Andreas Heusler (10 August 1865 – 28 February 1940) was a Swiss philologist who specialized in

Germanic studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary tex ...

. He was a Professor of

Germanic Philology Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary tex ...

at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

and a renowned authority on

early Germanic literature Early Germanic culture refers to the culture of the early Germanic peoples. Largely derived from a synthesis of Proto-Indo-European and indigenous Northern European elements, the Germanic culture started to exist in the Jastorf culture that de ...

Life

Andreas Heusler was born into a prestigious family in Basel, the third in a line of fathers and sons bearing the same name (his father was Andreas Heusler (1834–1921) and his grandfather Andreas Heusler (1802–1868); both worked in law and government). Andreas enjoyed a stellar career as a student in Basel,

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

, and Berlin, completing his studies in 1887 in Freiburg with the doctoral thesis "Beitrag zum Consonantismus der Mundart von Baselstadt". In 1890, when Heusler was 25 years old, he began lecturing in Berlin and was a professor of Nordic textual studies there from 1894 to 1913. He focused on research into

Old Norse literature Old Norse literature refers to the vernacular literature of the Scandinavian peoples up to c. 1350. It chiefly consists of Icelandic writings. In Britain From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Vikings and Norse settlers and their descendants colon ...

, especially the

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...

and ''

Íslendingasögur The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early e ...

'', translating many works into German and travelling twice to Iceland. From 1914 to 1919, Heusler was professor of Germanic textual studies at Berlin University. He moved back to Switzerland in 1920 and lived in Arlesheim near Basel, where a place was made for him at Basel University, where he worked until he reached the age limit in 1936. Besides

ancient Germanic The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

and Nordic culture, Heusler was noted for his love of music (he played the violin); around 1889 he switched from a strongly held

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

to being a confirmed

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. There is some debate as to where Heusler stood on

German nationalism German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one na ...

in the 1930s. He seems at first to have been swayed by it, but it is thought that he turned his back on Adolf Hitler around 1938.''Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz''. A good insight into his thoughts is offered by the four hundred letters to

Wilhelm Ranisch Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Moun ...

which he wrote in the period 1890–1940. In 1893, Heusler married the singer

Auguste Hohenschild Auguste Hohenschild (''Sidonie Marie Auguste Caroline Hohenschild';'' – 29 September 1851 - 15 July 1938) was a German alto and singing teacher. She was trained by Amalie Joachim and performed together with Marie Fillunger, among others. Fro ...

, who was fourteen years his senior. The marriage was unhappy and they divorced in 1922, having been separated since 1901. Heusler died in Basel in 1940 after a short illness.

Influence

Andreas Heusler was among the most influential figures in early Germanic studies in the first half of the twentieth century, and much of his work still resonates today.

Writings (selection)

* ''Der Ljóþaháttr, eine metrische untersuchung'', Berlin: Mayer & Müller 1889. * (Ed.): ''Zwei Isländer-Geschichten. Die Hønsna-þóres und die Bandamanna saga'', Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung 1897, 2nd edn 1913. * (Trans.): ''Die Geschichte vom Hühnerthorir, eine altisländische Saga'', Berlin 1900. * ''Die Lieder der Lücke im Codex Regius der Edda'', Strasbourg 1902, extracted from ''Germanistische Abhandlungen. Hermann Paul zum 17. März 1902 dargebracht''. * (Ed.): '' Eddica minora. Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und anderen Prosawerken'', Dortmund 1903, with Wilhelm Ranisch. * ''Lied und Epos in germanischer Sagendichtung''. Dortmund: Ruhfus 1905. * ''Die gelehrte Urgeschichte im altisländischen Schrifttum'', Berlin 1908. * ''Das Strafrecht der Isländersagas'', Leipzig 1911. * ''Altisländisches Elementarbuch''. Heidelberg: Winter 1913. * (Trans.): ''Die Geschichte vom weisen Njal''. Jena: Diederichs 1914. (''Thule, altnordische Dichtung und Prosa'', 4 / ed. Felix Niedner). * ''Die Anfänge der isländischen Saga'', Berlin 1914. * ''Die altgermanische Dichtung''. Berlin: Athenaion 1923. * ''Deutsche Versgeschichte''. Berlin: de Gruyter 1925–1929 (3 vols) * ''Nibelungensage und Nibelungenlied, die Stoffgeschichte des deutschen Heldenepos'', 3. útg., Dortmund 1929. * ''Germanentum. Vom Lebens- und Formgefühl der alten Germanen'', Heidelberg 1934. * ''Einfälle und Bekenntnisse''. Basel 1935. * ''Codex Regius of the Elder Edda'', Copenhagen 1937. — facsimile of the

Codex Regius Codex Regius ( la, Cōdex Rēgius, "Royal Book" or "King's Book"; is, Konungsbók) or GKS 2365 4º is an Icelandic codex in which many Old Norse poems from the ''Poetic Edda'' are preserved. Thought to have been written during the 1270s, it i ...

. Corpus Codicum Islandicorum Medii Aevi, 10. * (Trans.): ''Isländisches Recht. Die Graugans'', Weimar 1937. * ''Kleine Schriften'' 1–2, Berlin 1943–1969. * ''Schriften zum Alemannischen''. Berlin: de Gruyter 1970.

References

Sources

Laura Mancinelli Laura Mancinelli (18 December 1933 – 7 July 2016) was an Italian writer, germanist, medievalist and university professor. Mancinelli also wrote academic texts, children's books, essays (numerous of medieval history), and historical novels. ...

: ''La Nibelungenforschung di Andreas Heusler alla luce della critica più recente'', Turin 1965. * Arthúr Björgvin Bollason: Andreas Heusler in Island. ''Germanentum im Fin de siècle'', Basel 2006, 62–85. * ''Germanentum im Fin de siècle. Wissenschaftsgeschichtliche Studien zum Werk Andreas Heuslers''. Basel: Schwabe, 2006. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heusler, Andreas Swiss medievalists 1865 births 1940 deaths Germanic studies scholars Old Norse studies scholars People from Basel-Stadt Swiss former Christians Swiss atheists Swiss academics Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Humboldt University of Berlin faculty

Life

Influence

Writings (selection)

See also

References

Sources