Ernst Wilhelm Oskar Windisch (4 September 1844,
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
30 October 1918,
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
) was a German
classical philologist and
comparative linguist
Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness.
Genetic relatedness i ...
who specialised in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
,
Celtic 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 ...
.
In his student days at the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
, he became friends with
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his c ...
. One of his teachers was
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl. In 1867 he obtained his PhD in
classical philology
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
, afterwards teaching at the ''
Thomasschule
St. Thomas School, Leipzig (german: Thomasschule zu Leipzig; la, Schola Thomana Lipsiensis) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest scho ...
'' of Leipzig (1867–1870). In the meantime, he completed his
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...
in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
and
comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their history, historical relatedness.
Genetic relat ...
at the university (1869).
[
In 1870–71 he worked as a staff member of the ]India Office Library
The India Office Records are a very large collection of documents relating to the administration of India from 1600 to 1947, the period spanning Company and British rule in India. The archive is held in London by the British Library and is public ...
in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Later on, he became a professor of comparative linguistics at Heidelberg University
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
(1872) and the University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ...
(1875). In 1877 he returned to his ''alma mater'' in Leipzig as a professor of Sanskrit and director of the Indo-Europeanist institute. In the academic year of 1895/96, he served as rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
. Among his students were Friedrich Delitzsch as well as Anna Leonowens
Anna Harriette Leonowens (born Ann Hariett Emma Edwards; 5 November 1831 – 19 January 1915) was an Anglo-Indian or Indian-born British travel writer, educator, and social activist.
She became well known with the publication of her memoirs, b ...
who attended his Sanskrit lectures from 1897 to 1901. In 1883 he was appointed full member of the '' Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig'' (Royal Saxon Society of Sciences in Leipzig). He became a corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowled ...
in 1905.[ In the same year, Windisch published his translation of the Old Irish epic '']Táin Bó Cúailnge
(Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "The Irish Iliad", although like most other early Iri ...
'' into German.
In 1873 he married Berta Roscher, daughter of economist Wilhelm Roscher.[Catalogus Professorum lipsiensium]
biographical sketch The couple had five children, including the theologist Hans Windisch (1881–1935).
Works
* ''Irische Texte mit Wörterbuch'', Leipzig 1880 – Irish texts with dictionary.
* "Compendium of Irish Grammar" (1883 English translation).
* ''Zwölf Hymnen des Rigveda, mit Sayana's Commentar'' (1883)
* '' Irische Texte'', 4 vols. (1880-1909) with Whitley Stokes
Whitley Stokes, CSI, CIE, FBA (28 February 1830 – 13 April 1909) was an Irish lawyer and Celtic scholar.
Background
He was a son of William Stokes (1804–1878), and a grandson of Whitley Stokes the physician and anti-Malthusian (1763 ...
* ''Māra und Buddha'', Leipzig 1895.
* ''Buddhas Geburt und die Lehre von der Seelenwanderung'', Leipzig 1908 – Buddha's birth and the doctrine of the transmigration of souls.
* ''Iti-Vuttaka'', editor
* ''Das keltische Britannien bis zu Kaiser Arthur'', Leipzig 1912 – Celtic Britain
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric I ...
up to the time of King Arthur.
* ''Festschrift'' (1914).
* ''Geschichte der Sanskrit-Philologie und indischen Altertumskunde'', 2 vols, Leipzig 1917-1920 – History of Sanskrit philology and Indian archaeology.[
* '' Kleine Schriften'' (2001) edited by Karin Steiner and Jörg Gengnagel.
]
External links
Pictures
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Windisch, Ernst
1844 births
1918 deaths
Celtic studies scholars
German Sanskrit scholars
German Indologists
Indo-Europeanists
Linguists of Indo-European languages
German classical philologists
Translators of the Táin Bó Cúailnge
Translators from Old Irish
Writers from Dresden
People from the Kingdom of Saxony
19th-century translators
19th-century German writers
19th-century German male writers
19th-century philologists
German male non-fiction writers
Leipzig University faculty
Heidelberg University faculty
University of Strasbourg faculty
Rectors of Leipzig University
Leipzig University alumni
Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy