Tituli Picti
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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 des ...
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, 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 art, gen ...
, and remain conventional in
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
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 ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. 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 or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
period, and later because they reduced the illusionism of the image. Instead a system of
attributes Attribute may refer to: * Attribute (philosophy), an extrinsic property of an object * Attribute (research), a characteristic of an object * Grammatical modifier, in natural languages * Attribute (computing), a specification that defines a proper ...
, 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 miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. The majority are faith healings, exorcisms, resurrections, and control over nature. In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus refuse ...
that were easily identifiable visually tended to be shown in cycles of the ''
Life of Christ The life of Jesus in the New Testament is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and Nativity of Jesus, nativity, Ministry of Jesus, public ministry, Passion of Jesus, passion, prophecy, Resurrection of ...
''. Thus the ''
Raising of Lazarus Lazarus of Bethany (Latinised from Lazar, ultimately from Hebrew Eleazar, "God helped"), also venerated as Righteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the subject of a prominent sign of Jesus in the Gospel of John, ...
'' and ''
Wedding at Cana The transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana (also called the marriage at Cana, wedding feast at Cana or marriage feast at Cana) is the first miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John. In the Gospel account, Jesus Chris ...
'' 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 (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 especiall ...
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 late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, 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 ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, 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 Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
, 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 Greek of the New Testament, e.g., in John 19:3, this is written as '' Basileus ton Ioudaion'' (). Both uses of t ...
and
Titulus Crucis The Titulus Crucis (Latin for "Title of the Cross") is a 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 was crucified. It is venerated by s ...
. *At the recovery of the coffin of
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
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 ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) 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 taugh ...
, 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 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 referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
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-preserved, ...
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 especiall ...
s in this early 16th-century
tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...


Notes


References

*
Emile Mâle Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau *Émile (novel), ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil an ...
, 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