Royal women as wr.t­‑ḫnr in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty: continuity in discontinuity

Royal women as wr.t‑ḫnr in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty: continuity in discontinuity Dana Bělohoubková ABSTRACT Avery characteristic aspect of the New Kingdom royal family is the involvement and integration of royal women into the royal ideology, as well as their participation in the cult; for example, their presence during rituals such as the Opet festival. One of the foundations of the early New Kingdom state revolves around the concept of the king on the throne and his mother, sister or wife in the role of “god’swife” (Hm.t‑nTr). This system appears to cease being productive after the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, or perhaps still slightly later, since the last female with this title is dated to the reign of ThutmoseIV. It is highly possible that the position of “god’swife” was at that time replaced by the post of the “great of musical performance” (wr.t‑xnr); apost usually held by the wife of the high priest. The royal women later reappeared in this position, not only with the title of the “god’swife”, but from the reign of the Sethi I, several of them also held the title of the “great of performers” (wr.t‑xnr). This phenomenon could be symptomatic not only of the dynamic nature of both institutions, but also of the power race between the royal and non ‑royal elite. KEYWORDS royal women– god’swife– great of performers– priestesses– New Kingdom– procession عاطقنلاا للاخ ةيرارمتسا :ةرشع ةعساتلاو ةرشع ةنماثلا نيترسلأا للاخ wr.t‑ḫnr بقل نلمح ةيكلملا ةرسلأا نم تاديس افوكبوهولب اناد صخلملا ىف نهجامدإو ةيكلملا ةرسلأا نم تاديسلا ةكراشم ىه ةثيدحلا ةلودلا رصع للاخ ةيكلملا ةلئاعلل اًدج ةزيمملا تامسلا نم تلاافتحلااو سوقطلا ءانثأ نهروضح ،لاثملا ليبس ىلع ،ةدابعلا سوقط ىف نهتكراشم نع ًلاضف ،ةيكلملا ةيجولويديلأا ءاوس ،ةديس هراوجبو شرعلا ىلع كلملا موهفم لوح اهتيادب ىف ةثيدحلا ةلودلا تازيمم مهأ دحأ رودي .تبولأا ديع للاخ دهع دعب هب ًلاومعم دعي مل ماظنلا اذه نأ ودبيو .)Hm.t‑nTr( »هللإا ةجوز« رودب نمق ثيح ،هتجوز وأ هتخأ وأ هتدلاو تناك .عبارلا سمتحت كلملا دهع ىف تشاع امبر بقللا اذه تلمح ةديس رخآ نلأ ،ليلقب ةرتفلا كلت دعب امبر وأ ،توسبشتح ةكلملا »تايقيسوملا تايدؤملا ةريبك/ةديس« وه رخآ بصنمب تقولا كلذ ىف »هللإا ةجوز« بصنم لادبتسا مت هنأ لمتحملا نم ثيح اذه قحلا تقو ىف ىكلملا تيبلا نم تاديس تلمحو .ةنهكلا ريبك ةجوز ةداع هلغشت تناك ىذلا بصنملا وهو ،)wr.t‑xnr( »تايدؤملا ةريبك/ةديس« بقل ًاضيأ نهنم ديدعلا نلمح ،لولأا ىتيس كلملا دهع ذنم نكلو ،»هللإا ةجوز« بقل طقف سيل ،بصنملا ةوقلا قابسل ًاضيأ نكلو ،نيتسسؤملا اتلكل ةيكيمانيدلا ةعيبطلا طقف سيل ،ضارعأ نم ةرهاظلا هذه نوكت نأ نكمي .)wr.t‑xnr( .ةيكلملا ريغو ةيكلملا ةبخنلا نيب ةلادلا تاملكلا بكوم – ةثيدحلا ةلودلا – تانهاكلا – تايدؤملا ةريبك – هللإا ةجوز – تايكلم تاديس PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXIX/2022, 29–42 30 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXIX/2022 INTRODUCTION The position of aroyal woman was defined by her relation to the king; something that is clearly reflected by means of several designations, such as “wife of the king” (Hm.t nsw), “daughter of the king” (sA.t nsw), and “sister of the king” (sn.t nsw). In rituals in general, these women functioned as opposites to the (male) kings– together the male and female principle (queen) formed awhole (Troy 1986: 1–3). Ideally, rituals should be led by the king as the main officiant, and arepresentative of the god on earth (having divine kingship), accompanied by aqueen who represented the feminine element (in the position of “god’swife”, “hand of the god”). However, the title of “god’swife” was lost during the Eighteenth Dynasty and only briefly reappeared in the course of the Nineteenth Dynasty (Sander ‑Hansen 1940: 5–7). This article explores the dynamics of the position that formed the counterbalance to the male officiant– the king/priest. The aim is to show both the continuity of this pattern even when the post of “god’swife” was not filled and adifferent post