Medieval written sources from Georgia provide an enlightening case study in understanding how astronomy was adapted in religious and secular works for a society on the periphery of the Byzantine and Islamic worlds. Religious calendrical works and biblical prognostication texts are among the numerous astronomical written sources preserved in medieval Georgian manuscripts. For the most part, these Georgian sources are based on Byzantine models. On the other hand, Persian and Byzantine influences, including astronomical ideas and beliefs, pervade medieval Georgian literature, particularly poetry. A medieval Georgian calendrical work, prognostication text, hagiography, and epic poem show how long-held astronomical ideas and beliefs were tailored, with subtle innovation, for a specifically Georgian audience.

This presentation is based on work co-authored by Wayne Orchiston.