Franz Rolf Schröder (8 September 1893 – 24 March 1979), often referred to as F. R. Schröder, was a German philologist who was Professor and Chair of

German Philology German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

. He specialized in the study

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 early Germanic literature, and Germanic and

Indo-European religion 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 � ...

. He was for many decades editor of the '.

Biography

Franz Rolf Schröder was born in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, Germany on 8 September 1893. He was the son of Johannes Franz Heinrich Schröder and Minna Amanda Rolfs. His father was a prominent

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and educator, and editor of the '. Schröder graduated from high school in 1911, and subsequently studied

German philology German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. He served as a volunteer in the German Army during the early months of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and gained a PhD at Kiel in 1916 under the supervision of Hugo Gering. His thesis was on the ''

Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar ''Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar'' is a legendary saga from early 14th century Iceland about Halfdan Eysteinsson. The main events appear to take place in the 9th century. Halfdan's grandfather was Þrándr, the eponymous king of Trondheim, who in ...

''. He completed his habilitation in German and

Nordic philology Scandinavian studies is an interdisciplinary academic field of area studies, mainly in the United States and Germany, that primarily focuses on the Scandinavian languages (also known as North Germanic languages) and cultural studies pertaining to ...

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 ...

in 1920 with a thesis on the

Nibelung The term Nibelung (German) or Niflungr (Old Norse) is a personal or clan name with several competing and contradictory uses in Germanic heroic legend. It has an unclear etymology, but is often connected to the root ''nebel'', meaning mist. The te ...

en. Schröder subsequently lectured at Heidelberg. In 1925, Schröder was made Professor and Chair of German Philology at the

. He would eventually also succeed his father as editor of the ''Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift''. Schröder specialized in the study of Germanic religion from a

comparative general linguistics, the comparative is a syntactic construction that serves to express a comparison between two (or more) entities or groups of entities in quality or degree - see also comparison (grammar) for an overview of comparison, as well ...

perspective, and was particularly interested in its relationship with

. Schröder retired in 1959, and was made a Corresponding Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1965. He died in Würzburg on 24 March 1979.

Selected works

* ''Germanentum und Hellenismus. Untersuchungen zur germanischen Religionsgeschichte'', 1924 * ''Die Parzivalfrage'', 1928 * ''Altgermanische Kulturprobleme'', 1929 * ''Die Germanen – Religionsgeschichtliches Lesebuch'', 1929 * ''Quellenbuch zur germanischen Religionsgeschichte'', 1933 * ''Germanische Heldendichtung'', 1935 * ''Untersuchungen zur germanischen und vergleichenden Religionsgeschichte'', 1941

Biography

Selected works

See also

References

Sources

Further reading