came to the fore, as well as, on the other hand, its later adaptation to new conditions when the role of the main counterpart came to be filled once again by the queen. Understanding the role of women in the cult (especially the royal ones) is an important piece to the puzzle of how the whole cult worked.1 Especially during periods of great social change. This article discusses the phenomenon of royal wives, specifically their role in the cult as “god’swife” (Hm.t ‑nTr) and the relationship between that title and the title of “great of performers” (wr.t‑xnr), held by non ‑royal individuals. The dynamic between these two titles is interesting and may reveal the role of royal women in rituals (and may even have the potential to refute claims of the waning power of the Nineteenth Dynasty queens). It is also possible to trace the shift of focus from the royal family, who ideally were the main officiants to the deity, to non ‑royal persons, and to both the high priest and ideally his wife, preferably great of performers of the given cult, i.e. the professionalization of the cult. The questions then are by what mechanisms did the whole system cope with asituation where the king, for example, led rituals during important festivals, and were the royal women present in these rituals? The possibility that ritual matters in the period when the post of “god’swife” was not occupied were performed by anon ‑royal woman with the title of “great of performers” ap‑ pears in the literature (Gosselin 2007: 253). However, this assumption is not supported by any arguments or collected material on women with the title of “great of performers”.2 In this paper, an analysis of the dates collected for this research support this assumption. The fact that this title is in several mentions among the royal women of the family of Ramesses II is not explained anywhere. This paper works with data on three different groups of people. The first are royal women with the title “god’swife”, the second are non ‑royal women with the title “great of perform‑ ers”. The third group is again royal women this time with the title “great of performers”. The 1 This article is based on my forthcoming dissertation, which examines agroup of women referred to as musical performers. The dissertation is not yet complete and this article also aims to be acon‑ tribution to the discussion, not adefinitive study on the topic. 2 This title also continues to appear occasionally in the literature as “great of (royal) harem”. 31DANA BĚLOHOUBKOVÁ paper then works with the chronological sequence and succession of each title, depending on what evidence we have. In the case of royal women, all occurrences where they had the title “great of performers” have been considered, and as can be seen below, these documents are few in number. THE “GOD’SWIFE OF AMUN” The title of “god’swife” has in recent years been extensively studied for the Third Interme‑ diate and Late Period.3 The title “god’swife” is first attested in the First Intermediate Period for awoman named Iymeretnebes in Akhmim. In this early case, and in another example attested from the Middle Kingdom involving awoman named Neferu, it is not yet the title of the “divine wife of Amun” as we know it from the New Kingdom. However, these two cases tend to be associated with ithyphallic deities, and the origin of the title has been linked to sexual connotations and Heliopolitan mythology, where the bearer of the title was supposed to represent the hand of the god within the birth myth (Sander ‑Hansen 1940: 19; Gitton 1984: 7). In this myth, the god Atum creates the world through masturbation, as described in the Pyramid Texts (PT 1248 a–d). That this is aslightly different function than in the New Kingdom is also reflected by the fact that the two women mentioned were not of royal descent. One reaches more solid ground regarding the function of this title with the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty, when Ahmose Nefertari, and