DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.30604#0054
xlvi
INTRODUCTION.
Theban version:
list of chapters.
The version akin to
the Theban.
Palceography.
Chapter CLXXXV. The ascription of praise to Osiris, and of adoration to
the everlasting lord.
Vignette : The deceased making adoration to Osiris.
Chapter CLXXXVI. A hymn of praise to Hathor, mistress of Amentet.
and to Meh-urt.
Vignette : The deceased approaching the mountain of the clead, from which
appears the goddess Hathor.
The version akin to the Theban was in vogue from the XXth to the XXV Ith
dynasty, i.e., about b.c. 1200-550, and was, like the Theban, usually written upon
papyrus. The chapters have no fixed order, and are written in lines in the hieratic
character; the rubrics, catchwords, and certain names, like that of Apep, are in
red. The vignettes are roughly traced in black outline, and are without ornament;
but at the ends of the best papyri well-painted scenes, in which the deceased is
depicted making adoration to Ra or Horus, are frequently found. The names and
titles of the deceased are written in perpendicular rows of hieroglyphics. The
character of the handwriting changes in different periods : in the papyrus of the
Princess Nesi-Khonsu (about B.c. 1000) it is bold and clear, ancl much resembles
the handsome style of that found in the great Harris papyrus ;1 but within a
hundred years, apparently, the fine flowing style disappears, ancl the writing
becomes much smaller and is somewhat cramped ; the process of reduction in size
continues until the XXVIth dynasty, about b.c. 550, when the small and coarsely
written characters are frequently difficult to decipher. The papyri upon which
such texts are written vary in length from three to about thirty feet, ancl in width
from nine to eighteen inches ; as we approach the period of the XXVIth dynasty
the texture becomes coarser and the material is darker in colour. The Theban
papyri of this period are lighter in colour than those founcl in the north of Egypt
and are less brittle ; they certainly suffer less in unrolling.
1 The Books of the Dead writteu in the hieroglyphic and hieratic characters which belong to the
period of the rule of the priest-kings of the brotherhood of Amen form a class by themselves, and have
relatively little in common with the older versions. A remarkable example of this class is the papyrus
of Nesi-Khonsu which M. Maspero published (Les Momies Royales de Deir el-iahari, p. 600 f.). The
text is divided into paragraphs, which contain neither prayers nor hymns but a veritable contract
between the god Amen-Ra and the princess Nesi-Khonsu. After the list of the names and titles of
Amen-Ra with which it begins follow eleven sections wherein the god declares in legal phraseology that
he hath deified the princess
in Amenta and in Neter-
khert; that he hath deified her soul and her body in order that neither may be destroyed; that he hath
made her divine like every god and goddess; and that he hath decreed that whatever is necessary for
her in her new existence shall be done for her, even as it is done for every other god and goddess.
INTRODUCTION.
Theban version:
list of chapters.
The version akin to
the Theban.
Palceography.
Chapter CLXXXV. The ascription of praise to Osiris, and of adoration to
the everlasting lord.
Vignette : The deceased making adoration to Osiris.
Chapter CLXXXVI. A hymn of praise to Hathor, mistress of Amentet.
and to Meh-urt.
Vignette : The deceased approaching the mountain of the clead, from which
appears the goddess Hathor.
The version akin to the Theban was in vogue from the XXth to the XXV Ith
dynasty, i.e., about b.c. 1200-550, and was, like the Theban, usually written upon
papyrus. The chapters have no fixed order, and are written in lines in the hieratic
character; the rubrics, catchwords, and certain names, like that of Apep, are in
red. The vignettes are roughly traced in black outline, and are without ornament;
but at the ends of the best papyri well-painted scenes, in which the deceased is
depicted making adoration to Ra or Horus, are frequently found. The names and
titles of the deceased are written in perpendicular rows of hieroglyphics. The
character of the handwriting changes in different periods : in the papyrus of the
Princess Nesi-Khonsu (about B.c. 1000) it is bold and clear, ancl much resembles
the handsome style of that found in the great Harris papyrus ;1 but within a
hundred years, apparently, the fine flowing style disappears, ancl the writing
becomes much smaller and is somewhat cramped ; the process of reduction in size
continues until the XXVIth dynasty, about b.c. 550, when the small and coarsely
written characters are frequently difficult to decipher. The papyri upon which
such texts are written vary in length from three to about thirty feet, ancl in width
from nine to eighteen inches ; as we approach the period of the XXVIth dynasty
the texture becomes coarser and the material is darker in colour. The Theban
papyri of this period are lighter in colour than those founcl in the north of Egypt
and are less brittle ; they certainly suffer less in unrolling.
1 The Books of the Dead writteu in the hieroglyphic and hieratic characters which belong to the
period of the rule of the priest-kings of the brotherhood of Amen form a class by themselves, and have
relatively little in common with the older versions. A remarkable example of this class is the papyrus
of Nesi-Khonsu which M. Maspero published (Les Momies Royales de Deir el-iahari, p. 600 f.). The
text is divided into paragraphs, which contain neither prayers nor hymns but a veritable contract
between the god Amen-Ra and the princess Nesi-Khonsu. After the list of the names and titles of
Amen-Ra with which it begins follow eleven sections wherein the god declares in legal phraseology that
he hath deified the princess
in Amenta and in Neter-
khert; that he hath deified her soul and her body in order that neither may be destroyed; that he hath
made her divine like every god and goddess; and that he hath decreed that whatever is necessary for
her in her new existence shall be done for her, even as it is done for every other god and goddess.