ï~~Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 47 (2010) 111-116
A Lease of Urban Property
from Hermopolis1
Andrew Connor University of Cincinnati
Abstract
Edition of a sixth-century papyrus from Hermopolis, recording a
lease by a woman of urban real estate with one door and one lock.
P.Vindob. inv. G. 13349, an urban lease on an annual payment plan, is one
of many texts from Hermopolis now in the collection of the Austrian National
Library.2 In this text, an unknown woman undertakes to lease an enclosed
space with one door and one lock for an unknown period at a rent of five
thousand talents a year. Though much of the text is missing, especially at the
top and left, quite a bit can be reconstructed from parallels in other, similar
lease agreements.3 The language of the text displays many examples of Hermopolitan phrasing.4 Nearly the entirety of the surviving text is composed of legal
1 I am especially grateful to Peter van Minnen for his invaluable aid throughout my
work on this papyrus, as well as to the anonymous referees for their helpful comments
and suggestions. All dates are AD.
2 For the history and organization of the Vienna papyri, see H. Loebenstein, "Vom
'Papyrus Erherzog Rainer' zur Papyrussammlung der Osterreichischen Nationalbibliothek;'," PRain.Cent., pp. 3-13, 20-24.
3 From Hermopolis: P.Vindob.Sal. 12 (334/5), P.Lips. 17 (377), PGiss. 52 (397), SB
8.9931 (405), RBerl.Zill. 5 (417), P.Stras. 7.655 (2nd half of the 5th cent.), PBad. 4.91b
(471), BGU 12.2162 (491), P.Lond. 3.1023 (5/6 cent.), PStras. 6.540 (6th cent.), PStras.
5.471 bis (= P.Flor. 1.73) (505), P.Stras. 5.338 (550), PStras. 4.247 (550/1), P.Stras. 1.4,
PRStras.4.248, less closely (560), BGU 12.2202 (565), BGU 12.2204 (574), PRPalau.Rib. 25
(= SB 14.11423) (6th/7th cent.), PFlor. 1.13 (6th/7th cent.), and PRKramer 15 (1st half
of the 7th cent.). For a complete list, see H. Mfiller, Untersuchungen zur iloOwutq von
Gebauden im Recht der grako-igyptischen Papyri (Koln 1985), especially 345-361. Not
surprisingly, many of the leases from 6th century Hermopolis use similar formulaic
language.
4 For instance, a search of the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri shows that
81 of the 129 (63%) instances of i liuOwutL KUpitc Kcd e43 at in papyri with known
provenance are from Hermopolis or the Hermopolitan nome. Meanwhile, 105 of 171
(61%) of all provenanced instances of el Ow iacut up6KELtrcttL are Hermopolitan.
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