Johann Arnold Kanne (31 May 1773,

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...

– 17 December 1824,

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inhab ...

) was a German

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and

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 ...

. In his writings, he used the pseudonyms Johannes Author, Walther Bergius and Anton von Preußen.ADB: Kanne, Johann Arnold
@ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie Beginning in 1790, he studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

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 ...

at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, where he was a pupil of

Christian Gottlob Heyne Christian Gottlob Heyne (; 25 September 1729 – 14 July 1812) was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History. ...

. Later on, he worked as schoolteacher in

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

Hersbruck Hersbruck () is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land. It is best known for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the landscape of Hersbruck Switzerland. ...

and

Leutenberg Leutenberg is a town in the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 18 km southeast of Saalfeld. History Within the German Empire (1871-1918), Leutenberg was part of the Principality ...

, and served as a soldier in both the Austrian and Prussian armies. In 1809, through mediation from author

Jean Paul Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories. Life and work Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountain ...

, he became an instructor of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

and history at the newly founded "Real Institute" in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. In 1818 he was appointed professor of

Oriental languages A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Tur ...

at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

.NDB/ADB Deutsche Biographie
(biography) Kannes developed a method of "speculative etymology", in which he tried to find the one primordial mythology that decided all others. His method was an attempt to discover the so-called primordial language on which the primordial mythology was based. He postulated that language arose from "root words" for the divine based on the mystical dynamism of natural phenomena. He further postulated that since root words didn't change, all language evolved from them. He believed that he could reveal these root words by way of an

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

that merged the root words of all archaic languages. His derivation of a general theory of mythology from the etymological method, although scientifically unfounded, was an important influence to the early career of Jacob Grimm.

Selected works

* ''Ueber die Verwandtschaft der griechischen und teutschen Sprache'', 1804 – On the relationship of the Greek and Teutonic languages. * ''Neue Darstellung der Mythologie der Griechen und Römer'', 1805 – New representation of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...

. * ''Erste Urkunden der Geschichte oder allgemeine Mythologie'', 1808 – First documents of history or general mythology. * ''Pantheum der ältesten Naturphilosophie, die Religion aller Völker'', 1811 – Pantheum of the oldest natural philosophy, the religion of all peoples. * ''Sammlung wahrer und erwecklicher Geschichten aus dem Reiche Christi und für dasselbe'', 1815–1822. * ''Romane aus der Christenwelt'', 1817 – Novels from the Christian world. * ''Leben und aus dem Leben merkwürdiger und erweckter Christen'', 1816–17. * ''Christus im alten Testament'', 1818 – Christ in the Old Testament. * ''Biblische Untersuchungen und Auslegungen Mit und Ohne Polemik'', 1819–1820 – Biblical studies and designs with and without polemics.WorldCat Search
published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kannes, Johann Arnold German philologists Linguists from Germany University of Göttingen alumni Academic staff of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg People from Detmold 1773 births 1824 deaths