An epitaph (from Ancient Greekἐπιτάφιος (epitáphios) 'a funeral oration'; from ἐπι- (epi-) 'at, over', and τάφος (táphos) 'tomb')[1][2] is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves before their death, while others are chosen by those responsible for the burial. An epitaph may be written in prose or in poem verse.
Most epitaphs are brief records of the family, and perhaps the career, of the deceased, often with a common expression of love or respect—for example, "beloved father of ..."—but others are more ambitious. From the Renaissance to the 19th century in Western culture, epitaphs for notable people became increasingly lengthy and pompous descriptions of their family origins, career, virtues and immediate family, often in Latin. Notably, the Laudatio Turiae, the longest known Ancient Roman epitaph, exceeds almost all of these at 180 lines; it celebrates the virtues of an honored wife, probably of a consul.[citation needed]
Some are quotes from holy texts, or aphorisms. One approach of many epitaphs is to "speak" to the reader and warn them about their own mortality. A wry trick of others is to request the reader to get off their resting place, inasmuch as the reader would have to be standing on the ground above the coffin to read the inscription. Some record achievements (e.g., past politicians note the years of their terms of office). Nearly all (excepting those where this is impossible by definition, such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) note name, year or date of birth, and date of death. Many list family members and the relationship of the deceased to them (for example, "Father / Mother / Son / Daughter of").[citation needed]
The history of epitaphs extends as far back as the ancient Egyptians and have differed in delivery.[3] The ancient Greeks utilised emotive expression, written in elegiac verse, later in prose.[3]Ancient Romans' use of epitaphs was more blunt and uniform, typically detailing facts of the deceased – as did the earliest epitaphs in English churches.[3] "May the earth lie light upon thee" was a common inscription for them.[3] Due to the influence of Roman occupiers, the dominant language of epitaphs was Latin, evidenced by the oldest existing epitaphs in Britain. French and English came into fashion around the 13th and 14th centuries, respectively.[3]
By the 16th century, epitaphs had become more literary in nature and those written in verse were involved in trade.[3] In America and Britain, comedic epitaphs are common in the form of acrostics, palindromes, riddles, and puns on names and professions – Robert Burns, the most prolific pre-Romantic epitaphist, wrote 35 pieces, them being largely satirical.[3][4] The rate of literary epitaphs has been historically overshadowed by "popular sepulchral inscriptions which are produced in countless numbers at all time"; "strictly literary" epitaphs were most present during the start of the Romantic period.[4]
The Lake Poets have been credited with providing success to epitaph-writing adjacent to that of poetry significance – Robert Southey, in focusing simultaneously upon transience and eternity, contributed substantially.[4] General interest for epitaphs was waning at the cusp of the 19th century, in contrast to a considerable burgeoning intellectual interest.[4] Critical essays had been published before on the matter, possibly contributing towards its flourishing in the latter half of the 18th century.[4] Epitaphs never became a major poetic form and, according to Romantic scholar Ernest Bernhardt-Kabisch, they had "virtually disappeared" by 1810. "The art of the epitaph was largely lost in the 20th century", wrote Encyclopedia Britannica.[3][4]
Format
Sarcophagi and coffins were the choice of ancient Egyptians for epitaphs; brasses was the prominent format for a significant period of time.[3] Epitaphs upon stone monuments became a common feature by the Elizabethan era.[3]
Stock phrases or standard elements present in epitaphs on mediaeval church monuments and ledger stones in England include:
Hic jacet.. (here lies...)
... cuius animae propitietur deus amen (generally abbreviated to cuius aie ppitiet ds ame with tildes indicating the omitted letters) ("whose soul may God look upon with favour Amen")
Memoriae sacrum ... / MS ("Sacred to the memory (of) ...")
Good frend for İesvs sake forebeare, To digg the dvst encloased heare. Bleste be yͤ man yͭ spares thes stones, And cvrst be he yͭ moves my bones.
(In modern spelling): Good friend, for Jesus's sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones.
Here sleeps at peace a Hampshire Grenadier Who caught his early death by drinking cold small beer. Soldiers, be wise at his untimely fall, And when you're hot, drink strong or none at all.