probably posthumously queen Ahhotep, acquire this post (Sander ‑Hansen 1940: 20; Gitton 1984: 21–23). The so ‑called Donation stela indicates that this had already taken place at the very beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The text on the stela states that the queen is given the title of the “second prophet of Amun”, but it also implies that she had the title of “god’swife”. This title, which included possession over adomain as well, also lent stewardship over movable and immovable property as is described in the text itself.4 If this institution did not receive any other income besides the commodities mentioned, one can speculate that it was arelatively modest donation.5 The ruler allocated atotal of 60 aroura of land to this office, which is roughly 1.6 hectares. Such an area is capable of supporting up to 20 people, which is not avery large number. The title of “god’swife” was hereditary, ideally from mother to daughter (Sander ‑Hansen 1940: 13), and the creation of this office was certainly apolitical decision to keep power in the royal family. The “god’swife” complemented the king during rituals. According to Bryan (2005, 2), several ritual activities associated with the “god’swife” can be identified from the decoration of the Red Chapel of queen Hatshepsut at Karnak: 3 See, for example, Ayad (2007 and 2009), with further bibliography; or the proceeding from the con‑ ference on this topic Becker– Blöbaum– Lohwasser (2016). On the individual holders of this office, again in the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period, for example, Dodson (2002); Pope (2013). There are also studies dealing with certain topics, but again relating to alater period, such as the question of celibacy in the Late Period (Teeter 1999). Or also studies of the monuments of officials who served god’swives, but again dated after alater period, for example, Graefe (2017 and 2021). 4 See, Bryan (2005: 3–4) with references to more bibliography. 5 Sander ‑Hansen (1940, 44) states that this institution was probably not self ‑sufficient and must have been supplied for by the state. 32 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXIX/2022 • She attended liturgies alongside the “god’sfather” or high priest. • She purified herself before the ritual in the sacred lake, as did the rest of the priesthood. • She was allowed to enter to the intimate parts of the temple, including the main sanc‑ tuary. • She recited offering lists as part of the food offering on adaily basis. • In the presence of the high priest, she burned wax figurines representing the enemy of the god and thus maintained Maat. • She rattled the sistrum before Amun. It is evident from the duties described that the holder of this office was an integral part of the rituals and festivals at Karnak (Sander ‑Hansen 1940: 24–26). This took place either in person or the queen was represented by apriestess. This inclusion of amember of the royal family in the (ritual) running of Karnak certainly played its part in the king’smotive for giving this hereditary office to members of the royal family. Lana Troy (1986: 97) sees this title as part of the ideology of divine parentage (the myth of the divine birth of the king). The list of female holders of this title in the Eighteenth Dynasty is not entirely clear; it is still being debated whether some royal women ever held this title. 6 This situation is not helped by alack of sources, and also by the fact that royal women often had the same name. In this article, Ibase myself on the research of Gitton (1984), who has thoroughly evaluated the sources and identified six hold‑ ers of this title, namely Ahmose Nefertari, Merytamon, Hatshepsut, Nefrure, Hatshepsut II Merytre, and Tiaa (tab.1).7 This with the understanding that the last holder of the title, Tiaa, was not necessarily the queen and mother of ThutmoseIV. However, she was probably aroyal woman from the court of Thutmose IV (Gitton 1984: 90–91). None of the royal wives