The lecture will discuss issues arising from a project to write a reader's commentary on The Tale of Sinuhe, from a material philological perspective, covering both Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom versions. What areas of a text's life should a commentary include, and how can the commentator seek to capture a sense of poetry as well as the words preserved on the hieratic manuscripts? In particular, the role of visual aspects and landscapes will be considered, as featured in the famous recognition scene and the account of Sinuhe's flight from Egypt. How can a commentary assist a modern audience to experience the emotional reality of an ancient poem – is philology enough?

Richard B. Parkinson was trained at Oxford and was Lady Wallis Budge Junior Research Fellow at University College, Oxford 1990-1991. He was a curator of the papyrus collection in the Department of Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum 1992-2013 (where projects included the display of the Rosetta Stone and the Nebamun wall-paintings). He is currently statutory professor of Egyptology at Oxford and a fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford.

Advance registration is not required.