Schen ring
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šn (.w) the Schen ring |
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With Schenu ( Egyptian "circle") designated Ancient Egyptians a ring of cables in a circular, later elliptical shape with a flat base. The so-called Schen-Ring enclosed the throne name written in hieroglyphics or the proper name (birth name) of an Egyptian king ( Pharaoh ).
meaning
The term “Schenu” ( šn (.w) , vocalized š˘nŭ́w ) is derived from a verb stem “scheni ”( šnj )“ surrounded, enclose in a circle ”.
The name commonly used today for the Schen ring with the king's name contained therein is the cartouche , also called the king or name ring. It probably meant "the XY, which is orbited by the sun", which was a widely used form of expression in ancient Egypt and was probably an image for the king as ruler.
However, there are also more frequent cases of cartridges in private individuals if they bear the name of a king, as for example in the case of the high ancient Egyptian official Chnumibre . His father Ahmose-sa-Neith , who served as a high official under King (Pharaoh) Amasis , obviously used the throne name of his ruler as a guide when naming his son . In addition, there is also a cartouche around the name of a ruler if this is only part of the name of the person concerned, as in Snofru-seneb , for example .
When used in images and sculptures, the Schen ring without hieroglyphic content is also viewed as a symbol for "eternity" and is therefore related to the god Heh in depictions . In this regard, the god holds palm panicles in his hands, at the lower end of which there are tadpoles that sit on a shen ring.
literature
- Alan Gardiner : Egyptian Grammar: being an introduction to the study of hieroglyphs. 3 .; revised edition, Griffith Institute / Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 1994, ISBN 0-900416-35-1 , p. 74.
- Jürgen von Beckerath : Handbook of the Egyptian king names. In: Munich Egyptological Studies . Volume 49, von Zabern, Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-8053-2591-6 , pp. 27-29.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jürgen Osing: The nominal formation of the Egyptian. Volume 1, von Zabern, Mainz 1976, p. 203.