Heinrich Beck (born 2 April 1929 - 5 June 2019) was a German philologist who specialized in

Germanic studies 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 ...

. A Professor of Ancient

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 ...

and Nordic Studies at

Saarland University Saarland University (german: Universität des Saarlandes, ) is a public research university located in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarland. It was founded in 1948 in Homburg in co-operation with France and is organized in si ...

and later the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

, Beck was a co-editor of the second edition of ''

Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde ''Germanische Altertumskunde Online'', formerly called ''Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde'', is a German encyclopedia of the study of Germanic history and cultures, as well as the cultures that were in close contact with them. The first ...

'' and one of the world's leading experts on

early Germanic culture Early Germanic culture refers to the culture of the early Germanic peoples. Largely derived from a synthesis of Proto-Indo-European and indigenous Northern European elements, the Germanic culture started to exist in the Jastorf culture that de ...

Biography

Hermann Beck was born

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was bui ...

, Germany on 2 April 1929. Gaining his

abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

in 1949, Beck studied

, Scandinavian and

linguistics 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 ...

at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

and

Reykjavík University Reykjavík University (RU; is, Háskólinn í Reykjavík) is the largest private university in Iceland with approximately 3,300 students (October 2020). It is chartered by the Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Icelandic Industries, and the ...

. He gained his PhD in Nordic philology and

at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 1962. 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 ...

in Germanic studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 1967. From 1968 to 1978, Beck was Professor of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at

. From 1978 until his retirement in 1994, Beck was Professor of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the

. Beck specialized in the study of

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, Engli ...

and

early Germanic literature Early Germanic culture refers to the culture of the early Germanic peoples. Largely derived from a synthesis of Proto-Indo-European and indigenous Northern European elements, the Germanic culture started to exist in the Jastorf culture that de ...

. He was a prominent expert on

. From 1968 to 2008, Beck was a co-editor of the second edition of ''

'', to which he contributed many articles. He subsequently contributed significantly to ''

Germanische Altertumskunde Online ''Germanische Altertumskunde Online'', formerly called ''Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde'', is a German encyclopedia of the study of Germanic history and cultures, as well as the cultures that were in close contact with them. The first ...

''. Beck was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...

in 1988, and an honorary doctor's degree from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 2002.

Selected works

* ''Einige vendelzeitliche Bilddenkmäler und die literarische Überlieferung'', 1964 * ''Das Ebersignum im Germanischen'', 1965 * (Co-editor) ''Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde'', 1973-2015 * (Co-editor) ''Untersuchungen zur eisenzeitlichen und frühmittelalterlichen Flur in Mitteleuropa und ihrer Nutzung'', 1979-1980 * (Editor) ''Arbeiten zur Skandinavistik: 6'', 1985 * (Editor) ''Germanenprobleme in heutiger Sicht'', 1986 * (Editor) ''Heldensage und Heldendichtung im Germanischen'', 1988 * (Editor) ''Germanische Rest- und Trümmersprachen'', 1989 * (Editor) ''Germanische Religionsgeschichte'', 1992 * (Editor) ''Snorri Sturlusons Sicht der paganen Vorzeit'', 1994 * (Co-editor) ''Haus und Hof in ur- und frühgeschichtlicher Zeit'', 1997 * (Co-editor) ''De consolatione philologiae'', 2000 * (Editor) ''Studien zur Isländersaga'', 2000 * (Co-editor) ''Zur Geschichte der Gleichung "germanisch-deutsch"'', 2004 * (Co-editor) ''Germanische Altertumskunde Online'', 2010- * (Co-editor) ''Altertumskunde, Altertumswissenschaft, Kulturwissenschaft'', 2012 * (Co-editor) ''Snorri Sturluson: Historiker, Dichter, Politiker'', 2013

Sources

* * Wilfried Kürschner: Linguisten-Handbuch. Gunter Narr Verlag, Tübingen 1997. .

External links

Heinrich Beck
at the website of the

1929 births 2019 deaths German editors German non-fiction writers German philologists Germanic studies scholars Germanists Knights of the Order of the Falcon Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Old Norse studies scholars People from Nördlingen Reykjavík University alumni Saarland University faculty Scandinavian studies scholars University of Bonn faculty Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities {{Philologist-stub

Biography

See also

Selected works

Sources

External links