at the court of Amenhotep III is attested with this title. The fact that the Donation stela was found broken into three parts in the third pylon of Karnak (Bryan 2005: 6–7), which was constructed precisely by Amenhotep III, also seems to be symptomatic, and might indicate abreak in the tradition. We can speculate regarding the motives behind the destruction of such an important document. Was it, for example, no longer relevant as the post was not occupied? This also raises the question why the office would remain unoccupied for many years. It seems that following the queen’sdaughter Nefrure holding the office, it passed on to afemale of non ‑royal origin who later became aroyal wife, Hatshepsut II Merytre (Gitton 1984: 82–83). This development might have happened due to the absence of asuitable candidate from within the royal family. On the other hand, one can assume that royal families were rather large; hence to find at least anominal holder for such atitle/position should have 6 Michel Gitton (1984), for example, includes fewer female holders of the title during the Eighteenth Dynasty than Sander ‑Hansen (1940). Gitton gives athorough argument for why some women, in his view, did not hold the title. In this article, then, Idraw on his argument. 7 Sander ‑Hansen (1940: 7) also gives this title for some princesses, such as Sitamun and Sat Kamose. He also sees Mutemwia, the wife of Thutmose IV, as the last holder of the title of “god’swife” in the Eighteenth Dynasty, but this claim does not stand on firm foundations (Gitton 1984: 92–93); the torso from Denderah, which was identified as queen Mutemwia, is probably not from the Eighteenth Dynasty at all (Gosselin 2007: 8–24). 33DANA BĚLOHOUBKOVÁ been possible. The reason why this post remained unoccupied might still be another; as will be discussed further on. After the reign of Thutmose IV there are only afew holders of the title Hm.t nTr (Gosselin 2007: 25–128) known, namely the wife of Ramesse I, Sitre, the wife of Sethi I, Tuy, and Queen Tausret during the Nineteenth Dynasty. Later on, the title still occurs with the daughter of Ramesse VI, Isis, and the wife of Ramesse X, Tity (Gosselin 2007: 129–211; Yoyotte 2008: 174–177). As is visible from the list of holders of this title, overall, the post was very rarely occupied (tab.1). This was probably due to the need to reorganize the post ‑Amarna cult, as well as the new dynasty’sef‑ forts to legitimize itself through the revival of this prestigious institution (Gosselin 2007: 252). According to Constantin Sander ‑Hansen (1940: 27), the service of “god’swife” was daily and therefore it was afictitious title, which was held by the queen, but the actual rituals were performed by some other priestess, whose title, however, he does not specify. According to him, then the royal wife herself would perform the rituals associated with her function only on important occasions. Thus, there would not have been so much going on in the absence of that office. The rituals would still be performed by the priestess who normally performed them for the queen. However, if the practice was different and the “god’swife” was responsible for some part of the ritual, who would perform it when the post was not filled? Ibelieve we need to look outside the royal family for an answer to this question, namely to the title of the “great of the performers”. This solution is also accepted by Luc Gosselin (2007: 253), who sees the non ‑occupation of the post of “god’swife” as adisruption of the matrilineal inheritance of this title. Royal female Status )relation to the king( Eighteenth Dynasty Ahmose Nefertari wife of Ahmose Merytamon daughter of Ahmose, wife of Amenhotep I Hatshepsut daughter of Thutmose I, wife of Thutmose II Nefrure daughter of Thutmose II and Hatshepsut Hatshepsut II Merytre wife of Thutmose III, mother of the Amenhotep II Tiaa Unknown Nineteenth Dynasty Sitre wife of Ramesse I Tuy wife of Sethi I Twentieth Dynasty Isis daughter of Ramesse IV Tity