Apanegyric (US:/ˌpænɪˈdʒɪrɪk/ orUK:/ˌpænɪˈdʒaɪrɪk/) is a formal publicspeech or written verse, delivered in high praise of aperson orthing.[1] The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
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' (anAeolic dialect form, corresponding to theAttic orIonic formAncient 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 Greek the 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: panḗgyris had been borrowed intoClassical Latin by 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 adjectivepanegyric seems to have been borrowed from the French word, but no doubt with cognisance of its Latin and Greek origins.[2]
InAthens such speeches were delivered at nationalfestivals orgames, with the object of rousing thecitizens to emulate the glorious deeds of theirancestors. The most famous are theOlympiacus ofGorgias, theOlympiacus ofLysias, and thePanegyricus andPanathenaicus (neither of them, however, actually delivered) ofIsocrates.[1] Funeral orations, such as thefamous speech ofPericles inThucydides, also partook of the nature of panegyrics.[1]
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TheRomans generally confined the panegyric to the living—with the deceased receiving funeral orations instead.[1] The most celebrated example of aLatin panegyric, however, is that delivered by the youngerPliny (AD 100) in theSenate on the occasion of his assumption of theconsulship, which contained aeulogy ofTrajan considered 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 Caesarea gave a panegyric ofConstantine the Great on 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 poetClaudian came to Rome from Alexandria before about 395 and made his first reputation with a panegyric; he became court poet toStilicho.
Cassiodorus,magister officiorum ofTheodoric 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 logos was a formal panegyric for an emperor delivered on an important occasion.[4]
Panegyric poems were a major literary form among the Arabs. Writing in the Arabic language,Al-Mutanabbi wrote aboutSayf al-Dawla's celebratedcampaign against the Byzantine Empire.[5]
Persian language panegyric 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'sqasida onGhaznavid rulerMahmud of Ghazni's incursion against theSomnath temple. Poems were composed for festivals likeEid al-Fitr,Nowruz andMihragan. Some poems depicted the patron as a hero in a battle betweenIslam andinfidels. Wars against Muslims required additional explanations and some poems by Farrukhi andMu'izzi advocated in favor of Mahmud's capture ofRayy andAhmad Sanjar's attacks against the Ghaznavid rulerArslan-Shah in 1117. These poems are important sources for theGreat Seljuq period from which few records survive.[5]
In a panegyric poem address to Mahmud of Ghazna,Firdausi said: "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 poetHorace who says, in an address to theEmperor Augustus, that his poetry was more lasting thanbronze and grander than thepyramids.[6]
Africanoral tradition includes panegyric customs such aspraise names and praise poetry. Often these customs servemnemonic andgenealogical functions within the continent's numerous ethnic groups, and are usually also tied totribal spirituality.
Examples includeOriki amongst theYoruba people,[7]Isibongo amongst theZulu people,[8] andIziduko amongst theXhosa people.[9]
The custom of panegyrics addressed to monarchs was revived in theBaroque period, though there do exist Renaissance examples such asBruni'sLaudatio florentinae urbis toFlorence of 1403, andErasmus'sPanegyricus, first published in 1504. Thus,in 1660, several panegyrics were published by English poets in honour ofCharles II of England coming to power. Another significant work includes the "Panegyric for theDuke of Lerma", written by the Spanish poetLuis de Góngora in 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]
