Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair 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 **Ge ...

and Nordic Studies at 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 ...

. Simek specializes 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 ...

, and is the author of several notable works on Germanic religion 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 narrat ...

(including

Old Norse religion Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peopl ...

and

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

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 ...

, and the culture of

Medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Biography

Since 1995, Simek has been Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the

. Simek was appointed Professor of Comparative Religion at the

University of Tromsø The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway an ...

in 1999, and Professor of Old Nordic Studies at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 2000. Simek has held a number of visiting professorships, having had long research stays at the universities of Reykjavik,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, London,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. From 2000 to 2003, Simek was Chairman of the International Saga Society (German: Internationalen-Saga-Gesellschaft). Simek is a member of many additional learned societies, including the

International Arthurian Society ''Arthuriana'' is a quarterly journal published by the North American branch of the International Arthurian Society. Its focus is on the Arthurian legend. The four annual issues are published in February, May, October, and December. History The ...

, the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Germanistik, the

Viking Society for Northern Research The Viking Society for Northern Research is a group dedicated to the study and promotion of the ancient culture of Scandinavia. Founded in London in 1892 as the Orkney, Shetland and Northern Society or the Viking Club, its name was changed in 1902 ...

, the Society for Northern Studies, and the

Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy The Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy ( sv, Kungliga Gustav Adolfs Akademien) in Uppsala is one of 18 Swedish royal academies and dedicated to the study of Swedish folklore. The name is often expanded to ("...for Swedish Folk Culture"). The Academ ...

Research

Simek researches a wide variety of topics connected to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. This includes Germanic religion and

(including

and

and the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

, and

medieval science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

(including

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

) and popular religion. Simek has published a number of notable works on these subjects, several of which have been translated into multiple languages.

Selected works

* ''Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie'', Stuttgart, Kröner, 1984 (translations to English, French and Icelandic) * ''Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur'' (with Hermann Pálsson), Stuttgart, Kröner, 1987
''Altnordische Kosmographie. Studien und Quellen zu Weltbild und Weltbeschreibung in Norwegen und Island vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert''
Berlin/New York, de Gruyter, 1990 (

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 ...

. Ergänzungsbände, Bd. 4) * ''Erde und Kosmos im Mittelalter''. München, C.H. Beck, 1992. * ''Die Wikinger'', München, C.H. Beck, 1998 (translation to Spanish) * ''Religion und Mythologie der Germanen'', Stuttgart, Theiss 2003 * ''Götter und Kulte der Germanen'', München, C.H. Beck, 2004 * ''Runes, Magic and Religion: A Sourcebook'' (with John McKinnell und Klaus Düwel), Wien, Fassbaender, 2004 * ''Mittelerde – Tolkien und die germanische Mythologie'', München, C.H. Beck, 2005 * ''Der Glaube der Germanen'', Limburg und Kevelaer, Lahn-Verlag, 2005 * ''Die Germanen'', Stuttgart,

Reclam Reclam Verlag is a German publishing house, established in Leipzig in 1828 by Anton Philipp Reclam (1807–1896).Page of Rudolf Simek at the Scandinavian studies chair of University of Bonn

Page of Rudolf Simek at the Institute for German studies of University of Bonn

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simek, Rudolf 1954 births 20th-century Austrian historians 21st-century Austrian historians academics of the University of Edinburgh Austrian librarians Austrian medievalists Austrian non-fiction writers Austrian philologists Germanic studies scholars Germanists living people members of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy Old Norse studies scholars people from Eisenstadt University of Bonn faculty University of Tromsø faculty University of Vienna alumni Academics of the University of Vienna writers on Germanic paganism