For over a millennium, linguists have grappled with a famous phrase from The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, a seminal Old East Slavic epic. The puzzle, however, can be resolved with surprising ease when viewed through the lens of Kartvelian linguistics.
The key lies in the Svan language, a member of the Kartvelian family, where the word drev means "time" (corresponding to dro in Georgian). Applying this meaning to the phrase in question, it transforms into a coherent and logical expression: "to spread one’s thoughts over time." In other words, the phrase describes the act of speaking at length or loquaciously, a fitting description in the context of the epic’s rhetorical style.
This interpretation is substantiated by a modern parallel in Ukrainian. In his Meditations, Ukrainian priest Yakov Krotov uses the phrase растекаться мыслью по времени ("to spread one’s thoughts over time"), writing: "…сначала, может быть, вообще отучит нас растекаться мыслью по времени, либо — или после этого — научит нас каяться…" ("…at first, it might wean us off spreading our thoughts over time, or—after that—teach us to repent…"). This usage mirrors the proposed meaning from The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, lending credence to the Kartvelian etymological hypothesis.
Furthermore, this analysis extends to related Old Slavic terms. The words издревле ("from ancient times") and древляне (the name of the Drevlians, an East Slavic tribe) have traditionally been linked to the Slavic root for "tree" (drevo). However, in light of the Svan drev meaning "time," these terms are more accurately associated with temporal concepts rather than arboreal ones. Издревле thus means "from time immemorial," and древляне could be interpreted as "people of time," perhaps reflecting their historical or cultural relationship with temporal traditions rather than a connection to trees.
By applying a Kartvelian perspective, this analysis not only resolves a long-standing linguistic mystery in The Tale of Igor’s Campaign but also reframes our understanding of related Slavic terms, revealing the deep and often overlooked influence of Kartvelian languages on early Slavic linguistic and cultural development.
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