Tituli

Tituli (singular titulus) is a Latin term meaning label, title, or inscription. In classical and late antique contexts, tituli are the texts inscribed on monuments, altars, statues, votive offerings, and tombs. They record dedications, the names of donors or dedicators, the official responsible for the dedication, the date, and the purpose of the object. Tituli can be carved in stone or metal and may appear with decorative reliefs or imagery; when legible, they provide essential information for dating, attribution, and interpretation. Epigraphists study tituli within corpora, noting formulae, abbreviations, and stylistic features that vary by region and period.

In early Christian Rome, titulus referred to a church’s title or designation as a titular church. The major churches were known as Tituli (for example, Titulus Petri, Titulus Pauli), a system that was later used to assign cardinal-priests to specific churches. The term thus links architectural history with ecclesiastical administration and has influenced the modern concept of titular churches.

In scholarship, tituli are among the primary sources for reconstructing ancient religious practices, urban topography, and daily life. They survive as inscriptions on stone, metal, or integrated into architecture, and they often require careful reading and restoration of damaged text to recover the original information.