Ideologizing Space in Georgian Literature: Religious and National Contexts of the “Northern Country”

Abstract

This article studies the spatial lexical item “Northern Country” that seemingly acquired an ideological character in historically crucial periods of the Georgian monarchy, that is, the 4^th and 19^th centuries.  It attempts to overview  the semanticization  process  of the concept  “Northern Country” through  analysis of historical literary works  depicting the Christianization of Georgia  on the one hand, and 19^th century colonial period Georgian poetry on the other, as well as define literary strategies that furnished the spatial marker with national stereotypical meaning. The research is based on the theoretical foundations of the study of national self-imagery. In the given context, literature represents a medium of public awareness.