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‘(It was they (i.e. the horses) whom I found amidst the strife, with the charioteer Menna, my shield-bearer,) and with my household butlers who were at my side, (those who are my witnesses to the fighting. )’** Interestingly, it seems at first sight that the division of the usage of the two words depends on the type of media they appear on: the word wb3 was used on the walls of the temples of Karnak and Luxor, and the word wdpw was used on papyrus. Although Gregersen concluded that the usage of the two words primarily depended on the type of media on which the text was written and on the type of its writing, namely whether a text was written on sources of monumental character with hieroglyphic signs or on papyrus, ostracon or graffito with hieratic signs,” based on only this example, one cannot draw further conclusions to confirm such a division but should examine the whole text for other differences in wording in the versions, which might also refer to different textual tradition.*° Another remarkable feature of the text is the mention that only the wdpws/wb3s remained with the ruler on the battlefield, apart from his personal ‘charioteer’ and his ‘shield-bearer’. Obviously, the description does not realistically reflect the events, since it would definitely not have happened that the ruler would have been left alone in the middle of a battle. But highlighting the presence of the ‘butlers’ clearly shows their importance in the close, personal circle of the king, not from the point of view of their original occupation of serving refreshments, but rather as special trustworthy fellows whose presence can credibly justify the reality of what had happened. The other corpus of historical inscriptions, presented on the walls of the temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu, also supports the high ranking position of the ‘royal wb3s’ in the royal court as well as in society. Five attestations of the title wbz nswt ‘royal wb? and one in the form of wb3 n ‘h.t ‘wb of the palace’ can be observed in four scenes on the temple walls. In all cases, the ‘royal wb3s’ appear in a list of dignitaries either as the addressee of the speech of the king or as speakers themselves, in the second or the third place after the ‘princes’ and the ‘officials’ or the ‘couriers’, and in front of the ‘notables’ and the ‘charioteers’ and the ‘leaders of the infantry and chariotry’: ms.w nswt (34) wb3.w nswt wr.w smr.w h3wtj (35) nb n m$" nt hrtj?! 28 Kitchen, 1996, 11-12. ” Gregersen, 2007, 845-846. 39 For a detailed discussion on Gregersen’s theory and the usage of the two words, see p. 23. » South inner wall of the second court, Ramesses III is celebrating his victory over the Libyans after the first Libyan war. Epigraphic Survey, 1930, pl. 23; Kitchen, 1983a, 17.
