In Byzantine literature, a monody was a funerary oration, usually addressed to the deceased, praising their virtues and lamenting their death. The term originally described an ode performed by a single singer rather than a chorus, but it gradually narrowed to mean a ritual lament in rhetorical style, and Byzantine rhetoricians grouped it with commemorative and consolatory orations as one of three recognized types of funeral oration, generally expected to be concise and most fitting for a young person's death. This literary and rhetorical sense is distinct from the unrelated early seventeenth-century Italian musical style of the same name.
Facts
Place of Origin Notable ExampleMichael Choniates' monody on Theophylaktos Belissariotes 1 Defining TraitRhetorically expected to be short and appropriate only for the death of a young person, though practice often ignored these rules 1 FAQs
How did the meaning of monody change over time?
It began as a solo ode, came to mean a lament, and ended as a rhetorical funeral oration.
Originally a monody was an ode sung by a single performer rather than by a chorus, either as part of a tragedy or on its own, as at a symposium. It gradually became associated with lamentation, and the term became synonymous with dirge. Eventually it ceased to imply poetry and indicated only a ritual lament in rhetorical style. Modern English poets have sometimes used the term for laments, as John Milton did for Lycidas and Matthew Arnold for Thyrsis.
Sources
1. Monody (lament) - Wikipedia
Lead paragraph, first sentence
In Byzantine literature, a monody (μονῳδία, monodia) was a funerary oration, usually addressed to the deceased, praising their virtues and lamenting their death.
Paragraph on threnody terminology
The term threnody (θρηνῳδία) was not used in Byzantine literature, other than the singular case of Michael Choniates' monody on Theophylaktos Belissariotes, where it may have been added by a scribe.
Paragraph on rhetorical expectations
Rhetoricians considered monodies appropriate only for young persons, but this was not followed in practice. They were also supposed to be short, but this too was often ignored.
In Group: Medieval and Byzantine Prose Genres, Lead section
In Byzantine literature, a monody (μονῳδία, monodia) was a funerary oration, usually addressed to the deceased, praising their virtues and lamenting their death.
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