Introduction

The aim of this article is to describe an encounter between the Georgians and the Theatine missionaries working in the Caucasus in the seventeenth century, as presented in sources produced by the clergymen themselves. More specifically, the article will attempt to reconstruct how the missionaries depicted Georgians and also – where possible – how the missionaries themselves were perceived by the princes, the clergy, and the local population. The letters exchanged between the Theatines and their supervisors in Rome – as well as with correspondents in the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide), other clergymen and Pietro Della Valle – constitute an extensive list of sources relevant for the study of Georgian history in the Early Modern period. These sources also provide us with information on Christian-Muslim relations in the Caucasus at that time. Above all, the letters remain unique for both a study of the image of the Georgians as depicted by Italian clergymen, and also the presumed representation of Western newcomers by the local population. Moreover, they are useful for a study on the role of missionaries as cultural intermediators between the Latin Christendom and Georgia during this period. This paper will present an analysis of these two areas of interest.

The letters are preserved primarily in the Propaganda Fide Historical Archives and in the General Archives of the Theatines, and they remain partly unpublished.