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KYPRIANOS T885

Manuscript: M9
Sigla:

P. Mich. Inv. 593
Text no. question mark icon Position of the text within the manuscript.25
Coptic Scriptorium:
Date: 401 – 700

Text position:

p. 9 ll. 3-7
Type of text:

Healing of uterine bleeding (magical, formulary)

Original title:

ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ ⲉⲣⲉⲡⲉⲥⲛⲟϥ︦ ϩⲁⲣⲟⲥ
Original title (translated):

For a woman with blood under her
Conventional title: For a woman with blood under her

Language:

Egyptian (Coptic)
Dialect:

Sahidic (non-standard)
Script:

Coptic
Image: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?id=S-APIS-X-2601%5D593_1R.TIF

Text: Translation:

p. 9 (↓)

3. ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ ⲉⲣⲉⲡⲉⲥⲛⲟϥ︦ ϩⲁ-
4. ⲣⲟⲥ ⲧⲁⲩⲟⲥ ⲉϫ̅ⲛ̅ ⲟⲩϩ̅ⲙ̅ϫ̅ ⲛ̅ⲅ̅ⲡⲁⲧϥ̅
5. ⲉϫ̅ⲛ̅ ⲧⲉⲥⲁⲡⲉ ⲧⲁⲩⲟⲥ ⲉϫ̅ⲛ̅ ⲟⲩⲛⲉϩ
6. ⲛ̅ⲥⲡⲁⲛⲟⲛ ⲛ̅ⲅ̅ⲧⲟϩ︦ⲥ︦ ⲛ̅ϩⲏⲧ̅ⲥ̅ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅
7. ⲕⲱⲛⲧ̅ⲥ̅ [following text]

[3] For a woman with blood under [4] her. Recite it over vinegar and pour it [5] over her head. Recite it over some Spanish oil [6] and anoint her belly and [7] her genitals.

Tableau:
Tracing by:

Apparatus:

4. ⲛ̅ⲅ̅ⲡⲁⲧ̅ϥ̅ i.e. Sahidic ⲛⲅ-ⲡⲁϩⲧ⸗ϥ
6. ⲥⲡⲁⲛⲟⲛ i.e. Σπανόν : translate “spanon” Worrell, Mirecki 1994 & 1999
7. ⲕⲱⲛⲧ̅ⲥ̅ i.e. Sahidic ⲕⲟⲩⲛ⸗ⲥ

Notes:

Parallel text: P. Mich. inv. 594 vo l. 3-5 (KYP M15; KYP T927)

6. 14. ⲥⲡⲁⲛⲟⲛ The word σπανός has the meaning “rare, uncommon” (cf. Förster WBGW s.v. σπάνιος), but relating to oil it is almost certainly a syncopated form of Ἱσπανός (“Spanish”; cf. LSJ s.v. Σπανόν). The word is often used in documentary papyri and medical works to describe olive oil imported from the province of Hispania; see P.Oxy. XVI 1862.11 (with note ad loc.), P.Oxy. XVI 1924.6, P.Sorb. I 62.1, and Mattingly 1988.
7. ⲕⲱⲛⲧ̅ⲥ̅ The word ⲕⲟⲩⲛ can refer to both the breasts and the genitals (cf. Crum CD, 111b). Given the mention of menstrual blood, we interpret it here as genitals. Cf. Preininger 2026, 152 n. 45.

Bibliography:

Mattingly, D.J. “Oil for Export? A Comparison of Libyan, Spanish and Tunisian Olive Oil Production in the Roman Empire.” Journal of Roman Archaeology 1 (1988): 33-56.

Meyer, Marvin W., and Richard Smith. Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power. Princeton (New Jersey): Princeton University Press, 1999, p. 304–310, no. 133.

Mirecki, P.. “The Coptic Wizard’s Hoard.” The Harvard Theological Review vol. 87 no. 4 (1994): 435–460.

Preininger, M. The Magical Body: Embodiment in Coptic Magical Papyri. Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 202. Leiden: Brill, 2026.

Worrell, W. H. “A Coptic Wizard’s Hoard.” The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 46 no. 4 (1930): 239–262.

Editor:

EL’s transcript from Worrell (29/1/20); preliminary translation by KD (31/1/2020); KD, MPS, RBS (23/7/2026)

How to cite:
[Editor names]. "KYP T885: For a woman with blood under her," Kyprianos Database of Ancient Ritual Texts and Objects, Korshi Dosoo, Markéta Preininger, & Roxanne Bélanger Sarrazin (principal editors), www.coptic-magic.phil.uni-wuerzburg.de/index.php/text/kyp-t-885. Accessed on 11/10/2026
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