The gravestone of comedian, writer and actor Spike Milligan showing the notable epitaph
Grave of Mary Kay Bergman, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills). Note that it features etchings of characters she voiced on South Park.
The epitaph of the preacher Berthold de Wyrbna (Dominican) from 1316 in Szprotawa, the oldest tombstone in Silesia, Poland.
In music
In a more figurative sense, the term may be used for music composed in memory of the deceased. Igor Stravinsky composed in 1958 Epitaphium for flute, clarinet and harp. In 1967 Krzysztof Meyer called his Symphony No. 2 for choir and orchestra Epitaphium Stanisław Wiechowicz in memoriam. Jeffrey Lewis composed Epitaphium – Children of the Sun for narrator, chamber choir, piano, flute, clarinet and percussion. In 1969, King Crimson released the song Epitaph, giving a reference to epitaphs within the song. Bronius Kutavičius composed in 1998 Epitaphium temporum pereunti. Valentin Silvestrov composed in 1999 Epitaph L.B. (Епітафія Л.Б.) for viola (or cello) and piano. In 2007 Graham Waterhouse composed Epitaphium for string trio as a tribute to the memory of his father William Waterhouse. The South African poet Gert Vlok Nel wrote an (originally) untitled song, which appeared on his first music album "Beaufort-Wes se Beautiful Woorde" as "Epitaph", because his producer Eckard Potgieter told him that the song sounded like an epitaph. David Bowie's final album, Blackstar, released in 2016, is generally seen as his musical epitaph, with singles "Blackstar" and "Lazarus" often singled out.
In space
In the late 1990s, a unique epitaph was flown to the Moon along with the ashes of geologist and planetary scientist Eugene Shoemaker.[16] At the suggestion of colleague Carolyn Porco, Shoemaker's ashes were launched aboard the Lunar Prospector spacecraft on January 6, 1998.[17] The ashes were accompanied by a laser-engraved epitaph on a small piece of foil.[16] The spacecraft, along with the ashes and epitaph, crashed on command into the south polar region of the Moon on July 31, 1999.
^ abcdefghijBritannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia (20 June 2019). "Epitaph | poetic form". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 5 August 2021. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ abcdefBernhardt-Kabisch, Ernest (1967). "The Epitaph and the Romantic Poets: A Survey". Huntington Library Quarterly. 30 (2): 113–146. doi:10.2307/3816994. ISSN 0018-7895. JSTOR 3816994.
^"The Man Who Loved Only Numbers". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
^"Göttingen Stadtfriedhof Grab David Hilbert". Wikimedia.
^"Famous Epitaph on Unknown Soldier tomb stone". Famousquotes.me.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
^Thucydides (1843). "History of the Peloponnesian War 2.34.3". In Molesworth, William (ed.). The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. Vol. VIII. Thomas Hobbes (translator). London: John Bohn. p. 188. Available online at the Perseus Project.
^Thucydides (1910). "2.43.3". The Peloponnesian War. Translated by Richard Crawley. London, New York: J. M. Dent; E. P. Dutton. Available online at the Perseus Project.
^"Milligan gets last laugh on grave". BBC News Online. 24 May 2004. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
^ abPorco, Carolyn. "The Eugene M. Shoemaker Tribute". Diamond Sky Productions. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
^Porco, Carolyn C. (February 2000). "Destination Moon". Astronomy. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
Bibliography
Vidor, Gian Marco (2014). Satisfying the mind and inflaming the heart: emotions and funerary epigraphy in nineteenth-century Italy. Mortality (Routledge), on-line edition. Satisfying the mind and inflaming the heart: emotions and funerary epigraphy in nineteenth-century Italy
Bertrand, Régis (2005). Que de vertus. Les épitaphes édifiantes des débuts du XIXe siècle. In R. Bertrand, A. Carol, & J.-N. Pelen (Eds.), Les narrations de la mort (pp. 241–255). Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l'Universite' de Provence.
Guthke, K. S. (2003). Epitaph culture in the west. Variations on a theme in cultural history. Lewiston, NY: Mellen.
