Will of Naunakhte

The will of Naunakhte (also referred to as Naunakht) is a papyrus found at the workmen's village of Deir el-Medina that dates to the 20th dynasty during the reign of Ramesses V (Černý 1945 pg. 29). The papyrus was found by the French Institute in the spring of 1928 and outlines the last wishes of a woman who disowns some of her children.

The papyrus containing the will

The papyrus itself was originally separated into two rolls and it was not until a later time when the two rolls were discovered to be cut pieces of the same papyrus and were consequently rejoined (Černý 1954 pg. 29). The papyrus measures 43 cm (17 in) in height and 192 cm (76 in) in length (Černý 1945 pg. 30). The papyrus also shows evidence of being written by two different scribes in that the handwriting changes. Also within the papyrus, two different scribes are attested to writing different sections (Černý 1945 pg. 31). The papyrus is now located at the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University and can be found under P.Ashmolean 1945.97 (Haring 2003 p. 265).

Lady Naunakhte

The Lady Naunakhte receives the title of citoyenne which is indicative of all free women at the time of the 20th dynasty who were not in service nor considered slaves (Černý 1945 pg. 44). She had been married twice, first to the scribe Kenhikhopshef and then to the workman Khaemnun with whom she had the eight children mentioned in the papyrus (McDowell 1999 pg. 38).

The contents of the will and Its significance

The will lays out Lady Naunakhte's wishes regarding the inheritance of her eight children. Before stating the division of the assets, the papyrus states the date in which the declaration concerning Naunakhte's property was made and then goes on to state the numerous witnesses present at the time of the transcription of the declaration.[1] Once these facts have been stated, the will separates her children in terms of who will receive property and who will be disinherited. Of her eight children, Naunakhte disinherits three children and bestows five with her property and, in the case of her son, Kenhikhopshef, a special reward of a bronze washing bowl. An interesting distinction that is made pertains to the fact that, although Naunakhte disowns several of her children, she makes sure to state that they are only disowned from her portion of the property over which she has control. The disowned children were still eligible to receive property from their father, Naunakhte's husband, Khaemnun.

The will of Naunakhte offers an insight into the judicial proceedings within the lives of everyday Egyptians, particularly those of the workmen and their families at Deir el-Medina. It also demonstrates the growing use of written records for non-royal Egyptians. Furthermore, the will of Naunakhte brings to light the place that women held within Egyptian society. It is interesting to note that the legal position of women in the 20th dynasty of Egypt regarding property ownership was equal to that of men. Though women tended to inherit little from their families, what they did own was theirs to do with as they pleased regardless of whether they married (McDowell 1999 pg. 40). Lastly, the will of Naunakhte gives insight into the practices of caring for elder parents and the social rules that were in place regarding supporting parents in old age.

List of children

According to the papyrus, of the children of Lady Naunakhte and her second husband, Khaemnun, the first five were considered the “good” children who continued to support and provide care to Naunakhte in her old age and therefore received a portion of her property. In contrast, Neferhot[e]p, Henshene, and Khanub failed to support Naunakhte sufficiently and therefore were disowned and left with nothing (Černý 1945 pg. 48).

Secondary scholarship

First studied and analyzed by Jaroslav Černý, the will of Naunakhte is often cited in regards to women in Egypt, judicial literature, and life within the workmen's village of Deir el-Medina. For example, A.G. McDowell cites the will of Naunakhte as an example of the power that women held in regards to controlling their own property (McDowell 1999 pg. 40). Also Ben Haring utilizes the will of Naunakhte in order to describe the growing use of papyri to record both private and judicial matters (Haring 2003 pg. 265).

References

  1. ↑ "Will of Nau-nakht". www.reshafim.org.il. Retrieved 9 August 2016.

External links

Further reading

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