Homage ( /ˈhɒmɨdʒ/ or /ˈɒmɨdʒ/) is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic.
It was originally a declaration of fealty in the feudal system (see Homage (medieval))—swearing that one was the man (French: homme) of the feudal lord. The concept then became used figuratively for an acknowledgement of quality or superiority. For example, a man might give homage to a lady, so honouring her beauty and other graces. In German scholarship, followers of a great scholar developed the custom of honouring their mentor by producing papers for a festschrift dedicated to him.
The concept now often appears in the arts where one author shows respect to a topic by calling it an homage, such as Homage to Catalonia. Alternatively, creative artists may show respect to a veteran of the field or to an admired practitioner by alluding to their work. In rock music this can take the form of a tribute album or of a sample. As of 2010, the digital techniques used to generate many forms of media make it easy to borrow from other works and this remediation may be used in homage to them.
Famous quotes containing the word homage:
“Did men but consider that the sun, moon, and stars, and every other object of the senses, are only so many sensations in their minds, which have no other existence but barely being perceived, doubtless they would never fall down and worship their own ideas; but rather address their homage to that eternal invisible Mind which produces and sustains all things.”
—George Berkeley (1685–1753)
“By common consent of all the nations and all the ages the most valuable thing in this world is the homage of men, whether deserved or undeserved.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“In the genuine hope that this peace will be permanent, we take the opportunity to pay homage to all our fighters, commandos and volunteers who have paid the supreme sacrifice. They did not die in vain. The union is safe.”
—Combined Loyalist Military Command. New York Times, p. A12 (October 14, 1994)