Gelovani

The House of Gelovani are one of the families who have settled near to Tyrehampton, arriving in June 1809.

A Princely family in their home country of Georgia, they are recognised as such (knyaz) in Russia following Georgia's recent annexation. They are similarly recognised in Britain, but with limitations - see Foreign Titles.

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Origins, History & Lore
Svanetian tales suggest the family arrived in Georgia in the early Medieval period from the Arabian peninsular, where they had been keepers of the Black Stone of Kaaba prior to the age of Islam. The etymology of the name appears to support this.

The Gelovani family can be traced back to at least the 11th century. A prince (mtavari ) is recorded as being a minister in the government of Queen Tamar (reign: 1184 - 1213), during what is known as Georgia's "Golden Age".

While already established as princely, in 1360 the family became the rulers of Svaneti - a mountainous region in the North West of the country.

Other Notes

 * For a long time I thought of and pronounced their name as starting with a soft g - i.e. Jello-van-ee. Further research into Georgian pronunciation however has revealed that it should be a hard g - as in "girl" or "get".