YDK 947

Problems of the Military Etiquette24Khatuna IoselianiWarfare, army and armament are those foundations on whicheven now the strength and independence of each state is based.Military sphere had the same meaning in the Middle Ages.Because its significance,the state traditionally regulated therules and obligations of the military sphere representatives by thelaw. According to the written monuments of law the code of conductin a war was determined: to whom the trophies were belonged, howwarriors should have dealt with captured or dead warriors... For instance,it was forbidden to take off the cloths from a dead person.Those who did not obey the rule were punished by a certain punishmentand etc.According to the written sources we also have a detailed descriptionof a ceremony of becoming a king, where the representativesof the military sphere had one of the main leading role and theweapon – king’s sward together with “Dzelitskhovrebisa” (the Pillarof Life) is put in the alter of the church that is significant as well. It iswell known that a sword was not belonged to the attributes of king. Itwas peculiar only for Byzantine and Western Europe (France, Britain...).As for the folklore, there are a lot of examples of battle rulesand chivalrous behavior data. For example, who and why had theright of a first shoot in one-on-one battle, was it permitted to mutilatea body of a killed warrior or not (it was strictly forbidden) and etc.The only region in Georgia is Khevsureti where it was a rule tocut the right palm of a killed man that was determined by the religiousviewpoints. According to Khevsurians (old beliers) the life inthe next world is the same as it is on this world. So, the enemy onehaddefeated will be without right hand and if they meet each otherin the next world, will be unable to oppose him.