''Encomium'' is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient 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 at the κῶμος, or festal procession, held at the great national 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 whatever. ''Encomium'' also refers to several distinct aspects of rhetoric: * A general category of oratory * A method within rhetorical pedagogy * A

figure of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into '' schemes,'' which vary the ordinary ...

praising a person or thing, but occurring on a smaller scale than an entire speech * The eighth exercise in the progymnasmata 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'' ( gr, βασιλικòς λόγος, 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 E ...

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

Examples

* Gorgias' famous ''

Encomium of Helen Gorgias (; grc-gre, Γοργίας; 483–375 BC) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Along with Protagoras, he forms the first generation of Sophists. Several doxogr ...

'' offers several justifications for excusing Helen of Troy's adultery * In Erasmus' '' In Praise of Folly'', 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 over the Avars * '' Encomium Emmae Reginae'' 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 * ''

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 * ''

Polychronion The Polychronion (Greek: Πολυχρόνιον, "many years"; ka, მრავალჟამიერი, ; cu, мъногаꙗ лѣта ''mŭnogaja lěta'') is a solemn encomium chanted in the liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Cat ...

'' 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, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours are ...

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

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

1 Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) 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-autho ...

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 es:Encomio fr:Éloge it:Elogio nl:Laudatio pt:Elogio