wife of Ramesse X Tab. 1 The holders of the title “god’swife” 34 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXIX/2022 Name Title Source Husband Title Reign of the king Huya wr.t‑xnr n jmn statue BM EA 1280 Thutmose III Meryt wr.t‑xnr n sbk Sd.ty TT 63 Sobekhotep jmy‑rA xtm.w‑nTr n sbk Sd.ty Thutmose IV /Amenhotep II Tuya wr.t‑xnr n jmn/ wr.t‑xnr n mn KV 46 Yuya Hm‑nTr n mn Amenhotep III Ipny wr.t‑xnr n jmn stela Lyon 88 Ptahmose Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn Amenhotep III Takhat wr.t‑xnr n jmn TT 50 Ameneinet jt nTr n jmn Amenhotep III/ Akhnaton? Maya wr.t‑xnr Bubasteion I.20 Tutankhamun Taemwadjisy wr.t‑xnr n nb‑xpr.w‑ra temple Faras or brother Huy zA nsw n KS Tutankhamun Iuy wr.t‑xnr n jmn‑Htp TT 19 Amenmosi Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn‑Htp (n pA wbA) Ramesse I/Sethi I Mutneferet wr.t‑xnr n jmn nb tA jw‑rd tomb Zawiyet Meitin Nefersekheru jmy‑rA pr‑wr n nb tA‑wj Sethi I? Renenut wr.t‑xnr n Hw.t‑Hrnb.t mDd.t statue Asyut MMA 15.2.1 Iuny jmy‑rA sw.t‑nsw Sethi I Merytre wr.t‑xnr n jmn(ra) TT 106 Nebnetjeru called Turi Hm‑nTr Tpj n jmn Sethi I Majanuy wr.t‑xnr n wsjr statue from Abydos 35257 Mery Hm‑nTr tp.j n wsjr Sethi I Tuy wr.t‑xnr n jmn statue from Medinet Habu Sethi I nsw‑bjtj Sethi I Nebettawy wr.t‑xnr n mw.t TT 255 Roy jmy‑rA pr Hr‑m‑Hb Sethi I? Buy wr.t‑xnr n mw.t TT 255 Anonymous Hm‑nTr tpy n Iah‑ms nfrtAry Tiy wr.t‑xnr n jmn TT 106 Sethi I /Ramesse II Maiay wr.t‑xnr n mnTw nb iwn TT 331 Paenniut Hm‑nTr tpj n mnTw Ramesse II (first half of his reign) Wadjetrenpet wr.t‑xnr.wt stela from Abydos 1137 Ramesse II Khatnisu wr.t‑xnr n jn‑Hr statue from Abydos 35257 Menmesu Hm‑nTr tp.j n jn‑Hr Ramesse II Tiye wr.t‑xnr n wsjr statue from Abydos 35257 Wennefer Hm‑nTr tp.j n wsjr Ramesse II Tiye wr.t‑xnr n mnTw TT 382 Usermontu Hm‑nTr tpj n mnTw nb wAs.t Ramesse II Takhat wr.t‑xnr n jmn/ wr.t‑xnr n Hw.t‑Hr TT 157 Nebwenenef Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn/Hm.nTr tp.j n Hw.t‑Hr Ramesse II Isis wr.t‑xnr n jmn Naples 1069 Wennefer Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn Ramesse II Nefertari wr.t‑xnr n Hr nb aH Luxor temple Ramesse II nsw‑bjtj Ramesse II Merytamon wr.t‑xnr n jmn‑ra statue from Akhmin Neferetmut wr.t‑xnr n jmn TT 194 Djehutiemhab? jmy‑rA sxtj.w n pr jmn Ramesse II Tia wr.t‑xnr n pA‑ra Saqqara tomb Tia Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn n ra‑ms.sw Ramesse II Hunuray (Heli) wr.t‑xnr n Hry‑Sf Sedment 201 Rahotep jmy‑rA njw.t TAtj Ramesse II Tausret wr.t‑xnr n xnsw TT 25 Amenemhab Hm‑nTr tp.j n xnsw Ramesse II Meretseger wr.t‑xnr n jmn (m jp.t‑sw.t) TT 35 Bakenkhonsu Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn Ramesse II Neferetmut wr.t‑xnr n jmn Stela W.es Sebua 15 Setau sA‑nsw n KS Ramesse II Nashuy wr.t‑xnr n Dhwtj tomb B2; Tuna el Gebel Ramesse II Tab. 2 The holders of the title “great of performers” 35DANA BĚLOHOUBKOVÁ Name Title Source Husband Title Reign of the king Huya wr.t‑xnr n jmn statue BM EA 1280 Thutmose III Meryt wr.t‑xnr n sbk Sd.ty TT 63 Sobekhotep jmy‑rA xtm.w‑nTr n sbk Sd.ty Thutmose IV /Amenhotep II Tuya wr.t‑xnr n jmn/ wr.t‑xnr n mn KV 46 Yuya Hm‑nTr n mn Amenhotep III Ipny wr.t‑xnr n jmn stela Lyon 88 Ptahmose Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn Amenhotep III Takhat wr.t‑xnr n jmn TT 50 Ameneinet jt nTr n jmn Amenhotep III/ Akhnaton? Maya wr.t‑xnr Bubasteion I.20 Tutankhamun Taemwadjisy wr.t‑xnr n nb‑xpr.w‑ra temple Faras or brother Huy zA nsw n KS Tutankhamun Iuy wr.t‑xnr n jmn‑Htp TT 19 Amenmosi Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn‑Htp (n pA wbA) Ramesse I/Sethi I Mutneferet wr.t‑xnr n jmn nb tA jw‑rd tomb Zawiyet Meitin Nefersekheru jmy‑rA pr‑wr n nb tA‑wj Sethi I? Renenut wr.t‑xnr n Hw.t‑Hrnb.t mDd.t statue Asyut MMA 15.2.1 Iuny jmy‑rA sw.t‑nsw Sethi I Merytre wr.t‑xnr n jmn(ra) TT 106 Nebnetjeru called Turi Hm‑nTr Tpj n jmn Sethi I Majanuy wr.t‑xnr n wsjr statue from Abydos 35257 Mery Hm‑nTr tp.j n wsjr Sethi I Tuy wr.t‑xnr n jmn statue from Medinet