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This thesis explores the palaeographical aspects of the Late Ramesside Letters. It begins by reviewing the methodology adopted by Jac Janssen (1987), which sought to distinguish the handwriting of different scribes based on characteristic forms of hieratic signs and sign groups. The first chapter provides a structural analysis of the 13 different forms of the masculine definite article pA. It demonstrates that the diversity in shape is as a result of how the two constituent signs (the pA-bird and A-bird) were, firstly, deformed or simplified into their alternative forms and, secondly, how they were laid out as a single grapheme, and then how the combination of these directly impacts the visual presentation of the word. In the second part of the thesis, two case studies are dealt with. The first case study examines two well-known scribes, Dhutmose of the Necropolis and his son Butehamun, in order to observe where in their writing idiosyncrasies appear. This is achieved through a typological analysis which highlights the tendency for particular forms to recur in a single hand. This study enables us to determine of the range of variation in a single scribal hand. While Dhutmose showed his idiosyncrasies mainly by way of simplification of signs and sign groups, Butehamun's handwriting appeared to be less idiosyncratically marked at this level. However, close observation of particular examples reveals that Butehamun's care in his writing is noticeable in the qualitative aspects of his handwriting such as sizing and proportion of signs, and in the arrangement and positioning of signs within a single word. The second case study focuses on the letters sent in the name of the Ramesside general Paiankh, but which in all likelihood were dictated to his administrative scribes. Based on the first case study's empirical findings, this second study evaluates whether the methodology I have proposed can be used to distinguish or relate scribal hands within the confines of the limited samples available to us. This chapter reveals the limitations of the typological methodology, which appears to be useful primarily when the comparison is between an unknown hand and a hand whose idiosyncrasies have already been identified. In order to distinguish the handwriting of multiple unknown scribes without knowing the range of variation inherent in any one writer's hand, it is necessary to make precise observations not only in the visual presentation of signs but also in their qualitative aspects. This methodology still has the potential to be developed further, particularly in terms of construction methods of hieratic signs, stroke orders and pen motions including directions, pressure and speed, which vary greatly.

This study explores the transitional nature of post-independence Somali poetry and drama. It examines this in the context of the historical, political and social changes that have taken place in Somalia in the period leading up to and following independence in 1960. This is viewed as a period of transition from a traditional way of life to a modern one and from pre-colonial and colonial systems to an unsuccessful nation-state building. The purpose of the study is to examine the salient features of post-independence Somali poetry and drama with a view to determine whether these features display evidence that these two forms are both in a state of transition. To achieve this goal extensive research, collecting data and analysing it, was undertaken. This study, which explores a subject that has never been studied before, draws on original sources of Somali poetry and drama. Different research methods were applied, including examination of source texts, interviews, archival research and conversations with people involved in the field. This led to the conclusion that post-independence Somali poetry and drama, both of which are the product and expression of a historical period of transition, appear to be in a transitional state. The term 'transitional' is used in the sense that the poetry and drama in question are in a passage between traditional and modern ways of cultural expression, between orality and writing and between conformity to tradition and responding to the pressures and influences of a changing, modern life. By exploring, for the first time, the significant changes in post-independence Somali poetry, which gave it the stated transitional character, this thesis makes an original contribution to the study of Somali literature. Another original contribution emerges from the uncovering of the nature of Somali drama as an art form in transition. Highlighting the links which the stated literary developments have with the unprecedented, political, social and economic changes and crisis that have taken place in post-independence Somalia, may help towards better understanding of Somali realities and the root causes of the current Somali predicament.

Somalia has been a Muslim country probably for over a thousand years and has a well developed Sufi movement which plays an important social role and has been a stimulus to creativity in the field of poetry composed both in Arabic and in Somali. Somali Sufis have always regarded Arabic, the sacred language of Islam, with great love and reverence, yet they have found it unsuitable as a means of reaching wider audiences, since only a limited number of Somalis can fully understand it. Inspired by the desire to communicate their spiritual fervour and their knowledge of Islamic doctrines to everyone, Somali Sufis have composed oral poetry in their mother tongue and used it as a form of religious instruction and praye'r. The appeal of their poetry to Somali audience lies in the cultural syncretism which it represents. Its themes are taken from the universal teaching of Islam and from Sufism while its imagery is predominantly drawn from the natural environment and traditional culture of Somalia. Furthermore, it follows the pattern of versification used in secular alliterative poetry, which is totally unaffected by the Arabic models of scansion. The secular alliterative poetry has a long tradition and is a living all-pervasive force in Somali culture; Somali Sufis have thus used a well established channel of artistic communication to convey their spiritual message. Their success has been considerable and their poetry in Somali, far from waning under the impact of the modern age, has been increasing in its popularity even in recent years.

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Please note that pages 889,890:893 to 898 are missing. / This thesis investigates the urban and rural landscapes created at the Cape from the 17th to the 19th centuries, by the examination of drawings filed with transfers in the Deeds Office and plans in the Surveyor-General's Office, and relating them to landowners by further genealogical and archival research. Attention is drawn to the importance of recording the different elements and the overlay of the materials of vertical structures (what could be called their vertical archaeology), by those working on old buildings. Such analyses as have been done during thirty years of practical involvement with restoration, recycling and conservation projects, have indicated that different mortars used before and after the 18th century, may be of assistance in the broad dating of Cape buildings. This finding served as a guide to the recognition of planned patterns of landscape elements. This research indicates that official Dutch policy set the precedent for ordered geometrical planning in the 17th century at the Cape and that this trend remained virtually unchanged to- the end of the 19th century, especially in the rural landscape. It is shown that townscapes and individual urban properties were influenced by styles and new plants introduced by the arrival of British settlers from 1806 onwards, but that these changes remained within the confines of geometrical lay-outs where these existed, to the end of the 19th century. With a few notable exceptions, a lack of water and wealth prevented the development of large private or official pleasure grounds. On the other hand official sanctioning and aid to botanical gardens from the 4th decade of the 19th century, first in Cape Town and then in towns throughout the colony, introduced new trees, crops, and interest in horticultural activities. But communication with the wider botanical world stimulated an interest in rare Cape plants, which lead to plant gathering on a scale so vast that many are now endangered species. Because of. the wide field covered, the research is regarded as an introduction to the subject, to be taken further by future researchers.

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