).

In our opinion, the above words in the praises should be regarded in the same context as well.