Coffin Texts remain in active use through the Middle Kingdom periodization that extends to roughly c. 1630 BCE, bridging earlier Pyramid Text traditions and later developments that culminated in New Kingdom funerary compilations.
Toward the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period, new funerary spell collections associated with the Book of the Dead begin to develop (often dated around 1700 BCE), drawing on and reworking Coffin Text and Pyramid Text materials.
The earliest surviving manuscript evidence for the Story of Sinuhe is commonly dated to the reign of Amenemhat III (around 1800 BCE), demonstrating the tale’s canonical status within Middle Kingdom literary culture.
Papyrus Prisse preserves the end of an instruction associated with Kagemni and a long version of the Instruction of Ptahhotep; paleographic and contextual analysis places the manuscript in the later Middle Kingdom (often linked to Amenemhat III), while the compositions themselves are treated as Middle Kingdom creations presented with prestigious earlier ascriptions.
The Dispute (Debate) Between a Man and His Ba survives in papyrus fragments associated with Middle Kingdom copying, and is often dated (as preserved) to the reign of Amenemhat III, even as the work’s composition may precede the surviving manuscript tradition.
The Satire of the Trades (Instruction of Kheti / Teaching of Duaf’s son Khety) is a Middle Kingdom didactic text that elevates the life of the scribe by contrasting it with the hardships of other occupations, reflecting formal scribal education and professional ideology.
The Instructions of Amenemhat is an early Middle Kingdom “instruction” presented as a posthumous address by Amenemhat I to Senusret I; it functioned in part as political legitimation and as a warning about courtly danger and trust.
The Story of Sinuhe is widely regarded as composed early in the 12th Dynasty, set in motion by the death of Amenemhat I and the succession of Senusret I; it became one of the best-attested Middle Kingdom narratives through extensive later copying.
In the early 12th Dynasty, written Middle Egyptian is regularized into a classical, highly influential literary language, helping define the idiom used by many Middle Kingdom “instructions” and narratives.
The Instruction for Merikare (Teaching for King Merykara) is generally treated as a Middle Kingdom composition written in classical Middle Egyptian, framed as advice from a First Intermediate Period ruler to his successor and reflecting developed ideas about kingship and moral responsibility.
Egypt’s Middle Kingdom is conventionally dated from the reunification under Mentuhotep II (early 11th Dynasty), creating the political stability that supported major expansions in literary and religious text production.
During the Middle Kingdom, Coffin Texts become a major corpus of mortuary literature, commonly inscribed on wooden coffins (and sometimes other supports), continuing older Pyramid Text traditions while adding extensive new spell material.
Funerary spells now known as the Coffin Texts start appearing on coffins in the First Intermediate Period, extending mortuary texts beyond royal pyramids and setting the stage for their widespread Middle Kingdom use.
Middle Kingdom Literature: Instructions, the Tale of Sinuhe, and Coffin Texts (c. 2000–1700 BCE)