Habu Sethi I nsw‑bjtj Sethi I Nebettawy wr.t‑xnr n mw.t TT 255 Roy jmy‑rA pr Hr‑m‑Hb Sethi I? Buy wr.t‑xnr n mw.t TT 255 Anonymous Hm‑nTr tpy n Iah‑ms nfrtAry Tiy wr.t‑xnr n jmn TT 106 Sethi I /Ramesse II Maiay wr.t‑xnr n mnTw nb iwn TT 331 Paenniut Hm‑nTr tpj n mnTw Ramesse II (first half of his reign) Wadjetrenpet wr.t‑xnr.wt stela from Abydos 1137 Ramesse II Khatnisu wr.t‑xnr n jn‑Hr statue from Abydos 35257 Menmesu Hm‑nTr tp.j n jn‑Hr Ramesse II Tiye wr.t‑xnr n wsjr statue from Abydos 35257 Wennefer Hm‑nTr tp.j n wsjr Ramesse II Tiye wr.t‑xnr n mnTw TT 382 Usermontu Hm‑nTr tpj n mnTw nb wAs.t Ramesse II Takhat wr.t‑xnr n jmn/ wr.t‑xnr n Hw.t‑Hr TT 157 Nebwenenef Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn/Hm.nTr tp.j n Hw.t‑Hr Ramesse II Isis wr.t‑xnr n jmn Naples 1069 Wennefer Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn Ramesse II Nefertari wr.t‑xnr n Hr nb aH Luxor temple Ramesse II nsw‑bjtj Ramesse II Merytamon wr.t‑xnr n jmn‑ra statue from Akhmin Neferetmut wr.t‑xnr n jmn TT 194 Djehutiemhab? jmy‑rA sxtj.w n pr jmn Ramesse II Tia wr.t‑xnr n pA‑ra Saqqara tomb Tia Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn n ra‑ms.sw Ramesse II Hunuray (Heli) wr.t‑xnr n Hry‑Sf Sedment 201 Rahotep jmy‑rA njw.t TAtj Ramesse II Tausret wr.t‑xnr n xnsw TT 25 Amenemhab Hm‑nTr tp.j n xnsw Ramesse II Meretseger wr.t‑xnr n jmn (m jp.t‑sw.t) TT 35 Bakenkhonsu Hm‑nTr tp.j n jmn Ramesse II Neferetmut wr.t‑xnr n jmn Stela W.es Sebua 15 Setau sA‑nsw n KS Ramesse II Nashuy wr.t‑xnr n Dhwtj tomb B2; Tuna el Gebel Ramesse II 36 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXIX/2022 INSTITUTION pr‑ḫnr The institution of xnr itself existed already at the time of the Old Kingdom.8 The iconographical depictions and written sources indicate that already in the Old Kingdom the xnr served on different occasions. It is depicted as aprocession of people, during rituals, who are usually followed by captions for singing (e.g. Hs.t) and lamenting (e.g. HAt) (Nord 1975: 142–144). The iconography helps to clarify the participation of these performers on different occasions, for instance, as part of afunerary procession. In the Sixth Dynasty, it was also associated with the cult of the goddess Hathor. This can be, for example, observed in scenes from private tombs dealing with the topic of invoking Hathor, “The Golden One”; an expression that was also linked with the concept of the divine king (Nord 1981: 141). The connection between the king and xnr is also supported by the title jmy ‑rA xnr n nsw, suggesting that xnr also featured in royal ceremonies. The main occasions where xnr participated during rituals can be summarised as follows (Teeter 1993: 77): a) Cult of goddesses and gods b) Funerary rituals, where they formed apart of the funerary estates c) Royal ceremonies. In the New Kingdom, the xnr was led by afemale representative with the title wr.t‑xnr (“great of performers”).9 Holders of this title have been preserved for avariety of cults, next to the cult of Amun, such as Min, Sobek, Mut, or one even encounters xnr representatives of the cult of the deified ruler, e.g. Amenhotep I(see tab 2). Females with this title are docu‑ mented from the reign of ThutmoseIII. The first documented holder is Huya, the mother of the “god’swife” of Amun, Hatshepsut II Merytre, starting along, unbroken line of women identified as “great of performers” during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty. Wr.t‑xnr were most often wives of ahigh priest (see tab.2); following asimilar pattern as in the case of the king as chief officiant and the queen as “god’swife”. The combination of high priest and “great of performers” (wr.t‑xnr) probably worked in the same way, representing two complementary roles. From documented sources, it seems that every major religious centre had a“great of performers” in addition to the high priest of the cult, and this includes the temples of deified rulers as well (see tab.2). Therefore, the title wr.t‑xnr is