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Titulus (Roman Catholic) In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary ...
for Roman churches called tituli, or
titulus (disambiguation) Titulus, the Latin word for "title", "label" or "inscription" (plural ''tituli'', normally italicized), may or may not be italicized as a foreign word, and may refer to: * ''Titulus'', or Titular church, one of a group of Early Christian churches ...
for more meanings.'' ''Titulus'' (Latin "inscription" or "label", the plural ''tituli'' is also used in English) is a term used for the labels or captions naming figures or subjects in art, which were commonly added in classical and
medieval art The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, with over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional ar ...
, and remain conventional in
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
s. In particular the term describes the conventional inscriptions on stone that listed the honours of an individual or that identified boundaries in the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. A
titulus pictus A ''titulus pictus'' is an ancient Roman commercial inscription made on the surface of certain artefacts, usually the neck of an amphora. Typically, these inscriptions were made in red or black paint. The inscription specifies information such a ...
is a
merchant's mark A merchant's mark is an emblem or device adopted by a merchant, and placed on goods or products sold by him in order to keep track of them, or as a sign of authentication. It may also be used as a mark of identity in other contexts. History ...
or other commercial inscription. The sense of "title", as in "book title", in modern English derives from this artistic sense, just as the legal sense derives from plainer inscriptions of record.


Use in Western art

The increasing reluctance of the art of the West to use ''tituli'' was perhaps because so few people could read them in the
Early Medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...
period, and later because they reduced the illusionism of the image. Instead a system of
attributes Attribute may refer to: * Attribute (philosophy), a characteristic of an object * Attribute (research), a quality of an object * Grammatical modifier In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure whic ...
, objects identifying popular saints, was developed, but many such figures in Western art are now unidentifiable. This reluctance affected the choice of scenes shown in art; only those
miracles of Jesus The miracles of Jesus are the many miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian texts, with the majority of these miracles being faith healings, exorcisms, resurrections, and control over nature. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is said to ...
that were easily identifiable visually tended to be shown in cycles of the '' Life of Christ''. Thus the ''
Raising of Lazarus Lazarus of Bethany is a figure of the New Testament whose life is restored by Jesus four days after his death, as told in the Gospel of John. The resurrection is considered one of the miracles of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lazarus ...
'' and ''
Wedding at Cana The wedding at Cana (also called the marriage at Cana, wedding feast at Cana or marriage feast at Cana) is a story in the Gospel of John at which the first miracle attributed to Jesus takes place. In the Gospel account, Jesus, his mother and ...
'' are by far the most commonly shown miracles, and the healing miracles, visually easy to confuse, are neglected. The problems can clearly be seen in the small scenes of the
Saint Augustine Gospels The St Augustine Gospels (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Lib. MS. 286) is an illuminated Gospel Book which dates from the 6th century and has been in the Parker Library in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge since 1575. It was made in Italy a ...
(late 6th century), where about 200 years after the manuscript was written ''tituli'' were added, which according to some art historians misidentify some scenes.
Banderole A banderole (, "little banner") is a comparatively small but long flag, historically used by knights and on ships, and as a heraldic device for representing bishops. Bannerol, in its main uses is the same as banderole, and is the term especially ...
s were a solution that became popular in the later
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, and in Northern Europe in the 15th century were sometimes used very extensively for speech, rather as in modern comics, as well as ''tituli''. These were abandoned as old-fashioned in the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
, but increased respect for classical traditions led to continued use of Ancient Roman-style ''tituli'' where they were considered necessary, including on portraits.


Examples of tituli

*In the context of the
Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being crucifixion, nailed to a cross.The instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus f ...
, the ''titulus'' "" (and its translations in Aramaic and GreekJohn 19:20) is believed to have been affixed to Jesus' cross. ''INRI'' is the abbreviation for the above-mentioned Latin translation. See
INRI In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at the end. In the Koine Hellenic of the New Testament, e.g., in John 19:3, this is written as ''Basileus ton Ioudaion'' (). Both uses o ...
and
Titulus Crucis The Titulus Crucis (Latin for "Title of the Cross") is a venerated piece of wood kept in the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome which is claimed to be the (title panel) of the True Cross on which Jesus Christ Crucifixion of Jesus, was ...
. *At the recovery of the coffin of
King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
at
Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...
, at an opportune moment after a devastating fire in the 12th century, a lead cross of Arthur was alleged to have borne the explicit ''titulus'' "". The well-publicized discovery described by
Giraldus Cambrensis Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...
, redoubled the pilgrimages to the Abbey.


Gallery

File:9653 - Milano - Sant'Ambrogio - Bonamico Taverna in preghiera sec. XIII - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 25-Apr-2007.jpg, 14th-century Italian ''titulus'' records the identity of Bonamico Taverna, known only from this
donor portrait A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or (much more rarely) her, family. ''Donor portrait'' usually refers to the portr ...
File:Bayeux Tapestry (Harold).jpg, The 11th-century
Bayeux Tapestry The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery, embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest, Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy challenging H ...
makes extensive use of ''tituli'' to explain the complicated story: "HIC RESIDET HAROLD REX ANGLORUM" and " STIGANT ARCHIEPS". File:Triptych Harbaville Louvre OA3247 n4.jpg, Two "Saint Theodore"s are distinguished by ''tituli'' in the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
Harbaville Triptych The Harbaville Triptych () is a Byzantine ivory triptych of the middle of the 10th century with a Deesis and other saints, now in the Louvre. Traces of colouring can still be seen on some figures. It is regarded as the finest, and best-preserv ...
File:Abbaye de la Chaise-Dieu, tapisserie flamande du début du XVIe siècle représentant la vie du Christ, commandée par Jacques de Saint-Nectaire.jpg, Extensive ''tituli'', and "speech-bubbles" on
banderole A banderole (, "little banner") is a comparatively small but long flag, historically used by knights and on ships, and as a heraldic device for representing bishops. Bannerol, in its main uses is the same as banderole, and is the term especially ...
s in this early 16th-century
tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...


Notes


References

*
Emile Mâle Emile or Émile may refer to: * Émile (novel) (1827), autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life * Emile, Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai * '' Emile: or, On Education'' (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a treatise o ...
, The Gothic Image: Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century, p 165–8, English trans of 3rd edn, 1913, Collins, London (and many other editions), *Schiller, Gertud, ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I'', 1971 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, {{SmithDGRA Ancient history Iconography Latin words and phrases