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 larg ...

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 wel ...

) was a German

classical philologist 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 Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and ot ...

and comparative linguist who specialised in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

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 ...

. One of his teachers was

Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl (6 April 1806 – 9 November 1876) was a German scholar best known for his studies of Plautus. Biography Ritschl was born in Großvargula, in present-day Thuringia. His family, in which culture and poverty were hereditar ...

. 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 schools ...

'' 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 a ...

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 historical relatedness. Genetic relatedness ...

at the university (1869). In 1870–71 he worked as a staff member of the India Office Library in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. 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 university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

(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 ea ...

(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 Friedrich Delitzsch (; 3 September 1850 – 19 December 1922) was a German Assyriologist. He was the son of Lutheran theologian Franz Delitzsch (1813–1890). Born in Erlangen, he studied in Leipzig and Berlin, gaining his habilitation in 1874 as ...

as well as Anna Leonowens 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 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 Wilhelm Georg Friedrich Roscher (; 21 October 18174 June 1894) was a German economist from Hanover. Biography Roscher studied at Göttingen, where he became a member of Corps Hannovera, and Berlin, and obtained a professorship at Göttingen in ...

.Catalogus Professorum lipsiensium
biographical sketch The couple had five children, including the theologist

Hans Windisch Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

(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 Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

. * ''Iti-Vuttaka'', editor * ''Das keltische Britannien bis zu Kaiser Arthur'', Leipzig 1912 – Celtic Britain up to the time of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

. * ''Festschrift'' (1914). * ''Geschichte der Sanskrit-Philologie und indischen Altertumskunde'', 2 vols, Leipzig 1917-1920 – History of Sanskrit philology and Indian archaeology. * ''

Kleine Schriften ' is a German phrase ("short writings" or "minor works"; la, Opuscula) often used as a title for a collection of articles and essays written by a single scholar over the course of a career. "Collected Papers" is an English equivalent. These short ...

'' (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