Panegyric
Apanegyric(US:/ˌpænɪˈdʒɪrɪk/orUK:/ˌpænɪˈdʒaɪrɪk/) is a formal publicspeechor written verse, delivered in high praise of apersonorthing.[1]The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
Etymology[edit]
The word originated as a compound ofAncient Greek:παν- 'all' (the form taken by the word πᾶν, neuter of πᾶς 'all', when that is used as a prefix) and the wordAncient Greek:ἄγυρις,romanized:ágyris'assembly' (anAeolicdialect form, corresponding to theAtticorIonicformAncient Greek:ἀγορά,romanized:agorá). Compounded, these gaveAncient Greek:πανήγυρις,romanized:panḗgyris'general or national assembly, especially a festival in honour of a god' and the derived adjectiveAncient Greek:πανηγυρικός,romanized:panēgyrikós'of or for a public assembly or festival'. InHellenistic Greekthe noun came also to mean 'a festal oration, laudatory speech', and the adjective 'of or relating to a eulogy, flattering'. The nounAncient Greek:πανήγυρις,romanized:panḗgyrishad been borrowed intoClassical Latinby around the second century CE, aspanēgyris'festival' (in post-Classical usage also 'general assembly'). Correspondingly, Classical Latin also included the adjectivepanēgyricus,which appears meaning 'laudatory', but also came to function as a noun, meaning 'public eulogy'. These words inspired similar formations in European languages in the early modern period, such as Frenchpanégyrique,attested by 1512. The English noun and adjectivepanegyricseems to have been borrowed from the French word, but no doubt with cognisance of its Latin and Greek origins.[2]
Classical Greece[edit]
InAthenssuch speeches were delivered at nationalfestivalsorgames,with the object of rousing thecitizensto emulate the glorious deeds of theirancestors.The most famous are theOlympiacusofGorgias,theOlympiacusofLysias,and thePanegyricusandPanathenaicus(neither of them, however, actually delivered) ofIsocrates.[1]Funeral orations, such as thefamous speechofPericlesinThucydides,also partook of the nature of panegyrics.[1]
Roman Empire[edit]
| Part ofa serieson |
| Rhetoric |
|---|
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TheRomansgenerally confined the panegyric to the living—with the deceased receiving funeral orations instead.[1]The most celebrated example of aLatinpanegyric, however, is that delivered by the youngerPliny(AD 100) in theSenateon the occasion of his assumption of theconsulship,which contained aeulogyofTrajanconsidered fulsome by some scholars.[1] Towards the end of the 3rd and during the 4th century, as a result of the orientalizing of the Imperial court byDiocletian,it became customary to celebrate as a matter of course the superhuman virtues and achievements of the reigningemperor,[1]in a formally staged literary event. In 336,Eusebius of Caesareagave a panegyric ofConstantine the Greaton the 30th year of his reign, in which he broke from tradition by celebrating the piety of the emperor, rather than his secular achievements. A well-delivered, elegant and witty panegyric became a vehicle for an educated but inexperienced young man to attract desirable attention in a competitive sphere. The poetClaudiancame to Rome from Alexandria before about 395 and made his first reputation with a panegyric; he became court poet toStilicho.
Cassiodorus,magister officiorumofTheodoric the Great,left a book of panegyrics, theLaudes.One of his biographers, James O'Donnell, has described the genre thus: "It was to be expected that the praise contained in the speech would be excessive; the intellectual point of the exercise (and very likely an important criterion in judging it) was to see how excessive the praise could be made while remaining within boundaries of decorum and restraint, how much high praise could be made to seem the grudging testimony of simple honesty".[3]
In theByzantine Empire,thebasilikos logoswas a formal panegyric for an emperor delivered on an important occasion.[4]
Arabic[edit]
Panegyric poems were a major literary form among the Arabs. Writing in the Arabic language,Al-Mutanabbiwrote aboutSayf al-Dawla's celebratedcampaignagainst the Byzantine Empire.[5]
Persia[edit]
Persian languagepanegyric poems from the Middle Ages contain details on the life of court poets and their patrons, and shed light on contemporary attitudes and matters of political and military interest such asFarrukhi Sistani'sqasidaonGhaznavidrulerMahmud of Ghazni's incursion against theSomnath temple.Poems were composed for festivals likeEid al-Fitr,NowruzandMihragan.Some poems depicted the patron as a hero in a battle betweenIslamandinfidels.Wars against Muslims required additional explanations and some poems by Farrukhi andMu'izziadvocated in favor of Mahmud's capture ofRayyandAhmad Sanjar's attacks against the Ghaznavid rulerArslan-Shahin 1117. These poems are important sources for theGreat Seljuqperiod from which few records survive.[5]
In a panegyric poem address to Mahmud of Ghazna,Firdausisaid: "Noble buildings are ruined by rain and by the heat of the sun./I have laid the foundations of a high palace of poetry which will not be damaged by wind and rain." This is similar to the grandiose claims of the Roman poetHoracewho says, in an address to theEmperor Augustus,that his poetry was more lasting thanbronzeand grander than thepyramids.[6]
Africa[edit]
Africanoral traditionincludes panegyric customs such aspraise namesand praise poetry. Often these customs servemnemonicandgenealogicalfunctions within the continent's numerous ethnic groups, and are usually also tied totribal spirituality.
Examples includeOrikiamongst theYoruba people,[7]Isibongoamongst theZulu people,[8]andIzidukoamongst theXhosa people.[9]
Modern revival[edit]
The custom of panegyrics addressed to monarchs was revived in theBaroque period,though there do exist Renaissance examples such asBruni'sLaudatio florentinae urbistoFlorenceof 1403, andErasmus'sPanegyricus,first published in 1504. Thus,in 1660,several panegyrics were published by English poets in honour ofCharles II of Englandcoming to power. Another significant work includes the "Panegyric for theDuke of Lerma",written by the Spanish poetLuis de Góngorain 1617. Russian poets of the eighteenth century, most notablyMikhail Lomonosov,adopted the panegyric form to celebrate the achievements of Russian emperors and empresses.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^abcdefChisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 676–677.
- ^"pan-, comb. form", "panegyris, n.", "panegyric, n. and adj.",OED Online.Oxford University Press, March 2017. Web. 19 March 2017.
- ^O'Donnell, James J. (1979). "2".Cassiodorus.Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN0-520-03646-8.
- ^Kazhdan, Alexander; Jeffreys, Elizabeth M. (1991)."Basilikos Logos".InKazhdan, Alexander(ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-504652-8.
- ^abG.E. Tetley.The Ghaznavid and Seljuk Turks: Poetry as a Source for Iranian History.Taylor & Francis. p. 2.
- ^G. E. Tetley.The Ghaznavid and Seljuk Turks: Poetry as a Source for Iranian History.Taylor & Francis. p. 1.
- ^Johnson, Samuel (1921),The History of the Yorubas from the earliest times to the beginning of the British protectorate,p. 85
- ^Turner, Noleen (1994). "A brief overview of Zulu oral traditions" (PDF). Alternation. 1 (1): 58–67. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^"African Voices".Archived fromthe originalon 17 July 2012.Retrieved19 February2022.