Imperial War Museum. . archive.iwm.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
March 29, 2023
epitaph, other, uses, disambiguation, confused, with, epigraph, epithet, examples, perspective, this, article, deal, primarily, with, western, culture, represent, worldwide, view, subject, improve, this, article, discuss, issue, talk, page, create, article, ap. For other uses see Epitaph disambiguation Not to be confused with epigraph or epithet The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with Western culture and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate March 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message An epitaph from Ancient Greek ἐpitafios epitaphios a funeral oration from ἐpi epi at over and tafos taphos tomb 1 2 is a short text honoring a deceased person Strictly speaking it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque but it may also be used in a figurative sense Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves before their death while others are chosen by those responsible for the burial An epitaph may be written in prose or in poem verse Epitaph on the base of the Haymarket Martyrs Monument Waldheim Cemetery Forest Park Illinois Most epitaphs are brief records of the family and perhaps the career of the deceased often with a common expression of love or respect for example beloved father of but others are more ambitious From the Renaissance to the 19th century in Western culture epitaphs for notable people became increasingly lengthy and pompous descriptions of their family origins career virtues and immediate family often in Latin Notably the Laudatio Turiae the longest known Ancient Roman epitaph exceeds almost all of these at 180 lines it celebrates the virtues of an honored wife probably of a consul citation needed Some are quotes from holy texts or aphorisms One approach of many epitaphs is to speak to the reader and warn them about their own mortality A wry trick of others is to request the reader to get off their resting place inasmuch as the reader would have to be standing on the ground above the coffin to read the inscription Some record achievements e g past politicians note the years of their terms of office Nearly all excepting those where this is impossible by definition such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier note name year or date of birth and date of death Many list family members and the relationship of the deceased to them for example Father Mother Son Daughter of citation needed Contents 1 History 1 1 Format 2 In England 2 1 Medieval era 2 2 Modern era 3 Notable examples 3 1 Poets playwrights and other writers 3 2 Statesmen 3 3 Mathematicians 3 4 Soldiers 3 5 Entertainers 3 6 Activists 3 7 Other 4 Monuments with epitaphs 5 In music 6 In space 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External linksHistory EditThe history of epitaphs extends as far back as the ancient Egyptians and have differed in delivery 3 The ancient Greeks utilised emotive expression written in elegiac verse later in prose 3 Ancient Romans use of epitaphs was more blunt and uniform typically detailing facts of the deceased as did the earliest epitaphs in English churches 3 May the earth lie light upon thee was a common inscription for them 3 Due to the influence of Roman occupiers the dominant language of epitaphs was Latin evidenced by the oldest existing epitaphs in Britain French and English came into fashion around the 13th and 14th centuries respectively 3 By the 16th century epitaphs had become more literary in nature and those written in verse were involved in trade 3 In America and Britain comedic epitaphs are common in the form of acrostics palindromes riddles and puns on names and professions Robert Burns the most prolific pre Romantic epitaphist wrote 35 pieces them being largely satirical 3 4 The rate of literary epitaphs has been historically overshadowed by popular sepulchral inscriptions which are produced in countless numbers at all time strictly literary epitaphs were most present during the start of the Romantic period 4 The Lake Poets have been credited with providing success to epitaph writing adjacent to that of poetry significance Robert Southey in focusing simultaneously upon transience and eternity contributed substantially 4 General interest for epitaphs was waning at the cusp of the 19th century in contrast to a considerable burgeoning intellectual interest 4 Critical essays had been published before on the matter possibly contributing towards its flourishing in the latter half of the 18th century 4 Epitaphs never became a major poetic form and according to Romantic scholar Ernest