Publications

Publication details [#3883]

David, Arlette. 2007. Ancient Egyptian forensic metaphors and categories. Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. FF Sectio Philologiae 134 (1) : 1–14. 14 pp.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English

Abstract

The present paper endeavors to throw light on ancient Egyptian legal categories and metaphors with the help of the hieroglyphic scriptclassifiers, as these classifiers graphically reveal the semantic categories according to which the Egyptians comprehended legal concepts. The research is centred on two common classifiers used in the legal lexicon of Ramesside royal decrees, the conceptual categories they represent, and their relationship to the lexemes they classify. Other classifiers are briefly examined in relation to main legal categories. Categorization is a fundamental component of legal reasoning, and metaphor is central to legal categorization process, both in modern and ancient cultures, as we try to show by giving modern examples that parallel the Egyptian material. (LLBA, Accession Number 18813678, (c) CSA [2008]. All rights reserved.)