The Eloquent Peasant

‘The Eloquent Peasant’ generally refers to an ancient Egyptian story, but in this case, it’s an Egyptology blog in which I intend to write about random topics ranging from reactions to conference talks, book and article reviews, various thoughts about things like current news, my visits to Egypt, Egypt in pop culture, and maybe even a hieroglyphic riddle or two… I’ll also address the daunting everyday struggle of combatting ignorance about Egypt. No, the pyramids weren’t built by little green men and I intend to tell you why!

My name is Margaret Maitland and I’m a D.Phil. candidate in Egyptology at the University of Oxford. I received my Hon. B.A. from the University of Toronto (where I studied with Professor Ronald Leprohon) and my M.Phil. from Oxford. I am currently being supervised by renowned scholars, Professor John Baines of Oxford and Dr. Richard Parkinson, Assistant Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum. I’ve participated in excavations of a Byzantine mansion in Madaba, Jordan, and a late predynastic-early Dynastic settlement and cemetery at Tell el-Masha’la in the Eastern Delta in Egypt. I’m mad about the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egyptian history, especially the classic literature and art of the period, hence the title of this blog…

‘The Eloquent Peasant’ is a famous Egyptian poem dating to the Middle Kingdom, though it was still being read in the Ramesside period hundreds of years later. It tells of a clever peasant who travels far from his home to sell his goods, and on the way, is tricked and robbed by a greedy local official. The peasant appeals to the High Steward for justice and speaks so eloquently that the High Steward informs the king about the peasant’s surprising gift with words. The king is intrigued and orders the High Official to keep the peasant talking and record everything that he says. So day after day, the peasant returns to deliver virtuoso performances of his impassioned pleas, only to be beaten and sent away. In the end, finally, his eloquence is rewarded and he is given all of the greedy official’s property. While the plot is a simple folk tale, the tale is spun into a highly literary treatise on truth and justice, themes which were very dear to the ancient Egyptians.

Apart from being a great story, being a student, I can sympathize with the peasant’s plight… In this endeavour, I can only hope for eloquence equal to his…

I can be contacted at margaret {dot} maitland {at} gmail {dot} com.

On the Great Pyramid

Restoring a mosaic floor in Jordan