Marjory Scott Wardrop

Marjory Scott Wardrop (1869–1909) was a pioneering British scholar and translator who opened a cultural bridge between Georgia and the English-speaking world. Born in London and deeply inspired by her brother Sir Oliver Wardrop’s travels, she taught herself Georgian—a language then virtually unknown in Britain—and immersed herself in its literature.

Her Georgian Folk Tales (1894), published as the first volume of the prestigious Grimm Library, introduced Western readers to the rich oral traditions of Georgia. But it was her translation of the 12th-century epic The Knight in the Panther’s Skin by Shota Rustaveli—published posthumously in 1912—that remains her crowning achievement, praised for both literary grace and linguistic fidelity.

Despite limited academic opportunities for women of her time, Marjory combined sharp intellect with deep cultural empathy. She travelled to Georgia, co-founded the Society for the Promotion of the Study of Georgian Language and Literature, and laid the foundation for Georgian studies in Britain. Her legacy endures through the Marjory Wardrop Fund at Oxford and the continuing reverence of her name in Georgia.