"Dating Egyptian Literary Texts"

Author: Gerald Moers
Publisher: Widmaier Verlag
Total Pages: 680
Release: 2013
Genre: History
ISBN:

A central issue of Egyptological research is the question of dating the original composition of religious or literary texts. Very prominent is a lively debate about the date of composition of a number of literary texts, traditionally dated to the Late First Intermediate Period or the Early Middle Kingdom but known only from New Kingdom manuscripts. Over the last years, several attempts have been made to date the production of some of these texts much closer to their first physical appearance. More recently the discussion has heated up considerably with contributions that argue for a New Kingdom origin of Merikare, Neferti, and Amenemhet-a reassessment based on conceptions of Egyptian cultural history or on linguistic analysis. On the other hand, there is an equally strong tendency to retain at least the early datings or to propose even earlier ones for some literary and many more religious texts. This volume presents both overviews and in-depth case studies of current Egyptological dating practices and methods. While giving the 'state of the art' of dating Egyptian literary texts, the book also addresses important methodological issues to provide a basis for future research.

Linguistic Dating of Middle Egyptian Literary Texts

Linguistic Dating of Middle Egyptian Literary Texts
Author: Andréas Stauder
Publisher: Widmaier Verlag
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Egyptian language
ISBN: 9783943955125

The study addresses the dating of Middle Egyptian literary texts from the perspective that has merited the least attention so far, language. General discussions concern aspects of the linguistic situation in early/mid-second millennium BCE Egypt, the nature of the record in which the primary linguistic description is necessarily carried out, processes of textual alteration in the course of transmission, and the configurations of Middle Egyptian in literature. In the case of Middle Egyptian literary texts, the major strategy for dating consists in studying phenomena of written innovation and obsolescence in relevant registers in order to define upper and lower temporal bounds for a composition to be dated. In a complementary approach, not indexed on linguistic change, distinctive linguistic repertoires and phenomena of linguistic re-composition are directly targeted. Implications that spring from the proposed datings are outlined with a view on how these could affect the discussion of the cultural functions and of the historical development of Middle Egyptian literature. Beyond dating, the book is more broadly a study of the language of Middle Egyptian literature, of differences internal to this tradition, and of how it productively relates to other written discourses on linguistic levels as much as on semantic ones.

Ancient Egyptian Literature

Ancient Egyptian Literature
Author: Miriam Lichtheim
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 868
Release: 2019-05-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520973615

First published in 1973, this anthology has assumed classic status in the field of Egyptology and portrays the remarkable evolution of the literary forms of one of the world’s earliest civilizations. Beginning with the early and gradual evolution of Egyptian genres, it includes biographical and historical inscriptions carved on stone, the various classes of works written with pen on papyrus, and the mortuary literature that focuses on life after death. It then shows the culmination of these literary genres within the single period known as the New Kingdom (1550–1080 B.C.) and ends in the last millennium of Pharaonic civilization, from the tenth century B.C. to the beginning of the Christian era. An introduction written in three parts by Antonio Loprieno, Hans-W. Fischer-Elfert, and Joseph G. Manning completes this classic anthology.

Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I

Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I
Author: Miriam Lichtheim
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 868
Release: 2006-04-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520933052

First published in 1973 – and followed by Volume II in 1976 and Volume III in 1980 – this anthology has assumed classic status in the field of Egyptology and portrays the remarkable evolution of the literary forms of one of the world’s earliest civilizations. Volume I outlines the early and gradual evolution of Egyptian literary genres, including biographical and historical inscriptions carved on stone, the various classes of literary works written with pen on papyrus, and the mortuary literature that focuses on life after death. Introduced with a new foreword by Antonio Loprieno. Volume II shows the culmination of these literary genres within the single period known as the New Kingdom (1550-1080 B.C.). With a new foreword by Hans-W. Fischer-Elfert. Volume III spans the last millennium of Pharaonic civilization, from the tenth century B.C. to the beginning of the Christian era. With a new foreword by Joseph G. Manning.

Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume III

Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume III
Author: Miriam Lichtheim
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2006-03-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520248449

"First published in 1973 - and followed by Volume II in 1976 and Volume III in 1980 - this anthology has assumed classic status in the field of Egyptology and portrays the remarkable evolution of the literary forms of one of the world's earliest civilizations. Volume III spans the last millennium of Pharaonic civilization, from the tenth century B.C. to the beginning of the Christian era. It features a new foreword by Joseph G. Manning"--Publisher's description.

Ancient Egyptian Literature

Ancient Egyptian Literature
Author: Antonio Loprieno
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 743
Release: 2023-12-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004676716

This volume deals with the development and the characteristics of the literature of Ancient Egypt over a period of more than two millennia, from the monumental origins of autobiography at the end of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2150 BCE) down to the latest literary compositions in Demotic during the Graeco-Roman period (300 BCE-200 CE). This book, the result of an international co-operation among more than twenty scholars, is divided into sections devoted to the definition of literary discourse in Ancient Egypt; the history and genres of these texts, their linguistic and stylistic features; and the image of Ancient Egypt as displayed in later literary traditions of the Mediterranean world - Greek, Coptic, Arabic. With over thirty chapters, this volume provides an interdisciplinary account of current research in one of the methodologically most advanced fields of Egyptology.

Middle Egyptian Literature

Middle Egyptian Literature
Author: James P. Allen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 459
Release: 2015
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1107087430

This volume provides original texts as well as translations of the major works of Middle Kingdom literature.

The Oxford Handbook of Egyptian Epigraphy and Palaeography

The Oxford Handbook of Egyptian Epigraphy and Palaeography
Author: Vanessa Davies
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 721
Release: 2020-03-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 0190604654

The unique relationship between word and image in ancient Egypt is a defining feature of that ancient culture's records. All hieroglyphic texts are composed of images, and large-scale figural imagery in temples and tombs is often accompanied by texts. Epigraphy and palaeography are two distinct, but closely related, ways of recording, analyzing, and interpreting texts and images. This Handbook stresses technical issues about recording text and art and interpretive questions about what we do with those records and why we do it. It offers readers three key things: a diachronic perspective, covering all ancient Egyptian scripts from prehistoric Egypt through the Coptic era (fourth millennium BCE-first half of first millennium CE), a look at recording techniques that considers the past, present, and future, and a focus on the experiences of colleagues. The diachronic perspective illustrates the range of techniques used to record different phases of writing in different media. The consideration of past, present, and future techniques allows readers to understand and assess why epigraphy and palaeography is or was done in a particular manner by linking the aims of a particular effort with the technique chosen to reach those aims. The choice of techniques is a matter of goals and the records' work circumstances, an inevitable consequence of epigraphy being a double projection: geometrical, transcribing in two dimensions an object that exists physically in three; and mental, an interpretation, with an inevitable selection among the object's defining characteristics. The experiences of colleagues provide a range of perspectives and opinions about issues such as techniques of recording, challenges faced in the field, and ways of reading and interpreting text and image. These accounts are interesting and instructive stories of innovation in the face of scientific conundrum.

The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt

The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt
Author: Wolfram Grajetzki
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2024-05-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1350455555

For the ancient Egyptians, the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1700 BC) was a classical period of art, history and literature. The Twelfth Dynasty was one of the strongest ever to rule on the banks of the Nile: some of its kings were later worshipped as local gods, and were made famous by classical Greek authors. Yet Egyptologists tend not to look beyond the extraordinary royal sculpture and literary masterpieces of the time. Although the picture is fragmentary, as with any archaeological record, the last two hundred years of exploration and excavation have revealed much of the splendour of the period. This book examines the evidence for the culture, history and society of both central and provincial Egypt at the time, revealing the wealth of the entire country. In this second edition, Wolfram Grajetzki incorporates recent discoveries, discussions and publications which have emerged over the intervening fifteen years, including new excavation reports for the mastabas at Lisht and excavations at Abydos. Too often overshadowed by the better-preserved architecture of other periods, Middle Kingdom Egypt emerges for the reader as a fascinating age in its own right.