Ernst Julius August Zacher (5 February 1816, Obernigk – 23 March 1887,

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 ...

) 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 ...

. From 1836 to 1839, 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

philology 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 ...

at the

University of Breslau 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 ...

, where he attended lectures on

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

given by

Hoffmann von Fallersleben August Heinrich Hoffmann (, calling himself von Fallersleben, after his hometown; 2 April 179819 January 1874) was a German poet. He is best known for writing "Das Lied der Deutschen", whose third stanza is now the national anthem of Germany, an ...

. He then served as a private tutor under the employ of Graf von Wylich und Lottum. Afterwards, he travelled to the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, where he studied under

Karl Lachmann Karl Konrad Friedrich Wilhelm Lachmann (; 4 March 1793 – 13 March 1851) was a German philologist and critic. He is particularly noted for his foundational contributions to the field of textual criticism. Biography Lachmann was born in Brun ...

and the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

. In 1847 he began work at the university

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

in Halle and assumed duties as secretary of the ''Thüringisch-sächsischen Vereins zur Erforschung der vaterländischen Alterthümer'' (Thuringian-Saxon Society for the study of Patriotic Antiquities).Zacher, Julius
at Deutsche Biographie
biography In 1853 he qualified as a lecturer at Halle with the thesis, ''Desquistionis grammaticae de alphabetic gothici ulphilani origine atque indoles particular''. In 1856 he became an associate professor, and three years later, transferred to

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

as 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 ...

and chief librarian. In 1863 he returned as a professor to Halle, where he gave classes in German grammar, metrics and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

. In 1868, with Ernst Höpfner, he founded the journal, ''Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie''. In 1869 he founded the ''Germanistische Handbibliothek'' (German "reference library").

Selected works

* ''Das Gothische Alphabet Vulfilas und das Runenalphabet : eine sprachwissenschaftliche Untersuchung'', 1855 – The Gothic alphabet of

Ulfilas Ulfilas (–383), also spelled Ulphilas and Orphila, all Latinisation of names, Latinized forms of the unattested Gothic language, Gothic form *𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌰 Wulfila, literally "Little Wolf", was a Goths, Goth of Cappadocian Ancie ...

and the Rune alphabet. * ''Alexandri Magni iter ad paradisum / ex codd. mss latinis primus'', 1859. * ''Pseudocallisthenes; forschungen zur kritik und geschichte der ältesten aufzeichnung der Alexandersage'', 1867 – Pseudo-Callisthenes; Research on the history and criticism of the oldest record of "Alexandersage".HathiTrust Digital Library
published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zacher, Julius 1816 births 1887 deaths Academic staff of the University of Halle Academic staff of the University of Königsberg Germanists German philologists German librarians University of Breslau alumni People from Oborniki Śląskie