Constructing royal identity in the Old Kingdom pyramid texts / Leah R. Humphrey.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Humphrey, Leah R., author.

Contributor:

Silverman, David P., degree supervisor.

Wegner, Josef W. (Josef William), degree committee member.

Roberson, Joshua Aaron, degree committee member.

University of Pennsylvania. Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, degree granting institution.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--Near Eastern languages and civilizations.

Near Eastern languages and civilizations--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Near Eastern languages and civilizations.

Near Eastern languages and civilizations--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

2 volumes (xiii, 696 leaves) ; 29 cm

Production:

[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] : University of Pennsylvania, 2019.

Summary:

The concept of identity is central to the Egyptian Pyramid Texts from the Old Kingdom. In this funerary corpus, the king's identity evolves and transforms constantly within and among the spells. Many different grammatical constructions were employed to assert identity. Some of these constructions produce statements of equivalence, while others produce statements of comparison. The present study analyzes four of these identity constructions including: clauses with nominal predicates, clauses with the preposition m, clauses with the preposition mr, and clauses with repetition. These four represent the primary predicative constructions that produce equations between the king and other beings or objects.

Scholars do not often distinguish among these four constructions. Rather, scholarly translations and analyses suggest that these constructions can produce the same meanings, can be translated in a similar manner, and are sometimes interchangeable. Thus, scholars do not clearly delineate which constructions produce statements of equivalence and which produce statements of comparison. The present study disentangles these four identity constructions by collecting, categorizing, and analyzing the hundreds of examples that relate to the king. This detailed investigation also provides information about how frequently the king is equated or compared with specific and generic beings or objects. Ultimately, this study argues that these four identity constructions are not interchangeable; rather, syntactic, semantic, or stylistic reasons dictate their use. In addition, this study analyzes the purpose of these constructions in the Pyramid Texts and concludes that these constructions allow the king's identity to resemble the multifaceted identities of the gods. These constructions also help the king establish a sense of permanence in his life after death.

Notes:

Ph. D. University of Pennsylvania 2019.

Department: Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

Supervisor: David P. Silverman.

Includes bibliographical references.

Other Format:

Online version: Humphrey, Leah R. Constructing royal identity in the Old Kingdom pyramid texts.

OCLC:

1142817817