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E00238: Fragment of a Coptic will mentioning the monastery of Apa *Phoibammon (soldier and martyr of Assiut, S00080) at Deir el-Bahari (Upper Egypt) as the beneficiary; datable to the 8th c.

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posted on 2014-12-18, 00:00 authored by gschenke
O.CrumST 60

George, son of Pisrael, a resident of castron Jeme, lacking an heir makes this will handing his landed property over to the monastery.

Summary: Gesa Schenke

History

Evidence ID

E00238

Saint Name

Phoibammon, soldier martyr of Preht (ob. c. 304) : S00080

Saint Name in Source

ⲁⲡⲁ ⲫⲟⲓⲃⲁⲙⲱⲛ

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Documentary texts - Will Late antique original manuscripts - Papyrus sheet

Language

  • Coptic

Evidence not before

700

Evidence not after

799

Activity not before

700

Activity not after

799

Place of Evidence - Region

Egypt and Cyrenaica Egypt and Cyrenaica

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Djeme Hermonthis

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Djeme Hermopolis ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ Ashmunein Hermopolis Hermonthis Hermopolis ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ Ashmunein Hermopolis

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - monastic

Cult activities - Places Named after Saint

  • Monastery

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits Other lay individuals/ people

Source

Fragmentary papyrus document from Deir el-Bahari, only the beginning preserved, now housed at the British Museum in London.

Discussion

The text breaks off as the testator begins to list his property. While the monastery of Phoibammon is the beneficiary of the will, it is most likely the saint himself for whose sake this bequest is made, in order to ensure his intercession when needed.

Bibliography

Edition: Crum, W.E., Short Texts from Coptic Ostraca and Papyri (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1921), 20 (O.CrumST 60). German translation: Till, W.C., Erbrechtliche Untersuchungen auf Grund der koptischen Urkunden (Vienna: In Kommission bei R.M. Rohrer, 1954), 222. Further reading: Godlewski, W., Deir el-Bahari V: Le monastère de St. Phoibammon (Warsaw: PWN, 1986). For a full range of the documentary evidence on Phoibammon: Papaconstantinou, A., Le culte des saints en Égypte des Byzantins aux Abbassides (Paris: CNRS, 2001), 204–214.

Usage metrics

    Evidence - The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

    Categories

    Keywords

    S00080History

    Licence

    CC0

    Exports

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