Authors: Rusudan Mikautadze – Department of History and Archeology; Associate Professor Madona Robakidze – Department of History and Archeology; Associate Professor (deceased)
Thomas Wardrop and his wife Marjory Cameron Scott were blessed with three children: Oliver, Marjory, and Thomas, hailing from a distinguished Scottish family. Oliver Wardrop first encountered Shota Rustaveli on February 19, 1887, during a pilgrimage to Palestine, where he observed Rustaveli’s fresco in the Holy Cross Monastery. This experience ignited his and his family’s lifelong fascination with Rustaveli and his poetry.
Oliver served as a representative of the British Kingdom in the South Caucasus and Georgia. He dedicated a book to Georgia titled “The Georgian Kingdom: Impressions from a Journey to the Land of Women, Wine, and Songs.” In it, Oliver described Kutaisi, writing, “Kutaisi is a beautiful city with 25,000 inhabitants, nearly all Georgians. The remains of a great temple across the river attest to the location of the main city in previous centuries. From here, one can enjoy a magnificent view of the city. The city boasts many beautiful stone houses, lush greenery, and fertile land, making it a picturesque part of Imereti. A traveler wishing to understand how a Georgian lives in the cities should spend at least one to two months in Kutaisi.”
His book further notes, “Georgians are not only pleasing to look at but also provide the best cure for those seeking relief from anxiety, melancholy, misanthropy, and gloom. There is no better remedy than to live among these cheerful, warm-hearted, simple, honest, and naïve people.”
Inspired by this book, his sister Marjory fell in love with Georgia and dedicated her life to studying the Georgian language, its history, and culture, aiming to visit Georgia and establish relationships with its people. In 1894, Oliver Wardrop published an English translation with commentary of Sulxan-Saba Orbeliani’s “The Wisdom of Lies” and “Georgian Folk Tales,” as well as Ilia Chavchavadze’s “The Hermit” translated by Marjory Wardrop.
In December 1894, Marjory arrived in Georgia with her mother. In her diaries titled “Notes on a Journey to Georgia in 1894-1895,” she described Kutaisi, shrouding our city in a mythical veil and noting, “Here in ancient Kutaisi, in Colchis, amidst the shady forests of Rioni, Jason came in search of the Golden Fleece, found the long-sought treasure, and here he whispered love tales to the beautiful sorceress Medea.”
During their stay in Kutaisi, the Wardrops visited important sites like Gelati and Motsameta. Marjory’s descriptions highlight their beauty and significance to Georgian history and culture. While her historical accounts occasionally deviated from actual events, her efforts were nevertheless significant. She seemed so captivated by everything Georgian that at times her emotions surpassed reality.
In Kutaisi, the Wardrops met with the Bishop of Imereti, Gabriel, whose sermons were translated into English and published by the renowned English theologian Malan. Solomon Malan visited Kutaisi in May 1872 to meet with Bishop Gabriel and even conducted services and preached in Georgian at the Kutaisi Cathedral and Gelati. Marjory, charmed by Bishop Gabriel’s tranquility and refinement, took his photograph and included it in her album.
From Kutaisi, the Wardrop family traveled to Guria, to the family of Machutadze, which had an English wife. During this time, Marjory likely met Venera Beridze from Kutaisi, who lived with Telemach Guriaeli’s family, as Telemach was married to Venera’s sister Nino. This marked the beginning of their friendship. Numerous letters from Venera Beridze to the Wardrops are preserved in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Venera (Barbare) Beridze was a highly educated young woman. She studied in Europe for a time and taught French first at the Kutaisi Boys’ Gymnasium and then at the Kaukhchishvili Girls’ Gymnasium. An excellent professional and a nationally minded woman, she and her sister Nino actively participated in public affairs. Venera Beridze was a member of a society promoting literacy among Georgians. The press of the time contains several reports that she and her sister Nino donated funds to the Literacy Society, the Historical-Ethnographic Society, and the construction of monuments to Rustaveli and Baratashvili.
In a letter dated September 3, 1911, to Oliver, Venera expressed concern about the threat of loss of ancient Georgian manuscripts and pointed out the role of Russian collectors in this. Georgian press of the time recorded numerous instances of Russian collectors transporting not only manuscripts but also archaeological artifacts out of Georgia on wagons. “As for what I write about old manuscripts, of course, I and other conscious people are trying to preserve them. We search for them, but still, many are lost, and even more end up in the hands of the Russians,” (S. Stoyer’s book, work, p. 157).
In 1896, the entire Wardrop family returned to Georgia. They visited Kutaisi, Guria, and I. Chavchavadze in Tbilisi. At that time, Marjory began translating “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin,” which took 18 years and was never published during her lifetime. In her translation work, she consulted with Georgian scholars: Al. Khakhanashvili, N. Mars, Al. Tsagareli. Marjory paid great attention to researching each word, identifying unclear parts of the text, comparing old and new meanings of words, and trying to find suitable English translations for Georgian words. From Marjory’s letters, it is evident that Venera Beridze, along with other ladies, helped her interpret the meanings of individual words during the translation of “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin.”
