eschatology 243were written in capital letters and cut by a chisel onto a
durable or tough medium such as stone, marble, ivory,
enamel, or metal.
For the medieval period, epigraphy involves “Chris-
tian” inscriptions, some predating the eighth century,
from Italy, France, and Spain. Epitaphs, the most numer-
ous of these kinds of inscriptions, preserved the memory
of a deceased person, requested prayers for him or her,
and often exhorted a change of life among the survivors.
From the 13th century, they included mentions of
endowments of Masses, and in the 14th and 15th cen-
turies, biographical information about the deceased.
Numerous other kinds of inscriptions were intended to
ensure the publicity of public or private acts, commemo-
rate events, and pass on to posterity the names of those
who commissioned or carried out the work. They can
convey ideas, sometimes even at a certain date, about
death, about the afterlife, about popular theological con-
cepts, about standards of education and literacy, about
Latin and the vernacular, and about the meanings
intended in an artistic program.
See alsoPALEOGRAPHY.
Further reading:Arthur Ernest Gordon, Illustrated
Introduction to Latin Epigraphy(Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1983); Orazio Marucchi, Christian Epig-
raphy: An Elementary Treatise, with a Collection of Ancient
Christian Inscriptions, Mainly of Roman Origin, trans.
Armine Willis (Chicago: Ares Publishers, 1974); John
Edwin Sandys, Latin Epigraphy: An Introduction to the
Study of Latin Inscriptions(Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press, 1919).
Epiphany, feast of(Greek, Manifestation, Twelfth
Night, Theophany) The feast of the Epiphany has been
from the third century a celebration held annually on
January 6. In the Middle Ages it commemorated in the
liturgy and in art the visit of the three kings, wisemen, or
Magi, who were the first Gentiles to whom Christ was
presented. In the Orthodox Church, from at least the
third century, it has traditionally and more explicitly
commemorated the Baptism of Christ, as had been the
practice in the early church. Over time it evolved into
recognition of the divinity of Christ. It was portrayed in
more and more elaborate ways during the course of the
Middle Ages. The Virgin MARYand the Magi gave artists a
theatrical opportunity to portray elaborate and dignified
representations of her majesty and the splendor of the
worshipers of the Christ Child.
See alsoNATIVITY OFCHRIST; TRANSFIGURATION.
Further reading: John Thomas Arthur Gunstone,
Christmas and Epiphany (London: Faith Press, 1967);
Merja Merras, The Origins of the Celebration of the Chris-
tian Feast of Epiphany: An Ideological, Cultural and Histor-
ical Study(Joensuu, Finland: Joensuu University Press,
1995).
Epiros and the despotate of Epiros (Epirus)
Epiros was a mountainous region in what is now south-
ern ALBANIAand northwestern GREECEseparated from
the rest of Greece by the Pindos Mountain range. In the
fourth century its late Roman administration was
divided into the province of Old Epiros, with its capital
at Nikopolis, and New Epiros, farther north, with its
capital at Dyrrachium or DURAZZO. The cities, the most
important of which were located on coastal plains, were
raided by the VANDALS, who briefly captured Nikopolis
in 474. The region was raided by other barbarians in
517 and in 539–540. JUSTINIAN I built and restored
defenses in the region.
The resulting fortifications withstood an invasion of
OSTROGOTHSin 551, but not those of the AVARSand SLAVS
in the 580s. By about 615 the cities were overrun and the
region depopulated. BYZANTINE hegemony was only
reestablished slowly. The region fell under the domina-
tion of the Despotate of Epiros in 1204, and after 1264
was controlled by independent Greek despots until 1318.
Thereafter, successive rulers included Italian families,
Albanians, and SERBS. The OTTOMANS conquered the
region in the 15th century. Intermittent invasions and
migrations of peoples have created a diverse society that
included not only Greeks but also SLAVS,VLACHS, Albani-
ans, JEWS,TURKS, and even Armenians.
Further reading:Donald M. Nicol, The Despotate of
Epiros, 1267–1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece
in the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1984).eremitism SeeHERMITS AND EREMITISM.eschatology(teaching about last things) Eschatology
is the study, doctrine, and teaching about the last things
at the end of the world as they can have a meaning in the
present or for history as a whole. It can refer to the fate of
individuals or be conceived in more general terms. In a
concrete way it involved the ultimate destiny of all four
“last things,” DEATH,LASTJUDGMENT, HEAVEN, and HELL,
for everyone or for the individual. For Christianity, the
whole history of humankind was directed toward this
end. Such ideas had their roots in AUGUSTINE’s City of
God,in which the two aspects of eschatology were treated
together. During the course of the Middle Ages, theolo-
gians began to separate these concepts and to assign vari-
ous weights to their meaning for the present and for the
general course of Christian history.
See also ANTICHRIST;APOCALYPSE AND APOCALYPTIC
LITERATURE; BEATIFIC VISION;JOACHIM, ABBOT OFFIORE;
MILLENARIANISM;OLIVI,PETERJOHN; SALVATION; SPIRITUAL
FRANCISCANS.
Further reading:Norman Cohn, The Pursuit of the
Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical
Anarchists of the Middle Ages(London: Paladin, 1970);