Titulus (inscription)

In particular the term describes the conventional inscriptions on stone that listed the honours of an individual[1] or that identified boundaries in the Roman Empire.

[2] The increasing reluctance of the art of the West to use tituli was perhaps because so few people could read them in the Early Medieval period, and later because they reduced the illusionism of the image.

Instead a system of attributes, objects identifying popular saints, was developed, but many such figures in Western art are now unidentifiable.

[5] Banderoles were a solution that became popular in the later Middle Ages, and in Northern Europe in the 15th century were sometimes used very extensively for speech, rather as in modern comics, as well as tituli.

These were abandoned as old-fashioned in the Renaissance, but increased respect for classical traditions led to continued use of Ancient Roman-style tituli where they were considered necessary, including on portraits.