Middle- and Old Egyptian Texts 7.5hp

During this C-level course you will move on from first reading more Middle Egyptian texts to looking at inscriptions from the days of the Old Kingdom.

During Middle- and Old Egyptian texts you will continue reading more demanding Middle Egyptian texts as well as inscriptions from the troubled times of the First Intermediate Period. Towards the end of the course you will then take a look at the textual evidence written in Old Egyptian, the language of the Pyramid Age. These texts can be read with a solid background in Middle Egyptian, but you will begin the study thereof with a brief overview of the special features of Old Egyptian. This is then followed by reading classes during which selected Old Egyptian texts are read and discussed. Besides linguistic matters, the main focus in discussion will again be the use of the material read in historical analysis and reconstruction. The texts will, ideally, cover a number of textual genres, including tomb-autobiographies, letters, and the like.

The texts read during this course will be provided by the lecturer, along with an English translation to help you in your work, and a bibliography related to individual text. You are expected to prepare the text (or, in case of longer texts, a decent part thereof) before the lectures. Your translations and the texts will then be read and discussed in class. The discussions will form the basis of our analysis of the text and represent a spoken commentary on them. The texts to be read can be, to some extent, chosen according to your own interests.