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The Eloquent PeasantFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Eloquent Peasantis an Ancient Egyptian story about a peasant, Khun-Anup, who stumbles upon

the property of the noble Rensi son of Meru, guarded by its harsh overseer, Nemtynakht.[1][2]It is set in

the Ninthor Tenth Dynasty around Herakleopolis.[3]

Story summary

The storybegins with a peasant, Khun-anup, and his donkey stumbling on to the lands of the noble

Rensi sonof Meru.[4]Nemtynakht, the overseer of a noble's lands, was renowned for his misdeeds and

tricked Khun-anup into causing damage to his master Rensi's property by spreading a sheet across the

road beside the farm, forcing Khun-anup and his donkeys to walk through the crops. Once the donkey

began to eat the grain, Nemtynakht took custody of the donkey and started to beat Khun-anup, knowing

that Rensi would believe the word of his overseer rather than any allegations of trickery and theft from

Khun-anup.

Khun-anup searched for Rensi and found him near the riverside of the city. He addressed him with

praises. Rensi and his judges heard his case and replied that witnesses to Nemtynakht's alleged crime

were needed for the case to continue. Khun-anup could find none, but the magnificent speech of the

eloquent peasant convinced Rensi to continue to consider his case. Rensi brought the case before

pharaoh Nebkaure (who is believed tobe NebkaureKhety[5][6]) and told him of Khun-anup's rhetorical

powers. The king was impressed, but ordered the peasant not be given justice just yet and his petitions to

be put in writing.

For nine days Khun-anup complimented the high steward Rensi and begged for justice. After sensingthat he was being ignored, Khun-anup insulted him and was punished with a beating. After one last

speech, the discouraged peasant left, but Rensi sent for him and ordered him to return. But rather than

being punished for his insolence, the peasant was given justice. Rensi, after reading Khun-anup's last

speech, was impressed and ordered the donkeys to be returned to Khun-anup and the peasant to be

compensated with all the property of Nemtynakht, including his job, making Nemtynakht as poor as

Khun-anup had been.

References

1. ^Parkinson, Richard (1991). The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant. Griffith Institute. ISBN 0900416602.

2. ^ "The Eloquent Peasant (5)" (http://www.rostau.org.uk/ep/EPAlign/Peasant/guest5.html#start).AEL Email

List. Retrieved 2007-12-17.

3. ^Parkinson, R B (1999), The Tale of Sinuhe and other ancient Egyptian poems, 19401640 BC

(http://www.worldcat.org/title/tale-of-sinuhe-and-other-ancient-egyptian-poems-1940-1640-

bc/oclc/317507143), New York, ISBN 978-0-19-283966-4

4. ^Lichtheim, M (1973).Ancient Egyptian Literature. Vol.1. p. 169184.

5. ^ Alan Gardiner,Egypt of the Pharaohs. An introduction, Oxford University Press, 1961, p. 112.

6. ^William C. Hayes, in The Cambridge Ancient History, vol 1, part 2, 1971 (2008), Cambridge University

Press, ISBN 0-521-077915, p. 465.

External links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Gardinerhttp://www.worldcat.org/title/tale-of-sinuhe-and-other-ancient-egyptian-poems-1940-1640-bc/oclc/317507143http://www.rostau.org.uk/ep/EPAlign/Peasant/guest5.html#starthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0900416602http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaohhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebkaure_Khetyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypthttp://www.rostau.org.uk/ep/EPAlign/Peasant/guest5.html#starthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-283966-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Hayeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_Dynasty_of_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0900416602http://www.worldcat.org/title/tale-of-sinuhe-and-other-ancient-egyptian-poems-1940-1640-bc/oclc/317507143http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peasanthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0521077915http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaohhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Gardinerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth_Dynasty_of_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cambridge_Ancient_Historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebkaure_Khetyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herakleopolis

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In hieroglyphs (includes literal translations by various contributors)

(http://www.rostau.org.uk/ep/ep1.html)

Older translation (http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/eml/eml12.htm)

This article is about an item held in the British Museum. The object reference is EA 10274

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/p/papyrus_with_part_of_

the_tale.aspx).

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Eloquent_Peasant&oldid=626402439"

Categories: Ancient Egyptian literature

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