Hieratic

The hieratic writing is one with hieroglyphs closely related script that was used from the 3rd millennium BC in Egypt and written with a brush or bulrush on papyrus (or similar suitable material such as ostraca from limestone or clay ). It was used until the 3rd century AD. Although it remained unchanged in its basic structure, there were large differences in shape that are linked to specific types of texts and times, so that the Egyptology including the field of paleography due to the hieratic.

Development

Approaches the hieratic show already in the pre-dynastic period, which it is not related texts, but scattered testimonies and fragments. The hieratic has not been derived based on current knowledge of hieroglyphics, but believed to have originated at the same time with this; in fact, the oldest known hieratic text fragments are older than the oldest known hieroglyphs. In the early days, the two writings differed only insofar as it is the different writing materials - stone and papyrus - required.

Althieratisch

From this early, very closely bound to the hieroglyphic cursive font evidenced since the 4th dynasty Althieratische, which still meets the hieroglyphic forms relatively directly originated. At this time the Hieratic was written in vertical lines, which were arranged from right to left on the sheet of papyrus. The merging of two hieroglyphic characters in a hieratic character occurs ( ligatures ) for the first time. Ligatures developed only with characters that have been written many times in succession, such as n and t, m and ˁ or similar. They were a small, not dominating part of the written language.

Mittelhieratisch

This evolved into the Mittelhieratischen that was used during the Middle Kingdom and the 2nd intermediate and partially still in the New Kingdom. Here, the hieratic script divides first into two different types:

• A simpler, almost volatile font for business use, the clerical script (or italics, as it was also used in daily life)
• And more careful, sweeping book font, the so-called Unique.

In Mittelhieratischen the transition from vertical to horizontal lines occurred. Within the row is always written from the right to the left, the lines were located from top to bottom on the sheet.

Neuhieratisch

The Neuhieratische found since the 18th Dynasty. Since the New Kingdom joined an ever -increasing separation between the literary and religious ( Unikalen ) and clerical script. The Unikalen was calligraphic, but also led to a proliferation of signs and sweeping Füllseln, which is related partly to the hieroglyphic spelling of Late Egyptian. The Kanzeleischrift other hand shortened so extreme at the end of the New Kingdom that the style is sometimes referred to as Abnormhieratisch. Can be made especially within the Neuhieratischen different styles, even within the Unikalen and italics, determine. After the 3rd meantime, the Abnormhieratische was abandoned.

In Neuhieratischen can first highlight differences between Thebes and Memphis.

From 660 BC, it was gradually replaced by the demotic writing, but remained for several centuries as a sacred scripture exist.

History of Research

The discoverer of the hieratic is Jean -François Champollion; In 1821 he recognized the hieratic as a written language ( 1 year ago hieroglyphs ). Adolf Erman pointed at the tales of the papyrus Westcar by 17 different manuscripts and provided an impetus for Georg Moller hieratic paleography. Verhoeven 2001 coined the word Hieratogramm.

Parallels and differences with hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphic and hieratic writing influenced each other reciprocally; the compound was apparent at any time. Almost all the hieratic characters (except ligatures ) have a hieroglyphic equivalent. For some characters, this can be at first glance, to prove (some animal hieroglyphs ), for some of them lost the similarity in the course of development. The hieratic is however only counter-clockwise; the writing direction no longer conforms to images or similar. The orthography of Hieratic is stricter than that of hieroglyphic writing. Complicated characters be avoided or simplified; according to Sir Alan Gardiner accepts the Hieroglyphic this from hieratic. The hieratic knows Verspunkte and highlighting of text in red color.

Edit hieratic documents

The arrangement of characters (columns or rows) narrowing down the creation date can be made. An Egyptologist, who specializes in Hieratistik, can make a dating due to the writing style.

The treatment of the document provides information about the function, how often it is bent or folded, whether it is sealed or perforated, how many different manuscripts can be found on the manuscript and the like.

The transfer to the Hieroglyphic requires some instinct because only the most famous documents exists a paleography. But even with these well-known characters can look strange, so that you have to pay (from top to bottom or from left to right) on characteristics such as momentum, extensions, and written direction of the character.

The transfer from the hieratic is the main reason why there are variations in the transliteration of hieroglyphs in many literary texts: the hieratic characters have been assigned to different hieroglyphs.