Coffin Texts
Also known as: Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts, CT 1–1185, Egyptian Coffin Texts
A Middle Kingdom corpus of funerary spells inscribed on coffins to protect and empower the deceased, expanding royal afterlife privileges to non-royal persons and systematizing earlier Pyramid Text traditions.
Description
The Coffin Texts comprise a large collection of funerary spells and liturgies written mainly in Middle Egyptian on the interiors and exteriors of wooden coffins during the Middle Kingdom. Drawing heavily on and expanding the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts, the corpus equips the deceased with knowledge, passwords, and divine affiliations needed to navigate the netherworld, repel dangers, and join the celestial order. The material varies in form—hymns, incantations, mythic narratives, transformation spells, topographic guides—and includes the earliest netherworld map tradition known as the Book of Two Ways. The texts both democratize access to the afterlife and codify a flexible ritual repertoire that would later be recompiled and standardized in the New Kingdom Book of the Dead.
Historiography
Preserved on coffins from sites such as el-Bersha, Asyut, and Deir el-Bersha, the corpus was first comprehensively collated and numbered in Adriaan de Buck’s seven-volume edition (CT 1–1185). Subsequent scholarship refined readings, provenances, and textual groups, with translations and lexical tools enabling comparison to the Pyramid Texts and the Book of the Dead. Discovery of additional Middle Kingdom coffins has clarified regional formularies and the layout of the Book of Two Ways. The corpus remains a touchstone for reconstructing Middle Kingdom theology, ritual praxis, and scribal transmission.
Date Notes
Developed from Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts; inscribed chiefly on Middle Kingdom coffins, with later use and adaptation into the New Kingdom Book of the Dead.
Major Characters
- Osiris
- Ra
- Anubis
- Thoth
- Nut
- Geb
- Shu
Myths
- Spells for the Afterlife
- Transformations into Birds and Serpents
- Maps and Gates of the Netherworld
- Judgment and Protection in the Duat
Facts
- Corpus chiefly inscribed on wooden coffins of non-royal persons during the Middle Kingdom.
- Standard numbering runs CT 1–1185 following de Buck’s critical edition.
- Language is predominantly Middle Egyptian, with occasional Late Egyptian features.
- Incorporates and adapts Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts while introducing new compositions.
- Earliest attested netherworld map tradition appears as the Book of Two Ways on coffin boards.
- Texts were regionalized; different workshops favored distinct spell selections and arrangements.
- Many Coffin Text spells were later reworked into the New Kingdom Book of the Dead.
- Material includes hymns, incantations, mythic narratives, and transformation formulas.
- Primary aims: protection, provisioning, vindication, safe passage, and divine assimilation.
- Archaeological provenances include Middle Egypt sites such as el-Bersha and Asyut.