The Oxford Handbook of the Egyptian Book of the Dead (OXFORD HANDBOOKS SERIES)

Among the broad spectrum of ancient Egyptian religious literature, the Book of the Dead is the most representative of ancient Egyptian mortuary religion and of the magical and ritual practices belonging to it. Moreover, its rich corpus of texts and images provides unique information on the scribal practices, mortuary traditions, myths, and priestly rituals in ancient Egypt from the 2nd Millennium BCE to the Roman Period. The Oxford Handbook of the Egyptian Book of the Dead is the first major guide to collect and synthesize the wide-ranging body of scholarship on the Book of the Dead as well as the broader literature on ancient Egyptian religion and magic. Useful for both curious undergraduates and advanced scholars, this collection of contributions from specialists in the field will become a go-to resource for years to come on everything from the textual history of the Book of the Dead to its material origins and historical reception. Editors Rita Lucarelli and Martin Andreas Stadler have curated a singular volume that is both state of the art and comprehensive. Cover 1 The Oxford Handbook of the Egyptian Book of the Dead 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 10 List of Contributors 12 Introduction 14 Part I The Textual History of the Book of the Dead 20 1 The Transition from the Coffin Texts to the Book of the Dead 22 2 The Book of the Dead in the Eighteenth Dynasty 49 3 The Ramesside Book of the Dead and the Deir el-​Medina Tradition 74 4 The Book of the Dead in the Third Intermediate Period 89 5 The Book of the Dead Papyri in the Twenty-​Sixth Dynasty 129 6 The Last Books of the Dead 154 Part II Types of Sources: The Material Aspect of the Book of the Dead 172 7 Writing Book of the Dead Manuscripts: Tasks and Traditions 174 8 Production and Layout of New Kingdom Book of the Dead Papyri 193 9 Female Owners of Book of the Dead Papyri 210 10 Book of the Dead on Tissues: Shrouds and Mummy Bandages 231 11 The Book of the Dead in Tombs 244 12 The Book of the Dead in Temples 258 Part III The Book of the Dead’s Position in Ancient Egyptian Religion 274 13 The Book of the Dead as a Source for the Study of Ancient Egyptian Religion: Methodology, Problems, Prospects 276 14 The Funerary Literature Related to the Book of the Dead 292 15 The Book of the Dead in the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods and the Contemporary Funerary Texts 308 16 The Book of the Ba 334 Part IV Particular Aspects of the Book of the Dead’s Contents 352 17 Thematic Groups and Sequences of Spells 354 18 Spell 1 of the Book of the Dead and Its Vignette 370 19 The Field of Offerings or Field of Reeds 386 20 The Judgment 406 21 Gods and Demons in the Book of the Dead 434 22 The So-​Called Chapitres supplémentaires 446 23 Illustrations in Saite through Ptolemaic Books of the Dead 458 Part V The Book of the Dead in Modern Times 498 24 The Time of the Pioneers (Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries) 500 25 Just a Catchy Title? On the History of Reception of the Egyptian Book of the Dead 517 26 Translating the Book of the Dead 534 27 The Conservation of Book of the Dead Papyri 555 28 The Art of Forgery in the Manuscript Culture in Antiquity 569 Index 582