Bernhardt Kabisch they had virtually disappeared by 1810 The art of the epitaph was largely lost in the 20th century wrote Encyclopedia Britannica 3 4 Format Edit Sarcophagi and coffins were the choice of ancient Egyptians for epitaphs brasses was the prominent format for a significant period of time 3 Epitaphs upon stone monuments became a common feature by the Elizabethan era 3 In England EditMedieval era Edit Ledger stone with epitaph in ledger lines of Sir John Harsyck d 1384 South Acre Church Norfolk Stock phrases or standard elements present in epitaphs on mediaeval church monuments and ledger stones in England include Hic jacet here lies cuius animae propitietur deus amen generally abbreviated to cuius aie ppitiet ds ame with tildes indicating the omitted letters whose soul may God look upon with favour Amen Memoriae sacrum MS Sacred to the memory of Modern era Edit Requiescat in pace RIP may he rest in peace Notable examples EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed June 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Wikiquote has quotations related to Epitaphs Poets playwrights and other writers Edit While you live shine have no grief at all life exists only for a short while and Time demands his due Seikilos epitaph oldest surviving complete musical composition 5 This is my father s crime against me which I myself committed against none Al Ma arri 6 Good frend for Iesvs sake forebeare To digg the dvst encloased heare Bleste be y man y spares thes stones And cvrst be he y moves my bones In modern spelling Good friend for Jesus s sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here Blessed be the man that spares these stones And cursed be he that moves my bones William Shakespeare 7 Here lies One whose Name was writ in Water John Keats Cast a cold eye On life on death Horseman pass by W B Yeats Under Ben Bulben Heroes and Kings your distance keep In peace let one poor poet sleep Who never flattered folks like you Let Horace blush and Virgil too Alexander Pope 8 Sleep after toyle port after stormie seas Ease after warre death after life does greatly please Joseph Conrad in Edmund Spenser The Faerie Queene Homo sum the adventurer D H Lawrence Against you I will fling myself unvanquished and unyielding O Death Virginia Woolf 9 Statesmen Edit Oh God Devanagari ह र म Mahatma Gandhi Mathematicians Edit I ve finally stopped getting dumber Hungarian Vegre nem butulok tovabb Paul Erdos 10 We must know We will know German Wir mussen wissen Wir werden wissen David Hilbert 11 Soldiers Edit Go tell the Spartans stranger passing by that here obedient to their law we lie Simonides s epigram honoring the 300 at Thermopylae Here sleeps at peace a Hampshire Grenadier Who caught his early death by drinking cold small beer Soldiers be wise at his untimely fall And when you re hot drink strong or none at all Thomas Thetcher tombstone epitaph in Winchester Cathedral To save your world you asked this man to die Would this man could he see you now ask why Epitaph for the Unknown Soldier written by W H Auden 12 When you go home tell them of us and say For your tomorrow we gave our today The Kohima Epitaph by John Maxwell Edmonds There is borne an empty hearse covered over for such as appear not Heroes have the whole earth for their tomb Unknown Soldier s epitaph Athens passages taken from Pericles Funeral Oration 13 14 Entertainers Edit And the beat goes on Sonny Bono That s all folks Mel Blanc I told you I was ill Irish Duirt me leat go raibh me breoite Spike Milligan 15 Activists Edit Free at last Free at last Thank God AlmightyI m Free at last Martin Luther King Jr Other Edit He never killed a man that did not need killing Gunfighter Clay AllisonMonuments with epitaphs Edit Epitaph painted by Guidon Reni for the knight van Ertborn de Witte Grave of Selena at Seaside Memorial Park in Corpus Christi Texas citing Isaiah 25 8 writings Epitaph for heart of Frederic Chopin Grave of W B Yeats Drumecliff Co Sligo Lengthy epitaph for Johann Wauer a German pastor died 1728 concluding with a short Biblical quotation The epitaph on voice actor Mel Blanc s tombstone Inscription at Heather O Rourke s crypt Ezzatollah Sahabi Glory of Iran and his patriotic daughter Haleh A folksy epitaph to an English village blacksmith in Houghton Cambridgeshire UK The gravestone of comedian writer and actor Spike Milligan showing the notable epitaph Grave of Mary Kay Bergman at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills Note that it features etchings of characters she voiced on South Park The epitaph of the preacher Berthold de Wyrbna Dominican from 1316 in Szprotawa the oldest tombstone in Silesia Poland In