11 III: Maria Nowak (UW / Universiteit Leiden), P. Mon. Phoib. Test. 1–4. Once again on the testamentary appointment of monastic superior and the status of St. Phoibammon

Abstract

The problem to be discussed is a legal phenomenon attested in four currently re-edited seventh-century wills made for consecutive superiors of the Monastery of St. Phoibammon, located in Western Thebes, in the relatively short time span of c. 70 years (P. Mon. Phoib. Test. 1–4). In these texts, a superior of the monastery appoints a new superior who is styled as a legal heir of the monastery, which suggests that the monastery might have been transferred through a deed of private law. I will quickly survey existing interpretations of these monastic appointments and then propose my own.