Minimalism as Practical Necessity Cover Image

მინიმალიზმი როგორც პრაქტიკული საჭიროება (ქართულად; ინგლისური
Minimalism as Practical Necessity

Author(s): Ivane Amirkhanahvili
Subject(s): Theoretical Linguistics, Studies of Literature, Sociology of Culture
Published by: ლიტერატურის ინსტიტუტის გამომცემლობა
Keywords: Enlightenment; Metaphraste; Synaxarion;

Summary/Abstract: This is not an aesthetic direction, but a purposeful path, a practical necessity, functional style – literary strategy, art of the small form. The type of adaptation, concretism, and objectification. The practice of “minimum” rather than minimalist technique. Liturgical service requires the creation of short texts so that the liturgical calendar will not be overloaded. In the course of time, the calendar really overloaded with the feasts of the saints. It took much time to read extensive texts of the Lives and Martyrs, and therefore it became necessary to shorten the material. There was realized a communicative idea in which a primary importance was given to practice. The second pole of hagiographic narrative: from Metaphrastes to Synaxarion. Synaxarion or a “word said shortly”, “described briefly”, “selected”. The text is “selected” but the syntax is not appropriately compressed. The abridged version does not touch syntactic structure. In most cases, the style of the extended edition transfers to the abridged text without changes. It is not characterized by lapidary and laconism. The fragments of more extensive structure than its transformation. However, they have their own shape. It is a standard. The frame is narrowed but in this narrowness there remains a possibility of variation in order to open maximum opportunities of perception in a minimalistic form. Small form as an element of culture! The function of rendering the content by means of compression, contraction, laconism. Not so much intuition interferes in the action, as pragmatic approach – to highlight the fact, the phenomenon and the phrase so that the main thing remains and excludes the accidental. The aesthetic quality of the text depends on the taste of a compiler, what he chooses, what he takes from the source, what he omits. It should be also taken into account how independent and free the compiler is where freedom is needed. A compiler should also change the motivation of reading, relatively simplify the narration in an extensive text, intensify the perception and raise the mood. The “shortly said” sometimes corrects the episodes of the original and renders with different opinion and phraseology. The term Synaxarion (Synaxarium) in old Greek means collection. It comes from the word “synaxis” (“synagein” – to bring together), which means: 1. an assembly for religious worship; 2.collection of notes. The texts of Synaxarion are included in the collections: “Synaxarion”, “Gulani”, “Sadghesastsauloni”. They are associated with the liturgical practice. As was mentioned above, it is in the secondary text. The text of Synaxarion and the abridged text practically differ from each other. In Synaxarion or liturgical collections, the abridged Lives are not included, though despite this, both texts are united in synaxarion type. Synaxarion style becomes actualized after Metaphrastes reaches the acme of its development. There is an active, living process. Genre manifests the ability of self-development. In the church, as the scholars suppose, the full reading of the lives of saints continues until the end of the 10th century. At this time, they start reading the short texts in order to save time. After Giorgi Mtatsmindeli translated “Big Synaxarion” in Georgian church new Synaxarion stage of rendering hagiographic accounts commenced. (Monuments 1968:34). Giorgi Khutsesmonazoni (senior monk), a biographer of Giorgi Mtatsmindeli, calls the translation of “Big Synaxarion” the basis for the church. In his words, the church may have all the books, but if it does not have “Big Synaxarion”, it has no base because it looks like eating honey and the roof your mouth does not feel the sweetness (Monuments:57). Almost each synaxarion Life has a plain beginning, the name is recalled, the background, ancestry. The subject directly comes into perception area. The compiler of synaxarion text cannot be called an author. He is an editor-collector, without claim to creativity. The identity of any editor-collector is not known. Someone can be named only by supposition (Monuments 1968:94). Synaxarion is less interested in historical accounts, does not pay much attention to real facts most often use miracles as an effective means of generalization. However, this is not a rule either. It depends on the identity of a compiler, whose life is compiled and for which church. Unlike an extensive redaction, Synaxarion must be paraphrased. An extensive narrative should be placed in each sentence. Beyond an abridged text remains author’s reflections and wise saying. On the other hand, all significant facts related to the hero’s life are listed. In the Synaxarion of “The Life of Ilarion Kartveli,” none of the factual detail is omitted. As to the biblical parallels and emotional phraseology, they are almost neglected. Is Synaxarion an art of a detail?! This conclusion is valid when Metaphrastic text a priori means essentially extensive narration, whereas Synaxarion means collected, abridged text. There are other instances too. For example, synaxarion life of Ephrem Mtatsmindeli directly repeats the episodes of extensive life. It is not abridged even if the passage is distinguished by verbosity.The compiler of the Life of Shio Mghvime uses the following method: the passages corresponding to the Metaphrastic text are repeated with the accuracy of content but with maximal abridgment, too compressed. Synaxarion becomes a liturgical mini-model of Metaphraste. At the same time, a compiler tries not to repeat similar passages; two similar stories are rendered using one phrase. An abridged text can give such fact or detail which is absent in the extensive text.In the extensive text of the Martyrdom of David and Konstantine, a “team” of warriors is mentioned, in Synaxarion the quantity of warriors is précised: “one thousand three hundred and thirty men in number”; Metaphase also gives a general narrative of the battle of David against the enemies, but Synaxarion indicates time of the beginning the battle (‘the time of sadness”), the number of troops (nine thousand in number), the time of ending the battle and the number of perished enemies (“one thousand twenty fifty men”). Personal portraits of David and Konstantine are presented three times more extensively than in the extensive text. It is true short texts are very often collected from the extensive text but this does not happen in the case when at first the short is written and then the extensive. It is established that Synaxarion text of the “Life of Ekvtime Mtatsmindeli” goes ahead of extensive redaction. Moreover, an extensive redaction of the “Life of Ephrem and Ioane” (the author I Giorgi Mtatsmindeli) uses Synaxarion redaction as one of his sources. One Synaxarion redaction may become the source of another Synaxarion and the second can extend the first. It is just such interrelation between elevens and fortieth-centuries Synaxarion redactions (Monuments 1068:131). Synaxarion as a literary attempt! Probably, this conclusion can be correct in case if Synaxarion be regarded as an independent genre. There exist five Synaxaria of the Life of David and Konstantine. It is a unique case which proves the purpose of Synaxarion to be different from Metphraste, independent, legitimate form. The character of this tendency or in tension is kept by Synaxarion till the end, though still it remains a secondary literary phenomenon and primary liturgical fact. It cannot be considered a genre. Minimalistic transformation of small forms is a demand of time and this is determined by practical need. The economy of words does not necessary means “telegram” style but the main condition is unchanged – as much information as possible in as short a text as possible. Small holds a large. The form wins time. The sea is the sea, a drop is a drop but the drop preserves the properties of the sea. The interrelation between a part and the whole gives rise to a new quality.

  • Issue Year: 2017
  • Issue No: 18
  • Page Range: 25-31
  • Page Count: 7
  • Language: Georgian