Theodor Wisén (31 March 1835 – 15 February 1892) was a Swedish

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 strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

Scandinavian languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is al ...

Biography

Wisén was born in the parish of Vissefjärda in

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg County, Kronoberg, Jönköping County, Jönköping, Blekinge County, Blekinge and Östergötland County, Östergötland. To the ...

. He studied the classics, especially Greek, before turning to Scandinavian languages. He was appointed professor in Lund in 1865, a position he held until his death. Wisén was reportedly a gifted teacher. His edition of the ''Homiliu-bok'' was awarded the prize by the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

in 1874, and he published a number of notable books and monographs on Icelandic poetry. He held the chair of Scandinavian languages at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

from 1865, was the rector of the university 1876–1877, its prorector 1877–1885, and again rector 1885–1891. He was elected a member of the

in 1878. In 1889 he published the second edition of the Swedish Academy's '' Ordlista'', and in the 1880s was appointed editor-in-chief of Academy's dictionary.

Select bibliography

*''Homiliu-bok'' (edited, Lund, 1872) *''Riddara-rimur'' (published by Samfund til Udgivelse af gammel nordisk Literatur, 1881) *''Carmina norrena'' (1886, with glossary published 1889)

Sources

*Nils Linder (signed "-r") (1921),
Wisén, Teodor
,

Nordisk familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...

, Volume 32, 820–822.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisen, Theodor Linguists from Sweden Members of the Swedish Academy 1835 births 1892 deaths Academic staff of Lund University Rectors of Lund University People from Emmaboda Municipality