Tenth International Congress of Egyptologists Abstracts of Papers

XICE – Abstract of Papers
Kingdom, 66 and in the Mycenaean World 67 could aid in assessing the circumstances
of this borrowing, and maybe to conjecture its date.
Register in the Medinet Habu historical inscriptions
Todd Gillen
This paper deals with the concept of register in the Medinet Habu historical
inscriptions. Beginning with the categorisation of the texts as “literary Late Egyptian”
(characterized by an array of Middle Egyptian, non-literary Late Egyptian and unique
literary Late Egyptian verb forms), the discussion explores the correlation of
particular grammatical features with particular subject matters in an effort to
distinguish different registers and hence explore the principles underlying
grammatical variation in the texts. Particular attention is paid to the usage of the
definite article, the choice of possessive adjective over suffix possession, and
variation in the use of the third person suffix.
The historical texts inscribed in the mortuary temple of Ramses III at Medinet
Habu are well known for their accounts of Egypt’s conflicts with the Libyans and the
Sea Peoples at the beginning of the Twentieth Dynasty (12 th century BCE). The
grammar of the texts is particularly interesting, given that, like many royal Ramesside
texts, it incorporates features of both Middle and Late Egyptian systems. Nonetheless,
a grammatical consistency internal to the texts is discernible and the first part of the
paper is concerned with demonstrating the correspondence of this system to that
described by GROLL as “literary Late Egyptian” (GROLL, 1975). This system was
recognised in texts such as the Late Egyptian love songs, letters and stories, as well as
the Teaching of Amenemope, and comprises three types of formations: those
originating from Middle Egyptian, those unique to literary Late Egyptian, and those
originating from non-literary LE. On this foundation the paper proceeds to discuss the
conditions framing particular grammatical features.
As to the material that is treated, both the longer texts and the shorter captions
accompanying the reliefs of the wars of Ramses III are considered. Particular
attention is paid to features such as the Late Egyptian usage of the definite article
(pA/tA/nA), the choice of possessive adjective (pAy=f, etc.) over suffix possession, and
variation in the use of the (pronominal and possessive) third person suffix (sn versus
w). The usage of Middle Egyptian verb forms over against those originating from Late
Egyptian is of course also considered.
As to the type of analysis that is conducted, several avenues of investigation are
pursued. The first involves the well documented tendency for texts of this period to
render direct speech as it would have been spoken (close to non-literary Late Egyptian
or a stylized version thereof). The paper investigates whether this tendency is present
and to what extent it occurs in the Medinet Habu texts. Further factors for determining
the grammar are suggested by the persistence of Middle Egyptian verb forms in direct
speech. The discussion thus turns to the examination of the texts according to
66 L. TROY, ‘Religion and cult during the time of Thutmose III’, in: E.H. CLINE and D.O’CONNOR,
Thutmose III: a New Biography (Ann Arbor, 2005), 123-82; D.B. REDFORD, ‘The Concept of Kingship
during the Eighteenth Dynasty’, in: D.O’CONNOR and D.P. SILVERMAN, Ancient Egyptian Kingship,
Probleme der Ägyptologie 9 (Leiden, 1995), 157-84.
67 M. SHEAR, Kingship in the Mycenaean World and its Reflections in. the Oral Tradition
(Philadelphia, 2004).
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