Sunday 22 May 2016

Georgian Highlanders and the Last Crusaders: The Debate on the Khevsurs Origins

Richard Halliburton was one of the most extravagant and exciting adventurers of the 20th century, mostly famed for his gallant exploits such as swimming the Suez Canal and crossing the Alps on an elephant to imitate the famous general Hannibal. However, in 1935 he was in Tbilisi, the Soviet Republic of Georgia and it was here he heard a very strange tale.


Locals told him of how in 1915, in the middle of World War 1, citizens of Tbilisi were in awe one morning when warriors mounted upon horses, dressed like they were straight out of the Crusades,wearing rusty chain armour and carrying shields and broadswords, appeared and pledged their service to the Tsar, as they heard there was a war on. These were Khevsurs, a group of Georgian highlanders now from the region of Khevsureti.

Georgia is a diverse country full of languages and dialects and varying traditions. However, a mythos has developed that the Khevsurs, a group of Georgian Highlanders cut off by ice and snow for 9 months a year, are descended from Medieval Crusaders. This hypothesis was developed by locals who believed their ancestors were cut off from a larger crusading army and became stranded in the area, but also by the aforementioned Richard Halliburton and the Russian servicemen and also ethnographer Arnold Zisserman and is based on on observations that they gathered when they visited Georgia, but also a belief amongst the Khevsurs themselves that they hold this ancestry.

However,the traditional narrative is a far-cry from this hypothesis. Several Georgian, Greek and Roman sources mention the Khevsurs long  before the crusading age. The religion of the Khevsureti is a unique mixture of Georgian Orthodoxy Christianity and pre-Christian paganism and although this would not rule out the crusader theory, it certainly seems likely the pagan element is retained from before the conversion of Mirian II of Iberia (a significant Kartvelian kingdom). Regardless, there has been enough evidence to create a theory.


Arnold Zisserman spent 25 years in the Caucasus (1842-67) and during his time there the Khevsurs were still under constant threat from the North Caucasus and most still had to live in Medieval fortress-villages. The Russian Empire who controlled Georgia at this point had been fighting the Muslim tribes in the North Caucasus for almost half a century by Zisserman's visit, most famously under the leadership of the Caucasian Avar Imam Shamil. Indeed, a major task for the Khevsurs was defending  their northern border, as well as the protection and strengthening of their own folk version of Christianity. They were trusted as royal bodyguards and warriors against multiple foes. Khevsureti also worshipped flags-crosses and considered themselves permanent members of the army of the sacred flags.




The mythology of the Khevsureti is also symbiotic with their holy war ideology. The myths, or testaments as the locals call them, are oral histories of military movements undertook under the holy flags-crosses. Their mythology also takes into account apparent wars between heroes sometimes known as Sons of God and the role of combat in the conversion and Georgianisation of the pagan highlanders of the Central Caucasus. Fundamentally, it portrays the pivotal war the idea of 'Holy War' takes place in their mythology. 

It is also debatable whether the Khevsurs 'post-conversion' were still pagan or not, even though they retained elements of their folklore. The Eastern Orthodox Church seems the post-conversion ceremonies carried out by the Khevsurs as 'pagan'. These ceremonies led by self-made priests styled crusaders are peace-pilgrimages. They involve tracing the routes of their ancestors' military campaigns and when they come upon a site of a historic victory, which are marked by small prayer-towers, they participate in replications of battles and the taking of these towers from enemies. Ritual combat tournaments and horse races are held on the steep rocky hills. 

These ideas and concepts were possibly built during the 11th-13th centuries due to the effect of the Georgian monarchy. At this time the monarchy was pro-crusade and its culture heavily involved Christianity. Religion was seen as a fundamental part of Georgian state-building.The Georgians were indeed affected by the arrival of the Crusaders, it provided some relief and most modern scholars accept that their could have been limited settlement of the men arriving from the West in the area, as they are mentioned in manuscripts describing battles between  Georgians and Muslims. The Battle of Didgori against the declining Seljuk Empire featured 100-200 Franks. The Georgian state faced several Mongol invasions in the 1230's and it began to gradually weaken until it completely collapsed into several fragmented territories in 1466. Nevertheless, the Khevsurs were intrinsically linked with the fate and policy of the Georgian state.

Above the Georgian state at its height in the 13th century (top) and the various territories post-dissolution (bottom).

