The Prisse Papyrus is an ancient Egyptian papyrus datable to the Middle Kingdom and is now in the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

in Paris.
Inhabitants of

Kurna Kurna (also Gourna, Gurna, Qurna, Qurnah or Qurneh; ar, القرنة) are various spelling for a group of three closely related villages (New Qurna, Qurna and Sheikh ‘Adb el-Qurna) located on the West Bank of the River Nile opposite the moder ...

originally found the papyrus inside the

rishi coffin Rishi coffins are funerary coffins adorned with a feather design, which were used in Ancient Egypt. They are typical of the Egyptian Second Intermediate Period, circa 1650 to 1550 BC. The name comes from ريشة (''risha''), Arabic for "feather" ...

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...

Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef-Aa (sometimes Intef V) was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 17th Dynasty of Egypt, who lived late during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was divided into two by Hyksos controlled Lower Egypt and Theban ruled Up ...

of the

17th Dynasty The Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVII, alternatively 17th Dynasty or Dynasty 17) was a dynasty of pharaohs that ruled in Upper Egypt during the late Second Intermediate Period, approximately from 1580 to 1550 BC. Its mainly Theba ...

, whose tomb was probably located in

Dra' Abu el-Naga' The necropolis of Draʻ Abu el-Naga' ( ar, دراع ابو النجا) is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt, just by the entrance of the dry bay that leads up to Deir el-Bahari and north of the necropolis of el-Assasif. The ne ...

near Thebes. The

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

document contains the last two pages of the ''

Instructions of Kagemni The ''Instructions of Kagemni'' is an ancient Egyptian instructional text of wisdom literature which belongs to the ''sebayt'' ('teaching') genre. Although the earliest evidence of its compilation dates to the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, its authorsh ...

'', who purportedly served under pharaoh

Sneferu Sneferu ( snfr-wj "He has perfected me", from ''Ḥr-nb-mꜣꜥt-snfr-wj'' "Horus, Lord of Maat, has perfected me", also read Snefru or Snofru), well known under his Hellenized name Soris ( grc-koi, Σῶρις by Manetho), was the founding phar ...

of the

4th Dynasty The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty IV) is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from to 2494 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other ...

, and is a compilation of moral maxims and admonitions on the practice of virtue (''

sebayt Sebayt (Egyptian '' sbꜣyt'', Coptic ⲥⲃⲱ "instruction, teaching") is the ancient Egyptian term for a genre of pharaonic literature. ''sbꜣyt'' literally means "teachings" or "instructions" and refers to formally written ethical teachings f ...

''). The conclusion of the ''Instructions of Kagemni'' is followed by the only complete surviving copy of the '' Instruction of Ptahhotep''.

Battiscombe Gunn Battiscombe George "Jack" Gunn, (30 June 1883 – 27 February 1950) was an English Egyptologist and philologist. He published his first translation from Egyptian in 1906. He translated inscriptions for many important excavations and sites, in ...

, "THE WISDOM OF THE EAST, THE INSTRUCTION OF PTAH-HOTEP AND THE INSTRUCTION OF KE'GEMNI: THE OLDEST BOOKS IN THE WORLD", LONDON, JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, 1906, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30508/30508-h/30508-h.htm

References

Literature

*''The Instruction addressed to Kagemni'' in M. Lichtheim, ''Ancient Egyptian Literature'', Volume I, 1973, pp.59ff. *''The Instruction of Ptahhotep'' in M. Lichtheim, ''Ancient Egyptian Literature'', Volume I, 1973, pp. 61ff.
"Papyrus Prisse"
by

Franz Joseph Lauth Franz Joseph Lauth (18 February 1822, Landau, Germany – 11 February 1895, Munich), was a German Egyptologist. Career From 1842 to 1845 he studied classical philology. In 1849 he became a teacher at the Wilhelmsgymnasium (Munich). *From 1863 t ...

retrieved 10:53 24/9/11
papyrus "Prisse" JW Bone (1887)
retrieved 11:34GMT 24/9/11
text written-Isaac Meyer
retrieved 13:36GMT 25.9.11

External links

University College London Egyptian papyri {{papyrus-stub

See also

References

Literature

External links