Elard Hugo Meyer (6 October 1837 – 11 February 1908) was a German philologist who specialized in Germanic and

Indo-European studies Indo-European studies is a field of linguistics and an interdisciplinary field of study dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. The goal of those engaged in these studies is to amass information about the hypothetical pro ...

Biography

Elard Hugo Meyer was born in Bremen, Germany on 6 October 1837. His father was a lawyer who served as the city librarian in Bremen. Gaining his earliest education in Bremen, Meyer studied philology at the universities of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. From 1860 to 1862, Meyer worked as a research assistant for the historian Johann Martin Lappenberg. Since 1863 he worked as a teacher in Bremen, while publishing essays on a variety of topics, including

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

French poetry French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not have a significant str ...

, the history of Bremen, and life and works of

Johann Smidt Johann Smidt (November 5, 1773 – May 7, 1857) was an important Bremen politician, theologian, and founder of Bremerhaven. Biography Smidt was a son of the Reformed preacher Johann Smidt sen., pastor at St. Stephen Church in Bremen. Smidt ...

. From 1875 to 1878, Meyer edited the fourth edition of Jacob Grimm's ''Deutsche Mythologie. Meyer fell ill in 1882, and subsequently retired as a teacher and moved to

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

. He subsequently published his ''Indogermanische Mythen'' (1883-1897), which examined

Indo-European mythology Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested ...

. Since 1889, Meyer lectured at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

, and was subsequently appointed Honorary Professor of Folklore there. In this capacity he lectured on

Germanic mythology Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism. Origins As the Germanic langu ...

. Since 1898, Meyer published the journal ''Deutsche Volkskunde''. Meyer died in Freiburg on 11 February 1908.

Selected works

* ''Indogermanische Mythen.'' 2 Bände. Dümmler, Berlin 1883–1987; ** Band 1: ''Gandharven – Kentauren.'' ** Band 2: ''Achilleis.'' * ''Germanische Mythologie'' (= ''Lehrbücher der germanischen Philologie.'' Bd. 1). Mayer & Müller, Berlin 1891. * ''Deutsche Volkskunde.'' Karl J. Trübner, Straßburg 1898 (Reprint). Reprint-Verlag Leipzig, Holzminden 1997, . * ''Badisches Volksleben im neunzehnten Jahrhundert.'' Karl J. Trübner, Straßburg 1900 (Reprint, ergänzt um ein Ortsregister, eine Auswahlbibliografie zur neueren Brauchforschung und einer Kurzbiografie zu E. H. Meyer. (= ''Forschungen und Berichte zur Volkskunde in Baden-Württemberg.'' Bd. 8). Theiss, Stuttgart 1984, )
Digitalisat der Ausgabe von 1900 im Internet Archive
*
Mythologie der Germanen, gemeinfasslich vorgestellt
'' Karl J. Trübner, Straßburg 1903.

Sources

Herbert Schwarzwälder Herbert Schwarzwälder (14 October 1919 – 11 September 2011) was a German historian. With his decades of work and his extensive publications, he has had a major influence on the research and communication of the . Life Schwarzwälder was born ...

: ''

Das Große Bremen-Lexikon ''Das Große Bremen-Lexikon'' is an 18th-century encyclopaedia by the Freie Hansestadt Bremen, written by Herbert Schwarzwälder about * the region, as Territory of Bremen, as Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (Bremen Archbishopric), as Bremen-Verd ...

.'' 2., aktualisierte, überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, , S. #. * Patricia Laukó: ''Die badische Volkskunde, Elard Hugo Meyer und seine Fragebogenaktion'

1837 births 1908 deaths German folklorists German philologists Germanic studies scholars Germanists Indo-Europeanists Mythographers Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Writers from Bremen Writers on Germanic paganism {{Germany-linguist-stub

Biography

Selected works

See also

Sources