1.1 Royal Edicts
The corpus of royal decrees of a legal character^4 has been divided
into six categories:^5 decrees concerning administration and tax exemp-
tions;^6 endowment of offerings;^7 endowment decree for real estate or
immovables;^8 decrees for appointments;^9 stipulations for the benefit
of private individuals;^10 letters.^11
The most extensive group is the so-called exemption decrees of
the later Old Kingdom conferring freedom upon various mortuary
establishments and temples from corvée labor and taxation.^12 Each
document represents a royal wish regarding a particular temple. The
status and position of individuals and property connected with the
temple establishments are regulated.^13 Infringements result in specific
punishments.^14 An example is the decree of Pharaoh Neferirkare on
behalf of the temple in Abydos.^15 Addressed in letter form to theNéanmoins, la documentation contient des allusions qui ne laissent aucun doubte
sur l’existence de lois en Egypte.”(^4) Basic collection in Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. .; for an overview of legal
aspects of the corpus, see Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. ., 231–47. See also Vernus,
“Typologie.. .”; Boochs, Strafrechtliche Aspekte.. ., 15–16; Goedicke, “Cult-temple...,”
esp. 126–31.
(^5) Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. ., 2.
(^6) E.g., Coptos B, Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. ., 87–116. See Théodoridès,
“Charte.. .,” 667–714 (Maat) for a translation and commentary of Coptos B. A few
decrees may deal with misconduct in office: see Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. ., 204–5.
(^7) E.g., Abydos III, Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. ., 81–86. In Pantalacci,
“Décret.. .,” 250, 252 there is the installation of a funerary cult for a governor of
Dakhla Oasis, which may also refer to usufruct of endowment.
(^8) Coptos L, Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. ., 161–71. Coptos L deals with the
division of land, possibly connected with the establishment of a royal endowment.
(^9) Coptos O, Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. ., 178–83. On the form, see Helck,
Akten.. ., 108; Posener-Krieger, “Décrets.. .,” 203.
(^10) Coptos R, Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. ., 214–25.
(^11) Coptos M (concerns appointment to office), Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente...,
184–89.
(^12) The motivation behind these exemption decrees is much debated. See Strudwick,
Administration.. ., 341; Lurje, Studien zum altägyptischen Recht, 88–90; Harari, “Les
Decrets...”; Schenkel, Memphis, 11–25 (translation of royal decrees of the Memphite
Eighth Dynasty); Martin-Pardy, Untersuchungen.. ., 127, 226–30; Hornung, Gründzuge...,
40.
(^13) They are not called hp.w, “laws,” but rather w≈-nswt, “royal decrees.” On the
relationship between hp.wand w≈.w, see Lorton, BiOr40 (1983): col. 367.
(^14) In Coptos B, one who “trangresses” a command is described so: “It/he is one
who has fallen into a deed of rebellion” (sbfi.t) (Théodoridès, “Charte.. .,” 689).
(^15) Urk. 1, 170–72; Goedicke, Königliche Dokumente.. ., 22–36, and “Cult...,”
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