if anyone was curious at all as to the answer to this, I posted it myself, on behalf of bill. this resulted in 0 replies until, unnecessarily, now.

anyway, here is the def'n of epigraph, per M-W.

epigraph \E-peh-graf\ noun [Gk epigraphe, fr. epigraphein] (1624)
1 : an engraved inscription
2 : a quotation set at the beginning of a literary work or one of its divisions to suggest its theme
© 1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Inc.