Esbroeck
Michel van Esbroeck (b. June 17, 1934, Malin – d. November 22, 2003, Leuven) was a Belgian orientalist, Kartvelologist, Armenologist. Foreign member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences (1996), member of the Society of Bollandists (since 1962), head of the Department of Eastern Christianity at the University of Munich. He became interested in Kartvelology in 1962. He attended lectures by G. Garitte at the KU Leuven, studied Georgian and Armenian languages. In 1972, when he came across photographs of the so-called “Athos Miscellany” (11th century), Esbroeck became interested in Georgian miscellanies. That same year, he first arrived in Georgia. He worked at the Institute of Manuscripts of Georgia. He defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic Ancient Georgian Miscellanies (published in 1975). Esbroeck studied Georgian manuscripts, hagiographic and apocryphal monuments, and historical sources. He accompanied the original texts with Latin, French, German, and English translations. Esbroeck also taught the ancient Georgian language at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Rome (1982–1986) and at the University of Munich (1982–1999). In 1998, Esbroeck was awarded the Marie Brosset Prize for his significant contribution to Kartvelological studies.
Literary works: Herméneutique, structuralisme et exégèse, P., 1968; Peter the Iberian and Dionysius the Areopagite: Honigmann’s thesis revised, «Orientalia Christiana Periodica», 1993, N59; Le dossier de Sainte Nino et sa composante copte... «Atti del I Convégno internazionale di studi Georgiani», Roma 30, Gennaio, 1999; Vakhtang Gorgasali et évêque Mikael de Mtsketa, In: Proceeding of the third international symposium on Kartvelian studies, ed. E. Khintibidze, Tb., 1999.
Literature: მგალობლიშვილი თ., მ. ვან-ესბროკის გამოკვლევები ქართულ ,,მრავალთავებზე”, კრ.: მრავალთავი, [ტ.] 4, თბ., 1976; მეტრეველი ე., ახალი ნაშრომი ქართულ მრავალთავზე, «მაცნე». ენისა და ლიტერატურის სერია, 1976, N4.
T. Mgaloblishvili
E. Metreveli