The most obvious possible connection to the Crusaders is the clothing of the Khevsurs, which Richard Halliburton acutely describes. Upon his visit he was surprised to finds out that the Khevsurs were not wearing their iconic armour, but rather it was hung up in every home beside the aforementioned sword and gun. Halliburton writes 'Each mesh coat is formed of some twenty thousand tiny iron rings and goes on like a night shirt. The sleeves are short, but mesh gauntlets cover the forearms. With each suit goes a bag-like chain helmet with a hole cut for the face.' and 'A flap folds over,so that the entire head can be protected.For the shins there are likewise mesh greaves. Consequently when completely arrayed, the only parts of the body vulnerable are the knees and thighs.' Therefore, along with the photograph seen above, it is easy to see how the Khevsurs dress fits in with the traditional conception of the Crusader.

\There is also evidence in other traditions of the Khevsurs. Duelling is a popular custom and Halliburton describes 'Like their forefathers, the Crusader Knights, they have a passion for putting on their iron shirts and going at each other with broadswords.'  Halliburton also notes how there was no referee-they knew the 'game' inside out- and that unlike the Medieval tournament, women did not play a major role in the event. Instead, they did not attend, but they could still retained the power to stop a duel. Halliburton notes Sundays are for duelling and getting drunk. They also had a strict system of physical training and martial art (see image below) which formed part of a larger Georgian martial art and military tradition. Once again a custom of the Khevsurs, combat as a sport, heavily links to a Western Medieval influence or heritage.

Finally, Richard Halliburton also thought he noticed several fragments of German and French in the language of the Khevsurs.


 To conclude, the idea that the Khevsur highlanders descend from Medieval Crusaders is based on observation by the human, especially religious and societal customs. Although, it appears that there is some influence by the crusading movement on the Khevsureti. Their likeness seems to be influenced by the culture and policy of the Georgian state and the combination of pagan and Christian folklore, rather than significant direct colonisation. Therefore, although it may appear their is crusading heritage, there is enough evidence to suggest that the Khevsurs lived in the region long before the crusading movement and so therefore it is difficult to accept that the Khevsurs could have possibly descended from Western crusaders. So despite possible connections through language or custom, there is not enough evidence for this theory to be accepted in the main academic community.


Bibliography:
http://ejmas.com/jwma/articles/2003/jwmaart_amberger_0603.htm
http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/exhibitions/photo2/photo2_intro.html
http://www.jodyandrews.net/blog/2014/4/25/the-wolf-and-the-lion-the-story-of-the-lost-crusaders
http://www.cenn.org/Magazine_1/legends.html

Image Credit goes to Wikimedia Commons and:
http://ejmas.com/jwma/articles/2003/jwmaart_amberger_0603.htm
http://www.jodyandrews.net/blog/2014/4/25/the-wolf-and-the-lion-the-story-of-the-lost-crusaders



Wednesday 4 May 2016

Duel of the Fates: Darth Maul and Medieval Welsh Poetry- a Star Wars Day Special

The famous scene in Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace, the climactic duel between fan-favourite Darth Maul and the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi has a deep connection to Medieval Welsh poetry.


Although Star Wars and Welsh poetry seem to completely separate subjects, the fact that there is a connection may not be much of a surprise. A high level of thought can go into creating cinema and George Lucas certainly drew inspiration from a wide range of historic and mythological sources. The obvious parallels lie between the Galactic Empire and Nazi Germany, Chancellor Palpatine and Adolf Hitler. However, if Ian McDiarmid (the actor who plays Palpatine) is to be believed in an article from The Guardian the future Galactic Emperor also drew inspiration from Richard Nixon. Therefore, we can see that a link between The Phantom Menace's climatic scene and Welsh poetry is not as far-fetched an idea as it may initially seem.

In this special article due to it being May 4th a.k.a Star Wars Day, I shall explore this engrossing connection, between the Duel in the Theed Generator Complex or the 'Duel of the Fates' and a Medieval Welsh poem Cad Goddeu.




This is one of the most popular duels in the Star Wars mythology, it is easy to see why with the choreography. But the music also stands out and in general feels quite epic or operatic, this is no surprise considering the reputation of John Williams, the composer of the piece. Perhaps, his more famous works are iconic pieces such as 'The Imperial March'  and 'Star Wars Theme'.Yet, this piece, entitled the 'Duel of the Fates', in my opinion is still one of the most memorable cinematic themes, especially when it comes to Star Wars in particular.

However, the lyrics of this song, which in my opinion are hard to identify while watching the scene, are wrote in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the primary sacred language of Hinduism, it also has philosophical usage in Hinduism, along with Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. It is also a literary language (thus different in some ways to the spoken language) and was the lingua franca in Greater India and the Kingdom of Nepal (this refers to a common language that people use, if they do not share the same native language). A controversial issue, the spoken form of the language has seen attempts of revitalisation, with 14.346 self-reported speakers. However, it maintains popular usage in Buddhist hymns and chants and ceremonially in Hinduism.




