Testament de Fl. Théodore

⳩ In the second year of reign and consulate of our most divine lord Flavius Iustinus, eternal Augustus and Emperor, on the fifth (day) of Pharmouthi of the fifteenth indiction, in clarissima Antinoopolis. ⳩ I, Flavius Theodoros, exceptor of the ducal office of the Thebaid, son of Phoibammon of blessed memory, former scholasticus of the court of the Thebaid, hailing from the city of the Antinoites, make this written will in accordance with what follows … being distressed and fearing about the future, lest I die against the expectations before I compose my will and make dispositions concerning my property; for this reason, being sane and in my right mind, my reasoning being accurate, and, God willing, having sound wits and all senses, and keeping my reasoning unaffected, I have made this will in the presence of seven witnesses summoned on my request, who gathered for this reason, being Roman citizens, adults of good reputation, who signed this will of mine below and sealed it at one place, time, and hour, with no other action interrupting it, according to the force of the law. I have dictated this will in Greek words and I commanded it to be put in writing, and I want it to have its own power and warranty in all its paragraphs, and (I want) it not to have inferior position and power than a codicil and any last will and fideicommissary letter, if brought and produced in front of every magistrate and authority, in every time and on any occasion, according to the imperial requirements given by laws. If it seems right to me to make a codicil or codicils after this and to make principal dispositions in them, I want and order that this codicil made by me, or these codicils made by me, have and will have the same power and legal validity, as confirmed in this my will. May I live longer and manage my usual business, if God the Saviour commands, but since death is unavoidable and one must depart from the human things, I appoint and want and order the dikaion of the holy monastery called (the monastery of) Apa Senouthes located on the hill Triphion in the Panopolite nome, (represented) through the most God-loving archimandrite Petros, and the dikaion of the monastery called (the monastery of) Apa Mousaios located on the hill A..l... in the Hermopolite nome, (represented) through Phoibammon, its most God-loving hegumen; and Herais, my most noble grandmother on my mother’s side, to be my heirs to all things left by me at the moment of death, and legal actions, obligations, and legal matter, from the precious down to the smallest thing up to a penny, according to the following command and disposition made by me for each of the said heirs. All the others who belong to my kin or who believe to belong to it according to the rights of inheritance shall be disinherited, not because of any outrage – Heaven forbid – but because I deemed it right, having used my own sound and accurate reasoning. I want and order that Petros, the most pious archimandrite, that is the dikaion of the same holy monastery of Apa Senouthes, have as their inheritance all immovable goods left by me at the moment of my death in the Hermopolite, and Antinoite, and Panopolite nomes, and in other likely places, and to have not less as their inheritance, and all my immovable goods situated in Antinoopolis and in Hermopolis, on the condition that all the collected rents and incomes from them are to be spent on pious distributions. I want and order the same most pious apa Petros, that is the dikaion of the same holy monastery of Apa Senouthos, to sell after my death my family house located in Antinoopolis, which I inherited from my father, with all the rights, and stable, and buildings belonging to this house; and to spend the price on ransoming captives and other pious distributions. I also want this most pious man, that is the dikaion of the same holy monastery, to sell everything acquired from me and my substance, which came to me thanks to the piety of my wife of blessed memory, and to spend the price of sale for the holy prosphora for my wife of blessed memory or other pious distributions, for the remittal of her sins and above-mentioned … . I want and order Phoibammon, the most pious prior of those from Apa Mousaios, that is the dikaion of this monastery, to have as their own inheritance all movable goods left by me at the moment of my death, and to spend their revenues on distributions which his God belovedness considers right. For I am convinced that this God-fearing man will give … in its entirety without diminishing, for the remittal of my sins. And I want and consider it right that my above-named most noble grandmother on my mother’s side shall have by the title of succession a plot of land named [blank] under [blank] situated in [blank] with everything that justly belongs to it and in all its entity, and I want it to satisfy her, so that she shall not demand anything else under the lex Falcidia vis-a-vis the dikaion of none of the two aforesaid monasteries or the aforementioned Petros and Phoibammon, the most pious priors of the said two monasteries and my heirs, since the things left to them in this my will are to be expended on pious distributions. I want and order that all my slave men and women (enslaved) for any chance or reason will be freed at the moment of my death, with their peculia; and Petros and Phoibammon, my most pious heirs, shall give once six gold coins of good weight to each. I want and order my nurse Tadelphe and her daughter Leontia to have every year undivided twelve gold coins of good weight from my aforementioned most pious heirs Petros and Phoibammon that is dikaia of holy monasteries; and I want Petros and Phoibammon, my most pious heirs, to give to Re.a…, nurse of my mother Lia of most blessed memory, to be given in addition the bequest given in her (my mother’s) will …