also encountered in burial sites outside Thebes. Moreover, it seems that in the Nineteenth Dynasty, as areaction to an increase in personnel, aredistribution and extension of the wr.t‑xnr post occurred for the Theban triad and other Theban deities. Indeed, we have from the Theban area, at one time, instead of only one wr.t‑xnr n jmn, also the “great of performers” of Mut, Khonsu, and Montu. Furthermore, prosopographical data show that families of high priests of different cults were often united by marriages.10 8 For xnr in the Old Kingdom, see Nord (1981); Bryan (1982), Guegan (2020). Iam aware that Izold Guegan has written adoctoral thesis on this subject, but Ido not have access to it. 9 The translation of the title is still under discussion, see Bělohoubková (2022) with further bibliogra‑ phy. The English translation of the title used here is based on Nord (1981) and Bryan (1982). Whenever the term “great of performers” is used in this article, it always means the title wr.t‑xnr. 10 This topic will be discussed more deeply in my dissertation thesis (The Institution of xnr in the New Kingdom, Charles University). 37DANA BĚLOHOUBKOVÁ Due to the fact that we also have their family tombs among the sources, it is often pos‑ sible to construct the family tree of several of the holders of the title (see, for example, Bělohoubková 2021). From an iconographical point of view, it furthermore can be stated that the iconography of the wr.t‑xnr is very similar to that of the “god’swife”. Both groups of women are depicted elaborately dressed with atripartite wig and asistrum in hand. As the “god’swife” had the function of asistrum before the god, her task was to shake this sis‑ trum in order to please the god (Sander ‑Hansen 1940: 24). In the case of wr.t‑xnr, we do not know of this function from written sources, but her iconography would suggest so. The fact is, however, that depictions of awoman holding asistrum are also found for other women of higher status. It is therefore possible that this iconography merely refers to the fact that this is ahigh ‑ranking individual. During the Nineteenth Dynasty, the line of wr.t‑xnr from among the wives of the high priest of Amun continued unabated. This includes personalities such as Merytre, the wife of the high priest of Amun Nebnetjeru called Turi during the reign of Sethi I, or Takhat (see Bělohoubková 2021), the wife of the high priest of Amun Nebwenenef during the reign of RamesseII. However, from this period onward holders of the title of “god’swife” suddenly also reappear on the scene. ROYAL FEMALES WITH THE TITLE wr.t‑ḫnr At the beginning of the Nineteenth Dynasty, there is one interesting phenomenon that should be taken into consideration: several sources exist where royal women are marked with the title wr.t‑xnr (tab.3). This title is first attested for the wife of king Sethi I, Tuy, who was also holder of the titles, “mother of the king” (mw.t ‑nsw), “god’swife” (Hm.t ‑nTr), “great one of the Hts sceptre” (wr.t‑Hts), “singer of Mut” (jHy.t [n mwt]) and finally “great of performers of Amun” (wr.t‑xnr n jmn). In this case, it is unique that Queen Tuy held not only the title exclusively reserved for members of the royal family, i.e. “god’swife”, but she represents also the first documented case where the title wr.t‑xnr was held by aroyal person; clearly combining these two functions in asingle person. These titles are documented on the badly damaged statue of the queen found at the temple of Medinet Habu; probably originally placed at the Ramesseum (see Habachi 1979: 49). The monument certainly originates in the Theban area, which may also be one reason why the queen was titled the “great of performer of Amun”. Name Title Family relation Tuy wr.t‑xnr n jmn wife of Sethi I, mother of Ramesse II Nefertari wr.t‑xnr n Hr nb aH wife of Ramesse II Tia wr.t‑xnr n pA ra sister of Ramesse II, daughter of Sethi I Merytamon wr.t‑xnr n jmn‑ra daughter of Ramesse II Tab. 3 Royal women with the title wr.t‑xnr