Tombstone inscriptions in honor of a deceased person are called epitaphs. Traditionally, they are in verse, but are found, for example, in the form of aphorisms or passages from sacred texts that are easy to remember. The purpose of many popular epitaphs was to make the reader think, to warn him of his own mortality. Some of them people choose for themselves during their lifetime, others are those who are responsible for the burial. It is known that many famous poets, among them William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, composed epitaph-verses for themselves.
Tombstone inscriptions evolve from poetic speeches made in honor of the deceased on the day of his funeral and repeated on anniversaries. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, they formed into the genre of "epitaph" (from the Greek words - "above" and "grave"). Later, in order to preserve the memory of those who have gone to another worldpeople, they were engraved on the monuments erected by him. Some were filled with pain and poetic tenderness, others were more than simple, although there were those who stated only the fact of death.
Tombstone inscriptions were varied, in accordance with the cultural traditions of a particular nation. So, the Romans were extremely attentive to epitaphs. In them one could read interesting descriptions of dead people regarding their military career, political or commercial activities, marital status, and the like. In general, there was praise for physical data and moral virtues. Short or long, poetic or prosaic, but all gravestone inscriptions reflected the feelings of relatives and friends of the deceased. Cicero, for example, made a brief epitaph on the grave of his daughter Tullia, in which the pain of loss is strongly felt: “Tulliola, Filiola” (“Tulliola, daughter”).
Cemeteries are a great place and the most accessible source for studying the history of a community. Tombstones, with the information they contain, provide an ideal launching pad for any genealogical research. Some of them may only have the names of the deceased and dates of life, others include detailed stories about several generations of the same family, relationships between people during their lifetime (husband, wife, son, sister, and so on), their professional activities. Tombstone inscriptions have long been popular with historians and genealogists. From the Renaissance to the nineteenthcenturies in Western European culture for deceased people who occupied high positions in society during their lifetime, they were very long with descriptions of the almost legendary origins of their families, contained information about their activities, praised virtues, often provided information about next of kin.
The symbols of death engraved on the monuments are also interesting, and not just the gravestone inscriptions. Epitaphs keep the memory of the dead people, they emphasize the fact that everyone and everything dies. As a rule, it can be a skull with crossbones, a bell that rings at a funeral, a coffin and an hourglass, hinting that time does not stand still and brings us closer to death, or an hourglass with wings, also symbolizing the passage of time.
