During the visit to Georgia, Guðni Th. Johannesson, the president of Iceland, made his way to visit the resting place of Grigol Matchavariani in the capital Tiblisi. Mr. Matchavariani was a personal friend of President Johannesson, and moreover, a deeply devoted enthusiast of Icelandic language and literature.
In the fall of 1992, a letter appeared on the readers’ column of Iceland’s oldest and most widely circulated newspaper, Morgunbladid. While such letters were commonplace, this one gathered considerable attention nationwide. Readers noticed approvingly the beautiful use of the Icelandic language in the text of the letter but were at the same time quite flummoxed to see that the sender was in fact an individual in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. In his letter the man expressed great admiration for Iceland, the Icelandic language, the ancient Sagas and more.
As it turned out, the letter was sent by the said Georgian at the suggestion of President Johannesson, then a student in England. Around that time, President Johannesson’s female schoolmate told him about her compatriot, Grigol Matchavariani by name, who not only had a deep interest in all things Icelandic, but actually spoke Icelandic – an exceedingly difficult language to master by any measure – having taught himself by reading old Icelandic books. The Icelandic student and future president was duly impressed.
Thus, the Icelandic student in England and his friend from Georgia came to know each other. The letter that appeared in the readers’ column of Morgunbladid, prompted the Icelandic Prime Minister at the time, Davíð Oddsson, to invite Grigol and his wife Irma to Iceland in December 1992. The couple was only too happy to accept.
As it turned out, Grigol not only wrote excellent Icelandic, but also spoke the language fluently. Having learned the language from ancient writings, his vocabulary was accordingly graceful, if slightly antiquated. There may not have been a local person who spoke Icelandic as beautifully as Grigol did, and in such a casual, effortless manner.
Grigol Matchavariani died following a car accident in Georgia in the spring of 1996, much to the sorrow of the Icelandic people who had come to admire this true friend of their country. Following his death, his wife Irma and daughter Tamar moved to Iceland. Almost 30 years later, the people of Iceland still cherish the memory of the Georgian who so dearly loved Iceland and the Icelandic language.