For me it is much clearer to notice the lyrics when you simply listen to the orchestral piece without the action in the foreground. The Sanskrit lyrics originate from a fragment of an archaic Welsh poem Cad Goddeu or the Battle of the Trees. It was preserved in the 14th century Book of Taliesin, most of the contents of this date from the 10th century or earlier. Although, it is incomplete, it contains some 60 Welsh poems. Furthermore, it is important to take into account, that Taliesin the poet which many of the poems are attributed to, was actually active in the late 6th century, he (like some of the other potential authors) wrote in the Cumbric dialect of Hen Ogledd (a region of Northern England and the Scottish Lowlands inhabited by Celtic peoples, in the post-Roman period.) The poem records a traditional Welsh story in which Gwydion, a magician, trickster and hero of Welsh mythology animates an army of trees to fight for him. 



The picture above shows a folio (13) of the Book of Taliesin, which can be found at the National Library of Wales. Cad Goddeu is composed of 248 short lines, with the poem being easily divisible in different sections.

The first proclaims a first-hand knowledge of all things.

I have been a tear in the air,
I have been the dullest of stars.
I have been a word among letters,
I have been a book in the origin.
I have been the light of lanterns,

There is then an account of a great monstrous beast.

There passed an animal with wide jaws,
On it there were a hundred heads.
And a battle was contested
Under the root of his tongue;
And another battle there is
In his occiput.
Cad Goddeu then tells us of the fear of the Britons and how with Gwydion with his skill and by the grace of God, the trees were animated for combat. Trees and plants are now listed, each one having unique attributes.

The alder trees, the head of the line,
Formed the van.
The willows and quicken trees
Came late to the army.
Plum-trees, that are scarce, 
Unlonged for of men 

The poem continues with an account of the birth of the flower-maiden Blodeuwedd in first-person. It then follows this up with an account of a great warrior who was once a herdsmen and is now a learned traveller. This could be Taliesin himself or Arthur Pendragon (King Arthur). A rather interesting point is how the poem ends with an obscure reference to metalwork. It is also important to mention how the poem is inter-laid with Christian themes throughout, thus pointing towards Christianisation in practice.

A golden gem in a golden jewel.
I am splendid
And shall be wanton
From the oppression of the metal-workers


Overall, the poem describes a conflict between the sons of the Goddess Dôn and the forces of the Welsh otherworld, Annwn (the Sons of Dôn are comparable to the Irish Tuatha Dé Danann). It is initiated by Gwydion's brother Amaethon and Lleu Llaw Gyffes, a heroic figure and nephew of Gwydion, also takes a noticeable role in the battle at Caer Vevenir.




The front cover (as seen above) for the one-track promotional release of 'Duel of the Fates' interestingly depicts the Duel on Tatooine, rather than the final duel on Naboo. Interestingly, Williams aimed for a religious and sacred feeling in his track for this duel, thus the use of Sanskrit seems to fit well. He stated that the setting of the lightsaber duel felt like a pagan altar. The chorus also evokes a ceremonial aspect, Williams stated it seems that the death of one of the combatants seems inevitable. The meditation of Qui-Gon Jinn, when the laser barriers are up, seems to be symbiotic with the orchestral score in the pursuit of a feeling of sacredness.


With the context of the 'Duel of the Fates' in mind, the use of Sanskrit,and the sacred Christian references in Cad Goddeu, combined with its also  mythological and pagan aspects, it is easy to see why Williams created the piece and why it has became so iconic. It was used as inspiration for 'Battle of the Heroes' the piece used during the duel on Mustafar between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, not long ago Anakin Skywalker, the piece is now tragic. Nevertheless, the 'Duel of Fates' has also found home in Revenge of the Sith's duel between Yoda and Palpatine and furthermore in multimedia, mostly now considered Legends material, such as video games like Star Wars Battlefront II, Lego Star Wars and  Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. It has also recently appeared in the canon animated TV series Star Wars Rebels, with a duel between Darth Vader and his former apprentice Ahsoka Tano being the context.

Regardless, I hope this article shows the history and story behind an iconic and memorable piece of cinematic orchestral music. If you have enjoyed this article and want to read more history related posts, please follow me. You could also share this article, or comment below. If you have any suggestions for articles on any area of history then please recommend them to me in the comments sections, even if the idea draws from popular culture like this article.Perhaps I could find a connection between your favourite interest and history. Thanks for reading and May the 4th be with you.



Dosclaimer: I believe any images and videos I have used fall under the remit of fair user. I do not claim ownership of this material.

Image credit goes to Wikipedia and Wookiepedia

Sources:
http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/t08.html
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Duel_of_the_Fates
http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/nov/07/theatre1