Letter: CUL Or.1080 J1

Description

Letter from a woman named Archondou, in Alexandria, to her son Fuḍayl, in Fustat. Her main purpose in writing emerges at the end: she wants her son to come and fetch her, as she wants to go to Fustat. The woman's name, the use of a Greek word (τυλάριν, ?mattress, r12, 19), and the spelling of the proper names 'Archondou' (ארכודו) and 'Alexandria' (אלכסדריאן) all indicate a Greek-speaking milieu. Archondou expresses her sympathy for her son's eye disease, "from the day I heard that my eye has flowed and I have wept day and night without case" (r9–12). She too has an eye disease: "My eyes hurt very badly and I give three zuz every week to the doctor, and I cannot move from this place. If God is good to you, do me a favour and come quickly to fetch me out of here so that I do not die" (v10–14). Information from de Lange's edition. ASE.