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From Nordan Symposia
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==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] ''epitaphe'', from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin ''epitaphium'', from [[Latin]], [[funeral]] [[oration]], from [[Greek]] ''epitaphion'', from ''epi''- + ''taphos'' [[tomb]], funeral
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century]
==Definitions==
*1: an inscription on or at a [[tomb]] or a grave in [[memory]] of the one buried there
*2: a brief [[statement]] commemorating or epitomizing a deceased person or something [[past]]
==Description==
An '''epitaph''' (from [[Greek]] ἐπιτάφιος ''epitaphios'' "a funeral oration" from ἐπί epi "at, over" and τάφος taphos "[[tomb]]" 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 in [[poetic]] verse; poets have been known to compose their own epitaphs prior to their death, as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare William Shakespeare] did.
Most epitaphs are brief records of the [[family]], and perhaps the [[career]], of the deceased, often with an [[expression]] of [[love]] or [[respect]] - "beloved father of ..." - but others are more ambitious. From the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance 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. However, the Laudatio Turiae, the longest known Ancient Roman epitaph, exceeds almost all of these at 180 lines; it celebrates the virtues of a [[wife]], probably of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consul consul].
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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier 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").
[[Category: Anthropology]]
==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] ''epitaphe'', from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin ''epitaphium'', from [[Latin]], [[funeral]] [[oration]], from [[Greek]] ''epitaphion'', from ''epi''- + ''taphos'' [[tomb]], funeral
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century]
==Definitions==
*1: an inscription on or at a [[tomb]] or a grave in [[memory]] of the one buried there
*2: a brief [[statement]] commemorating or epitomizing a deceased person or something [[past]]
==Description==
An '''epitaph''' (from [[Greek]] ἐπιτάφιος ''epitaphios'' "a funeral oration" from ἐπί epi "at, over" and τάφος taphos "[[tomb]]" 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 in [[poetic]] verse; poets have been known to compose their own epitaphs prior to their death, as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare William Shakespeare] did.
Most epitaphs are brief records of the [[family]], and perhaps the [[career]], of the deceased, often with an [[expression]] of [[love]] or [[respect]] - "beloved father of ..." - but others are more ambitious. From the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance 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. However, the Laudatio Turiae, the longest known Ancient Roman epitaph, exceeds almost all of these at 180 lines; it celebrates the virtues of a [[wife]], probably of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consul consul].
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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier 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").
[[Category: Anthropology]]
