Coptic lease from Hermopolis (Middle Egypt), mentioning a place/monastery of *Michael (the Archangel, S00181); datable to the 7th century.
Evidence ID
E02155
Type of Evidence
Documentary texts - Lease or rental document
CPR 4 121, 1–3
[†] ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲥⲧⲉⲫⲁⲛⲉ ⲡⲉϭⲙⲉ ⲡϣⲉ ⲛⲡⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲓⲟⲩⲥⲧ[ⲟⲥ] ⲡⲣⲱⲙ ⲡⲙⲁ ⲛⲡⲁⲣⲭⲁⲅ̣ⲅ̣ⲉⲗⲟⲥ ⲙⲓⲭⲁⲏⲗ ϩⲓϫⲛ ⲧϣ[ⲛⲏ? ⲛ - ]
[ⲉ]ⲓ̣ⲥϩⲁⲓ ⲛⲕⲩⲣⲁ ⲕⲁⲓⲥⲁⲣⲓⲁ ⲧⲉⲩⲅⲉⲛⲉⲥⲧⲁⲧⲏ ⲧϣⲉ ⲛⲡⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲛⲇ̣ⲣⲟⲛⲓⲕⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϥϣⲱⲡ̣[ⲉ -ca.?- ]
ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ
'I, Stephen, the gardener, son of the blessed Ioustos, man of the place (ma) of the archangel Michael, at the garden [of …], I am writing to the well-born Mistress Kaisaria, daughter of the blessed Andronikos, who was […], inhabitant of Hermopolis … '
Text and German translation: W C. Till
English translation: G. Schenke
A full record of this document can be found at: http://papyri.info/ddbdp/cpr;4;121
Cult PlacesCult building - monastic
Places Named after SaintMonastery
Cult building - monastic
Cult building - unspecified
Places Named after SaintMonastery
Towns, villages, districts and fortresses
Source
The papyrus K 4903 belongs to the papyrus collection at Vienna. The document is dated on palaeographical grounds.Discussion
The text is fragmentary, but the piece of land leased here is most likely a vineyard or a garden. The lessee is not a monk, but seems to be a gardener living at or associated with a certain place named after the archangel Michael. This is very likely to have been a monastery which hired this gardener to work the monastic garden (read perhaps: ⲧϣ[ⲛⲏ ⲛⲙⲟⲛⲁⲥⲧⲉⲣⲓⲟⲛ or ⲧϣ[ⲛⲏ ⲛⲡⲗⲁⲟⲥ]). Additionally, or perhaps after working for the monastery, he also worked on land leased from a private individual, in this case a woman from Hermopolis.However, it can not be excluded that 'the place' of the archangel Michael was a small rural settlement, named after the archangel.
Bibliography
Text and translation:Till, W.C., Corpus Papyrorum Raineri IV (CPR IV): Die koptischen Rechtsurkunden der Papyrussammlung der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek (Vienna, 1958), 115–116.
Further reading:
Papaconstantinou, A., Le culte des saints en Égypte des Byzantins aux Abbassides (Paris: CNRS, 2001), 424.
Record Created By
Gesa Schenke
Date of Entry
20/12/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00181 | Michael, the Archangel | ⲡⲁⲣⲭⲁⲅ̣ⲅ̣ⲉⲗⲟⲥ ⲙⲓⲭⲁⲏⲗ | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Gesa Schenke, Cult of Saints, E02155 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E02155