music EditIn a more figurative sense the term may be used for music composed in memory of the deceased Igor Stravinsky composed in 1958 Epitaphium for flute clarinet and harp In 1967 Krzysztof Meyer called his Symphony No 2 for choir and orchestra Epitaphium Stanislaw Wiechowicz in memoriam Jeffrey Lewis composed Epitaphium Children of the Sun for narrator chamber choir piano flute clarinet and percussion In 1969 King Crimson released the song Epitaph giving a reference to epitaphs within the song Bronius Kutavicius composed in 1998 Epitaphium temporum pereunti Valentin Silvestrov composed in 1999 Epitaph L B Epitafiya L B for viola or cello and piano In 2007 Graham Waterhouse composed Epitaphium for string trio as a tribute to the memory of his father William Waterhouse The South African poet Gert Vlok Nel wrote an originally untitled song which appeared on his first music album Beaufort Wes se Beautiful Woorde as Epitaph because his producer Eckard Potgieter told him that the song sounded like an epitaph David Bowie s final album Blackstar released in 2016 is generally seen as his musical epitaph with singles Blackstar and Lazarus often singled out In space EditIn the late 1990s a unique epitaph was flown to the Moon along with the ashes of geologist and planetary scientist Eugene Shoemaker 16 At the suggestion of colleague Carolyn Porco Shoemaker s ashes were launched aboard the Lunar Prospector spacecraft on January 6 1998 17 The ashes were accompanied by a laser engraved epitaph on a small piece of foil 16 The spacecraft along with the ashes and epitaph crashed on command into the south polar region of the Moon on July 31 1999 See also EditChronogram Cenotaph Death poem Epigraph Epitaph TV series Eulogy Epitaphios logos ancient Greek funeral oration Hero stone Seikilos epitaph Epitaph RecordsReferences Edit ἐpitafios Liddell Henry George Scott Robert A Greek English Lexicon at the Perseus Project epitaph Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 18 March 2012 a b c d e f g h i j Britannica The Editors of Encyclopedia 20 June 2019 Epitaph poetic form Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 5 August 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a first has generic name help CS1 maint url status link a b c d e f Bernhardt Kabisch Ernest 1967 The Epitaph and the Romantic Poets A Survey Huntington Library Quarterly 30 2 113 146 doi 10 2307 3816994 ISSN 0018 7895 JSTOR 3816994 Landels John G 1999 Music in Ancient Greece and Rome London and New York Routledge ISBN 9780415167765 cloth ISBN 9780415248433 pbk ISBN 9780203042847 ebook Blankinship Kevin 20 September 2015 An Elegy by al Ma arri Jadaliyya Retrieved 4 May 2020 Photograph of William Shakespear s grave 3 June 2007 Charles Dickens 1893 Dickens Dictionary Of The Thames p 269 Woolf Virginia 1931 The Waves Berlin Harcourt The Man Who Loved Only Numbers archive nytimes com Retrieved 28 July 2022 Gottingen Stadtfriedhof Grab David Hilbert Wikimedia Famous Epitaph on Unknown Soldier tomb stone Famousquotes me uk Retrieved 18 March 2012 Thucydides 1843 History of the Peloponnesian War 2 34 3 In Molesworth William ed The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury Vol VIII Thomas Hobbes translator London John Bohn p 188 Available online at the Perseus Project Thucydides 1910 2 43 3 The Peloponnesian War Translated by Richard Crawley London New York J M Dent E P Dutton Available online at the Perseus Project Milligan gets last laugh on grave BBC News Online 24 May 2004 Retrieved 8 June 2015 a b Porco Carolyn The Eugene M Shoemaker Tribute Diamond Sky Productions Retrieved 8 June 2013 Porco Carolyn C February 2000 Destination Moon Astronomy Retrieved 8 June 2013 Bibliography EditVidor Gian Marco 2014 Satisfying the mind and inflaming the heart emotions and funerary epigraphy in nineteenth century Italy Mortality Routledge on line edition Satisfying the mind and inflaming the heart emotions and funerary epigraphy in nineteenth century Italy Bertrand Regis 2005 Que de vertus Les epitaphes edifiantes des debuts du XIXe siecle In R Bertrand A Carol amp J N Pelen Eds Les narrations de la mort pp 241 255 Aix en Provence Publications de l Universite de Provence Guthke K S 2003 Epitaph culture in the west Variations on a theme in cultural history Lewiston NY Mellen External links EditEpitaph at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Imperial War Museum What is the Kohima Epitaph archive iwm org uk Archived from the original on 30 December 2014 Retrieved 4 April 2013 Kohima Epitaph Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Epitaph amp oldid 1146089005, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