In 1896, after leaving Georgia, Marjory, closely following the processes occurring in Georgia, sent a letter and 100 manats to Simon Tsereteli, head of the nobility of the Kutaisi province, to assist peasants affected by a flood. Additionally, the Wardrops helped Georgian students in England with housing and finances and provided recommendations for university education.
Dozens of letters from Venera Beridze, including a poem dedicated to Marjory, are stored in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Venera shared with Marjory the public activities of Kutaisi women. Marjory deeply loved Venera. From the letters, it is clear that she sent her textbooks in English, newspapers, magazines, and books, offering her to learn English and come to England with her. In several letters, Venera reported that she had not yet managed to go to England, although she was studying English. Before her death (December 1909), Marjory removed her jewelry, gave it to Oliver, and asked him to marry Venera Beridze.
Marjory’s death was met with great mourning in Georgia. Oliver’s archive is full of condolence letters and postcards sent by Georgians from Georgia and abroad. Marjory’s death deeply affected him; he left diplomatic service and began publishing cartographic works. He continued to acquire and supplement his collection of Georgian books and manuscripts, later donating them to the Bodleian Library at Oxford University. In 1909, Oliver Wardrop founded the Marjory Wardrop Charitable Fund at Oxford University. The fund’s purpose was to establish a chair of the Georgian language and promote Georgian studies. In 1912, together with the Royal Asiatic Society, Oliver published the first (incomplete) English translation of “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin,” which Marjory Wardrop initially worked on in London and continued in Russia, where Professor Alexander Tsagareli of St. Petersburg University assisted her. Oliver added a preface to the English version of “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin.” Oliver Wardrop is also responsible for the translation of “Dedication of the Monument” by George the Brilliant ( Brtskinvale), and in 1914, he issued in the journal of the Royal Asiatic Society English publications “Visramiani” and “The Lives of Saint James.”
At a meeting on December 1, 1910, he was elected a full member of the Historical-Ethnographic Society of Georgia. In 1911, he visited Georgia for the third time. That year, he published an Anglo-Svan dictionary in the journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, as well as a translation of the work of Alexander Tsagareli, a description of the translations of Georgian manuscripts of Athos.
In 1911, Oliver came to Kutaisi to ask for Venera’s hand, but she was already engaged to Rosto Tsereteli, although he did not take back Marjory’s engagement gifts and left them with her.
In response to these gifts, Venera sent Oliver one of the most precious relics of the Tsereteli family, one of the old, colorful miniature manuscripts of “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin,” which is currently stored in the Bodleian Library in the UK. As noted by P. Margvelashvili, at the request of Venera Beridze Giga (George) Simonovich Tsereteli undertook, possibly controversial but justified and important from today’s perspective step – on one hand, he found the best refuge for the precious manuscript in the face of the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, and on the other hand, by the same action, he aptly expressed the Georgian people’s gratitude to the Wardrops.”
According to one letter, preserved in the Literary Museum, which Sh. Stoyer presented in her dissertation, which was written by Telemach Gurrieli’s daughter Nino, we learn that “Oliver intended to marry Venera, the educated sister of Nino, but Venera’s family opposed. ‘We cannot give her away in marriage so far; we will lose her forever.’”
On February 4, 1912, Venera Beridze tragically passed away three months after childbirth. At the request of Rosto Tsereteli, Nitsa Bagrationi-Tsereteli informed Oliver of this sad news. Apparently, Oliver and Venera’s close relationship was no secret. Some time later, when Oliver married, he wrote in a letter sent to Georgia that had his first child been a girl, he would have named her Venera.
In 1927, Oliver Wardrop left government service and dedicated all his time to the Marjory Wardrop Fund, which accomplished significant work. The fund materially supported Georgian students in England, among them Mikhako Tsereteli. Oliver continued to acquire Georgian books and manuscripts for Oxford University, the British Museum, and the Institute of Oriental Studies in London. Along with the renowned English historian William E. D. Allen, he founded the “Georgian Historical Society” in England (1930) and published the journal “Georgica.” Oliver Wardrop financially supported the Institute of History and Archeology of the Caucasus in Tbilisi (founded in 1917).
It can be confidently stated that Oliver and Marjory Wardrop are the founders of Georgian studies at Oxford University in England. They introduced the English public to Georgia’s history, rich literature, culture, and traditions. At the request of Oxford University, UNESCO declared 2019 as the year of Marjory Wardrop, thus once again honoring the memory of these two great individuals who loved Georgia deeply.