Synthesis

In place of a summary, a rather literary draft - which assumes that the communicative position of the literature of the New Kingdom is part of the respective organization of the texts and manuscripts themselves - will be presented here. The extensive intertextual integration, in terms of manuscript history, of the Miscellanies with all other aspects of the literary system of the New Kingdom suggests basically that the agents of this system can be identified as Egypt’s middle and upper administrative elite, as they can be observed, for instance, in Deir el-Medina during the production and usage of the texts. The following fictitious Thebes-centered scenario, which was conceivable in principle for every courtly institution of the time, can therefore be imagined: on a typical working day one struggles not only with the problems relating to the increasingly corrupt daily life of the Ramesside period, but also tutors one’s disciples in the correct usage of semi-literary forms and styles (Miscellanies) and may even write for them individually tailored lessons, which are reused locally (Amennakht, Hori) or later attain the status of‘‘wisdom texts’’ (Anii, Amenemope). Towards evening one visits the country estate of a superior, as described, for example, in the Miscellanies of P. Lansing (Caminos 1954: 412-19). One may dedicate as a gift to the host a manuscript with Miscellanies or literary texts (for example, Doomed Prince), produced especially for this occasion, and then partake of an opulent banquet in the festively decorated park (Turin Songs from the Orchard), accompanied by music and dancing (O. Borchardt 1) and with every imaginable form of sensual pleasures in store. There will be eating and drinking, and stories will be told - those of Truth and Falsehood, for example, or Head and Trunk, or Khonsuemheb and the Ghost, which reflect in general or specifically on the everyday problems of the Ramesside period but remain, as fictional literature, at a certain distance from those taking part in the festivities. One can celebrate the opulence of the distant Delta residence and assure oneself in the same breath of the simple beauty of one’s own homeland in which one has just gathered. There will be further eating and drinking and tasting and smelling, and the atmosphere will relax noticeably during the narration of the heroic tales which describe the magnificent deeds of departed contemporaries or kings in distant and imaginary lands (Taking of Joppa, Apophis and Seqenenre, Doomed Prince, Two Brothers). The hustle and bustle rises and now the hero-worshipped king becomes, from a safe festive, fictional distance, the subject of lively, humorous depictions (Horus and Seth). The Antef Song confirms the participants in their blatant commitment to the delights of this world, and, later, Love Songs are presented and become increasingly explicit. Decorum causes the representation of the festivities to end here in most of the literary and iconographic sources, even if they hint at excessive consumption and enjoyment ad nauseum. ‘‘Satirical’’ ostraca and papyri with ‘‘erotic’’ scenes (Houlihan 2001: 121-38) however show what was imaginable. The literature of the New Kingdom appears therefore to be a literature in which the cultural elites recount stories that are first and foremost about themselves. It compensates for the diverse perceptions of living in a problematic time in which it portrays the members of society as contemporaries ( Teachings) but, at the same time, offers them roles from a safe fictional distance (poetry and tales), with the help of which one can remain an integral part of the social happenings even in escaping from everyday life. The simple structure of many tales or the lively tone of many Love Songs should not disguise the fact that contemporary elite society were able to act out without consequence their self-perception by means of the roles and positions offered by extremely complex texts. That the literature of the New Kingdom, as the single available medium of reflection on the world, could not compensate for the increasing complexity of the society upon which it reflects, is another story.

FURTHER READING

Most of the texts discussed are available in individual editions (see texts), while the corpora of the Stories and Miscellanies are still most simply accessible via the Hieroglyphic transcriptions of the Hieratic originals in the works of Gardiner (1932, 1937). The most up-to-date overview of New Kingdom literature is currently offered by Burkard and Thissen (2008) in which all of the texts discussed here are presented with partial translations and introductory secondary literature. Lichtheim(1976) and Simpson (2003) are both distinguished collections of translations designed for the more detailed reading of the primary text and, because of their much broader definition of literature, also offer autobiographical, monumental, and religious texts that have been excluded here. An analytical approach New Kingdom literature, including the problems associated with research into it, is offered by Baines (1996a). Its literary historical relationship with the Middle Kingdom is also discussed by Baines (1996a), as well as byAssmann (1985; 1999b) and Fischer-Elfert (2003). The standard analysis ofindividual genres is available in Mathieu’s treatment of the Love Songs (1996) and Ragazzoli’s study of the laus urbis (2008).