Hugo Gering (21 September 1847 – 3 February 1925) 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 te ...

Biography

Hugo Gering was born in Lipienica,

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

on 21 September 1847. His father was a landowner. He was educated at

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

and

Chełmno Chełmno (; older en, Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional impor ...

. Since 1867, Gering studied philology, philosophy and history at the universities of

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 ...

and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

. He served in the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War. He subsequently gained his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

under the supervision of Julius Zacher. His thesis was on the

Gothic language Gothic is an extinct East Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. It is known primarily from the ''Codex Argenteus'', a 6th-century copy of a 4th-century Bible translation, and is the only East Germanic language with a sizeable text c ...

. Gering completed his habilitation in

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 Halle in 1876. After several scholarly trips to

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, Gering was appointed an associate professor at the University of Halle in 1883. Since 1889 he was a professor 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 ...

, where 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 ...

from 1902 to 1903. Gering specialized in the study of early Germanic literature, particularly

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

, Gothic and

Old Norse literature Old Norse literature refers to the vernacular literature of the Scandinavian peoples up to c. 1350. It chiefly consists of Icelandic writings. In Britain From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Vikings and Norse settlers and their descendants colon ...

. His publications on the

Edda "Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poems ...

s and '' Beowulf'' became standard works on the subjects. Gering retired from the University of Kiel in 1921. He died in Kiel on 3 February 1925.

Selected works

* 1882–83 ''Islendzk Æventýri - Isländische Legenden, Novellen und Märchen'', 2 Bände. Halle
Open Library
* 1887 ''Glossar zu den Liedern der Edda'' (Sæmundar Edda). Paderborn. 5. Aufl. 1923. * 1892 ''Die Edda. Die Lieder der sogenannten älteren Edda''. Übersetzung und Erläuterungen, Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig und Wien * 1903 ''Vollständiges Wörterbuch zu den Liedern der Edda''. Halle. Repr. Hildesheim 1971. * 1904 ''Die Lieder der älteren Edda (Sæmundar Edda).'' 2. völlig umgearb. Aufl. der Ausg. v. Karl Hildebrand. Paderborn. 4. Aufl. 1922. * 1906 ''Beowulf nebst dem Finnsburg-Bruchstück''. Übersetzt und erläutert, Heidelberg. * 1927–31 ''Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda''. 2 Bde. nach dem Tode Verfassers hrsgg. von Barend Sijmons. Halle.

Sources

* * 1847 births 1925 deaths German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War German philologists Germanic studies scholars Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg People from Golub-Dobrzyń County Old Norse studies scholars Academic staff of the University of Kiel {{Germany-linguist-stub