''Encomium'' (: ''encomia'') is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word deriving from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''enkomion'' (), meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is '' laudatio'', a speech in praise of someone or something. Originally was the song sung by the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

at the κῶμος, or festal procession, held at the

Panhellenic Games Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate religious festivals held in ancient Greece that became especially well known for the athletic competitions they included. The four festivals were: the Ancient Olympic Games, Olympic Games, ...

in honour of the victor, either on the day of his victory or on its anniversary. The word came afterwards to denote any song written in celebration of distinguished persons, and in later times any spoken or written

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

whatever. ''Encomium'' also refers to several distinct aspects of

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

: * A general category of oratory * A method within rhetorical

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

* A

figure of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or Denotation, literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, et ...

praising a person or thing, but occurring on a smaller scale than an entire speech * The eighth exercise in the

progymnasmata Progymnasmata (Greek προγυμνάσματα "fore-exercises"; Latin ''praeexercitamina'') are a series of preliminary rhetorical exercises that began in ancient Greece and continued during the Roman Empire. These exercises were implemented by ...

series * A literary genre that included five elements: prologue, birth and upbringing, acts of the person's life, comparisons used to praise the subject, and an epilogue :*The ''

basilikos logos In Byzantine rhetoric, a ''basilikos logos'' (, literally "imperial word") or ''logos eis ton autokratora'' ("speech to the emperor") is an encomium addressed to an emperor on an important occasion, regularly at Epiphany. The parameters of the genr ...

'' (imperial encomium), a formal genre in the Byzantine empire

Examples

Gorgias Gorgias ( ; ; – ) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Several doxographers report that he was a pupil of Empedocles, although he would only have been a few years ...

' famous ''

Encomium of Helen Gorgias ( ; ; – ) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Several doxographers report that he was a pupil of Empedocles, although he would only have been a few years y ...

'' offers several justifications for excusing

Helen of Troy Helen (), also known as Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta, and in Latin as Helena, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus and Leda (mythology), ...

's adultery * In

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

' ''

In Praise of Folly ''In Praise of Folly'', also translated as ''The Praise of Folly'' ( or ), is an essay written in Latin in 1509 by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam and first printed in June 1511. Inspired by previous works of the Italian Renaissance humanism, hu ...

'', Folly composes an encomium to herself * ''

De Pippini regis Victoria Avarica ''Rythmus'' (or ''Carmen'') ''de Pippini regis Victoria Avarica'' ("Poem ongof king Pippin's Avar victory"), also known by its incipit as ''Omnes gentes qui fecisti'' ("All peoples whom you created"), is a medieval Latin encomium celebrating the v ...

'' is a medieval encomium of the victory of

Pepin of Italy Pepin or Pippin (born Carloman), (777 – 8 July 810) was King of Italy from 781 until his death in 810. He was the third son of Charlemagne (and his second with Queen Hildegard). Upon his baptism in 781, Carloman was renamed Pepin, where he wa ...

over the Avars * ''

Encomium Emmae Reginae ''Encomium Emmae Reginae'' or ''Gesta Cnutonis Regis'' is an 11th-century Latin encomium in honour of the English queen Emma of Normandy. It was written in 1041 or 1042, probably by a monk of Saint Bertin, which was then in the County of Fla ...

'' is a medieval encomium of Queen Emma of Normandy * ''

Laudes Mediolanensis civitatis ''Laudes Mediolanensis civitatis'' ("Praises of the City of Milan"), also known as the ''Versum de Mediolano civitate'' ("Verse of the City of Milan") or ''Versus in laudem mediolanensis civitatis'' ("Verse in Praise of the City of Milan"), is an ...

'' or ''Versum de Mediolano civitate'' is a medieval encomium of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

* ''

Versus de Verona The ''Versus de Verona'', also ''Carmen Pipinianum'' or ''Rhythmus Pipinianus'' (''Ritmo Pipiniano''), was a medieval Latin poetic encomium on the city of Verona, composed during the Carolingian Renaissance, between 795 and 806. It was modeled on ...

'' is a medieval encomium of

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

* ''

Polychronion The Polychronion (Greek: Πολυχρόνιον, "many years"; ka, მრავალჟამიერი, ; ) is a solemn encomium chanted in the liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches. In the Roman rite, it is the equi ...

'' is chanted in the liturgy of Churches which follow the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

uses a kind of encomium in his praise of love, in

1 Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in Anc ...

13; the prologue is verses 1–3, acts are v. 4–7, comparison is v. 8–12, and epilogue is 13:13–14:1.

David E. Garland David E. Garland (born September 24, 1947) served as the interim president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. His term began in June 2016 amid the Baylor sexual assault scandal and resignation of former president Ken Starr. Garland's term conclu ...

, Baker Exegetical Commentary, 1 Corinthians, 606, based on the work of Sigountos.

References

External links

*{{wiktionary-inline Public speaking Rhetorical techniques Evaluation Latin words and phrases de:Laudatio fr:Éloge it:Elogio nl:Laudatio pt:Elogio