Hans Frede Nielsen (20 May 1943 – 9 January 2021) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

philologist who was Professor Emeritus of Historical Linguistics at the University of Southern Denmark. He specialized in

Germanic linguistics 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 ...

and

runology Runology is the study of the Runic alphabets, Runic inscriptions and their history. Runology forms a specialized branch of Germanic linguistics. History Runology was initiated by Johannes Bureus (1568–1652), who was very interested in the lingu ...

Biography

Hans Frede Nielsen was born in Bramming, Denmark, on 20. May 1943, the son of Frede Nielsen and Sonja Nielsen. Nielsen studied

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

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 **Ger ...

at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

from 1963 to 1966. He received a Trinity College Foreign Bursary, which enabled him to earn a BA (1968) and MA in Anglo-Saxon Studies at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Among his teachers at Cambridge were

Dennis Howard Green Dennis Howard Green (26 June 1922 – 5 December 2008) was an English philologist who was Schröder Professor of German at the University of Cambridge. He specialized in Germanic philology, particularly the study of Medieval German literatu ...

. Returning to Denmark, Nielsen worked as a high school teacher for several years. From 1975, Nielsen lectured at the Institute for English at

Odense University Odense University was a university in Odense, Denmark. It was established in 1966. In 1998, the university was merged with two other institutions to form the University of Southern Denmark. Its campus is now known as University of Southern Denmark ...

. He received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in November 1980 with the thesis ''Old English and the Continental Germanic languages'', which has subsequently been published in several editions. In 1999, Nielsen was appointed Professor of Historical Linguistics at the University of Southern Denmark. He retired as

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in September 2006, but continued to teach and research until his death in 2021. Nielsen was a Member of the

Fryske Akademy The Fryske Akademy ( Frisian for ''Frisian Academy''), founded in 1938, is the scientific centre for research and education concerning Friesland (''Fryslân'' in West Frisian) and its people, language and culture, this in its broadest sense. Th ...

(1996). He was a co-founder and co-editor of the journal '' NOWELE'', published by

John Benjamins Publishing Company John Benjamins Publishing Company is an independent academic publisher in social sciences and humanities with its head office in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company was founded in the 1960s by John and Claire Benjamins and is currently managed ...

Selected works

* ''Old English and the Continental Germanic languages'', 1981 * ''The Germanic languages'', 1989 * ''The Early Runic Language of Scandinavia'', 2000

Sources

* * 1943 births 2021 deaths Anglo-Saxon studies scholars Alumni of the University of Cambridge Danish editors 20th-century Danish non-fiction writers 21st-century Danish non-fiction writers 20th-century Danish philologists 21st-century Danish philologists Germanic studies scholars Linguists of Germanic languages Academic staff of Odense University Old Norse studies scholars People from Varde Municipality Runologists Scandinavian studies scholars University of Copenhagen alumni University of Southern Denmark alumni Academic staff of the University of Southern Denmark {{Linguist-stub

Biography

Selected works

See also

Sources