Cânone

Cânone is a Romanian noun meaning canon, used to refer to a rule, standard, or body of works that a culture or institution regards as authoritative. The term comes from Latin canōn and spread through the Romance and medieval literatures, acquiring several specialized senses in religion, art, and culture.

In religious usage, cânon denotes canonical law or rules governing the organization and life of a church. It can also refer to the collection of sacred writings recognized by a religious tradition as authoritative, i.e., the canon of Scripture in a given faith community, which may vary between denominations.

In liturgy, the cânon is a structured sequence of hymns or canticles forming part of certain services, especially within Orthodox Christian practice. It is characterized by a fixed poetic and musical pattern and plays a central role in the devout rhythm of the service.

In music, cânon designates a contrapuntal form in which a melodic line is imitated by one or more voices after a fixed time interval. Examples include simple rounds and more elaborate imitative canons, where synchronization and spacing create the musical texture.

In literature and cultural studies, cânon refers to the canon—the body of works considered representative or authoritative within a national literature or artistic field. The canon is a dynamic concept, subject to debate and reevaluation as tastes and scholarly perspectives evolve.

The term is distinct from related but different words in other domains (such as artillery canons in other languages). In Romanian, cânone is used across these domains to signal established norms, rules, or celebrated works.