Epitaph as a Form of Tribute to the Memory of the Deceased

Abstract

The aim of this article is to illustrate the trend occurring in modern epitaphs – appearing as part of the inscription – which has the essence of a maxim. These linguistic forms of commemoration have been divided, in terms of their nature, into two groups: a) sacred, b) secular. An analysis of inscriptions made on gravestones over the last 15 years at the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Lipowa Street in Lublin led to the conclusion that the tendency to put short, standardised, detached “in memoria” is a typical feature of these inscriptions. The time in which the relatives of the deceased have to choose the form of the inscription is usually a very difficult one, since they need to come to terms with the new, and particularly traumatic, circumstances. As has been already mentioned, epitaph is a way of commemoration, expressed in a condensed form. The message, expressed usually in a few, a dozen, or (rarely) a few dozen, words constitutes a reference to the life of the person of whom the relatives share memories of the moments spent together. What is expressed clearly constitutes simply a stimulus to recall the most important moments from the person’s biography. The deceased might have ended their lives on Earth, but they are still alive in the memories of their loved ones. Of course, the events and images of the deceased retained in their relatives’ memory are subjective and to a great extent idealised.