Epitome

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An epitome, from the Greek epitemnein (ἐπιτέμνειν) meaning "to cut short", is a summary or miniature form of a larger work, or an instance that represents a larger reality. Many documents from the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds survive now only "in epitome", referring to the practice of some later authors, called "epitomators", who wrote distilled versions of larger works now lost. Some writers attempted to convey the stance and spirit of the original, while others added further details or anecdotes regarding the general subject. As with all secondary historical sources, a different bias not present in the original may creep in. Documents surviving in epitome differ from those surviving only as fragments quoted in later works and those used as unacknowledged sources by later scholars as they can stand as discrete documents, albeit refracted through the views of another author.

Many of the earliest martial arts treatises are referred to as epitomes (Zettelen) by their authors. These brief works, usually cast in verse, seem intended to both summarize the art for initiates and be impenetrable to readers lacking such a background in the material they discuss; it's commonly speculated that these epitomes were memorized by students and used as mnemonic devices. Due to their cryptic nature, most fencing manuals that treat an epitome accompany it with extensive glosses and sometimes even illustrations of the techniques involved.